Possible CCJ action from previous employer

martyn0284

Hi guys,

Not sure this is in the right section but I'll give it a go. It's quite a long winded subject but I will keep it as short and detailed as possible for now.

Basically, my friend used to work for a large well known delivery company and he had his own franchise. When he left a few months ago, he handed his van back to them with some damage of which he caused in the 3 years that he was there (which was documented throughout his time there, no matter how small the damage was). However, the day (not sure if it was the same day he returned it, or the next day) that his van got checked over in any official capacity, he wasn't present to sign it back to them, and thus it was signed as 'driver not present'. 

The bill for the damages in their quote that they got has come to around the £6.5k mark and they have listed out the prices of absolutely everything. No fair wear and tear has been taken into consideration as some of the 'damage' is literally just marks to the plastic bumpers etc of which could be classed as wear and tear. In their own contract they accept 'fair wear and tear', but it doesn't seem to stand in this instance.

They have already kept around £3k of his money (wages and deposit for franchise) and are demanding the rest within the next 30 days or a CCJ will be issued against him.

There have been several emails back and forth and he's been trying to buy time, but time is running out now and he needs some advice.

He was allowed to get a quote himself for the damage within 2 days of handing it back, and if he didn't, then 7 days after receiving the quote, he would have to automatically accept it. Unfortunately he didn't get his own quote and now it is far too late as the van has already been repaired by them.

Has any one got any advice, can he play on the fact that he didn't sign to acknowledge any of the damage when the vehicle was returned (he has NEVER signed any of the damage off from any of the frequent checks that were carried out so in theory they can't prove he's caused any damage), or is he just fighting a lost cause and will end up with a CCJ?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

BoGoF

Maybe he needs proper legal advice but the ex-employer needs to go to court to get a CCJ, they can't just issue one themselves. He will get a chance to put his case across.

You said the employer has now paid for the repairs themselves, I would be asking for evidence of how much they actually paid. Willing to bet they haven't repaired the minor things.

Lomast

He needs to look at what the agreement he has with them says about damage.

As this is a business to business contract they will not need to make any allowance for wear and tear if that is what the contract says 

martyn0284

BoGoF said:

Maybe he needs proper legal advice but the ex-employer needs to go to court to get a CCJ, they can't just issue one themselves. He will get a chance to put his case across.

You said the employer has now paid for the repairs themselves, I would be asking for evidence of how much they actually paid. Willing to bet they haven't repaired the minor things.

He is going ahead with proper legal advice next week I think it is. I like the thinking of the evidence of how much they paid, I shall put that to him. What ever happens I have told him to fight as much as possible. Even if it costs him £500 for legal advice say, it's better than a CCJ or a massive bill should he win.