Getting owed money from company

RedVulpine

I know someone who recently was supplied faulty goods (completely broken inside) for a significant sum.

The firm in question were evasive and eventually taken to small claims court and ordered to pay back in full with costs. In months, they have not made any action on this and the person involved is retired and is too exhausted now to go to the baliff stage. Doing this costs and they are mainly a service company so have few goods on site they can seize and, also baliffs take certain things such as equipment like tools of work. It is likely the company knows this and they intend to get away with it. :mad:

Since I need some work doing on something I know the company can supply adequately and I will not have to pay in full until completion, I was thinking of purchasing the debt off the original person and then presenting this to the company in lieu of payment after the work is done. This will help my friend get justice without costing me more than what I would have paid for the work :cool:

Disclosure: I'd also be likely to earn a few pints from my friend by doing this, but thats a minor point!

How is this best done legally and are there any potential pitfalls?????

Thomas_Hardy

You would need a license from the OFT to do this, and even then I doubt you would be able to get the monies in the way you plan i.e. by deception. Your plan will not work - you'll probably end up with a CCJ for your own unpaid debt.

ILW

As above, they will sue you.

ValHaller

Lovely idea! The biggest pit falls I can see are

• whether there are legal limitations on purchasing a debt which prevent you doing this - you probably could not buy consumer debt
• whether the T&C's of the original deal prevent the contract being assigned
• whether the debtor company is likely to resort to heavies

You may need to have the debt assigned by deed - so research this - and you would need to have this in place before you were due to pay.

But take proper legal advice.

ThumbRemote

But I wonder if the original creditor could arrange for the work to be done at your property, hence he would be liable for the cost?

Thomas_Hardy

ThumbRemote wrote: »

But I wonder if the original creditor could arrange for the work to be done at your property, hence he would be liable for the cost?

The business is very unlikely to contract with someone they know they owe money to!

Thomas_Hardy

ValHaller wrote: »

Lovely idea! The biggest pit falls I can see are

• whether there are legal limitations on purchasing a debt which prevent you doing this - you probably could not buy consumer debt
• whether the T&C's of the original deal prevent the contract being assigned
• whether the debtor company is likely to resort to heavies

You may need to have the debt assigned by deed - so research this - and you would need to have this in place before you were due to pay.

But take proper legal advice.

This still would not allow them to "offset" the debt against other work without the agreement of the business. It is the equivalent of being owed money by a shop, and a friend going in and taking goods to that value. The friend would be committing theft, however honourable their intention.

ValHaller

Thomas_Hardy wrote: »

You would need a license from the OFT to do this, and even then I doubt you would be able to get the monies in the way you plan i.e. by deception. Your plan will not work - you'll probably end up with a CCJ for your own unpaid debt.

An OFT licence would not be required because this is not a debt owed by a consumer AFAICS. As for the CCJ, well, if the original debt were not settled, in pre trial correspondence, OP would offer to annul the debt on which the original CCJ was settled. I suppose what would be at issue is whether a claim could be settled in this way. The answer might be in CPRs

Thomas_Hardy wrote: »

This still would not allow them to "offset" the debt against other work without the agreement of the business. It is the equivalent of being owed money by a shop, and a friend going in and taking goods to that value. The friend would be committing theft, however honourable their intention.

Your shop analogy is missing the feature that the debt would be legally assigned. In the OP's case, it would not be theft, because OP is proposing to have work done.

Thomas_Hardy

ValHaller wrote: »

An OFT licence would not be required because this is not a debt owed by a consumer AFAICS. As for the CCJ, well, if the original debt were not settled, in pre trial correspondence, OP would offer to annul the debt on which the original CCJ was settled. I suppose what would be at issue is whether a claim could be settled in this way. The answer might be in CPRs

Your shop analogy is missing the feature that the debt would be legally assigned. In the OP's case, it would not be theft, because OP is proposing to have work done.

It would be obtaining a service by deception - which is fraud.

RedVulpine

Thomas_Hardy wrote: »

It would be obtaining a service by deception - which is fraud.

But I do not see any deception or fraud here becuase

The consideration is the service provided by the company.
The consideration provided by me would be in full for the agreed money or money's worth.
Ergo: I am satisfying the contract and NOT putting the company in a postion of loss through doing this.

Let me provide a real life comparrison. My own business provides service on account and pays for goods/services from suppliers, If there is any money owed and new goods or services are provided then the owed money may be fully offset against that service. If my company or any other then get bought out then the respective account in credit would be legally transferred to the new owner to use without needing the other party's consent. There is clearly No deception, No Fraud and nothing really unfair about this.

ValHaller

Thomas_Hardy wrote: »

It would be obtaining a service by deception - which is fraud.

I would agree that there may be deception involved. But to prove a criminal deception or fraud, you would have to demonstrate that a debt already proved in a civil court and legally transferred to OP cannot be set off against the debt incurred by OP.

Can you show that?