Issuing a claim against a motor trader

[zas90]

I recently bought a vehicle off an eBay trader which developed a serious fault.

After requesting a repair, and being ignored, I had the fault fixed at my expense and sent the trader the invoice for the repairs asking that he pays it.

 

I immediately got messages that were essentially full of nonsense and some abuse.

I proceeded to issue the trader with a Letter Before Claim, giving him 14 days to pay the invoice.

I'm now a few days from issuing the claim, after being in correspondence with trading standards and consumer direct (I think their name is called), I was advised to follow the court process. 

 

I note that the trader has 2 persons listed on his eBay account under business seller information, after extensive research, I know which one of the persons I met when I bought the car, and paid the money to his personal current account,

 

however when issuing a claim, should I issue proceedings against him personally, or should I issue proceedings against both parties who are listed under the business info on the eBay account?

 

Many thanks for the help!

[king12345]

Name of the person whose account received the money trading as name of ebay username/sale receipt.

Example: 

John Smith trading as ebaydodgydealer/dodgy motor dealer 

[BankFodder]

Good for you on being prepared to bring a legal action. Are you sure that you know where the dealer is and that you can enforce the judgement if you succeed? Getting a judgement is one thing but enforcing it can sometimes be more difficult. It will help if you have the residential address of the dealer and particularly if the dealer owns their own home.

[king12345]

Agree.

If your sale receipt is NOT issued by a limited company you could recover your money.

Another thing, have you informed ebay?

Have you tried calling their customer service?

They're very good and they could help, even if they just restrict the seller's account.

One more thing, did you pay anything with credit/debit card?

[zas90]

 

@BankFodderThanks. The cost to issue a claim isn't much, so I'm prepared to issue a claim with the chance that judgment will never be paid, it means that he'll have a CCJ for 6 years, and I'll be exploring both a third party debt order (I have his account number and sort code), or an order to attend court for questioning. I have his address because it's where I bought the car from (it's his personal address). 

 

 

@king12345Thanks, he was not a Limited Company, he trades under his own name and I believe his brother is also listed as the other party on the trading information, money was sent to his personal current account (I refused to deal with cash) via a bank transfer, so at least I have a paper trail.

 

The [problem] actually goes deeper than I first thought, after communicating with a few others who have bought faulty cars from him.

 

He lists himself and his brother, however lists multiple addresses (addresses that aren't residential and are just generic ones in a town centre near him), he tried to meet me in his local town, however I stated that I must view the car at his address.

 

After checking with Companies House (he was an ex director for a wound up company a year ago), and looking on the electoral register, I can confirm that the address I bought the car from is his address. 

[king12345]

You're on a winner then, at least to crash his credit rating with a ccj

[finaldj]

Hi, Zas90

 

How much has it cost to start the ball rolling might be going down this route myself?

[mch1991]

Money Claim Online outlines the fees for different amounts. 

Edited June 14, 2019 by mch1991

[AndyOrch]

f you know the claim amount

Claim amount	Paper form fee	Online claim fee
£3,000.01 to £5,000	£205	£185
£5,000.01 to £10,000	£455	£410
£10,000.01 to £100,000	5% of the claim	4.5% of the claim
£100,000.01 to £200,000	5% of the claim	You cannot make a claim online

[zas90]

Just an update.

 

Claim was issued, defendant acknowledged claim but failed to send a defence within the specified time scale.

 

Now time for enforcement. I'm thinking either bailiffs (I can provide evidence of his assets as per his eBay listings), or I can issue an order for him to attend court for questioning, I've also got his bank account details, so I could even apply for a third party debt order.

 

I also sent him a GDPR SAR because he claimed to have CCTV of myself, my partner and 3 year old daughter when we went to his address, he is in default and has failed to respond, so I'm presuming a complaint to the ICO is in order, and possibly issuing proceedings as hes failing to comply with my statutory rights.

 

Many thanks. 

[zas90]

Apologies if this is the wrong sub forum.

 

I obtained a County Court Judgment against a motor trader as an individual (he's a sole trader), I'm looking to enforce the judgment as it's been 1 month since the judgment was issued.

 

I was looking at issuing an N39 (Order to Attend), from what I understand I apply via the N316, which if approved, the court drafts up an N39 that I'm responsible for serving upon the defendant.

 

A few questions;

 

Can I claim the costs related to applying for the order (£50), and the fees associated with sending a process server to serve the forms upon the judgment debtor?

 

When served, would I need to file anything with the court? Or would the process server only have to send an N215 (certificate of service) to the court?

 

Would you recommend an N39 over going for a third party debt order (I have his bank account number and sorting code).

I considered bailiffs, however from what I understand, County Court bailiffs would have limited powers, especially if he registers his cars in someone else's name.

 

Many thanks.

Edited August 10, 2019 by zas90

[dx100uk]

threads merged

please keep to one topic per issue.

 

never seen the n316/N39/n215 route recommended here 

 

the claim is obv over £600 why not use an HCEO ??

 

dx

 

 

 

 

[zas90]

So, our dodgy trader has after ignoring my Letter Before Claim, filing an Acknowledgment of Service and failing to file a defence, and a month after a default judgment was issued, decided to make an application for a Set Aside, quite unbelievable really. 

 

He's already had 33 days to submit a defence, not to mention he filed an acknowledgment of service previously. 

 

Any pointers? 

[BazzaS]

You oppose the set aside, on grounds that:

a) he knew of the case (by his completion of the AoS) and should have filed a defence,

b) he is a trader, so a business, and if he is saying “too busy” or “events in personal life” could have had representation, and

c) his application for a set aside was required to be made ‘promptly’, and wasn’t.

 

If the set-aside is refused : put HCEO’s in straight away before the next shenanigan. 

Edited August 22, 2019 by BazzaS

[zas90]

Thank you very much, I will make a donation to CAG. 

 

It's absolutely amazing that he's trying this approach, and wasting everyones time. The case is set to be heard at a local county court, do I just attend and present my arguments to the judge, or would I need to file prior paperwork? 

[BazzaS]

Always file paperwork, keep a copy, file one with the court, serve one on the other side by a tracked method (avoids them claiming “didn’t get it”). By all means do so shortly before any hearing date (early enough the court will include it, but late enough it is hard for the other side to try a ‘spoiler’ in response ...)

 

If it proceeds to a hearing : Take 2 copies with you to court in case either the judge or other side says “I don’t have that”......  : “here, I have a spare!”.

Edited August 22, 2019 by BazzaS

[zas90]

Sounds a plan, I'll be very surprised if this ends up at a hearing. Is there anything I can do to perhaps strike out the defendants set aside application? It really is made without merit.

[zas90]

Well, unfortunately upon attending the hearing on the 19th, the judge granted a set aside, essentially on the basis that 28 days is okay to wait before making a set aside application (you can wait a month from knowing about the judgment), and apparently it's okay to not ensure your documents are sent in on time due to your own bad time keeping, somewhat a kangaroo court, but I'll deal with it. The judge lottery wasn't in my favour. 

 

She cited that due to the defence having a reasonable prospect of success, she grants the set aside (although she made it clear that this doesn't mean she thinks his defence is going to be successful). 

 

What I learnt from my day out is;

 

- Don't worry about poor time keeping and missing deadlines. 

 

- Don't worry about making a set aside application after undue delay. 

 

- Don't worry about being a trader and selling cars that aren't fit for purpose. 

 

- It's okay to introduce new evidence 3 days before the set aside hearing and present unsigned witness statements/defence statements from the defendant you represent. 

 

Costs were awarded against the defendant though, who has to pay my costs for attending, he must also bear his own costs for the set aside application. 

 

Hearing has been scheduled for February 2020, defendant must serve a coherent defence by the the 3rd December and pay my costs by the 3rd December. 

 

I won't be attending the hearing due to work commitments, so with my witness statement I'll provide a CPR 27.9 letter stating that I'm happy for the case to be heard in my absence.

 

Having seen the defendants defence now, I am more prepared and able to file a coherent witness statement. 

 

A quick question for the legal buffs on here, am I correct in filing the following documents;

 

- Witness Statement with Attached Evidende Exhibits (there's around 21 pieces of evidence I have). 

 

- Skeleton Argument essentially summarising the points made in my Witness Statement and putting them into a quick argument format that's easier for the judge to refer to. 

 

Anything else?

 

Many thanks! 
 

Edited November 26, 2019 by zas90