Legal action against a firm you don't know the name of ?

karen888

Hi all (1st post, so I hope it’s in the right place).
I have looked all over Google and can’t find the answer to this.
This is a question about taking legal action against a company you don’t know the name of.

I will be taking action against a firm which asked me to do some work on their behalf, and then didn’t pay. The problem is that the agreement was made by another company, but I don’t know their name (the first company is a Bank BTW).
The bank has said they have no contract with me so they won’t pay.
I have filled in the form N1 to make a claim in the small claims court (for £260) but I would like to add the other company. The bank has said that they use over 50 companies as intermediaries and don’t have a record of my case.
Can I just take action again XYZ Bank plc and Another
I have a tape of the telephone conversation when they asked me to work at the bank but they didn’t give any details of who they are.
Thank you if you can help.

cabbage

No you need a name and an address as the court will send a copy to the company for them to respond. You also need to do a letter before action to give them chance to rectify it before taking court action

karen888

Thank you.


I'm sure the bank know the name of the firm, but they will not tell me.


I think I may not proceed as without the other firm I can't see how I would win and it cost £26 to make the claim.


PS this bank makes billions in profit and they don't care about £260. I did the work for them but they will not pay as they have clever lawyers.

OlliesDad

While it's annoying, from what you have written the bank are correct. If they pay you for the services, the other company could well demand payment from them too (which they are contractually obliged to pay).

I am confused at how you were asked to do work without knowing who the company were? Did you not sign a contract? If this is regular work that you complete for companies then I would be more stringent in your admin tasks.

wealdroam

Are you really saying that:
1) a company asked you to do some work,
2) you did the work,
3) now you don't know where to send the bill, so you want a third party, the bank, to pay you directly.

Apart from the contractual arrangement, could it be that the bank has already paid the mystery company?

Could it be that the mystery company were charging the bank more than £260?

You have no hope unless you can name who you contracted with.

InsideInsurance

You have to correctly identify the legal entity you wish to sue. To claim breach of contract you'd need to name the party to which you were contracted. Its irrelevant who the end beneficiary of your work was unless they were also signatories to the contract.

Why dont you just look at the contract to see who its with? Do you have emails or phone call records (ie number they called from) with the company? Where did you send the work to?

karen888

I know, it’s my fault, but it’s a learning experience.
I have only just opened my new shop (flowers).
I had a call from a firm that were “doing up” (cleaning, replacing broken items, etc) the local branch as some members of the board were going to visit.
They asked me to do the flowers. These cost me £210 (wholesale).
I assumed the bank would pay.
I called the bank branch and they didn’t know the contracting firm. I contact the bank head office and they said they used many firms and as my contract wasn’t with them, they would have no record.
But they MUST know who the local branch used to “do up” the branch but they won’t tell me.
I think I’ll just have to lose the £210 I paid.
I’m not happy but there seems t be nothing else I can do.

Thank you for your advice, at least it’s saved from spending more.

ljonski

can you get the tel number of those who called you?

neilmcl

Did you not sign anything, take any contact details or anything? Unless you can track down your customer, and the bank are under no obligation to reveal who they are - its your customer after all, then there's nothing you can do other than to learn from your mistake next time around.

InsideInsurance

karen888 wrote: »

I know, it’s my fault, but it’s a learning experience.
I have only just opened my new shop (flowers).

Dont give credit to anyone without a signed contract and proper checks.

If they dont want to give those details etc then they have to pay up front before delivery.

Bantex_2

Sounds like the bank may have had no knowledge of the deal at all.
Are you sure the flowers were actually used by the bank and not just taken to someones wedding reception?