Small claims court with a joiner - what can I hope for?

Skag

I recently filed a claim in small claims court against a joiner for £10k. Essentially, he had been promising me to deliver and didn't deliver anything. We've exhausted all the possible avenues (Excluding mediation, since I wasn't willing to compromise on the amount) so I sued him.

The court hearing is still pending, but, what can I hope for? I sued his Ltd co, which I know holds items such as saws, vans etc. What could happen to him when (not if) the judge rules that he needs to return the money to me? Will I need to hire bailiffs? What I'm asking is, if I were that joiner, what would you advise me to do!? I know it sounds a bit crazy, but I'm curious to see things from his side.

As a side note, he signed that to the best of his knowledge the info he provided is true. In that info, he claimed that he would return the money to me by the end of Oct. He hasn't. What does that mean for him? Isn't this lying to the justice system? What are the consequences of such actions ? Can he just say "well, I don't have the money" and that'll be the end of it?

macman

You paid £10K upfront for work not delivered? Why so high? You can't get money out of a company if it has no assets. 
If you win, the judge simply makes an award against the company. If he chooses not to comply, then your only option is bailiffs., or a winding-up order. If they find that there are no assets worth £10k, then they cannot recover for you. The usual purpose of bailiff action is simply to put pressure on the defendant to part-pay and then agree a payment plan. It's unlikely that they have seizable assets worth £10k, as a van is probably on finance. Tools etc are relatively trivial, unless he has a workshop and fixed plant. Remember that the price that goods fetch at auction is a fraction of their real value.
The most likely result is that he will simply liquidate the company and you will not get paid anything. Only about 40% of CCJ's are ever discharged.

Aylesbury_Duck

£10k is the small claims limit.  Is what he owes exactly £10k, or more than that?

Skag

Aylesbury_Duck said:

£10k is the small claims limit.  Is what he owes exactly £10k, or more than that?

Yes. I could have chosen + interest, but that exceeded the 10k, so I thought I'd go for the "simpler" route. 

Skag

I paid 50% for a deposit, which is quite standard for joinery. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Skag said:

I paid 50% for a deposit, which is quite standard for joinery. 

How much was the deposit, and what was the whole job priced at?

user1977

Skag said:

I sued his Ltd co, which I know holds items such as saws, vans etc. 

How do you know this?

Skag

user1977 said:

Skag said:

I sued his Ltd co, which I know holds items such as saws, vans etc. 

How do you know this?

He told me that he had bought saws and equipment, and also have seen his van.

Skag

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Skag said:

I paid 50% for a deposit, which is quite standard for joinery. 

How much was the deposit, and what was the whole job priced at?

The 50% was the 10k, in a total of 20k.

user1977

Skag said:

user1977 said:

Skag said:

I sued his Ltd co, which I know holds items such as saws, vans etc. 

How do you know this?

He told me that he had bought saws and equipment, and also have seen his van.

None of which necessarily means that the company owns them.

Skag

user1977 said:

Skag said:

user1977 said:

Skag said:

I sued his Ltd co, which I know holds items such as saws, vans etc. 

How do you know this?

He told me that he had bought saws and equipment, and also have seen his van.

None of which necessarily means that the company owns them.

Ok yes, we can't know for sure.

We're digressing a bit from the original topic though.

I wanted to see things from the tradesman's eyes. E.g. If I were a tradesman and scammed people, by the sound of it, I could get away with it, even if they took me to court!