Small claims court query- Roofer via Ratedpeople

Lounesbo

Good evening all MSE helpful folk,
I received super help a year back and now I’m here with a totally new query.
I placed an ad for a roofer via ‘Rated people’ and the roofer completed a job that initially seemed to meet the brief and payment was made, I asked for a hole to be filled as birds nested in my roof a year earlier . He said this had been done and I could see that tiles had been cemented so paid via bank transfer and he produced an invoice. He also assured me verbally that he would return if the birds nested again as I was not sure he had filled the hole (I thought it was in the guttering and not via the roof tiles). Three or four weeks later I received a message from Rated people advising me that this roofer was removed from their site as he was not fulfilling their standards and advising caution (even though by then I had already secured his services).. A couple of weeks later I contacted him again as the job was not completed adequately as I was aware the birds were nesting again. After giving me the runaround I was advised via a free half hour with a solicitor (via Unison) to write to him and if I had no joy to lodge a claim with the small claims court. I wrote to him at the name and address provided on his invoice and via rated people and yes you guessed it’s bogus. All I have is his mobile number and bank details (sort code is allegedly Halifax in Cornwall) although he is clearly a local Lancashire man from speaking to him. Without a residential address I do not know what to do next. The police are not interested, neither are rated people or the bank. Any advice gratefully appreciated.
Best wishes..

BoGoF

Without an address you can't serve papers fpr court. So either more detective work.....or maybe better chalking it down to experience.

hollydays

Google absolutely every bit of info you have on him.
How did you discover his address was false?

da_rule

You could seek the services of a tracing agent to find him. Often they have the ability to access additional information. The cost is also recoverable in most cases if you do take the matter to court.

The ones I have used in the past usually charge from £50-£80 (plus VAT) so you’ll need to decide, based on the value of your claim, whether it’s worth it.

Alternatively, you could seek a pre-action 3rd party disclosure order, via the courts, against Ratedpeople and the bank compelling them to release his address.

lincroft1710

How much did you pay the trader?

Lounesbo

Good evening. I had an address from an ‘invoice’ he sent me on WhatsApp and from Rated people (although they didn’t have the house number). I wrote there (via recorded delivery) and this poor chap rang me up and explained that he wasn’t the roofer guy i was after. I then managed to establish that the roofer had diddled this chap’s mother. This chap reported him to the police and so I suspect that then thereafter the roofer has decided to use his name and address as ‘payback’. I know the chap I wrote to wasn't the roofer by his voice and his whole approach and really felt for him.
So angry at the roofer and myself. Should have paid by debit card, PayPal etc.

Lounesbo

Hi and thank you. Rated people haven’t got his real address just the fake one he provided them with and I am querying this with them as I want to know what checks and balances they used to establish his credibility. They should write to someone and ask for evidence of identity and his address as a minimum. They use Experian I believe as their contractor for this process. I don’t think rated people should get away with this. I used them in good faith.
I did wonder about the address being released via the bank. Would that be part of the small claims process that I could ask for ‘pre action third party disclosure order. I paid the roofer £180.

Lounesbo

£180.00
Thanks

lincroft1710

Applying to a court for a "pre-action 3rd party disclosure orders" forcing the bank or Rated People to release his address, will cost money which may not be recoverable.

Two other points. If he did the job on the roof which you asked him to do, to a reasonable standard then you have no claim against him unless you can prove he claimed that the birds would not return. Secondly, even if you successfully brought a claim against him, what would be the chances of actually getting your money back

da_rule

The disclosure order would be a pre-action application. If the bank agree to the order the cost would be £100, if they don’t then the cost would be £255 (you would have to ascertain whether they agree before applying for the order).

The bank may seek to make you liable for their legal costs in dealing with the application.

You can then, when dealing with costs in the claim, seek the application cost and any of the banks costs that may have been incurred by yourself, from the defendant.

However, the overriding objective in relation to civil litigation matters is that the costs incurred should be reasonable and proportionate when viewed against the importance and value of the claim.

In this case, you’d have pre-action costs potentially of £300+, plus the court costs for issuing the claim vs a £180 potential debt. You would argue that the costs were necessary to find the defendant, he would probably argue that they were not proportionate steps to take and costs to incur when compared with the value of the claim. There are merits in both arguments (unfortunately).

A tracing agent may be a more effective way of dealing with it, at a lesser cost. You would want to make sure that the agent knows that you need an address that could be used to constitute good service in accordance with the provisions of Civil Procedure Rule 6.

Have you contacted your local trading standards? If he has committed potentially criminal offences then they will have powers to obtain information without having to go through the courts etc.

hollydays

Gut feeling - dodgy trader..