I'm thinking of using this to get £1000 back that I paid in January 2020 for the hotel part of a short city break abroad in April 2020. I have received various communications saying that I am entitled to a refund etc etc but so far nothing forthcoming. I tried to claim through my credit card company but it was too long after the event (they informed me after I had submitted the form and all accompanying evidence!).
All the "experts" say how straightforward and cheap it is to pursue a claim in this way, but I was wondering whether anyone had actual experience of doing this, and how easy it actually is.
Try this website in the link below first as it's free and they will try to resolve the issue. I'm speaking from experience as they have resolved two issues in the past 3 years for me involving two major retailers.
As you are (probably) dealing with a large company, they may pay up before it comes to court.
I have in the past taken two people through the system and got nowhere. The problem is that getting a judgement in your favour is not the end of the matter, only the beginning. I won both cases without any difficulty whatsoever, but never actually got much at all. In one case nothing. The first case was against someone who I did a job on his car for, but he didn't pay me. I took him to court and won (sort of) in that the court decided in my favour. However, he didn't have any money so they ordered him to pay by instalments. He paid two and then stopped. To get any further payments I would have had to take him back to court again.
The second one I took to court was someone who I later found out was a millionaire and this time I got nothing. I won easily as he simply didn't turn up. The court ordered him to pay in his absence, but he didn't bother. Once again I would have had to have gone back to court for non-payment, but my solicitor advised me not to bother as I would be wasting even more money.
The trouble with the small claims court is that they don't enforce payment, you have to. I soon discovered that the millionaire made a habit of doing this to small businesses in the area, and he owed money all over the place, which he had no intention of ever paying.
Quote: Originally posted by tango55 on 25/10/2021
Try this website in the link below first as it's free and they will try to resolve the issue. I'm speaking from experience as they have resolved two issues in the past 3 years for me involving two major retailers.
Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 25/10/2021
As you are (probably) dealing with a large company, they may pay up before it comes to court.
I have in the past taken two people through the system and got nowhere. The problem is that getting a judgement in your favour is not the end of the matter, only the beginning. I won both cases without any difficulty whatsoever, but never actually got much at all. In one case nothing. The first case was against someone who I did a job on his car for, but he didn't pay me. I took him to court and won (sort of) in that the court decided in my favour. However, he didn't have any money so they ordered him to pay by instalments. He paid two and then stopped. To get any further payments I would have had to take him back to court again.
The second one I took to court was someone who I later found out was a millionaire and this time I got nothing. I won easily as he simply didn't turn up. The court ordered him to pay in his absence, but he didn't bother. Once again I would have had to have gone back to court for non-payment, but my solicitor advised me not to bother as I would be wasting even more money.
The trouble with the small claims court is that they don't enforce payment, you have to. I soon discovered that the millionaire made a habit of doing this to small businesses in the area, and he owed money all over the place, which he had no intention of ever paying.
I hope you have better luck than I did.
That doesn’t sound all that great! Can I ask what expenses you incurred?
you can get the sherrifs in, it costs £60 apparently, and its very rare they dont get your money back, their charges are added into what they retrieve too, the threat of removing goods is usually enough to make people pay up.
Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 25/10/2021
As you are (probably) dealing with a large company, they may pay up before it comes to court.
I have in the past taken two people through the system and got nowhere. The problem is that getting a judgement in your favour is not the end of the matter, only the beginning. I won both cases without any difficulty whatsoever, but never actually got much at all. In one case nothing. The first case was against someone who I did a job on his car for, but he didn't pay me. I took him to court and won (sort of) in that the court decided in my favour. However, he didn't have any money so they ordered him to pay by instalments. He paid two and then stopped. To get any further payments I would have had to take him back to court again.
The second one I took to court was someone who I later found out was a millionaire and this time I got nothing. I won easily as he simply didn't turn up. The court ordered him to pay in his absence, but he didn't bother. Once again I would have had to have gone back to court for non-payment, but my solicitor advised me not to bother as I would be wasting even more money.
The trouble with the small claims court is that they don't enforce payment, you have to. I soon discovered that the millionaire made a habit of doing this to small businesses in the area, and he owed money all over the place, which he had no intention of ever paying.
I hope you have better luck than I did.
That doesn’t sound all that great! Can I ask what expenses you incurred?
It sounds like Colin pursued individuals, whereas you'd be pursuing a company? It might be more difficult for a company to ignore a court ruling?
It sounds like the Small Claims Court is toothless if people aren't compelled to abide by their decisions.
Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 25/10/2021
As you are (probably) dealing with a large company, they may pay up before it comes to court.
I have in the past taken two people through the system and got nowhere. The problem is that getting a judgement in your favour is not the end of the matter, only the beginning. I won both cases without any difficulty whatsoever, but never actually got much at all. In one case nothing. The first case was against someone who I did a job on his car for, but he didn't pay me. I took him to court and won (sort of) in that the court decided in my favour. However, he didn't have any money so they ordered him to pay by instalments. He paid two and then stopped. To get any further payments I would have had to take him back to court again.
The second one I took to court was someone who I later found out was a millionaire and this time I got nothing. I won easily as he simply didn't turn up. The court ordered him to pay in his absence, but he didn't bother. Once again I would have had to have gone back to court for non-payment, but my solicitor advised me not to bother as I would be wasting even more money.
The trouble with the small claims court is that they don't enforce payment, you have to. I soon discovered that the millionaire made a habit of doing this to small businesses in the area, and he owed money all over the place, which he had no intention of ever paying.
I hope you have better luck than I did.
Your solicitor was not acting in your best interest. When they do not pay, you send in the bailiffs. No need to go back to court. We did this when payments stopped and they attached the person's XJ6. He paid the balance the same day. You get back the bailiffs cost when they attach the goods etc.
We would use the
Enforcement is the difficult part with the small claims court. You have to pay to start with, and any expenses you have to lay out you get back (in theory) because they will be attached to what the defendant owes you. However, if they have no intention of paying anyway, you end up losing even more money if you have to go back to court.
The problem I had with the millionaire I took to court was that he was an expert at this and had the resources to advise him. Sending in bailiffs wasn't an option, because technically he "owned nothing". All his property was either in his wife's name or owned by various limited companies he ran. I was in contact with several other small businesses at the time who had all been done-over by this individual and none of them had got a penny of what he owed them. My solicitor knew him too, which is why he advised me to cut my losses. The villain knew every trick in the book. If only I had known at the time I would have had nothing to do with him. I had transported goods for him from Norfolk to several different destinations in Scotland, so it wasn't as if I could seize anything back.
There’s excellent advice about the rules etc at 3 websites: one is well established, one is an official government website & one is pretty much the best for plain English unbiased money advice. They may well mention things that haven’t been covered here, or confirm or clarify.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk
www.justice.gov.uk
www.moneysavingexpert.com
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Topic: Small Claims Court
via mobile 25/10/2021 at 10:42pm
