Small Claims Court guide

gwangalump

Hello all, im hoping i can get some advice regarding this compliacted situation. i'll try to keep it brief. 
im considering taking a car dealer to court but i need to know i have a solid case before i put myself through the stress.
i purchased a 2nd hand car in december last year, in the 4th month the engine went faulty. They told me that if i purchased a warranty for £299 they would fix it. I handed over my car on 23rd may 21. It took a couple more months but they finally sourced and fitted a 2nd hand engine. BUT it never left the garage as the replacement engine was faulty. my car is still sat there today, 22nd novemebr 6 months later with the faulty engine in it. They say they are taking the person who supplied the faulty engine to court as it will cost them to remove it and they need to get the money back for it. All this time, i'm left without my car. I have requested they refund my car but they say they are under no obligation to do so. I want to take them to court based on the fact that they said they would fix it, and six months later im still without my car and no closer to getting it home. I would be looking to recover the full cost of what i paid for the car plus the cost of the warranty. Anyone have any idea what my chances of winning this would be? Thanks

aaron_b_4

I recently brought a musical instrument from a private individual through Facebook marketplace, and paid via bank transfer.
When it arrived it was not as described , and after taking it to aa restorer have been told its a write off.
I agreed in writing with the individual that it would remain their property until I received it in good working order. 
Now, they are ignoring me and refusing the give my money back. 
Unfortunately,  I don't have their address- only have a name and sort code/account number.
Is there any way to make a claim without an address? 

Doc_N

aaron_b_4 said:

I recently brought a musical instrument from a private individual through Facebook marketplace, and paid via bank transfer.
When it arrived it was not as described , and after taking it to aa restorer have been told its a write off.
I agreed in writing with the individual that it would remain their property until I received it in good working order. 
Now, they are ignoring me and refusing the give my money back. 
Unfortunately,  I don't have their address- only have a name and sort code/account number.
Is there any way to make a claim without an address? 

There’s a procedure for reporting the seller, which you’ll find on Facebook Marketplace. Whether it’s any use though is another matter entirely.

Legal claims against private individuals are possible, but difficult, and without an address impossible I’m afraid.  Bank transfers are usually chosen by fraudsters, because they can just hide behind them.

BigGirlPants

Good evening everybody.

I am taking a company to court and it will be the first time I have ever been to the small claims court, I am just preparing all the paperwork .
It is all going to be done remotely, online, I am a little bit confused by the paperwork and would really appreciate any help.

I have prepared everything that I feel will be evidence.
 I realise I have to send this to the defendant and to the court in advance of 14 days of the hearing.
On the letter I have received from the court it says that a minimum of 3 days before, I also have to send the both the defendant and the court, via both electronic and hard-copy the following documents, I just want to make sure that I know what they are.

1) case summary and chronology

I expect this similar to what I filled out when requesting to take the claims to small court, namely a summary of what happened and the order of what has happened since then, in date order.

2) the parties position statements,

I think this means the situation currently, where I stand and where I feel that defendant stands, and what I would like to achieve from the hearing

3) the previous orders that are relevant to the remote hearing


4) the application relevant to the remote hearing

-( I have no idea what points 3 and 4 are)

5) all essential documents that the court requires to determine the issues that fall for determination act the remote hearing

To me this would be a duplication of all the evidence I wish to produce at the hearing that  I need to send them 14 days In advance, that I wish to be considered.

6) A draft order 
- I have no idea what this is

7) the claim form (is this the original notification that I sent letting the company though I'm taking them to court?)

8) any defence and counterclaim if filed.

I think this doesn't apply to me as I am taking the defendant to court, so they are defending themselves against the evidence I'm providing.

It also says if I am going to rely on a professional report in the hearing, I need to ask permission to use it.
I know the defendant and myself are both using reports, and I will be submitting mine to the judge 14 days in advance, do I need to ask permission before that to be able to submit it?

I also would like to be able to submit photos and a video electronically, but I'm not sure if this is possible or how to go about including that, given that I have to send a hard copy of everything 14 days in advance.

If anyone could please assist and let me know what the documents are that I am unsure about, I really would be very grateful.

 Thank you so much

Jenni_D

1) to 4) not sure

5) is your particulars of claim plus your witness statement plus exhibits plus schedule of costs

6) is an order (judgment) that you'd prefer the judge to make - i.e. a Word document with bullet items. (Take a search for Draft Order in the Parking board). As claimant then you possibly don't need one and can let the judge decide

7) is the original claim form generated by the CCBC when you filed the claim

BigGirlPants

Thank you that's really helpful, as the claimant do I need to write a witness statement?
Is that something everybody has to provide or is it only if they have seen something physically happen, relative to the court case.

Jenni_D

Yes - both parties are expected to provide a witness statement and evidence in support of their arguments; the Claimant in support of their Particulars of Claim, and the Defendant in support of their Defence.

BigGirlPants

Thank you help so far, it is now 14 days before the claim and although the defendant has said they do not accept any part of the claim and will appear in at remote hearing, they haven't sent to me the paperwork they are supposed to send 14-days before the hearing.

That means they have my evidence but I don't have their's.

We  have to send a lot more stuff 3 days before.

I can only think that because they sent us a copy of the report they had done over a year ago, they feel we already have the evidence, although I would have thought they would have to submit it again as it was a year ago.

I understand the judge may be lenient if they submit it late, but it just seems a bit unfair. I'm sure they know how this works as we definitely won't be the first case taken against them.
Although it is the first time for me doing anything like this!

Jenni_D

Send an email to the court (copied to the defendant) to be given to the judge to note that the defendant has failed to serve their witness statement on you in a timely manner and thus failed to comply with the court's order, hence you request that any witness statement that they do submit be discounted as it is not permissible to present evidence that has not been disclosed to the other party. That should put a fire under them.

They may argue that the report is their evidence, but they still need to formally file it with the court and serve it on you.

I assume they did file a defence? Look at it and see whether it helps them without being able to present evidence.

BigGirlPants

It is just the evidence without their witness statement, if I've read the papers right we have to send the witness statement in advance of 3 days of the hearing.

I don't know if they filed it to court and not with me, but I would hope they wouldn't do that.

If they are not using the report I don't really see what other evidence they may have, and they certainly haven't filed anything at all with me as yet apart from the above mentioned report which was sent over a year ago so, before I started the claim.

When the claim form was sent they filed a defence then, so they are defending the claim, we also attempted mediation but they did not want to to change their offer of a discount if we repurchase, which did not seem at all fair to me.