plumber refused to finish paid for work - MCOL

[landlor]

Hey, I recently had some work done by a plumber, to whom I gave the payment in advance as he said he was in need. However since then, he has not returned back to finish the remaining work. He is not responding to mobile calls either.

 

The payment was made to him by bank transfer so I have his bank account details.

 

 

Can I use MCOL in such a scenario?

 

 

Can MCOL ask the bank to release his address?

 

 

I did not have any formal contract signed with him

 

 

but I do have SMS and bank payment as proof of engagement of work.

 

I am really distressed about all this.

 

 

Can someone help me.

[Consumer dude]

How much did you give him..

[landlor]

£400.00.

[Consumer dude]

How do you know in any case if the account was in his name and do you actually know his name. Save those text messages..

[landlor]

Yes, The bank account was in his name. He sent me account details through SMS.

[BankFodder]

If you got a judgement against him, you could then ask the court to garnish his bank account.

 

However, the effectiveness of this would depend upon whether the money was in the account.

 

Don't forget that they would have to be enough money to cover the judgement sum which would include the money owed at any court fees.

 

It's all a bit risky. If paying people like this in advance, it is much better to come to some arrangement where part of the money is withheld. Then there is a reason for them to come back

[Consumer dude]

There is a chance you may not see the money again and as much as £400.00 is an amount no one should lose, it may be a lesson to learn. Having said that it may be possible to collect evidence and build up a case to proceed via MCOL..

[landlor]

Thanks all for replies .

 

Can I raise an MCOL against him without address and contract but with just his name, mobile number, SMS and bank account number?

 

Can MCOL notice be sent through whatsapp?

[Consumer dude]

I would do further checks, is he registered with any company or is he freelance. How did you know him, was it by someone you know. Search the internet under his name. Build up a picture and take it from there..

[landlor]

He is freelance. He did show his certificate of passing a test, which qualifies him to carry out professional plumbing work. I could not find him over the internet. I had got his name through a friend but even he does not remember how he got this plumbers number.

 

The bigger question is, Can I raise MCOL with just his name and account number as identity elements?

[Consumer dude]

The trouble is I guess, how would any court papers be served without an address, perhaps others might have some ideas..

[martin2006]

No, you need a uk address to serve the claim to

[MaxxPower]

Could you use those details to report him to the police for fraud? Whilst the bank wouldn't release any address details to you, they would to the police.

[steampowered]

It might be worth doing some digging to see if you can find his address - search the electoral roll perhaps?

 

Normally you would serve proceedings to an address. However it is possible to ask the court to let you serve civil proceedings (http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part06#6.15). There was a case a year or two ago in which the court permitted service of proceedings through facebook.

 

I don't think you could use MCOL for this, though. MCOL needs an address. You would have to decide whether the time spent and cost of the court fees are worth the £400. If you can't find an address the only thing you have to enforce a CCJ against is the bank account, which may or may not have money in it.

 

You can also try reporting him to the police (this may be fraud) and trading standards.

[BankFodder]

There is a procedure called "substituted service".

 

You could conceivably ask for the court to allow you to make substituted service on his bank. But I have to say that I think that the cost of this would be prohibitive. You would have to issue the proceedings and incur a fee you would then have to file an application notice and incur a fee for that. If the court refused then it will be money lost. If it turned out that he had closed down his bank account or moved on or something like that, it will be money lost.

 

I think there are unless you are lucky enough to find out full address, then you should give it up

[landlor]

Can I get help from the organisation which issues certificates of professional plumbing after testing. Are there more than one such organisation? He did show me an A4 size document which was his test result.

[landlor]

Do the agencies which offer to trace mobile numbers really work? I will call one of them tomorrow and see?

[martin2006]

Try contacting him on a different number than your own, he wouldnt have gone underground for £400

[landlor]

The plumber eventually responded and has said that he is coming on Saturday. I am not very positive if he will finish the work and may not be back again until a long time. If I ask him his home address, he may not give. What can I do in this situation?

 

If I ask him to give a receipt and if he refuses, what are my options? Please help. Today morning I found leakages in my kitchen and he is not ready to come to fix it. Please help with your advise.

[AndyOrch]

How did you initially come by this Plumber newlyn ?

 

You could take his Car/Van registration and other advertising details on the vehicle (if any).

 

Andy

[landlor]

How did you initially come by this Plumber newlyn ?

 

You could take his Car/Van registration and other advertising details on the vehicle (if any).

 

Andy

 

good idea but he does not come by car or any vehicle.

[AndyOrch]

He carries all his tools on the bus ?

[landlor]

ah, you could be right. He does come sometimes in car. I will keep a watch this time when he comes. I was not there when he brought in his tools last time. After that he used to take away his tools part by part.

[AndyOrch]

So Ill ask again....How did you initially come by this Plumber newlyn ? Newspaper advert ...internet...word of mouth/recommendation?

[landlor]

So Ill ask again....How did you initially come by this Plumber newlyn ? Newspaper advert ...internet...word of mouth/recommendation?

 

By word of mouth. And the person who referred him to me also does not know how this plumber is in her list of plumbers?