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        General >> Off Topic Subjects >> Small claims court
        
(Message started by: jonnycab on May 8^th, 2007, 12:21am)

Title: Small claims court
Post by jonnycab on May 8^th, 2007, 12:21am

Just made a claim for an unpaid taxi fare with 'Her Majesty's Courts Service' online.

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp

Had to pay the £30.00 court costs, but should get it back ;)

Anyone else ever had to use this service ?....how long did it take to recover the money ?.... did it go smoothly?...& more importantly, did you manage to get the £30.00 court costs back okay ? :)

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by Spannerdemon on May 8^th, 2007, 8:04am

Yes, we used it last year with great success to get money back from a certain useless outfit in Norwich.

HERE (http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=OT;action=display;num=1166630657)

We received a cheque for the full amount that was owed to my wife, within two weeks of the application having been served on the firm, along with the court costs, so YES you get those back from the person you are chasing.

Basically, the costs are added to what they owe you. In your case, whatever you are owed + £30, and so that's the financial demand they get from the Court Service.

Very useful for persuading people who owe you money to pay their dues. Although I have to say I was getting ready to go up to Norwich with a nasty surprise for them at one point!! :o

If they don't pay up, they face Court proceedings, and of course the risk of them getting a County Court Judgement entered against their name which can damage them very badly for credit/ mortgage/Insurance/ etc etc. So realistically, it's up to them to smell the coffee. 8)

They can't get out of it anymore. Mr Judge won't have any of THAT!! {} {} {}

Good luck mate. :)

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by jonnycab on May 8^th, 2007, 9:01am

I remember that grief you had with the mattress supplier now, & glad you got a result ;)

Only a couple of weeks to recover the amount....that is good to know :)

Cheers Keith ;)

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by the_boogeyman on May 8^th, 2007, 10:44am

if you get any bennefits it dosnt cost you anything to make a claim through the courts, we didnt know this until they asked us if we were getting any type of bennefit.
they were most helpful

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by jonnycab on May 8^th, 2007, 11:24pm

We get child benefit...does that count ? :-/

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by mr._floppy on May 9^th, 2007, 1:29am

You mean, you don't need to employ an overpriced member of the Legal Fraternity ?

How has this come about?

That one flew under their radar, normally a bloody amputated arm or leg is required before these superannuated penpushers can muster sufficient energy to rise from their coffins to draw up a Will or compose a stiff letter to a troublesome neighbour. :'(

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by jonnycab on May 9^th, 2007, 2:11am

Yep Mr Floppy ;)......thirty quid is all you pay, & as long as the defendant pays up, then you get it back :).......hopefully ;)

It happened about six weeks ago.

The unpaid fare was £45.00 & the woman left me her cheque book as security & said she would return with the money....she never did.

With the name on the cheque book, I managed to find her address via the electoral register.

A few days later I went to her address in Chelmsford (she was shocked to see me again) & she wrote me a cheque, which she assured me would not bounce.

Not only did it bounce, but the account didn't actually exist...it was shut ???

It still makes my blood boil to think that she took advantage of my good nature twice, so that's why I'm going through the small claims court.

Normally I wouldn't bother, but she obviously does this quite often & seems like a bit of a con woman (she seems to know all the tricks)....so I'm gonna make her realise that she's bitten off more that she can chew this time ;)

It's now going to cost her £75.00....some people don't realise their own stupidity ::)

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by Alastair on May 9^th, 2007, 8:09am

Good luck with the court and sorry I don't have the Idle control valve which they replaced (for free)

Alastair

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by the_boogeyman on May 9^th, 2007, 9:20am

any goverment benefit is all that is required to make a claim upto £5000 plus costs, just ask at your local county court for the leaflet, then just take the original copies of your benefit with you and they do all the work

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by the_boogeyman on May 9^th, 2007, 9:22am

jonnycab you should also claim back your bank charges for the bounced cheque and also the interest, on both fare and bank charges

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by jonnycab on May 9^th, 2007, 9:39am

The bank didn't charge me for the bounced cheque & to be honest, it's not just about the money, although it would be nice to get it :)

It's also about how this woman thinks she's conned me & got away with it. I would love to see her face when she opens that letter & realises that she hasn't got away with anything & due to her own stupidity, it's going to cost her more }{ }{

That'll teach her to take me for a mug & rip me off >:(.... ;D

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by the_boogeyman on May 9^th, 2007, 9:57am

have you checked that she hasnt moved again, i say as this sort of person dosnt stay around to long.

she may get the letter then move away

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by jonnycab on May 9^th, 2007, 10:15am

When I filled in her address on the claim, the site automatically checked the name & address with it's database, & it came back okay :)

So I'm not particularly worried about that. Their database should be up to date ;)

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by petehull on May 9^th, 2007, 10:21am

IMO JC I think this woman should be done in a criminal court let alone the small claims court, she had absolutely no intension of paying on TWO occasions, she should have her hands chopped offthen she wouldn't be able to write checks..... >:( Cor' they really make my blood boil....GRRRRR!

Ok I will have to calm down now, I could blow my top....

Go for it JC take her to the highest court in the land...
>:(
Pete

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by jonnycab on May 9^th, 2007, 11:55am

Regarding whether she should be done in a criminal court...then I'm not sure about that :-/

The reason being is that, when I found out her address, I firstly went to the police.
They told me that they couldn't help me & I should seek the services of a solicitor because the fare was a contract between me & her ???
I even informed them that it was a criminal offence not to pay a licensed taxi fare, but they just didn't want to know >:(

Many of my fellow collegues that have also had 'runners' & have called or been to the police, have also experienced a complete lack of interest from them ::)

Hmm...I think I can tell which direction this topic may start to go ;)

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by the_boogeyman on May 9^th, 2007, 12:19pm

the police are a complete waste of space, THAT REMINDS ME I MUST RING NOW AS IM GOING TO BE BURGLED NEXT WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by Simmo on May 9^th, 2007, 12:33pm

You might refer them to Section 11 of the Fraud Act, 2006 and that Section of the Theft Act concerning 'going equipped to steal'. ;).

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by jonnycab on May 9^th, 2007, 12:39pm

Cheers Mike, it's worth considering if for some reason she refuses to pay :)

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by Dave2302 on May 9^th, 2007, 1:45pm

Hi,

Small claims procedure is ok if they've got something to lose, i.e. a business such as the matress company who dont really want a CCJ.

However, this woman sounds like a seasoned "knocker" so she'll probably not worry about a judgement against her.
Sure, I agree with you spend the thirty quid and give her some grief, but dont expect her to pay up, these sort of people usually don't own anything on paper, and as has been said they often dissapear into the night leaving a trail of debt behind.

Personally I'd send a couple of mates, who are unknown to her round to threaten her, until she pays. It is often the only thing these people understand, and if they get the Politzei involved you can just say "nothing to do with me she must owe someone else money" ! They usually can't be bothered to try and prove it !

Trust me I am dealing with a so called friend, who "bought" my girlfriends motorbike, but has only paid £400 of the £1600 he owes her. Basically he then agreed to pay her £100 per month and did'nt !! I got involved and he threatened me with the police LOL ;D ;D

I then went round several times to repo the bike, but he's always out on it. Funny thing is they could afford to go to Tenerife on holiday, trouble is I didnt know they were away until after they had come back LOL :(

So now he ain't dealing with me, he's got 2 right nasty fella's who he now owes £1200 to and I dont know nuffink occifer ;D ;D

I HATE SCUM

Good luck anyway let us know how you get on,

Regards Dave

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by jonnycab on May 9^th, 2007, 3:42pm

Dave....that wasn't exactly a confidence boost, but it was the truth I suppose :)

I had considered the fact that she may not be scared of a CCJ, but this is only the first plan of attack ;)

I'll just have to wait & see what happens within the next two weeks. If she coughs up, then it's mission accomplished, if she doesn't, then a new plan of action is required ;)

Just what that is going to be yet, I'm not sure. But I definately won't be doing anything underhand or illegal.
Besides, she has a little 4 year old boy & I'm not into frightening little children :)

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by Dave2302 on May 9^th, 2007, 5:52pm

Johnny Cab,

Sorry I wasn't trying to dissillusion you I just speak from bitter personal experiences over the years. :'(

I hear what your saying, and certainly I wouldn't advocate upsetting 4 year olds, or beating up women. :o

However, to this woman you are just "the cabbie she scammed" ! ;) If a pair of burly complete strangers turned up, whom she would not know from adam you would probably find she would bite the bullet and produce your £45 quid. Purely because she wouldn't know who or what she was dealing with.... scum fear the unknown ;D

Anyway good luck with recovering your money, but please beware the legal system, it can get very expensive! All the initial promises and speak from solicitors suddenly turns into "well of course there never are any guarantees blah blah" once they've had your hard earned dough. I know cos I got caught :o

The British legal system sucks, and trying to get money out of people who are theives and scammers can be very costly. I sued an ex business partner once and without wishing to put a dampner on your spirits I spent nearly 5 grand on legal fees on the advice of a good Solicitor. Apart from getting a judgement against him I didn't get a penny back. :'( :'(

Admitted this wasn't a small claim, he stole almost 50 grand from the business. He then went to Australia having used the money that he embezzeled from the company plus a further large sum that he conned Calor Gas out of. He also used scanned forgery documents to get his visa, claiming he had qualifications that he didn't have as an "Air Conditioning Engineer".

However, after a couple of years he got deported for fraud against his Aussie business partner and is now back over here and potless! }{ }{ }{

Okay so what goes around definitely comes around, but the law left me powerless in this instance.

Over the years the amount of stuff I have had vandalised / broken into / stolen whilst running a legitimate business employing a number of local people, is almost un - believable. All I ever got was lethargy and lack of interest from the so called Police! >:(

It is for these reasons that I am now very scepticaland bitter towards "English Law", both criminal and civil, and I actively hate theiving lying deadbeat scum ! >:(

Anyway, I also waffle on too much being an old git.... so good luck and I hope you get your money. ;)

Regards Dave

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by the_boogeyman on May 9^th, 2007, 5:56pm

i'm with you dave

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by tintin on May 9^th, 2007, 6:12pm

have you spoken to the bank? its not big money, but fraud nonetheless.... banks have some pretty hefty fraud departments these days. with some prompting they may well pursue this for you. she probably has another bank account somewhere......

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by sector-9 on May 9^th, 2007, 8:14pm

Hope she pays up - and hope she doesn't do it by sending the court a cheque... :-/

Darren

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by Spannerdemon on May 10^th, 2007, 4:41pm

The money can be deducted from wages, benefits etc etc. Sure she'd LOVE her employer to know all about her!! ;D

You could also take out a Charging Order on her property/properties if she owns any.

That way she can't sell the house before your debt is paid. The Court Service send a copy of the unpaid judgement to the Land Registry and when the search on the property is done, the seller cannot proceed with the sale until any debts due to any UK Court are paid.

Bit of a hammer to crack a nut, but filth like this deserve it. ;)

Whatever you do. Don't give up. that's what these vermin count on you doing. ;)

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by TRACEYS_LIMO on May 10^th, 2007, 7:48pm

whats wrong with her legs, or had she just signed on and needed to get back to go to work >:( hope you get your money m8

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by dan_the_man on May 11^th, 2007, 2:27am

the best of luck jonnycab, you seem like a top man ! I respect your ways within the law and the extra effort it takes.

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by fordnut on May 11^th, 2007, 1:56pm

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Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by jonnycab on May 31^st, 2007, 12:38am

Had to instruct the court to enter judgement today.

She had until Sunday just gone, to pay or refute it, but she has not even acknowledged it ::)

Now I'll have to wait for a court date before it goes any further :)

Title: Re: Small claims court
Post by Spannerdemon on May 31^st, 2007, 8:51am

Obviously a fraudster who knows the ropes!!

Don't give up. She won't run away from a summons so easily.