Bank refusing refund for patio works not carried out

gilbo47

yes, so all things considered and given the advice I've been given here this now becomes a sort of customer service / customer relations complaint.  So it sounds like pursuing that angle might be the most fruitful.


Small claims though? is it really worth the time, the effort and what's the actual probability  of getting money back?

Aylesbury_Duck

gilbo47 said:

yes, so all things considered and given the advice I've been given here this now becomes a sort of customer service / customer relations complaint.  So it sounds like pursuing that angle might be the most fruitful.


Small claims though? is it really worth the time, the effort and what's the actual probability  of getting money back?

That would be a complete guess.  Based on what you've told us (no longer at the address, obvious cashflow problems) I'd say the chance of getting money back is slim.  

eskbanker

gilbo47 said:

Small claims though? is it really worth the time, the effort and what's the actual probability  of getting money back?

You'd said that you'd already sent a LBA, which is actually or effectively saying that you'll pursue via court unless they stump up promptly?  Having said that, if there's no realistic prospect of seeing the money even with a win, it's good money (albeit a small amount) after bad (larger amount) - how confident are you that you can find where they live and that they'd have assets?

visidigi

Have they stopped responding to you? (the builder?) I would be tempted to get a PAYG sim for a phone and send them a message from a new number and ask them for a quote - see if they take up the offer...then go to the police with the evidence.

born_again

Would echo the other statements on fraud, but not my area of fraud. Our call center reps are told NEVER to confirm anything such as fraud or disputes rights. Just pass people to the teams that are trained to deal with this.

born_again

gilbo47 said:

LBA was issued, but sent back to me as "no longer at this address"

have you been round & checked the address? Anyone can write no longer at this address.

eskbanker

visidigi said:

Have they stopped responding to you? (the builder?) I would be tempted to get a PAYG sim for a phone and send them a message from a new number and ask them for a quote - see if they take up the offer...then go to the police with the evidence.

No harm in doing that to establish contactability but surely it would need to be significantly further along before it would cross the threshold from civil dispute into criminal fraud, enough to get the police interested?

user1977

eskbanker said:

visidigi said:

Have they stopped responding to you? (the builder?) I would be tempted to get a PAYG sim for a phone and send them a message from a new number and ask them for a quote - see if they take up the offer...then go to the police with the evidence.

No harm in doing that to establish contactability but surely it would need to be significantly further along before it would cross the threshold from civil dispute into criminal fraud, enough to get the police interested?

And even if the police were interested, that doesn't mean they pop round and collect the debt for you...

gilbo47

eskbanker said:

gilbo47 said:

Small claims though? is it really worth the time, the effort and what's the actual probability  of getting money back?

You'd said that you'd already sent a LBA, which is actually or effectively saying that you'll pursue via court unless they stump up promptly?  Having said that, if there's no realistic prospect of seeing the money even with a win, it's good money (albeit a small amount) after bad (larger amount) - how confident are you that you can find where they live and that they'd have assets?

2 wierd coincidences:

1) the address on his quote is about 4 doors down from someone I work closely with. I showed him the quote containing logo / company name which was a graphic on his van. My mate at work said yep he parks his van everywhere and annoys the neighbours. He lives there with his partner and they have 2 cars. The van disappeared and hasn't been seen since about mid Nov. But the 2nd car is there and gets used. I can only surmise he's moved out but his partner is still there.

2) I have his van number plate. An mot check says its still on the road and has not changed hands since 2014. It passed mot on 19th December 2024

So...could he be found? Probably if some legal entity looks at dvla records / mot test centre records (do they even do that?)

Aylesbury_Duck

They could, but I doubt they would.  I think you need to do the sleuthing yourself.