Dispute with tradesperson. Looking for advice

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81969651#Comment_81969651

It's the identity of the legal entity with whom you contracted that matters, rather than the name on the bank account used for payment, so it's what's on any terms, or, perhaps more likely, quotes and invoices, as well as email footers, etc.

Beckz1205

oh gosh, this is all sounding very confusing and complicated.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81969651#Comment_81969651

Exactly what do you mean when you say the invoice "had a company name on it"?

Do you mean it stated XX Limited?

Or did it just say XX?

Consider an example.

I (Grumpy_chap) could start a "company" even though I am operating as a sole-trader and I might call my company "Great Conversions" but that would really be "Grumpy-chap trading as Great Conversions". The legal entity would be me as an individual, i.e. Grumpy-chap.

I (Grumpy-chap) could also start a "company" operating as a Ltd company called "Great Conversions Limited". The legal entity would be "Great Conversions Limited".

Both of the above options could have a bank account "Great Conversions TRAD". The name of the bank account is unimportant to some extent and, while it is perhaps not usual for small businesses, the TRAD might be the trading account while the business might also have another account with the suffix "DEP" for deposit, and another with the suffix "INV" for investment, all for example.

It may seem as though the forum is labouring the point, but knowing the legal entity with which you entered into contract is absolutely critical for determining your next steps, and also the prospects of success in whatever the next steps need to be.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81969723#Comment_81969723

Not necessarily, but taking a person or a company to court needs attention to detail, so it's important to get it right, in order to avoid wasting time and money.

TricityMan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81968220#Comment_81968220

How much are you out of pocket? that will dictate your next move? It might be a case of putting down to experience, chasing money through the courts can be a costly excercise with no guarntee of success. Good luck.

Beckz1205

I don’t have a copy of the invoice currently as it was sent to my mother on a message… but the invoice said AXXX trading on it. The bank payment was to “HiS name” trad. There are jobs that he hasn’t completed which we’d now have to get someone else to finish (currently trying to find someone else reliable to get some quotes) and he fitted a new consumer unit for £600 but didn’t give us an electrical installation certificate nor has he registered it with building control. We would now have to pay someone from the council to come out and check it’s compliant etc and issue a certificate. The thing is we paid him originally using inheritance money and we don’t have extra money to pay someone else now. And we have found out that he has done something similar to someone else- was paid a substantial amount of money started work but then said he couldn’t complete it. It’s all just becoming very stressful and a bit of a mess. This was someone we thought we could trust.

GDB2222

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81969983#Comment_81969983

It’s not too hard to issue proceedings, but the very first thing you need to do is get all the documents sorted out. That means having a printed copy of all important texts, messages, emails, bank payments etc.

Once you have that information it will be easier to see whom you are suing, although it may well be the tradesman personally by the sound of it.

Since your mother got the work done she will need to issue proceedings, although you can help her, and we can help you. There’s a government website called MCOL that streamlines the process quite a bit.

Bear in mind that even if you win in court you don’t necessarily get paid. About half of county court judgments are never paid. So you may need to take enforcement action, which costs yet more money and may not be successful. You need to be asking questions like whether the tradesman is a house owner, because if he is just renting he could simply move to a different city and you’d never catch up.

Jumblebumble

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6664727/dispute-with-tradesperson-looking-for-advice

I cant help with the Tradesperson but why dont you get an EICR certificate to verify the CU is safe?

This should cost less than £263

Beckz1205

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81970267#Comment_81970267

yes that’s what we have to do- was told the council would come need to come out. But our issue is we don’t really have a spare £250 when we’ve already paid him £600. We’re not sure why he didn’t give the certificate but we suspect he might not be registered so can’t actually give us it?/shouldn’t have carried out the work.

I’m pretty sure he told us he owns his home in conversation. We have his address from when we sent the letter. We know the company he worked for also.

Will it work in our favour if someone else is also suing him/taking him to small claims court for a similar issue?

eskbanker

Will it work in our favour if someone else is also suing him/taking him to small claims court for a similar issue?

I'd suggest it'll be the opposite - small claims don't set any sort of legal precedent so there's no impact on the success or otherwise of the claim itself, but if there are multiple people pursuing him for money then that could reduce the chances of anyone getting paid.