just lost £500 in less than 24 hours cos i am stupid

thequant

Vampgirl wrote: »

I would suggest that he is mistaken: the consumer code for home builders (link in post #29) specifically states that the reservation fee should be refunded less any admin costs in the event of a cancellation.

Consumer codes trumps "industry standards" any day. Who defines industry standards ? Where are they codified ?


OP, if in your letter from the court if you are allowed to reply to defence then do a short reply, denying it is industry standard and point them to the relevant part of the consumer code.


Nothing more, nothing less. Just enough to refute their defence.

lincroft1710

"Industry standards" (whatever those are) have no standing in law. They may well be at variance with specific legislation.

Parks

thequant wrote: »

Consumer codes trumps "industry standards" any day. Who defines industry standards ? Where are they codified ?


OP, if in your letter from the court if you are allowed to reply to defence then do a short reply, denying it is industry standard and point them to the relevant part of the consumer code.


Nothing more, nothing less. Just enough to refute their defence.

he is stating that we signed it on his property and he enclosed a copy of the receipt that we signed that did say non refundable. - We have to complete a form now (N180) but there is no where to add extra evidence of the consumer code etc - do you think i could add an extra piece of additional evidence with the form?

Monday123

I have to say, you've certainly dodged a bullet with these builders. Even if you don't manage to recoup your money, you should feel relieved you're not buying a house off them!

Lioness_Twinkletoes

Parks wrote: »

he is stating that we signed it on his property and he enclosed a copy of the receipt that we signed that did say non refundable. - We have to complete a form now (N180) but there is no where to add extra evidence of the consumer code etc - do you think i could add an extra piece of additional evidence with the form?

Yes. When objecting to a defendants offer of payment, we always write our objections on a separate piece of paper. Then we send a copy to the court and a copy to the defendant.

Parks

Monday123 wrote: »

I have to say, you've certainly dodged a bullet with these builders. Even if you don't manage to recoup your money, you should feel relieved you're not buying a house off them!

haha - thats what we feel, however i hate injustice and feel we were being very fair even offering just a partial refund for the trouble of them actually thinking they had sold the house for 16 hours but they are adamant that they are not returning any of the fee.

thequant

Parks wrote: »

he is stating that we signed it on his property and he enclosed a copy of the receipt that we signed that did say non refundable. - We have to complete a form now (N180) but there is no where to add extra evidence of the consumer code etc - do you think i could add an extra piece of additional evidence with the form?

I'm not familiar with that form, but it's essentially the allocation questionnaire I mentioned in an earlier post. Basically your case is going to be heard as a small claims hearing unless there some compelling reason why it shouldn't.


This form is a formality, just fill it in and send off. Unless you have a judges direction to reply to the defence, there is no need to.


What this means is that there is no compelling reason in their defence for your claim to be questioned at this stage.


There is nothing to stop you replying to the defence.


To do this, do it on ordinary A4 in the prescribed format. I'll dig out a link if you can't find the template online.


Put in your short reply to defence and quote the relevant parts of the code.


There's no need to attach evidence at this stage, as the court are not expecting you to be fighting the claim yet.


The only advantage in doing this, is that it will be in the judges file which he will read before the hearing.


For your reply to be admissible, you need to do the following two things.


1) Be in the prescribed format and end with a "statement of truth"


2) You must file and serve to both the court and the defendant.




one little tip, although common sense many people forget to do it though. Always you make sure you get receipts for any documents you handover

Parks

thequant wrote: »

I'm not familiar with that form, but it's essentially the allocation questionnaire I mentioned in an earlier post. Basically your case is going to be heard as a small claims hearing unless there some compelling reason why it shouldn't.


This form is a formality, just fill it in and send off. Unless you have a judges direction to reply to the defence, there is no need to.


What this means is that there is no compelling reason in their defence for your claim to be questioned at this stage.


There is nothing to stop you replying to the defence.




To do this, do it on ordinary A4 in the prescribed format. I'll dig out a link if you can't find the template online.


Put in your short reply to defence and quote the relevant parts of the code.


There's no need to attach evidence at this stage, as the court are not expecting you to be fighting the claim yet.


The only advantage in doing this, is that it will be in the judges file which he will read before the hearing.


For your reply to be admissible, you need to do the following two things.


1) Be in the prescribed format and end with a "statement of truth"


2) You must file and serve to both the court and the defendant.




one little tip, although common sense many people forget to do it though. Always you make sure you get receipts for any documents you handover

thank you so much that is really helpful. what is the prescribed format? and do i just end our reasoning with the words 'statement of truth'?

thequant

Parks wrote: »

thank you so much that is really helpful. what is the prescribed format? and do i just end our reasoning with the words 'statement of truth'?

the relevant rules from CPR (civil procedure rules)


http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part15


example reply to defence


http://www.docstoc.com/docs/8502981/Reply-to-Defence


you will see it is short and sweet and ends with the statement of truth.


Just amend that document to your case details, alse remove any references to solicitor and substitute yourself

thequant

Parks, I was a bit of a late comer to this thread, so am have only really been commenting on the procedural aspects of the case rather it's merits.


Just done some background reading on the consumer code for house builders. Using that angle is not as strong as it first appears.


Mainly because it's not a government body, like say the OFT. So it's code are not binding on the court. Although it will have some weighting when the judge makes a decision. Which will be helped that that body was formed out of an OFT recommendation.




Two important points here,


1) you need to establish if your house builder is covered by it, as you should have used that dispute resolution process first. Although by the sounds of it they are not.


2) They have raised in the defence, that refunding of deposits goes against industry standards. Since that body sets industry standards, they have undermined their own defence.


You definitely should reply to the defence, as there is a small chance the court could strike out their defence on it's own volition.


Any chance you could post up the full defence ?