getting money back from an individual internet seller

white_noise

sorry if i have posted this in the wrong section or its better else somewhere else
in febrary last year i came accross someone selling an item on another internet forum that i visit. i wanted said item and as i have brought things from that site before from private sellers with no hassle i didn't really hesitate.
i contacted the seller (someone that had been on the forum for while) and agreed that i should pay half now and half when the item arrived (they need to get a part for it), the total price for the item was £750 and i sent him £400, and this is the kicker! though a bank transfer! duh!
he confirmed that the money had arrived as was going to sent it once he got the part, this proved to be harder than he thought and ended up taking ages, anyway i phoned him before xmas to asked what the latest was and basically if he could do anything then i wanted my money back, he agreed to give my money back to me and so waited a while, and since i have followed it up a few more times and keep getting fobbed off.
so now a year down the line i am feel like a large mug, looking back at what i did i can see some pretty big mistakes so it could be a very expensive lesson!
however i find it strange that they are still replying to me so it seems they do want to pay me back but i guess at the moment its difficult to get the £400 together.
The question is what is the next step to trying to get my money back? i don't want to go to court but it looks like i might have to, and is it actually worth it over £400? I have e-mails saying that the money have been recieved by the seller and others, and the bank details showing the money being transfered out of my acount and subsequent text messages.
i also am planning to go to the CAB
can anyone give any advice?
Cheers
WN

BargainGalore

Only way is small claims court. Maybe a letter of intent to them or court papers may speed the process up.

You give no explanation in your post as to why he didn't send the goods.Still if he/she didn't send the goods as agreed, then he/she clearly has no intent to do so, unless pushed perhaps

It isnt expensive to go to small claims court, all it takes is your time. Even if you win, he/she may not have the money then it may cost more for bailiffs assuming he has some assets

white_noise

sorry i'm not sure if i was clear enough, basically the item consists of and electronic element that was broken, the place was he would use some of my payment to perchase that then sent the full working item to me, it took him ages to confirm that he couldn't get the element and that was only from my chasing up, when that was clear i asked for my money back and he said yes fine
also the problem is i only have a phone number and e-mail address so can only send a letter of intent via e-mail.
do i have to pay the baliffs costs or does he if i win?
what sort of costs would be involved in going to small claims court?
Cheers
WN

libra10

If you type the telephone number into Google it sometimes comes up with the person's town/area. With this information you can check online at BT web page to find the addess.

http://www.bt.com/index.jsp

There may be other ways to find address which other users may be able to advise.

HTH

white_noise

cheers libra, unfortunately its only a mobile number
WN