Sold Campervan buyer wants money back

mandy1955

Jenni_D said:

Make sure you've noted down your costs for attending the aborted hearing (and those of your witness).

PS - did you note on your defence documentation/acknowledgment of service that you'd be calling a witness to attend the hearing? If no witness was expected by the other party or the judge then the judge may disqualify them from speaking.

Hi, yes, all noted and her statement given in at the correct time. Thank you for your support. 😊

mandy1955

lcc86 said:

I don't post here often any more but have been following this thread for months and just wanted to share my sympathies. I work in the courts (albeit not in this area) and the amount of delays and rescheduling is very frustrating. I really wish you all the best in getting this resolved.

Aw, thank you for your post, I really appreciate it 😊 I'm guessing very costly for the court system too. I did read on my letter that 7 days written notice should be given if either parties are unable to attend. I just wish I'd known beforehand then I wouldn't have had to turn up.  Cold out there this morning lol 

born_again

mandy1955 said:

force_ten1 said:

when the judge asked would it be a huge problem to postpone then i would have said yes and tried to get the case heard in the claimants absence 

they are taking the mick and you have had this drag on long enough already  

I honestly didn't think I could do that, even though the judge said the claimant said he would accept it going ahead without him.  I'm now wondering if this postponement is due to case going in his favour.  I've been so stressed about it for the last few weeks I thought it would be over today. 

Positive side.

Judge just wants to slap the other party down for wasting their time 👍

Rooting for you 

mandy1955

born_again said:

mandy1955 said:

force_ten1 said:

when the judge asked would it be a huge problem to postpone then i would have said yes and tried to get the case heard in the claimants absence 

they are taking the mick and you have had this drag on long enough already  

I honestly didn't think I could do that, even though the judge said the claimant said he would accept it going ahead without him.  I'm now wondering if this postponement is due to case going in his favour.  I've been so stressed about it for the last few weeks I thought it would be over today. 

Positive side.

Judge just wants to slap the other party down for wasting their time 👍

Rooting for you 

That 'slap him down' comment put a smile on my face 😊

Stubod

...what a pain for you!!!.....(but can only aid your cause??).....wishing you the very best outcome. 

Still can't believe this got that far....!!

Okell

mandy1955 said:

caprikid1 said:

Gutted for you, been watching this thread all morning for an update.

Of course this could just mean they actually won't bother to turn up at all ! They just tried to bully you into giving them money back.

Stuck on the Isle of Man in their camper van !.

I know I'm a bit frustrated but the storm was last weekend and he works on the ships apparently but sailings are back to normal as I rang up to check...

I'm curious as I'm a Manx exile.  Is he resident on the IoM or does he live in the Liverpool area?

Frozen_up_north

I have only just come across this thread, which makes edge of seat reading. As an ordinary “man in the street”, my opinion is that someone buying a 28 year old vehicle with120,000 miles on the clock and with an MOT pass from a month earlier (that has no advisories) cannot complain about any issues that may subsequently appear.

As others have said, the buyer is taking the p*ss. As to the foul weather excuse, it was forecast well in advance so he could have made arrangements to be home for the court hearing. The county court judge will already have a view on his antics.

Good luck!

Grumpy_chap

Obviously today was very frustrating for the OP and they now have this whole episode just dragging out for longer which is not helpful to them.

By accepting the postponement, the OP has shown themselves to be reasonable (again) so I think that may go a bit in the OP's favour.  

I don't believe the other party's reason for not attending.  

I would not read anything into the court postponing as indicating the case going in their favour.  In fact, quite possibly the opposite - the court system does not like having cases aborted so it might even mean the opposite.  If all the submissions had been read and this was slam-dunk for the other party, one might expect that the case would have gone ahead in absence, you would have been given an opportunity to defend the "indefensible" (against the slam-dunk) and then just be told it was all in the other party's favour.
That's what I'd think - but I have no knowledge or experience so what I think might be wholly nonsense.

Good luck Mandy, and forget about this for a while - enjoy your Christmas and quality family, rest & relaxation for the holiday period.

mandy1955

Frozen_up_north said:

I have only just come across this thread, which makes edge of seat reading. As an ordinary “man in the street”, my opinion is that someone buying a 28 year old vehicle with120,000 miles on the clock and with an MOT pass from a month earlier (that has no advisories) cannot complain about any issues that may subsequently appear.

As others have said, the buyer is taking the p*ss. As to the foul weather excuse, it was forecast well in advance so he could have made arrangements to be home for the court hearing. The county court judge will already have a view on his antics.

Good luck!

It only had 120,000 km on the clock.  If it so much as squeaked I was at my mechanics place lol.....without bringing emotions into it, I bought it with the £9,000 my late mum left me so it was my pride and joy, like her last present to me.  I obviously haven't put this on my defence as I've stuck to facts but this is why I looked after it.  I didn't want to sell it but I retired on a single state pension so could no longer afford the running and maintenance costs, older vehicles need regular maintenance to keep in top condition.  Thank you so much for your reply. 😊

Goudy

You won't do yourself any favours by thinking their unable to attend is some sort of poly or tactic.

In fact, the other party hasn't really done their selves any favours and you could/can argue that they are abusing the court's process 
There is some precedence in law that they should have given 7 days notice which I presume due to the weather excuse they didn't give.

You made it to court having suffered the same weather and you could have come from anywhere in the world to attend, so the judge would have to show a large slice of tolerance toward the claimant if you asked/applied and were rejected.

In hindsight you should have asked, they might have said no but at least you have made a point in the case of asking and that point being recorded as rejected rather than you just agreeing to reschedule. 

You can still apply for the judge to strike out the claim but there is a cost to this of a few hundred quid.
(A strike out is basically a default "win" and you should be able to claim all your costs back).

I would perhaps prepare for this in case they do not turn up again, even if their reason "appears" reasonable.
You are well within your right to ask the court to strike out (though you might need to pay) or dismiss the claim under these circumstances. 
They can of course say no but at this point it would have been once you agreed to reschedule and one rejection.
Where is could have been two rejections. That's a lot of tolerance for the court to show on a case like this.

But don't sweat on this.
Accept it as it appears, that they genuinely couldn't make it, which has probably left them slightly on the back foot and the court (and yourself) have shown them a big slice of tolerance (something you may need yourself in the case at some point).

Then get on with your life until the rehearing.
Not easy I know but you don't want to let this rule your foreseeable future.
You are doing what you think is right to the best of your ability (and most of us here think that), so take some comfort in that.