Sold Campervan buyer wants money back

GrumpyDil

When did he actually send you a proper letter before action and are you 100% certain that this is a genuine claim as there have been instances where people have mocked up a court form to scare people into paying. 

That element aside can you confirm the date of issue on the form as that will drive the timings for when you need to acknowledge the claim and when you need to submit any defence. Do not try and submit any defence using the online portal as that limits you to a small number of words and you can send a proper defence via email. 

elsien

You don't need a solicitor for small claims court, just the evidence to rebut his assertions. It's not like you see on the TV so try not to stress too much about it being adversarial. The judge is there to keep everyone in line as well as look at the evidence. 
Just check you are fully aware of all the timescales and what to do when. 
It should be held at your nearest court - I don't know how it works if he asks for it to be moved but someone else here might be able to help with that. 
Also be aware that if he is stalking you he might have come across this thread so you might want to think about the level of detail you want to carry on putting out there. 

saajan_12

Honestly, its good that he's stopped trying to threaten and just done the court action - often the threat is louder than the action. This is small claims court, you won't need a solicitor or any clever legal tactics. You'd submit your version, then repeat that at mediation, and then repeat to a judge if it gets there. It may get settled at mediation and then its over; or a judge may just decide based on the papers, and its over. 

Your defense:
Can advise further once you post his claim, but my guess is you don't need to respond in infinite detail about whether you checked each problem he's now facing, etc.. the point is he inspected the vehicle, you made minimal statements which he could have relied on, so its now his camper. 

He's trying to escalate, but you don't have to get sucked in.. keep it simple and matter of fact. 

mandy1955

He doesn't have any proof at all,  The CAB told me that as he had asked about the belt over a week before meeting me to buy the campervan he had more than sufficient time to ask for A) when it was done and to see a copy of any receipt.   At which point he could have chosen not to go ahead with the sale.
I still truly believe he simply changed his mind because he works away 5 days a week and his wife told my friend she doesn't drive.  They would hardly be using it if that is the case.  They could have sold it on for more than they paid me for it too.

mandy1955

GrumpyDil said:

When did he actually send you a proper letter before action and are you 100% certain that this is a genuine claim as there have been instances where people have mocked up a court form to scare people into paying. 

That element aside can you confirm the date of issue on the form as that will drive the timings for when you need to acknowledge the claim and when you need to submit any defence. Do not try and submit any defence using the online portal as that limits you to a small number of words and you can send a proper defence via email. 

hi, and thank you,  I have to respond by the 19th August.  There is a portal I have to log into which will send me a secure site to add my side of the issue.

eskbanker

mandy1955 said:

I still truly believe he simply changed his mind because he works away 5 days a week and his wife told my friend she doesn't drive.  They would hardly be using it if that is the case.  They could have sold it on for more than they paid me for it too.

Worth bearing in mind that, now that it's reached the court stage, it's really important to stick to facts, so, even if all of the above is true, it has no bearing on the issue at hand, which is whether or not you have knowingly misled a buyer, i.e. don't get distracted into speculation about (or discussion of) other matters.

Okell

mandy1955 said:

GrumpyDil said:

When did he actually send you a proper letter before action and are you 100% certain that this is a genuine claim as there have been instances where people have mocked up a court form to scare people into paying. 

That element aside can you confirm the date of issue on the form as that will drive the timings for when you need to acknowledge the claim and when you need to submit any defence. Do not try and submit any defence using the online portal as that limits you to a small number of words and you can send a proper defence via email. 

hi, and thank you,  I have to respond by the 19th August.  There is a portal I have to log into which will send me a secure site to add my side of the issue.

I'm sure others will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that before trying to file your defence your first priority should be simply to acknowledge service of the claim.  AIUI this maximises the period you have in which to submit your formal defence.

I also understand that you should not acknowledge service immediately as if you do so too quickly it will eat into the time you have in which to submit your defence.   (I think the parking board here suggests delaying the AOS by 5 days?)

As others have said, can you post up the claimant's Particulars of claim?

mandy1955

eskbanker said:

mandy1955 said:

I still truly believe he simply changed his mind because he works away 5 days a week and his wife told my friend she doesn't drive.  They would hardly be using it if that is the case.  They could have sold it on for more than they paid me for it too.

Worth bearing in mind that, now that it's reached the court stage, it's really important to stick to facts, so, even if all of the above is true, it has no bearing on the issue at hand, which is whether or not you have knowingly misled a buyer, i.e. don't get distracted into speculation about (or discussion of) other matters.

I absolutely agree, he has made some outrageous claims about me but I will be bullet pointing my responses to these without any embellishments. I really have nothing to hide and hid nothing at all. thank you for your replies.   

Okell

mandy1955 said:

... The gist of his ACTUAL complaint is that he asked if cam belt had been replaced.  I said yes,  because when I bought the van this was what I asked and was told yes...

Can I ask what you actually told him?

Did you simply say "Yes" or did you say "Well when I bought it I was assured that the cam belt had been changed"?

Okell

Further to my earlier post, I believe that this annotated link from the parking board explains the timing of Acknowledgement of Service in order to maximise the length of time the defendnat has to lodge a defence.  I understand it's important to give yourself enough time to formulate a defence

money-claim-online-How-to-Acknowledge.pdf (dropbox.com)

(But I'm no expert on this so I hope others can advise the OP better than me...)