Can you advise me on how to get my money back?

Bennymc

Hi all I hope you can help me

(sorry if this is in the wrong forum category, I couldn't find a proper fit for this)

Apologies for the essay, but it’s a long and meandering story! It’s a complicated one so I’ll be as brief as I can. Here’s the headlines:

• A photobooth company called ‘Photobomb UK’ ran by someone I’ll not name for now failed to show up to our wedding with no notice. On the day he just wouldn’t answer the phone – my wife was devastated.
• We had paid him ~£450 in monthly Direct Debit installments dating back to November 2016.
• Later learned that the owner suddenly stopped turning up to anyone's wedding a few weeks before ours (still continuing to not turn up to this day too – the number of victims is still rising) and took his Facebook presence offline, both his personal and business fb accounts
• Found him on companies house and still marked as actively trading (still active today too)
• Later he came back to Facebook (after disappointing a significant number of brides, possibly 100+) saying he'd been in a car accident and couldn't handle the pressure anymore. Said he would refund everyone instead of going bankrupt (offered no apology).
• His fb page disappeared again, no-one has heard from him since, nor had a refund from him.

I had 3 avenues to persue - wedding insurance, an ‘indemnity claim’ from our bank and 3rd party company 'Go Cardless' (a bit like paypal) who took our payments on his behalf

Insurance (with DreamSaver) - won't pay out as apparently they only cover 'the photographer' (photo booths aren't considered photography) and will only pay out for other entertainment that has either gone bankrupt or into liquidation and that this can be evidenced. He's still marked as trading on companies house so we lose out here (why bother getting insurance eh?).

Bank - Similar story, cannot make an indemnity claim under the 'Direct Debit Guarantee' as 1) Our claim did not fit any of the legal criteria to claim the money back (example: if company has gone into liquidation/bust) 2) that as it wasn't an error (example: it wasn't money being taken through a DD we didn't recognise or a miskeying of an account number on their end) and 3) that because they didn't pay him directly (they paid the third party 'Go Cardless') the matter would need to be taken up with them, as they 'did' pay him directly, if that makes sense.

Go Cardless - useless. There is verbiage on their website saying they'll help with fraud victims as a result of using their service. After 3 weeks and 5 emails back all from different people all with a standard response telling me to ask my bank for a charge-back under the direct debit guarantee - despite explaining to each of them why the bank had already refused us - resolved to simply saying "we view this as an issue between yourself and the merchant you have been paying" and shut me out

We have reported him to action fraud, as we are now satisfied that he knew he wasn't coming to our wedding for weeks prior despite continuing to take payments. We have also reported him to BBC Watchdog (both along with possibly more than 100 others).

Any ideas from here? It would be easier for me if he could just declare bankruptcy or something, then my insurance would pay out but as it stands I'm not sure what to do - please help! I can’t accept that somebody could do something like this and there are NO protections in place for people like us to get our money back – even legally.

Thanks in advance!

ssparks2003

Money Claims On Line, take the git to court.

elsien

Is he running a limited company?

https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-a-limited-company

This might be helpful for your insurance further down the line if he has to close down/gets closed down.

Bennymc

elsien wrote: »

Is he running a limited company?

Good idea - yes he is a limited company. I just submitted a complaint, not that I expect it will actually help get my money back (fast losing hope) but doesn't hurt.

ssparks2003 wrote:

Money Claims On Line, take the git to court.

That's my last resort.

ssparks2003

Bennymc wrote: »

That's my last resort.

Actually, as it stands its your only resort

Bennymc

ssparks2003 wrote: »

Actually, as it stands its your only resort

Hence why I'm here, to be sure I've exhausted all alternatives to actually spending money on another potentially futile pursuit. I'm not even sure suing him would work - It'll probably end up with a £1 a month repayment plan

I'm also the only earner in our home at the moment and money is extremely tight. £35 to chase this idiot would actually hurt us financially more than you might think!

[Deleted User]

Bennymc wrote: »

£35 to chase this idiot would actually hurt us financially more than you might think!

But it's £35 to chase £450..

Bennymc

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

But it's £35 to chase £450..

Yeah I'll do it, but like I say only when I'm satisfied I've done all I can do to settle it otherwise

lincroft1710

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

But it's £35 to chase £450..

But what chance has the OP got of getting the £450 back, especially as he suing a limited company which could go bankrupt

Bennymc

lincroft1710 wrote: »

But what chance has the OP got of getting the £450 back, especially as he suing a limited company which could go bankrupt

If they went bankrupt that'd actually help - the insurance [STRIKE]would[/STRIKE] might pay out then

ssparks2003

Well your option is to either sue them or wave goodbye to the money; simple as that really