Tradesperson paid & no show

Ryan86

Hello, I'm hoping someone can offer some advice about how best to proceed.

About 2 months ago I paid a deposit of £4k to have work done on the roof, however he's delayed the job multiple times & promised start dates & not commenced.

It's now at a point where he's not replying to my messages & I can't get a hold of him. His last message promised a refund but then no response.

I have a phone number, but no address. What should I do next? File a report with the police for fraud? Start talking with a solicitor?

Aylesbury_Duck

How did you pay him?  Have you got a contract and some form of receipt?  And perhaps more importantly, do you have his name and business address?

Ryan86

There is an invoice which includes a business name, but it doesn't tie to any address.

I've got his name & business phone number & even his personal Instagram account but doesn't reply on any.

No address, contacted his previous employer but again no address

Aylesbury_Duck

Ryan86 said:

There is an invoice which includes a business name, but it doesn't tie to any address.

I've got his name & business phone number & even his personal Instagram account but doesn't reply on any.

No address, contacted his previous employer but again no address

How did you pay?  I assume cash or bank transfer?

You need to do some detective work to find out exactly who - or what business - you've paid, and what address the business is based from.  Then you can send him a letter before action with the threat of small claims action to try and recover your £4k.  Without that information, you have no route to recovering it.  Even with it, and a successful court claim, he may not pay or have the means to pay.

I'm sorry to say that I suspect your money is gone.

born_again

Ryan86 said:

There is an invoice which includes a business name, but it doesn't tie to any address.

I've got his name & business phone number & even his personal Instagram account but doesn't reply on any.

No address, contacted his previous employer but again no address

Hoping it's a limited co.

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/

Ryan86

I've looked on companies house & it's not listed but he is listed as a written off director to a similar named active business. Issue is the address doesn't exist as far as I can tell on Google maps.

Was thinking maybe taking it to small claims court, but by the sounds of it I'll have little success.

Aylesbury_Duck

Ryan86 said:

I've looked on companies house & it's not listed but he is listed as a written off director to a similar named active business. Issue is the address doesn't exist as far as I can tell on Google maps.

Was thinking maybe taking it to small claims court, but by the sounds of it I'll have little success.

Without an address, that isn't an option, anyway.

macman

It's not clear: did you contract with him as a limited company, or as a sole trader? if the former, you don't need his personal address, just the company registered address at CH to file to.
If you need a personal address to file to, you will need to use a tracing agent. Not difficult or expensive. But none of that means you will ever recover your deposit. 
If he has actually forged the company name and address, report it to Action Fraud: but don't expect them to do anything.