Can I claim for time wasted on the phone etc.....

miserable_ol_so_n_so

I have wasted a lot of time on the phone, emailing a merchant and the credit card provider in pursuing a legitimate refund. I am going to the small claims court taking action against both. I want to know if in addition to the amount due to me, can I add the hours I have had to spend in phoning and emailing them? It has been a total waste of my time and I would like to add £100 for this.

shaun_from_Africa

If you are a business and you incurred a monetary loss due to the time on the phone then yes, provided you claim a reasonable amount it then it may be paid.
However, if you are simply a private consumer, you wouldn't actually have lost out financially by spending time on the phone so won't be able to claim this.
When claiming in the SCC, you normally have to provide proof of losses or monies owed, something that you won't be able to do.

miserable_ol_so_n_so

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

If you are a business and you incurred a monetary loss due to the time on the phone then yes, provided you claim a reasonable amount it then it may be paid.
However, if you are simply a private consumer, you wouldn't actually have lost out financially by spending time on the phone so won't be able to claim this.
When claiming in the SCC, you normally have to provide proof of losses or monies owed, something that you won't be able to do.

Thanks for the information. There are two possibilities:
1. In all probability, I will get judgement by default. Therefore if I include this additional amount, I will get paid.
2. If it does go to the SCC, then my thinking is that the court may not allow this extra sum but the refund due to me along with court costs will be allowed. Am I correct?

I spent such a long time trying to get a resolution. Would I have been better off going to court straight away? I believe the court would not be happy about that.

societys_child

£100, nice round figure.
You can't simply make up an amount, you would need proof of your phone call costs

miserable_ol_so_n_so

societys_child wrote: »

£100, nice round figure.
You can't simply make up an amount, you would need proof of your phone call costs

Thanks for the info. But if I did include it, without any details, and if as I expect I will get judgement by default it should not matter at the end of the day.
And if there were a hearing, and I were to win, the court might question it and disallow it. My original claim should still be allowable so I have not lost anything. A question of who dares....
The other parties are a bank and a high street retailer. Each a multi million pound enterprise!

lovinituk

Why do you think you will get judgement by default? What amount are you claiming for the refund?

lincroft1710

Getting judgement is the first hurdle

Getting paid the money is the second

miserable_ol_so_n_so

lovinituk wrote: »

Why do you think you will get judgement by default? What amount are you claiming for the refund?

The amount is £140. The merchant says they have actually refunded the money to the card that I used but I closed that card long time ago. The merchant says that is all he can do and refers me to the card issuing bank. The card issuing bank says since the card was closed, any refunds would be returned to the merchant and refers me to the merchant. You wont believe what a waste of my time this has been. You go round and round in circles. I could give this to a solicitor and incur costs out of all proportions. Don't see why I should not get a goodwill payment.

Keep_pedalling

miserable_ol_so_n_so wrote: »

Don't see why I should not get a goodwill payment.

Because courts don't do good will, only actual losses.

miserable_ol_so_n_so

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Getting judgement is the first hurdle

Getting paid the money is the second

Thank you for your information. A high street bank and a top high street merchant are involved. It is a bureucratic tangle with me in the middle. I have spent hours on the phone, written countless emails and not got beyond the call centre staff. Each party has a call centre and a different nameless agent answers. Going to court is the only option left to me.

miserable_ol_so_n_so

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Because courts don't do good will, only actual losses.

Thank you for your reply, but if judgement is by default, is the court going to waste time adding up all the pennies? And even if there is a hearing, surely all the court can do is to disallow unsupported costs. As I said, I could go to a solicitor who would probably charge hundreds of pounds writing letters and obtain my refund eventually together with their costs. My sum of £100 is perfectly reasonable.