I won in small claims court, but the company "no longer exists", what can I do?

Izwe

I bought a dodgy car from a company (in England) and they owe me money (over £1,000), I've won in court but they're now a limited company and claim no responsibility. Is it worth seeking legal advice, or shall I just cut my losses? It's been a long fight ...

On the 7th of July 2012 I bought a car and two days later I had it inspected by two independent garages, it needed lots of work the dealer should have told us about (brakes, clutch) and was also mis-sold (CD player and key-fob didn't work), so I took them to small claims court (3rd of January 2013), they didn't show up, the judge agreed with me and I won the case. On the 10th of January they filed an application for judgement to be set aside, we had a re-hearing (15th March) and they didn't show up again. They didn't contact us, nor pay a penny so I filed a Warrant of Execution against them (24th April).

Now this is where I need advice. The bailiffs have been to the dealership, and although it's the same "company" (same location, name, signs, staff, proprietor) they are not legally the same company anymore. On the 27th of July 2013, twenty days after I bought the car, they became a limited company and thus, legally, the company which I bought the car from no longer exists. So my question is: Is there anything I can do? Can I claim the money from the indivdual who owned the old company? Is it worth seeking legal advice, or am I just out of pocket and should just walk away?

Thank-you for reading my post.

bod1467

WHO precisely did you sue?

If they weren't a Ltd company at the time of purchase then you should have sued the proprietor/director of the company personally - they will likely have had assets to be siezed; with a Ltd company, if they don't have assets then the directors are only liable for the limit set out when creating the Ltd company. (Is how I understand things).

bcl999

Solicitors used to offer a service where the first consultation was free or just a small fee. Might be worth checking if it is still available.

vaio

bod1467 wrote: »

WHO precisely did you sue?

If they weren't a Ltd company at the time of purchase then you should have sued the proprietor/director of the company personally - they will likely have had assets to be siezed; with a Ltd company, if they don't have assets then the directors are only liable for the limit set out when creating the Ltd company. (Is how I understand things).

That's the important thing....

If you bought the car & sued ABC Ltd which then disappeared and reappeared as XYZ Ltd then you won't get your money.

If you bought off ABC Cars or John Smith trading as ABC Cars which then became ABC Cars Ltd then you need to pursue John Smith personally, all his assets are fair game

bris

The important part is did you sue a sole trader or partnership or was it a ltd co. If you sued a sole trader by his name then this is who you enforse the original order on.

If it was another ltd co then your money is gone, it's a well know trick dodgy directors do every now and again when they run up a few bills they don't want to pay.

Izwe

I bought the car from ABC Cars, but the owners name is on the documents, it wasn't a Ltd company at the time, but now it is. I sued ABC Cars.

It sounds like I'll have to go after Mr owner, but does that mean starting the court case from scratch or can I somehow change the "target" of the order as he was the owner of the old company?

arcon5

Izwe wrote: »

I bought the car from ABC Cars, but the owners name is on the documents, it wasn't a Ltd company at the time, but now it is. I sued ABC Cars.

It sounds like I'll have to go after Mr owner, but does that mean starting the court case from scratch or can I somehow change the "target" of the order as he was the owner of the old company?

Contact the court and see if they can change the name, I thought they could do this before it reached judgement stage - not sure about afterwards though.

But if you bought from Mr X T/A ABC cars and Mr X is on the invoice then this is excellent news, excellent news indeed.

Before you do anything though worth sending a letter to the guy, along the lines off:

Dear Mr X,

I would like to make you aware of my intentions to pursue you personally for the sum of £y in relation the judgement received by ___ County Court.

I'm aware of your current Ltd status, this though does not affect me as at the time our contract was concluded you traded as a sole trader. The contract cannot be transferred to another entity without mutual agreement.

If the above sum is not received by __/__/__ I will be forced to instruct bailiffs to visit your home with the view of levvying assets to cover this debt.

With Regards

Okay, i'm not sure if you need to apply to have the name changed from the trading as name to the personal name or not - but it's unlikely they will know, so there's an element of bluffing here.

Or filing proceedings against him personally would be worst case scenario.

Although ha few points:

- you had the car inspected AFTER buying it? Crazy.
- you paid £1k ish for a car and expect there not to be any signs of wear and tear on many components? Unrealistic.

Izwe

Thanks for the advice, a nice start to the day! Would I have to find his home address, or will the bailiffs do that?

arcon5 wrote: »

- you had the car inspected AFTER buying it? Crazy.
- you paid £1k ish for a car and expect there not to be any signs of wear and tear on many components? Unrealistic.

- Yeah, I was a total n00b when it came to buying this car, I'm not very good at confrontations and I should have just walked away from the deal, but I kinda wanted the car. Next time it will be very different!!!
- The car was more than the money I'm asking for, the money is just for the repairs it required (the price I paid suggested it was in "very good" condition).