I am planning to take a garage to court over a cambelt change that resulted in a need for a new engine. Has anyone had experience of the claim procedure? What sort of evidence is required? Any possible pitfalls? Any pointers etc etc.
Chris
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That's a coincidence. So am I.
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IMHO it depends to a large extent on the garage. I can't believe a main dealer for example would refuse to pay up if they lost the case and you'd probably find they caved in and settled out of court beforehand anyway to avoid the bad publicity.
On the other hand my brother took a so called Alfa Romeo restoration specialist to court for totally bodging his sports car and charging him well over £10k in the process. He won the case no problem but the guy only paid one installment and then simply stopped paying. On consulting his solicitor he was advised that taking further legal action would be throwing good money after bad 'cos so many of these people seem to have no assets on paper.
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That's when you need to start paying a visit with some big people in tow ;)
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I have just done a VERY small claim in the small Claims Court, as a matter of principle! It took 6 months but I got ALL my money back, what was owed plus my costs. I didn't actually have to produce any documents as money was owed but the debt was not disputed - it was just the repayment. If you care to e mail me, with a phone number, I'll happily discuss it with you. All the forms required can be downloaded from the Net but my local court were very helpful, put stuff in the post for me and helped with the procedure. No pain, not much time and no cost at all.
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There is a LOAD of information on the small claims (County Court)procedure on the web - start at www.courtservice.gov.uk
When you find the list of pdf documents that can be downloaded, don't take them all individually like I did, go to the bottom and download the whole lot together as a zip file
Hope this helps
Andy
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Hi I have just read your message and I am taking a mechanic to a small claims court also on the 28 February
This is regarding a guy I work with (not in the motor trade) and he does work privatly. I asked him to service my car and change my cambelt. The guy gave me back my car and 200 miles later the cambelt broke when I spoke to him he admitted that he just took the cover off to look at the cambelt thats it. I have 2 witnesses who heard me asking him to change the cambelt.
Can you give me any advice on this matter and how did you get on?????
Any advice is very helpful
Many thanks
If you would like to email me personnaly that would be of great help
helenmbakka@yahoo.co.uk
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you might want to raise the possibility of contacting the tax people. Bet he hasnt declared his income - might clear his mind with respect to paying you before you take it to court
Did he charge you for changing the belt? Be aware that he might claim that something else caused the failure. Do you have a witness to him admitting that he did nothing and do you have all the parts.
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cyp1. Are you saying you asked a guy you know, who was not a motor engineer but does work for friends/contacts privately, to do this timing belt change/service? Now the belt has failed he has admitted not changing it? What level of repair/amount are you claiming from him?
M.M
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Hi I have just read your message and I am taking a mechanic to a small claims court also on the 28 February This is regarding a guy I work with (not in the motor trade) and he does work privatly. I asked him to service my car and change my cambelt. The guy gave me back my car and 200 miles later the cambelt broke when I spoke to him he admitted that he just took the cover off to look at the cambelt thats it. I have 2 witnesses who heard me asking him to change the cambelt.
In my opinion you have a very weak case here. You asked someone who is not in the motor trade to service your car, so you knew the potential risks of using a non-expert. How much did he charge you, and did you confirm with him afterwards that the cambelt was changed. I don't think you'll have much luck here, how much money are you asking for?
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Hi there
the guy used to be a mechanic worked for peoguot for 20 years then left and starting telling people where I work now that he fixes cars and any one interested should ask him. Your right he does not declaire this second income. I have 2 witnesses that have written to the court saying they was present at the time when I asked him to service my car and change the cam belt.
I am asking for the full £2000 worth of damage as I was willing to compromise but the guy gave me £100 part payment for the damage then changed his mid said his collegues have found out and his not paying me the rest.
Also when he brought back the car he said everything is fine and charged me £310 for the work..................................................
Its all down to the judge now.
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Chris and others, do not be daunted by the thought of doing it, it is very easy to fill in the documents. Keep to basic facts and provide details of any witnesses or documents to support your case. Just remember that you need a copy, the court needs a copy and the defendant needs a copy. One sent in with the requisite fee you will be issued with a plaint number (court reference) which must be used in all further correspondence with the matter.
Once the court has sent the defendent the documents there is a set time for it to have been deemed to have been served and then they have IIRC 21 days to reply to the court. The defendent can reply either agreeing he owes the money or can deny the claim. If he denies the claim then you can apply for the case to be heard. Both sides must exchange any relevant information before the case. A date is set and then you attend court for it to be heard. Usually it is not in open court but a side room with just the parties concerned and the judge, so it is quite civilised. The judge will always assist in any relevant legal points, especially if you are representing yourself and the defendant has a solicitor. This is done to ensure fairness, you do not need a solicitor and cannot claim for the expense of employing one even if you win. After hearing your case, the defendants replies, any questions between parties, you both sum up your case and the judge decides immediately. Instant justice!
How do I know this? I sued a large public utility company for breach of contract. Despite them using a specialist solicitor for the electricity industry based in Mayfair, London - they lost. I did it without any legal experience on a fairly difficult standard contract of supply with every exclusion possible included.
Hope this all gives you hope.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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BEFORE YOU DO...
First thing is, bit obvious really, is there a chance of getting any £$£$£ if the claim is found in your favour - no good if the person/company hasn't anything in the bank!!
But what you can also do - without ANY cost, is fill all the forms in & simply send a copy to the person/company you are in dispute with, tell them that it is your intention to file the documents with the court in, say 14 days & it's their last opportunity to settle, before doing so.
Then, depending on their response, it's up to you if you want to follow through.
VB
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I took Renault to court and won.
It was straightforward and the judge was excellent and splitting the real facts from the bull.
Be careful how you calculate costs though. They wont pay a lot, and many things are capped.
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www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp
You can file a claim online with the above link. The defendant is first given the oppurtunity to respond online instead of going to court, which is good if you don't like the prospect of going to court.
I have used this service eight times, and won 7 times, I dropped one case against the council for speed hump damage, but won another when they didn't paint the white triangles on.
I have also sued an ebayer, my old bank, a VW dealer, and NTL twice (which I suspect why their customer service no. is now free instead of premium rate). Out of all of these cases, I only had to go to court twice, the others paid before it got to that stage. Good luck!
When you write/type you claim, it helps to write is as the third person, only state facts, and not emotion, keep it concise (use Okham's Razor) e.g.
The claimant claims a refund of incorrectly
levied 'Non Direct Debit Handling Charges',
refund of premium-rate telephone charges to
the Defendant's call centre, and payment for
time spent trying to resolve the issue.
The Defendant provides telephone, broadband
and television services to the claimant, and
bills the Claimant monthly. The Defendant has
included a monthly penalty charge on five
consectutive months totaling £12.00
purporting to be for not paying by Direct
Debit, even though the Claimant does.
After considerable effort on the part of the
Claimant, only £4.00 has been refunded, this
leaves a balance of £8.00.
In addition, the Claimant makes a claim for
total of £20 for calls made to the
Defendant's '0870' callcentre and the time
spent administering these events.
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I have to say on the two occasions I have tried this both were a complete waste of time and money.
The first case never got to court. The court clerk took so long to process the claim, and made such a pig's ear of checking the post code, that by the time the notice was served the person had moved and was untraceable.
On the second occasion we won the case, but the defendant didn't bother paying, and when pursued, had likewise moved.
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Cliff, I know what you mean - I've been there. But this does not mean the whole idea is a waste of time and money. If you do the small claims thing online it is quick and painless, in my experience. Obviously, if the defendant is untraceable, everything is pointless and you are faced with the choice of either dropping the case or spending more money trying to track the defendant. (Sometimes doing a bit of legwork yourself, talking to neighbours at the last known address etc. can produce results.) However, it is unlikely an established firm will disappear.
My advice would be to try to establish the likelihood of the defendant disappearing before parting with the cash you will need to push through a claim.
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>> When you write/type you claim, it helps to write is as the third person, only state facts, and not emotion, keep it concise (use Okham's Razor) e.g. >> In addition, the Claimant makes a claim for >>
Ashok, that's fascinating. I had never heard of Ockham's razor. Now everything is chrystal clear.
It could, of course, be paraphrased as KISS.
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I'm suprised to see this thread appear after nearly 5 years. For anyone interested, I managed to get all my money back even though it took almost 3 years! The process is simple but you have to do your research. I ended up with a charging order on the defendants house so he paid up instead. I'll try and dig out the notes I made at the time which may help others. Incidentally I presented my own case where he used a solicitor.
Keep upright
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I missed the date of the first post, did not realise it was 5 years old.
Well done on your win, it's nice to know you finally got satisfaction in monetary and emotional terms.
--
Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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As posted previously I was taking a mechanic to small claims court regarding the cam belt change on my car. The court case was on the 28 Feb and I would just like to tell everyone that I won the full amount back plus the court case fees which have to be payed by the defendent. So anybody thinking of taking anyone to small claims court its not a waste of time especialy if you feel strongly about it.
What a great feeling to know you have won especially as I gave the gentleman the opportunity to settle the case out of court for £500 but he tried to be smart with me and now he has to pay £2300 by the 29 March or be issued with CCJ.
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cyp1 - what a result! How come you were prepared to settle for £500 and were awarded £2300? That is a large difference, are you happy to tell us how this came about? I won a small case some years ago and I got what I was owed plus the costs I had incurred which was enough.
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He does still need to get payment of the £2.3 k, which is an amount large enough to cause problems with many who've let things run that far. Keep the bubbly on ice til the cheque clears.
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I once took a mobile phone supplier to SCC for £50 - more on a matter of principle really. I was awarded the money but they didn't pay. After some months I filled in some more forms claiming the money - court order or something - and they did then send me a cheque.
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Send in the baliffs. As Tesco found out, no-one is above the law.
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Fine for Tesco, who have assets, but you'd be amazed at the lack of assets some people have. Bailiffs can not seize a work van, tools or other items needed for his trade, and simply taking his three-piece suite, TV and DVD player isn't worth paying the bailiff for. If he's self-employed you can't get an attachment of earning orders either.
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Tesco have sufficient assets to distrain against, but have small garages?
Bailiffs need to get there before he flogs the stuff off and scarpers to Spain , or wherever.
But I applaud you for the action taken.
In my work I seek debts from debtors through courts and you need to make a careful judgement that they have assets from which to collect the debts
The moral is ,do not deal with 'men of straw'. Stick to established businesses .
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Hi there as it was somebody that works with me he gave me the whole sob story that he could not afford to pay me the £2000 for the damage done to my vehicle. So in the end as I worked with him and thought not to make matters worse for him I agreed on the £500. The gentleman gave me £100 cheque towards the cost then said he will give the other £400 after pay day then the gentleman changed his phone number and all I was able to do was contact him when I saw him at work I eventually saw him and asked politely when he was going to pay the rest as pay day has since gone his reply was " I aint givin you know money as my team mates have found out about this". So me taking him to court was more to do with principle rather then the money...
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I found this site useful. They recommend a book by a judge called Patricia Pearl called "Small Claims Procedure - a Practical Guide". Amazon sell it.
www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/
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