Small Claims Court - Anyone used it?

[TheBigD]

In a bit of an odd situation.

About 6 months ago, we arranged for some building work to be carried out on our new house, part of this work included extending and fitting a new kitchen. We purchased the kitchen which included a new oven. Everything was delivered about a week before the work was due to begin.

The day of the work starting came and went, and the builders didn't show. We tried to contact them but nothing. This went on for a couple of weeks until we finally got hold of one of the builders who said that they were having some problems and they wouldn't be able to carry out the work. We hadn't handed any money over at this point so we moved on and began looking for new contractors.

At this point, I called the kitchen retailers to let them know what was going on, and that we didn't want to unpack everything to check for problems as this'll probably lead to damage being caused while it's laying around waiting for us to secure new builders. They said this was fine.

Anyways - we got new builders and work started. The kitchen was installed but when they unpacked the cooker, they noticed the enamel on the hob was dented and scratched. The packaging was in perfect condition so it looked like it was done prior to packing/delivery.

I called the retailer, they said that due to the length of time between taking delivery (it's been about 4 months), and reporting the damage, they won't do anything (their policy is 7 days to report faults/damage).

I've been in touch with the CAB, who advise that...

Your rights against this trader would be governed by the Consumer Rights Act, which states all goods supplied by a trader to a consumer must be of a ‘satisfactory quality’ which means the goods should be free from faults and last a reasonable time and should not be unsafe. The legislation states when a fault is reported after the first 30 days you can seek one repair or replacement and the burden of proof would remain with the trader for the first six months.

So the retailer would have to prove the goods were in good condition prior to delivery. I've no idea how they'd do this.

Anyone have any experiences like this? If it ends up at the small claims court (the cooker cost was £1000), is there anything to look out for, tips etc.

[davetza]

If you paid for this by credit card it might be easier to initiate a charge back with the credit card company however I would advise first contacting the company in question to let them know the next stage in the dispute would be a charge back to give them a change to respond. I've gone through a charge back process before where a company went bust and it was fairly painless though not very quick.

[garethevans1986]

Might also be worth speaking to Trading Standards too.

[Forumbore]

DA can tell you all about it

[SueEllen]

While you don't have to it is better to write to the retailer when contacting them and use recorded delivery, that way if you go to court they can't wiggle out of what they said. In addition in my experience of complaining if you do this it never reaches the court room.

Also as ready stated tell them in the letter what you plan to do and what legislation they have broken.

[jonnyboy]

I recently took a big name tyre retailer to the small claims court (I wont name names, but they rhyme with GitFit), because they had fitted the wrong tyres to my BMW and it caused damage. It was a fairly painless process. My own course of actions was:

1) Letter to supplier, giving them 20 working days to refund the money and pay damages - otherwise I would go straight to small claims court. Sent registered and signed for to their head office and local depot (in case your builder is a national organisation)
2) After 20 days, registered on https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/overview - you need to create an account
3) Then registered for a small claims - its a simple form, about 30 questions (who are you, who are they, value of claim excluding costs, what happened, when)
4) The court then sends you a claim number by email
5) I then wrote to the company, giving them the claim number, to show I was serious
6) After about a week, you get a copy of the court paper - single page of A4, and a notice to tell you a copy had been issued to the other company - they have 30 days to respond
7) You will then get a copy of their defence. This is the important part... THEY WILL TRY TO SCARE YOU WIL ALL KINDS OF MADE UP LEGAL RUBBISH. They wil tell you they wil bring along expert witnesses, that you wil have to pay their costs, yada yada - if you have a strong case - then dont let them scare you off
8) You then need to put an evidence pack together - make 3 copies of everything (1 for you, 1 for the court, and 1 you post to the builder). Go as over board as possible. If you have photos, take them and take lots. Google is your friend - google things like "Building regulations" - see what others are saying about the company, look on twitter, look on facebook, see if they have been taken to court before (google will find it), see if there are forums discussing them - the fatter the pack, the better it will look. When you find stuff on the internet, print hard copies of the web pages and save soft copies just in case. Get a few independant builders in and get written assements/quotes of what is needed to fix the problem. If you have phone conversations recorded, type up transcriptions. If you speak to them from now on, record the conversation (face to face and on the phone).
9) post your packs off - registered.
10) About 2 weeks later, you will then be sent a court date and a location - object to the location (it will be somewhere random) - ask for the location to be changed to your town. AS the claimant, its your choice where the hearing is held
11) Wait. If your evidence pack is strong, the builder will settle with a cheque before it goes to court. They will only fight it if they really feel they have a strong case or they are in financial difficulty.

I have used the Small Claims 3 or 4 times over the last 10 years, and in each case, the company has bailed as the date approached.

In all cases, I got a cheque with a letter of terms and conditions of acceptance (cant talk about it, must cancel court date, must never work with said company again, accepted as full and final settlement, blah blah). If I get terms other than "full and final settlement" - I generally send the cheque back as unacceptable. They have always posted it back with all the terms removed.

Good luck.
(NOTE: This is my own personal views and opinions. I am not a lawyer. Are you a member of any organisations that offers legal advice? )

[DimPrawn]

I recently took a big name tyre retailer to the small claims court (I wont name names, but they rhyme with GitFit), because they had fitted the wrong tyres to my BMW and it caused damage. It was a fairly painless process. My own course of actions was:

1) Letter to supplier, giving them 20 working days to refund the money and pay damages - otherwise I would go straight to small claims court. Sent registered and signed for to their head office and local depot (in case your builder is a national organisation)
2) After 20 days, registered on https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/overview - you need to create an account
3) Then registered for a small claims - its a simple form, about 30 questions (who are you, who are they, value of claim excluding costs, what happened, when)
4) The court then sends you a claim number by email
5) I then wrote to the company, giving them the claim number, to show I was serious
6) After about a week, you get a copy of the court paper - single page of A4, and a notice to tell you a copy had been issued to the other company - they have 30 days to respond
7) You will then get a copy of their defence. This is the important part... THEY WILL TRY TO SCARE YOU WIL ALL KINDS OF MADE UP LEGAL RUBBISH. They wil tell you they wil bring along expert witnesses, that you wil have to pay their costs, yada yada - if you have a strong case - then dont let them scare you off
8) You then need to put an evidence pack together - make 3 copies of everything (1 for you, 1 for the court, and 1 you post to the builder). Go as over board as possible. If you have photos, take them and take lots. Google is your friend - google things like "Building regulations" - see what others are saying about the company, look on twitter, look on facebook, see if they have been taken to court before (google will find it), see if there are forums discussing them - the fatter the pack, the better it will look. When you find stuff on the internet, print hard copies of the web pages and save soft copies just in case. Get a few independant builders in and get written assements/quotes of what is needed to fix the problem. If you have phone conversations recorded, type up transcriptions. If you speak to them from now on, record the conversation (face to face and on the phone).
9) post your packs off - registered.
10) About 2 weeks later, you will then be sent a court date and a location - object to the location (it will be somewhere random) - ask for the location to be changed to your town. AS the claimant, its your choice where the hearing is held
11) Wait. If your evidence pack is strong, the builder will settle with a cheque before it goes to court. They will only fight it if they really feel they have a strong case or they are in financial difficulty.

I have used the Small Claims 3 or 4 times over the last 10 years, and in each case, the company has bailed as the date approached.

In all cases, I got a cheque with a letter of terms and conditions of acceptance (cant talk about it, must cancel court date, must never work with said company again, accepted as full and final settlement, blah blah). If I get terms other than "full and final settlement" - I generally send the cheque back as unacceptable. They have always posted it back with all the terms removed.

Good luck.
(NOTE: This is my own personal views and opinions. I am not a lawyer. Are you a member of any organisations that offers legal advice? )

All that for the OP's chip on the enamel on a hob worth a couple of hours pay.

You guys have way too much time on your hands.

[vwdan]

All that for the OP's chip on the enamel on a hob worth a couple of hours pay.

You guys have way too much time on your hands.

It's funny because all the truly, genuinely, rich people I've met are penny pinching sods! It's contractors and new money who are willing to chuck it down the pan!

[vetran]

there is a certain amount of principle in these cases.

I am sometimes willing to waste money to get people who have pissed me off.

[Nayab]

there is a certain amount of principle in these cases.

I am sometimes willing to waste money to get people who have pissed me off.

+1