Sent a watch to a watch-mender to get it fixed. - Refund under guarantee? ***Resolved***

[vegetablelasagne]

Yes - my last correspondence with him was offering to pay for the parts (£101) but for him to reimburse me the remaining £99 plus £25 court costs.
I wish I hadn't started this - it's incredibly stressful.

But in the meantime - thanks for sticking with me.

[BankFodder]

Once again there isn't anything to worry about. The very worst that can happen is that you can lose your money – but that doesn't mean that you get criticised all you go to prison or somebody takes your pet cat away. Also, it's an experience than you gain transferable skills.
This is what happens in real life.

By the way, how far away from you is this person based

[vegetablelasagne]

I'm just worried about having to foot the bill of escalating costs.....and it's also a matter of principle.

He's in Essex - I'm in Gloucestershire.

Why? Do you think I'm at risk here?

[BankFodder]

Well you've already issued the claim so the costs won't be very much more if it happens to go to a hearing. It's most unlikely that it will be a face-to-face hearing so it would be done on the telephone but in the event that it is a face-to-face hearing you need to emphasize on the DQ that he is a trader repairing watches commercially and you are a litigant in person. When you get the DQ let us know. Normally speaking where a private individual sues a trader then the case is allocated to your local court so it would be him who has to travel.

[Manxman in exile]

Can I just clarify a couple of points?

 

1.  In post #3 you say it was your dad's watch, but the letter you posted in #45 from the defendant seems to be addressed to your mother and refers to the "daughter" as if that were you?  So does the watch belong to vegetablelasagne and is vegetablelasagne the claimant in this case?  How is the (or your) mother involved?  (It may not make any difference but I like to know who's who to avoid potential confusion down the line!).

 

2.  So you've claimed for £200 repair fee + £25 claim fee;  he's come back with an offer of £101 (£200 repair fee less £99 worth of new parts he has used);  you've said OK to £101 but you want the £25 claim fee as well (£126 total) because he's caused all this; he now says he's going to counter-claim for the £99 worth of parts(?).

 

Well if he does that... he'll still end up owing you £126 won't he?  £225 total claim less £99 counterclaim leaves £126.  He can't try to take the £99 off the 101 he's already offered otherwise he's deducting it twice.

 

If you are happy not to argue about the £99 of new parts, I'd be inclined to email him, point the above numbers out and say why don't we just agree on the £126?  Emphasise to him that you were only forced to make a claim against him in the first place because he refused (or whatever) to engage seriously with your complaint.  If he'd explained he was willing to refund the £200 less the cost of the new parts you would not have been forced into issuing a claim.

 

BankFodder might not agree with that approach in which case I'd listen to BankFodder rather than me!

 

I'd still be unhappy with the loss of the sentimental value of the strap which he has replaced for £8!

 

(Out of interest - is this a particularly unusual or valuable watch or is it just(!) the sentimental value that is important?).

[Manxman in exile]

(Too late to edit previous post).

 

My question about what sort of watch it is, is to do with how you chose this repairer.  Does the watch need a specilaist repairer and does he specialise in that make of watch?  couldn't you get anybody to repair it or give a quote locally?  Most independent jewellers who are any good would have access to or could recommend a local watchmaker who could fix anything.

 

(I'm thinking very mischievously here and I certainly DO NOT recommend that you do this, but I'd find a reputable watchmaker who could properly repair your dad's watch, get him to remove the new parts as specified by the defendant, send them to the defendant and go ahead with the claim for £225.  But that's because I'd be quite happy to spend more money to really stuff your defendant - I appreciate that you don't have that luxury - so stick with BankFodder's advice and don't listen to me leading you astray.  It's just I think you've really been taken advantage of here.)

 

EDIT:  But all credit to you for having gone ahead with this - most people are too scared.  As BF says, nobody's going to get hurt - the worst that can happen is you don't get your money back.  And although that is important, it isn't everything...

Edited November 25, 2020 by Manxman in exile

[vegetablelasagne]

Hi both - in answer to your questions Manxman - the watch has great sentimental value - and I am the daughter, I don't know why he thought I was the mother...it's been a string of incompetences on his part.

 

And I did argue the cost. I was willing to pay for the parts he *said* he'd used, but I demanded £134 in the end, which was the total cost, minus parts used and minus the watch strap which I'd specifically asked him not to replace, plus court fees.

 

AMAZINGLY - I received an email from him and because 'he was getting bored of all this' - I received a cheque for that amount, which has just cleared into my account, and so I've cancelled any further proceedings.

I can hear my Dad saying "You go girl!"

 

Thanks for all your help with this - I'm hoping not to wake up one morning with slashed tyres...and hoping to ultimately get the watch working again, but will wait a while.

Thanks again.

[BankFodder]

Well done. And thank you for the update.

Thank you also for the donation which we've just received from you.

I hope you have learned something about sticking up for yourself in these kinds of situations. It may not be the last time that you have to do it – unfortunately, but maybe you will feel a little bolder next time.

I think that you have stress yourself out rather too much when dealing with this. There was no danger to you and the reason I asked about your location in respect of his was only because if there had been a hearing then he would have had to travel to your court because he was the trader and you were the consumer. This would have put him under greater pressure to settle.

I hope you can see that these things are simply about shifting paperwork around – and not much else. In this country we have an excellent County Court system and although it is under resourced and becoming a bit overburdened, it allows you to take action very quickly when you are dealing with small traders or large companies which have little respect for you as their customer and often employ an bullying approach.

Most traders and companies are used to their individual customer sticking up for themselves and when you come to this forum, we help you to equalise the situation.

I suggest that you look over this thread in the next couple of days or so, see how easy it really was – and also how your own sense of stress and fear, nearly prevented you from asserting the rights in a very simple way and getting the refund that you deserved.

There was no reason why you should pay for service and then not receive it and then be out of pocket.

If you went to a restaurant and ask for a main meal with a side dish – and they didn't deliver the sidedish that gave you a bill for the entire meal, I'm pretty certain you wouldn't be pleased to pay it – so why become more accepting of it when you are dealing with a trader or a shop or some other large company?

Anyway, thanks once again. I hope the money will be helpful to you at Christmas – assuming that we all have some kind of Christmas this year!

 

[vegetablelasagne]

Thanks BF - just a note - I've been at the receiving end of physical threats during my time on this planet because I asserted myself.

Although it was some time ago - that kind of experience sticks with you and makes you nervous of standing up for yourself - not everything is black and white.

Anyhow - thanks again for your help - and you too - have a good festive period.
 

[Manxman in exile]

Congratulations and well done for standing up for yourself!  You did the right thing and I'm sure your dad would be proud of you.  I think the comment that your defendant was "bored of this" is quite telling - he was stringing you along to see if you would give up, and you wouldn't.   Well done.

 

 

If you are still keen to get it fixed properly - try asking at a "good" independent jewellers locally.  If they can't do it themselves they may be able to recommend somebody who can.  And if it's rare or valuable, try searching for a website of a trade guild or something.  There's one below.  (Hope you didn't find the other guy there!)

 

https://bwcmg.org/

 

And always ask for a quote beforehand and a realistic appraisal as to whether they can actually fix it.  (Try to get a proper repalcement strap like the original too!)