It's not the same, it's similar. It's just when you type in the postcode in an address find there are 2 with the same number. Our is simply the number and street name, the other is the number, the name of the over 55s accommodate then the street name. This one usually appears higher up on the list than ours which is why I think people incorrectly use this address. Is there anyway of checking with the Courts whether a claim has been submitted? Thanks

quick question hopefully please. our address is very similar to another a few doors away. same no & street but the other is part of an over 55s block. some of our post has gone there in the past but it's down to the occupants to post through our door if they get any. not sure if they've ever binned any post. even noticed the other week that my pension co had used the similar address on some correspondence. so what I'm wondering is, is there any way we can check if a claim has been issued against us as wouldn't want a judgement against us by default. we've told the buyer that we'd defend a claim & have heard no more (so far although it's still early days if he had decided to sue us ). thanks

I'm far from an expert but if the contract is with the mother then unless the mother puts it in writing that you are to deal with her daughter, then I wouldn't. also, I don't see how the daughter can refuse to give you her address. in that case I'd tell that daughter that I was continuing to correspond with the mother. & personally I think 7 days isn't enough, I'd day it should be 14 days.

we were simply going to acknowledge his email then we couldn't be accused of ignoring the matter & just say that if chooses to sue we will defend. we're not going to enter into anymore you said that, I said this..... & then just wait. & if a claim form arrives, i dare say I'll be back! cag helped us no one a couple of years ago when we were sued by cowboy builders. that matter was struck out but we couldn't have done it without you. not sure what it is with my husband and I, we just seem to attract bad luck!

Thanks all. The car has a vaild mot. it cost £30 to make our unsafe car safe, for time & oil! now received a very long email from the buyer. basically if we don't refund (or give the money to his chosen charity) he's suing us. in fact he now says that he was that concerned with the steering, it was that dangerous, that he refused to continue driving it on sunday. that's news to my husband! he was that scared that when he handed the wheel over to my husband he got in the back as a passenger! he now says that he was "concerned that you would be selling a car that was unsafe and could lead to a serious accident and a fundamental design fault..." yet he was happy to be a passenger in the car & hasn't reported us because he's not vindictive & wouldn't want this to delay a future sale but he thought the car could have a "serious accident"!!!! we're also meant to be grateful as he diagnosed s problem yey didn't charge us for this diagnosis!!!! also, apparently we weren't able ti provide details & documentation regarding the build. he never asked for it!!! I was sat in the conservatory & my husband asked me where the guy was from & I answered but apparently I was vague! This was my only dealing in the matter but u certainly wasn't vague, I knew exactly where the car was built & told my husband & the buyer. why start criticising me personally??? it's already cost him a fortune, £300 deposit & he's out of pocket for the fuel to come & see the car, the inspection (but this was his son in law) & legal advice that he's had to pay for over this. yet he's willing to pay court fees as he does not believe that we should benefit financially from this! he ends with wishing us & our family all the best for the future but I guess that's after he's messed us around & sued us! arrrrgggghhhh!

sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you can't reverse a bank transfer. I'm guessing from what you say that the deal wasn't completed on ebay so you don't have any protection there. but did you not get his address? can you not just call round?

the buyer did want to use it for weddings & already has an established wedding car co. but the car is in my husbands name not the wedding car co name & we've stopped trading. not sure if there are any implications to this. Anyhow car has been in the garage today & has been up on the ramps. the garage are aware of the "issue". they've said there's nothing wrong with what the buyer said was unsafe. they have said there are a few stiff joints (probably because it's not been used, my interpretation not theirs) & have sprayed with wd40 and already it's better. They want to leave it "soaking"overnight & will then take for a drive totomorrow. so they obviously don't think it's unsafe as it's illegal to knowingly drive an unsafe car. the buyer has now emailed the steering sections if the sva manual, but it passed its sva & you only sva a car once (unless it fails). it's not like an mot that yoy have to keep having done. anyway he agreed that he would have the car if fixed but my husband confirmed that as a gesture of goodwill he would refund the deposit if the car was found to be unsafe & so far it hasn't. the question isn't really about the car being unsafe as he said he'd still have it if the work was done. This is about him changing his mind (retracting his "interest") & wanting his money back & saying the car is unsafe as it's illegal to sell an un roadworthy car. I know it's "only" £300 & part of me says it would be much simpler to give it back, but my principals say no! how many other people has he bullied?! we didn't force him to transfer the money to us.

defo agreed to take to local garage. I can't understand why they would buy another car (a 3rd) without seeing that also & when it was agreed to take ours to the garage for something which may be something or nothing, according to his son in law the ex mot inspector. I hear what you say about counter suing for the rest of the price but that would take us out of the small claims court, might be worth the threat though.

we too almost got stung this way 4 years ago. put a £500 deposit on a car that we had viewed & driven at a main dealer only to find out that the dealer didn't have the docs to sell the car but would get in approx 4 weeks. CAB told us it was our fault for not checking the docs but we naively assumed that the docs would be un order from a main dealer. Fortunately they agreed to refund but made it extremely difficult, wouldn't refund onto the card we paid with only by cheque which we couldn't collect in the evening/weekend, had to book half a day off work to collect, which we naturally did.

Thanks for the responses. The deposit paid was £300 by bank transfer & the agreed price was £17k. we had received two alternative tentative offers of £18k however, this buyer wanted the car taken off the market & without viewing advised by text / email that he "definitely wants the car". the car is a wedding car. we had decided that we didn't want to do weddings any more & had gradually sold off the cars we had. we had to stop taking bookings & fulfil all our obligations. my husband is not a mechanic but had looked after the car. he could my husband couldn't afford not to look after it as a) he wouldn't have got any bookings, but I hear you all saying that we didn't want any more bookings so why would it matter so b) we couldn't drive brides etc in unsafe cars, could you imagine the insurance claim?! we have a youngish family & ran the business from home so certainly didn't want any angry customers at our door. we haven't had any problems with any if the cars we sold. in fact we sold one to a guy in italy without him seeing it & with no problems. the buyer was meant to be bringing £4700 cash with him & then arranging a transfer for the rest. The buyer brought his son in law with him who he claims used to be a mot inspector & he said there was a problem with the steering. it was agree it was agreed that my husband would book the car into the garage that we've used for the last few years & get whatever was needed done (if in fact anything was needed). the ex mot inspector said it might be something & nothing so my husband asked if the buyer wanted to take it somewhere local to him or if his son in law could fix it, but he said he'd want to hire a truck to transport it & didn't want to incur these costs. my hubby booked the car in as agreed but then got an email saying the buyer didn't want the car as it wasn't safe in his son in laws expert opinion & that he'd already sourced & paid for another car & was collecting it that day the buyer left ours about 4 pm on sunday but by 10 am monday he'd "sourced" another car & paid for it! he advised that he was withdrawing his interest & asked that the deposit be refunded. now, I might sound very defensive now, & I appreciate everyones arguments & that no offence is intended & that you just want to throw all options out there, but it was the buyers choice to transfer a deposit to get the car off the market & secure the sale. we were happy with the price despite the tentative other offers & you just don't know if they'll come off. the buyer could have got in his car & come & looked at the car but chose not to. we were selling the car in utmost good faith. when my husband refused to refund the deposit on the basis that it had been agreed to book the car into the garage & the buyer changed his mind the buyer questionned the legality of our actions. my husband had advised that if the garage says the car is unsafe then we will refund (the car is booked in tomorrow). from researching yesterday & today it seems that he can only back out of the sale if its not roadworthy, as its illegal to sell an unroadworthy car, which is why I'm guessing hes saying the car isn't safe. he has today threatened us with the small claims court & that's before the car has been to the garage. incidentally, talking of sc@ms the buyer wanted to take the car for a test drive without my husband and leave the keys to the car he arrived in as security, which might not even had been his car! so he could have paid a small deposit & disappeared with the car! he'd also done his research on the car & knew all about the advisory points on the last mot & still wanted the car. I didn't even know you could find this info out! not that it was being withheld. also the buyer told us he bought another car earlier in the week / the week before but the paperwork wasn't in order. he's now bought another car a day later. sounds like a bit of a time waster to me! Apologies for the life story! ps, the buyer is saying that just because the car has an mot does doesn't make it safe & he's absolutely correct. but having been a wedding car & we were running the business down, it had hardly been used which can be demonstrated by the mileage & its hardly like my husband has been burning plastic in it & being a boy racer!

Thank you

Hello Not been on here a while, so hope I am posting in the correct section. We advertised a car for sale on ebay. We received a couple of calls/emails about the car (and quite a few bids but the reserve wasn't met). We were completely honest about the car, not that there's anything wrong with it other than some chipped paintwork, which we pointed out. We were trying to arrange a viewing with someone from quite a way a way. However, after the auction had ended and before the other guy had viewed, we received a call from someone wanting to buy the car. A price was agreed and a deposit was made by bank transfer. This was all done over the phone/by text/by email. The buyer didn't want to come and see the car until this Thursday evening however, we were receiving more calls from other potential buyers we asked if the buyer could make it this weekend. It was agreed that he would come on Sunday with a further substantial deposit and then would arrange a bank transfer and collect the car on Thursday. He came yesterday with a family member. We do not know the occupation or qualifications of the family member however, he said that the car was not road worthy as there was a problem with the steering. We were not aware of any problems. My husband discussed having the car looked at a local garage, which we've used for the car in the past/past MOT's/service etc or the buyer having the work done to the car. It was agreed that my husband would take the car to our local garage. The car was booked in for this Wednesday (prior to when the buyer wanted to come and look in the first place). In the meantime the buyer has sent an email advising that he spoke with his wife last night and they've sourced another car this morning, which they are going to collect today (at considerably more money than our car - not sure of the relevance of this, perhaps just to try and demonstrate that the price wasn't an issue) and therefore the interest in our car "is no longer current". He's asked for his deposit back. Do we have to give the deposit back? We've potentially missed the opportunity to others and may have to re-advertise. If the garage tell us on Wednesday that the car is unroadworthy then we would be happy to give the deposit back. Thanks Sorry Should have mentioned that the car was SVA'd 6 / 7 years ago and it holds a current MOT certificate. Thanks

Quick update - we lost! No surprise there then! But at least they've agreed that we can repay them over 3 years rather than 12 months that they were originally demanding!

Hello Nottonto Wasn't able to find your own thread. If you have started a thread could you post it up so I can find it please? But just to let you know, Spectus Conservatories (if it's the same one) was run by the same Director, at some point or other but has now ceased to trade, as per Companies House. So unfortunatley you will have not be able to seek any recovery from Spectus but if it makes you feel any better, I do think that in view of my own experience, you would have spent thousands suing them and they would never have paid you even if a Court awarded in your favour, so you've probably saved yourselves thousands not to mention the stress of going to court. Who was the guarantee/warranty meant to be provided by? Was it Home Improvement Protection? If so, these are a genuine company but I'm not sure if Spectus was ever covered by these. I know Conservatory1, another of their many set ups is still covered by this insurance company. You defo need to start your own thread and post up any documents you have (removing your personal details). Hope this helps in the meantime.

Thank you Steampowered We shall certainly use this information if anything further should be forthcoming. Thanks all x

Thanks Mike I had wondered if a claim may be made by company a as opposed to company b, but as you say considering the previous witness statements..... Currently the builder is only a director of company a and not company b, who sued us, although the new director does have the same surname and has previously been a director of company a! The claimant was adamant throughout the proceedings that company a was merely a trading name of company b and not a separate legal entity. I guess I was hoping for a definitive answer as to what they could or couldn't do but it doesn't look like I'll get this. 3 years and 8 months to go until the matter is statute barred!

Doing a bit of reading on res judicata and I don't like what I'm reading!!! But I have just read that once the appeal process is exhausted or waived that res judicata applies. The appeal process was never used as the claimant and/or their solicitor never asked for permission to appeal and have not so far made an application to appeal and I understand that the matter is now out of time to do so. Therefore, did they waive the appeal process? Thanks again

Hello Shadow You are absolutely correct, in our case the claim was struck out on a procedural matter. However, the builder applied for relief from this sanction and this application was dismissed after careful consideration, paying particular attention to each and every point of CPR 3.9. Furthermore, the DJ even questioned the likelihood of the the claimant being successful if the case was to continue and asked them point blank if they had read the SJE report. I do however accept what you say about a DJ having not made a judgement. Whenever we speak about the matter and people ask if we won the case, we always say that the case was dismissed and not heard, not that we won. However, the opinion re estoppel which was expressed was not mine but that of a solicitor, which is why I quoted the opinion word for word, although on rereading it, it does state "......determined by a judgement of the court......". I guess the solicitor whom I spoke with considers the fact that the DJ dismissed the case to having concluded the matter and therefore in his opinion estoppel applies. I don't know. The only way to ever know for sure is if the builder did try and reinstate the claim. So I'm hoping to never prove the solicitor right or wrong! But I may just ask the solicitor tomorrow to clarify re the fact that judgement was never made (although he does already know this). If he reconsiders, I'll let you know. We tried to have the claim struck out early on due to this being a vexatious claim, but weren't successful. We even pointed out that their original "solicitor" did not have authority to issue proceedings to no avail, they were simply given the opportunity to resubmit their POC. From what I have read of CPR if the builder wanted to continue with their action then they should have asked permission of the DJ to appeal or failing that (or failing getting permission) made a subsequent application and should not commence new proceedings. I also understand that the time to appeal the decision to dismiss their case is out of time. With regards to the costs order, couldn't they just decide to pay and then attempt to reinstate? I hope that you are right about them shortly seeing sense. Thanks

Thanks Uncle Bulgaria & Steampowered Trading Standards are aware of the matter and even congratulated us (in writing) on the outcome of the civil proceedings! But no, they are not taking any action against this trader.

Hello again Yes, we did receive some help from the Court clerks, but this did really depend on whom answered the phone! At the start of the proceedings my husband was sent a letter from the Court basically giving him a ticking off for ringing to ask what was happening and we were told that we couldn't ring for further info until after a specified date! We almost made a formal complaint but felt this may not have done our case much good, so had to bite our tongue. However, as you'll see from my post, although some Clerks are very helpful, they can get it wrong. They told us we had to make a separate N244 application for each thing that we wanted and we made 3 at the same time thus having to pay 3 separate fees. The DJ awarded us the cost of 2 of these applications back plus our time and expenses. We then knew that any future application regardless of how many things we were asking of the court could be dealt with with one application. I found that going into the Court got me the most assistance. Actually sitting down face to face with another person rather that it being impersonal over the phone. But then I was "lucky" and work a 10 min walk away from the Court in which the case was being heard. Have you thought about contacting the Personal Support Unit? Our case was being heard at Manchester Civil Courts. I'm not sure if all Courts have a PSU. Give them a call in the first instance if you need help and you can always make an appointment. But they're not meant to give you legal advice, only offer guidance and support, but sometimes this is just what is needed. They attended the first hearing with my husband and I just for morale support and on the understanding that if we got a little carried away they were to give us a quick kick under the table to stop us from doing more harm than good. We were provided with assistance from a retired Judge, trainee solicitor, trainee barrister and fully fledged solicitors giving up their time to volunteer. May be worth a call. Good luck

Quick update! Wasn't sure how much info to divulge and whether this may prejudice me but on the basis that what I disclose may help others, when I've had so much help here myself, here goes. This incident has been reported to the Police and so we have a log no. As expected the Police advise that there is not alot they can do at this time. They have assured us that if anything untoward happens to ring 999 and they will attend immediately. Lets hope we don't have to test them on this. They've also confirmed that we can keep them advised if anything else happens so they are kept up to date and a case is being built. With regards to the civil side of things they really don't know what they are talking about and I'm not being rude when I say this, they admit to this. They told us to expect another civil claim and in those circumstance certain investigations are allowed in order to gather information/evidence for the case. So I have sought legal opinion and have been advised: "The parties to a claim which has been determined by a judgment of the court on the merits of the claim are estopped, that is, barred, from bringing further similar claims. This estoppel is known as res judicata (meaning, a thing or matter which has been adjudicated upon)." The claim is also out of time for an appeal, which should have been the next step had they wanted to continue with the civil action. Then we also have CPR 3.4 (4) Where – (a) the court has struck out a claimant’s statement of case; (b) the claimant has been ordered to pay costs to the defendant; and © before the claimant pays those costs, he starts another claim against the same defendant, arising out of facts which are the same or substantially the same as those relating to the claim in which the statement of case was struck out, the court may, on the application of the defendant, stay(GL) that other claim until the costs of the first claim have been paid. from my basic understanding as they are unable to issue new proceedings, I do not see how they are legally permitted to go around obtaining information/evidence against us (not that we have anything to hide or there is any evidence against us). I guess we wait and see what their next step is.

Hello Jacobina When we were sued the claimant also failed to respond to court orders. After they failed to respond to the 2nd we made an N244 application (we were in the fast track court though not the small claims court). We requested that the claim be struck out or failing that security for costs. Both requests were denied, which was extremely frustrating and left us wondering whether there was any justice. As you say, shouldn't the claimant be driving the claim? We were however, awarded costs for the application(s) (we made 3 separate applications all to be heard at the same time on the advice of the Court, when 1 application and 1 fee would have sufficed) and our time. Further orders were issued and again the claimant failed to comply. We made a further application for the claim to be struck out. It wasn't! Further orders were issued, each time just giving the claimant more and more time leaving us to wonder what was wrong with the justice system. However, these orders did state that failure to comply would result in the claim being struck out, which eventually it was. Despite the claim being struck out, the claimant then made an application for relief from sanction, ie they wanted the claim reinstated. We couldn't believe the cheek of it and were warned to expect the claim to be reinstated. However, with the help of CAG we went to this hearing very prepared and am pleased to report that their application was dismissed. Costs were awarded to us although we haven't seen a penny. Eventually the Courts will sending them away with their tail between their legs. Unfortunately, in the meantime this costs the defendant not to mention the stress it causes. Definately make an application to have the claim struck out, if you don't highlight the claimants failings now and throughout, the DJ may think that you are quite happy with the delays. Failing that request that the Court agree to one of your suggestions re the SJE. It depends on how the order is worded and whilst you would think that it would be down to the Claimant to appoint the SJE this isn't necessarily the case. However, both parties have to agree a SJE and if you have done research and can prove that you have then I think this will go a long way to help you in the case. In our case, the claimant waited until the last minute to appoint our SJE. & don't forget both you and the claimant will probably be equally and jointly liable for the SJE's fees. So if the claimant doesn't pay you may be liable for the full cost. I know in our case that the claimant didn't pay within the terms and conditions and we were copied into correspondence chasing payment. Whether he paid eventually I don't know as I wasn't going looking for extra costs! Keep calm, keep focused and be organised. Good luck

Thanks Uncle Bulgaria Fortunately, we get on well with this neighbour, which is why we know about the visit. This neighbour is also fully aware of what has gone on and the state of the conservatory. We don't get on with the neighbours on the other side and they objected to the conservatory at the planning stage. They have previously spoken with the debt collectors about us/the conservatory. However, recently we have become civil. So my husband is going to go and speak with them and see if they've have a visit also and invite these neighbours round so they can see what it's like. He'll also let them know who we're dealing with as I'm sure they don't really want to get embroiled in this no matter how much we don't get on, especially as they too have young children. I spoke with my sister earlier and she too has insisted that I inform the Police, regardless of whether they are interested or not. If nothing else there will be a record of this. In the meantime I have emailed the builders solicitor as I'm sure that this is the advice that the Police will give. I previously made a complaint with our legal expenses providers about the conduct/harrassment of the builder. Whilst we weren't covered for the civil case against us (as the building work cost in excess of £5,000) it did cover harrassment. Unfortunately, the solicitor whom they appointed didn't want to know and said the courts had better things to deal with, like rape & murder! So I'll get onto them tomorrow/Monday about this visit and also the emails which they sent us in October, after the case had been struck out, and keep everyone posted. Thanks for your time

I think you could be a Mackenzie friend but then again, I don't think Mackenzie friends are allowed to have a personal interest in the case. Does the fact that the proceedings are against your wife mean you have a personal interest? I don't know. Try googling this to get more info or see if others could explain as I'm not too sure.

I am sure that the court would copy the paperwork for you, at a cost, but why didn't you keep a copy? If you are going to court it is imperative that you keep your file in good order.