Advice urgently required regarding small claims issue

alithepole

Hi
I recently (1 1/2 weeks ago) went to small claims and asked for a company to refund me after supplying me with shoddy goods which had been specifically made for me. Having phoned the company I asked for a refund but was told that this was not possible. I raised an email to the company giving them 14 days to refund me. However after one week not having had a reply and also knowing that they told me that they would not refund me I raised a claim with the court.
The company are very rude and very misoginsitic (their cooperate tag line contains the F word so you can imagine what they are like to deal with!) and therefore comunications from them can be rather unprofessional. However there is now an issue which has come to light which is troubling.
The company told me that I had acted too early and not followed pre court protocol. They have now also offered to refund me on receipt of the goods which I have to return them - they refuse to collect them. Some of the items I ordered went missing in the post and they have also offered to refund these and are sending a cheque in the post. However the company are very very instistant that I cancel the court claim now which would be prior to receiving the money. They have also stated that I will be liable for their fees because I did not honour my email. If I discontinue the claim once they have paid I could be liable for their fees (which I suspect will be randomy generated) unless I allow the court to continue to the point of questionaire and allocation to the small claims track
The deadline for their submission of defence is Friday. I have been told by the company that they have already submitted their defence yesterday even though they have told me they are refunding me.
Should I return the goods to them for a refund?
Shoud they refund me and then I return the goods?
Should I allow the claim (under £500) to carry through until it is allocated to small claims even if they actually refund me?
How do I protect myself from being liable for their fees if I cancel the court order?

CIS

The company told me that I had acted too early and not followed pre court protocol.

Did you give them reasonable notice that you were going to use the court if they did not give you a suitable outcome and try to discuss the issue in depth first?

There isn't a a specific pre-action protocol so the default one is used - https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/pd_pre-action_conduct

If the protocol is not followed then the court have a range of action including striking out the claim or making a judgement for the defendant.

alithepole

I phoned them to resolve the issue and they asked me that I might need to pay more but they would provide me with the item I had asked for...unfortunately they had already sent two lots of reject items, I did not trust them, I had already paid them a lot for what I received so I told them that I wanted a refund. They told me that they wouldnt refund me. My conversation was somewhat difficult with them because I was given very little chance to speak and the director spoke over the top of me everytime I spoke. I had him on speaker phone in the office and the rest of my work collegues were shocked by his rude and vulgar manner. I wrote the company an email stating that I would give them 14 days to pay me but after a week I had not heard from them and also considering that they had refuse to refund me I chose court action - this was also because I needed the money to buy the right item and am up against a very very tight deadline.
They wont refund me until they have the goods but they have stated that I would be at risk of paying their fees....the company have defended themselves but at the same time offered me a refund??!

alithepole

I have my doubts about a refund....if I cancel then I cant reclaim for the same thing and leave myself open to any fees that the company say they have incurred.
If they refund me this week then I would look like a fool to continue the court action to the point where the questionnaire was issued - the only reason for doing so would be to get the claim into the small claims court and thus avoid any fees from the defendant.

graham73

Small claims court always prefer an out of court settlement and encourage you to do so. In your case, I'd let the company know you'll let the court know you've reached an agreement once you've got your refund.