High Court Writ + Bailiffs onto rogue motor trader, yet still owed thousands

Parky2017

I value this community's experience greatly, and so I'd be very grateful if anyone is able to kindly offer any advice, please? 

In summary, I got my fingers burnt by a rogue used car trader in the Midlands last year.

I bought a used Jaguar by part exchange in the Spring of 2022. I subsequently found it to have been falsely advertised; specifically with a fictional service history. So I rejected and returned the car promptly for a full refund, as is my legal right (under the CRA 2015).

Unfortunately, only half of the cash element of the part-exchange was ever returned to my account. (Even then, it was delayed well beyond the legal deadline for a refund).

My old BMW car was returned to me, albeit in a fuel-depleted and more grubby state than when I had handed it over.

In order to recover the remaining cash amount, I sued the trader in court. I was awarded a County Court Judgment but the trader still didn't cough up. So I then "transferred-up" the judgment and instructed High Court Enforcement Officers to act on my behalf.

It seems that the trader (a gang based around a central family) has now simply rebranded as a "new" company in the same location, in order to evade its dissatisfied customers and the many legal judgments against it. The "new" occupants are claiming to my bailiffs that the "old" company has gone away.

Clearly the Writ of Control pertains to the stock of the (old) company, against which I have a judgment.

It's obvious that this rebranding forms part of a repeating pattern from these scumbags. Online reviews indicate that a number of other victims are out there, awaiting refunds and redress. I imagine that what I've observed is only the tip of the iceberg.

Almost a year later, this is all still ongoing. Clearly the current law reveals a massive loophole which gives these fraudsters an easy way of wriggling out of their financial and legal responsibilities. They have free rein to exploit it time and time again.

My trust in the company was abused at every stage.

Trading Standards described the dealer's actions towards me as "a criminal breach".

What suggestions do you have in order to try to recover the outstanding debt?

• I gather that the police consider this "a civil matter"
• Trading Standards don't directly deal with private plaintiffs
• The Citizens Advice Bureau is only able to assist up until the point of court action
• The matter is outside the scope of Companies House
• The Insolvency Service does not generally get involved if the primary issue is a company refusing to pay its debts

I can ill afford to lose approximately £5k and it continues to cause me great distress and frustration, as you can imagine.

Thank you kindly for taking the time and trouble to read through this sorry saga!

born_again

Sadly this is one of the glaring gaps in legislation to stop these people doing just this. 

I guess all you can do is lobby your MP to get them on the case to get a law change on this matter. 

One reason many people caution over taking cases to MCL, if they feel there is no realistic chance of getting cash back.

tightauldgit

I'm afraid if you have money owed from a Ltd company that no longer exists then there is really nothing you can do to recover that money..

TELLIT01

What have the High Court Enforcement people told you?  If they determine that they have done all they can to get your money back you really are at the end of the road.

Aylesbury_Duck

I agree, I'm afraid.  You're almost certainly going to have to write it off.

km1500

a director can be held personally liable for a companys debts under certain circumstancrs - do any of these apply ?

https://www.foxwilliams.com/2022/03/01/director-responsibility-10-ways-a-director-could-be-held-personally-liable-in-2022/

Parky2017

TELLIT01 said:

What have the High Court Enforcement people told you?  If they determine that they have done all they can to get your money back you really are at the end of the road.

Thank you kindly for responding.

The HCEOs haven't definitively told me that the debt is unenforceable, but they have suggested that their powers have more or less reached their limit, unless I'm able to furnish them with another address for the debtor company.

Personally, I can't help feeling that the apparent lack of urgency from the HCEOs may have contributed towards the scammers' leisurely disappearing act.

Parky2017

born_again said:

Sadly this is one of the glaring gaps in legislation to stop these people doing just this. 

I guess all you can do is lobby your MP to get them on the case to get a law change on this matter. 

One reason many people caution over taking cases to MCL, if they feel there is no realistic chance of getting cash back.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. It is much appreciated.

Needless to say, while they may be disappointing for me to read, the replies here aren't exactly unexpected. It certainly does appear that my chances of being paid back are becoming slimmer by the day.

I did actually write to my local MP and he said that he would discuss it with the appropriate parliamentary bodies on my behalf.

It strikes me that this remains - as you rightly say - a glaring gap in legislation, without question.

It goes on in a wide variety of industries (rogue builders, landscapers, market traders etc) and has done for years, as far as I can tell.

I doubt the authorities can even begin to quantify the scale of this type of "rebranding scam", let alone get a grip on it.

I took advice at every stage and acted as quickly as I was able.

At the time, it didn't feel as though I had any alternative other than to take the MCOL (small claims court) route.

It was either: take the (admittedly-slim) chance of obtaining a refund using the MCOL method OR kissing goodbye to any chance of recovering the money.

Parky2017

tightauldgit said:

I'm afraid if you have money owed from a Ltd company that no longer exists then there is really nothing you can do to recover that money..

Thank you, I'm sure you're right.

Companies House still lists them as "Active" but I know that that status carries very little weight when all evidence points to the contrary.

Parky2017

km1500 said:

a director can be held personally liable for a companys debts under certain circumstancrs - do any of these apply ?

https://www.foxwilliams.com/2022/03/01/director-responsibility-10-ways-a-director-could-be-held-personally-liable-in-2022/

It's possible that one or more of those criteria may apply, but I don't have the expertise or evidence to nail them with it.

My hope would be that the bailiffs would be tenacious enough to fully investigate all possible avenues, but they seem somewhat resigned.

tightauldgit

Parky2017 said:

km1500 said:

a director can be held personally liable for a companys debts under certain circumstancrs - do any of these apply ?

https://www.foxwilliams.com/2022/03/01/director-responsibility-10-ways-a-director-could-be-held-personally-liable-in-2022/

It's possible that one or more of those criteria may apply, but I don't have the expertise or evidence to nail them with it.

My hope would be that the bailiffs would be tenacious enough to fully investigate all possible avenues, but they seem somewhat resigned.

I'm not sure that the bailiffs would be responsible for investigating that - they are just there to enforce the order you have. I'd take legal advice because IANAL but if you did want to pursue something against the director then I think you would have to raise a court action.