Builder took our money!

surrey1980

Hi all. First time poster, long term lurker.

Looking for some advice on a possible small claims battle. We've spoken to Citizens Advice and the police, so just looking to get some anecdotal evidence etc here :-)

I've edited this to take out any detail, as I'm worried about wrecking any case we have. Bottom line is that we paid a builder up front for materials in December/Jan, no materials appeared, we have him lots of opportunities to get them to us, and now he's not answering calls/messages. We've sent 2 letters, including a final letter before action. We have emails, bank statements and iMessage logs showing that he received the money and even told us what it was going to be for. No formal contract was signed but the intent was clear from emails etc.

I'm looking to find out how others got on in similar situations - any and all advice (aside from "you're idiots") welcome.

Thanks,
Ripped off in Surrey (not using my real name to avoid defamation!)

alumende27

surrey1980 wrote: »

Looking for some advice on a possible small claims battle. We've spoken to Citizens Advice and the police, so just looking to get some anecdotal evidence etc here :-)

What did Citizen's Advice and the Police advise you to do?

surrey1980 wrote: »

Also, it looks as if he may have been less than truthful when he said he'd spoken to the local council about building inspection - they have no record of any paperwork for our property. Is that against the law?

Ultimately it's your responsibility to ensure that building work on your property complies with the relevant rules and regulations, and you need a building control application for a garage conversion. That your builder has told porkies about that is probably the least of your many problems with him.

surrey1980 wrote: »

I'm looking for anyone's experience in small claims court

Smalls claims process is easy enough, the judges will always go on what is reasonable, and it seems your builder has been anything but.

Shaka_Zulu

I hope you know some guys in suits and dark glasses because that will probably be your only hope.

Stevie_Palimo

surrey1980 wrote: »

Hi all. First time poster, long term lurker.

Looking for some advice on a possible small claims battle. We've spoken to Citizens Advice and the police, so just looking to get some anecdotal evidence etc here :-)

I've edited this to take out any detail, as I'm worried about wrecking any case we have. Bottom line is that we paid a builder up front for materials in December/Jan, no materials appeared, we have him lots of opportunities to get them to us, and now he's not answering calls/messages. We've sent 2 letters, including a final letter before action. We have emails, bank statements and iMessage logs showing that he received the money and even told us what it was going to be for. No formal contract was signed but the intent was clear from emails etc.

I'm looking to find out how others got on in similar situations - any and all advice (aside from "you're idiots") welcome.

Thanks,
Ripped off in Surrey (not using my real name to avoid defamation!)

Am failing to see the issue here as you state that you have been ripped off so how would this amount to defamation ?

As for the small claims Court you should look into the builders finances first and see if he has enough to cover the amount you are seeking to claim, This would not guarantee a chance at getting it back as they could still ignore or play hard ball and if you do win it may need enforcing.

Court costs on small claims and enforcing the collection of it can all soon add up and more so if you after a high amount as would be the case with most building works, Small Claims Court would not be able to take your case if it not the correct amount.

My thoughts here would be to look at the builder's financials first and foremost, Look at the amount you have lost so far and then factor in the full costs that could be needed to re-coup this, Add in the secondary collection costs to this amount and make sure that you can afford all of this without needing it back quickly, If you can work on the above basis then go for it, If you have a few friends that could maybe persuade him to pay it back without the act of any threats then try that first.

steampowered

I would go ahead and issue a claim against the builder using the 'moneyclaimonline' system ASAP. There is nothing to be gained by waiting. You will have to pay a fee when issuing your claim but it isn't too bad.

You may also wish to write to your builder formally terminating any contract you had with him (whether written or verbal), if you haven't done so already.

Do you have an address for the builder or know where he lives?

If not, you need to find out his address, as you will need an address to make a claim. You would also need his address to have the best chance of enforcing a CCJ.

DoaM

How did you pay the money? Bank transfer?

Is he a Limited company? A sole trader? Does his company have a company number?

surrey1980

Hi all, thx for the feedback. Don't want to post too much detail, I'm worried about the builder being identified and claiming we've slandered him, hurting our case. Probably being paranoid but I don't want anything to damage our case.

We know his address etc, have send 2 letters in which we informed him officially he's off the job, requested goods or repayment, and gave deadlines. We sent these via email and post. Citizens Advice said we needed to send a formal "final notice before action" which is the 2nd letter we've sent. Deadline is soonish on that for a reply. We've had no reply to anything, but text messages to him (iMessage) outlining the content of letters and to expect them; these have all been read.

I guess we just do the online filing as steampowered said, once the deadline has passed. DoaM, we paid via bank transfer and have emails/texts acknowledging receipt. He's a sole trader as far as I am aware.

Thx all.

DoaM

Sole trader = can be held personally liable in a court claim, and his personal assets can be seized to pay any court claim judgment. So it's important you KNOW this is true before starting any claim - you need to file a claim against the correct defendant.

waamo

It might be worth seeing if he already has any ccjs against him. You can check here https://www.trustonline.org.uk/ it only costs £4.

If he has multiple unpaid ccjs you might just be throwing good money after bad attempting to get him to pay another.

surrey1980

Hi all,

So an update - no answer to any letters so we went to small claims court online via moneyclaim.gov.uk. He failed to even contest anything so we got a judgement by default.

Do we have to wait any amount of time before sending in bailiffs? We have the judgement in hand.

Any tips?

Cheers

waamo

It usually says on the judgement how quickly payment must be made. On a default judgement it normally says payment must be made forthwith which means immediately. This means you can send the boys round straight away.

If it gives him a certain time then you need to wait until that's up. Good luck and keep us updated as baliffs are often hopeless and it would be good to hear your experience with them.