Small claim question

imamutant

Hi all,

I bought something online a few months ago which was never delivered and the seller refused to refund me. I sent a letter before claim and got no reply, so today I opened submitted a small claim against them. My claim was for the amount I paid for the item, the claim fee and interest. A few hours later they refunded me the amount I paid for the item, but not the fee or interest. They responded to the claim saying that they have refunded for the item. The refund is actually stuck on 'Pending' on my PayPal, so I haven't actually received it yet. My question is, is there anything I can do to get the fee refunded aswell? Thanks

Alderbank

So they have admitted part of the claim but not the full claim. Have they given a reason for that?

imamutant

Alderbank said:

So they have admitted part of the claim but not the full claim. Have they given a reason for that?

There response is:

When they say they paid this amount

22 January 2024    (This is untrue, they paid today after they received the claim)

How they say they paid

I refunded the order in full through PayPal and have proof to show this.

Why they say they don’t owe the amount you claimed

"The order was for £325 total and so thats the refund he gets back. The other amount has nothing to do with me or my business."

The claim amount I submitted was for £325 (The item I ordered)

£50 (Court fee)

£4.50 (Interest)

Possible to do anything here to get the full amount back?

Alderbank

Yes it is. 

The defendant can admit part of the claim if they dispute the claim amount.

The defendant must complete and send form N9A to the court to admit part of the claim. They can indicate on the form how much of the claim they admit to. The form must be completed in the same way as if they were admitting the whole claim, and contain a payment proposal.

The defendant must also complete a defence on form N9B to explain why they do not owe the full amount of the claim. The defence form is sent to the court with the admission.

It seems a poor defence to say they repaid on 22 Jan when you have evidence that they did not pay until after court proceedings were issued in February.

The court sends notice of their partial admission to you, the claimant. You then inform the court that you will either

1. accept the amount admitted in satisfaction of the claim
2. do not accept the amount admitted in satisfaction of the claim
3. accept the amount admitted, but not the repayment offer

If the claimant rejects the admission, the court proceedings continue. The court sends out documents for the next steps to prepare the case for a trial.

You tell the defendant you do not accept their partial offer or their defence and look forward to the court's verdict.

They will ask a solicitor what to do. He will say their defence is pants and they should settle before the court hearing.

ArbitraryRandom

I assume you filed online? 

It's been a while since I made a claim, but I think you're saying they offered partial settlement? Or did they defend the whole claim? - either way, you now should have the option to accept that response (and close the claim without your fees being refunded) or respond to say you want to proceed. 

Once you do that, they'll send you a questionnaire (things like if you accept mediation, any dates you're not available for a hearing etc) and, after that, you get to argue your case (either in a hearing, on paper, or in mediation).

Your response would be as above. Assuming accurate, key points to hit would be: 
- that you gave the seller more than six weeks to refund you (I'm assuming a month, plus 14 days for the letter before action); 
- in your letter before action you advised the seller that failing to respond before the deadline may increase their liability for costs; 
- the seller failed to respond and only issued a refund for the original purchase price after the claim had been opened; 
- the amount is still pending and could still be cancelled by the seller. 

- Given the above, you would ask the court to rule in your favour and order the seller to pay the outstanding amount within 30 days. 

Okell

imamutant said:

Hi all,

I bought something online a few months ago which was never delivered and the seller refused to refund me. I sent a letter before claim and got no reply, so today I opened submitted a small claim against them. My claim was for the amount I paid for the item, the claim fee and interest. A few hours later they refunded me the amount I paid for the item, but not the fee or interest. They responded to the claim saying that they have refunded for the item. The refund is actually stuck on 'Pending' on my PayPal, so I haven't actually received it yet. My question is, is there anything I can do to get the fee refunded aswell? Thanks

When you sent them a Letter Before Claim did you actually notify them that if they didn't refund you, thereby causing you to go ahead and issue a claim, that you would also be claiming from them your fees to issue the claim?

Also I'm not certain if you can charge them interest just like that.  What date are you calculating interest from?

You also need to provide some dates to illustrate how long they've kept you waiting and the great patience you've shown them.  eg when did you buy, when did you notify them of non-delivery, when did you chase up, when did you send the LBC, how long did you give them in the LBC, how long did you actually give them before claiming etc etc?

imamutant

ArbitraryRandom said:

I assume you filed online? 

It's been a while since I made a claim, but I think you're saying they offered partial settlement? Or did they defend the whole claim? - either way, you now should have the option to accept that response (and close the claim without your fees being refunded) or respond to say you want to proceed. 

Once you do that, they'll send you a questionnaire (things like if you accept mediation, any dates you're not available for a hearing etc) and, after that, you get to argue your case (either in a hearing, on paper, or in mediation).

Your response would be as above. Assuming accurate, key points to hit would be: 
- that you gave the seller more than six weeks to refund you (I'm assuming a month, plus 14 days for the letter before action); 
- in your letter before action you advised the seller that failing to respond before the deadline may increase their liability for costs; 
- the seller failed to respond and only issued a refund for the original purchase price after the claim had been opened; 
- the amount is still pending and could still be cancelled by the seller. 

- Given the above, you would ask the court to rule in your favour and order the seller to pay the outstanding amount within 30 days. 

Correct I filed it online. Then they responded afterwards, and I now have to respond to their respone. I have to answer the question "Have you been paid the £325" to continue. Which I have, althought I haven't received it yet. I assume this is a partial settlement, as the full claim about was for £379.50

imamutant

Okell said:

imamutant said:

Hi all,

I bought something online a few months ago which was never delivered and the seller refused to refund me. I sent a letter before claim and got no reply, so today I opened submitted a small claim against them. My claim was for the amount I paid for the item, the claim fee and interest. A few hours later they refunded me the amount I paid for the item, but not the fee or interest. They responded to the claim saying that they have refunded for the item. The refund is actually stuck on 'Pending' on my PayPal, so I haven't actually received it yet. My question is, is there anything I can do to get the fee refunded aswell? Thanks

When you sent them a Letter Before Claim did you actually notify them that if they didn't refund you, thereby causing you to go ahead and issue a claim, that you would also be claiming from them your fees to issue the claim?

Also I'm not certain if you can charge them interest just like that.  What date are you calculating interest from?

You also need to provide some dates to illustrate how long they've kept you waiting and the great patience you've shown them.  eg when did you buy, when did you notify them of non-delivery, when did you chase up, when did you send the LBC, how long did you give them in the LBC, how long did you actually give them before claiming etc etc?

The letter before claim stated that if they fail to respone "

I intend to issue proceedings against you in the county court without further notice. This may increase your liability for costs.". I phoned their accountants office after I sent the letter, who is their registered correspondance address and they confirmed that the letter has been passed onto the owner, so they are well aware of the letter.

When I was submitting the claim, it asked i wanted to charge interest, I selected yes, and it said I can charge 8% from the day I made the payment, which equaled £4.50. My initial claim included a full timeline of dates and I have all correspondance screenshotted

ArbitraryRandom

imamutant said:

ArbitraryRandom said:

I assume you filed online? 

It's been a while since I made a claim, but I think you're saying they offered partial settlement? Or did they defend the whole claim? - either way, you now should have the option to accept that response (and close the claim without your fees being refunded) or respond to say you want to proceed. 

Once you do that, they'll send you a questionnaire (things like if you accept mediation, any dates you're not available for a hearing etc) and, after that, you get to argue your case (either in a hearing, on paper, or in mediation).

Your response would be as above. Assuming accurate, key points to hit would be: 
- that you gave the seller more than six weeks to refund you (I'm assuming a month, plus 14 days for the letter before action); 
- in your letter before action you advised the seller that failing to respond before the deadline may increase their liability for costs; 
- the seller failed to respond and only issued a refund for the original purchase price after the claim had been opened; 
- the amount is still pending and could still be cancelled by the seller. 

- Given the above, you would ask the court to rule in your favour and order the seller to pay the outstanding amount within 30 days. 

Correct I filed it online. Then they responded afterwards, and I now have to respond to their respone. I have to answer the question "Have you been paid the £325" to continue. Which I have, althought I haven't received it yet. I assume this is a partial settlement, as the full claim about was for £379.50

I would suggest giving them a call on 0300 123 7050 - when I've had to speak to them for myself or when helping someone else they've been great (mornings, mid week are least busy IME)