Hi, my partner is a sole trader and recently took another business (a limited company) to court via the small claims track. The court awarded in his favour; with costs the amount this business owes him is £550. I would be grateful for any advice as to the best way to enforce this judgement please as the other company appear to have no intention of paying. Thank you.

Thanks squaddie. I've read the mackenzie friend link but still not sure whether to name myself as a witness on the form. I was already aware that normally the case would be transferred to the defendant's local court. That was why I asked the question as to whether the reason I outlined would be sufficient reason to ask for it to be heard at our local court. Nothing has been exchanged yet. We did not accept the defendant's part admission and received the AQ this week. I just don't know whether it's appropriate to include copies of letters I sent to the defendant as proof of trying to settle outside of court at this point (none of which were replied to), or am I supposed to wait until these documents are requested?

We have now received the allocation questionnaire, and I have a couple of questions. 1. I understand that if it goes to a hearing, only my partner as the claimant and the defendant will be allowed to be present. However we both think that it would be better for me to be there-I am the person that has dealt with this from day 1; I have written the letters, filled in the forms and I was there when the salesman came to persuade him to sign up to the agreement. We both agree that I am the more articulate of us. Should I put myself down as a witness? 2. Location of hearing. is it a good enough reason that my partner as a sole trader would lose a day's takings if he had to close the shop to travel to the defendant's local court for a hearing to ask for it to be held at our local court? 3. Do I include copies of the letters that I have sent to the defendant by registered post prior to starting this claim (which I assume is meant by the pre action protocol) with the form at this point or will the judge request them at a later date?

Thank you all for your very helpful replies. The link steampowered sent re the guide to small claims is really useful. I've posted the form back saying that we do not accept the part admission, the next step is presumably filling in the allocation questionnaire (unless by some miracle the money gets repaid in the meantime, which I very much doubt!)

I agree, but the local Trading Standards office had phoned me to ask permission to forward my details to Blackpool Trading Standards where ACH are based because apparently they have had numerous complaints against this Company. I wouldn't class that as hearsay,I would class it as relevant supporting evidence. The reason for my question was since Trading Standards would prefer I didn't mention their involvement, is this the type of information a judge would be aware of if some background research was done as part of assessing a case, or does his/her decision rest solely on the information given by both sides on the form? I was hoping somebody who knows the legal system might know what is standard procedure in these cases.

Thanks, I wasn't sure of the best place to post this originally!

Thanks for your reply. ACH seem to be a legit company; they advertise in glossy magazines and on local radio and several respectable companies have sponsored links on their website. I've done a bit of digging and the MD is the sole director. I don't suppose you know whether when a small claim is reviewed by a judge does he/she only take into consideration information provided on the form, or is any background info gathered in any way e.g. research into the company (such as dealings with Trading Standards that might be relevant but we've been told not to use?)

Hi, apologies in advance for a long post. My partner is a butcher and owns his shop as a sole trader. Last August we were approached by a representative of a company called Approved Care Homes, who were supposed to be an umbrella organisation for care homes.They pitched us a very convincing hard sell to become an Approved Supplier of meat to local care homes allegedly part of their organisation.It seemed a really good deal and a payment was made at the end of August 2012 for £380 + VAT for a 12 month contract on the understanding that his business would become the Approved Supplier,i.e the one their homes were expected to use for meat, to five local care homes following publication of his details with some artwork in a brochure of local approved suppliers that would be received by him and also the care homes 8-10 weeks later. Having heard nothing since the ad was approved, I contacted them on 20th November by telephone to be told that the brochure was still in production, but was assured that there would be no further delays and a list of the local care homes associated with the Company was sent by email pending the arrival of the brochure. In January, having heard nothing further from the company, I wrote to them requesting the return of the £456, as I was very concerned having made telephone calls to several of the care homes on the list that was emailed to me, and in each case the person I spoke to denied that their business is associated with the company.Future telephone calls to ACH were ignored. I then contacted Trading Standards who advised me that ACH is in Breach of Contract, and to write again stating that which I did. The local Trading Standards office phoned me a week later and told me that apparently ACH's local Trading Standards are pursuing several complaints against this company.Two weeks later, again having no response from ACH, I submitted a claim online to begin the small claims procedure. ACH replied defending the claim and part admission, quoting production problems as the reason we had not received the brochure. They offered us £126 being "a 20% discount to upgrade to their premium service and have a presence on their web site" This was laughable-why would we want a premium service from a company that could not deliver what they promised within seven months, nor would a local butcher want a presence on a national company's website! Added to which they did not appear to have any relationship to the local care homes as claimed, so the brochure is pointless anyway. So we have returned the form to court, not accepting their part admission. My concern about taking this further is where we stand legally. If my partner had supplied goods that he had not been paid for then the case would be clear cut, but what we have paid for is effectively an ad in a brochure that theoretically ACH could still produce. The fact that it would be useless and we were sold the idea under false pretenses could be disputed by them. Trading Standards have told us that they would rather we didn't mention we are aware of other complaints against ACH as part of our claim. I feel so angry that I didn't research this before we parted with the cheque but it seemed such a good business proposition, now I just feel we've been had.

I am pleased to say that I have had a result! I had an unexpected phone call yesterday from the manager of GLS who was not pleased to have seen my posts, and was understandably concerned about the negative effects of this on his business. He told me that apparently the guarantee had been applied for to CIGA together with payment on 1st June 2012, their cheque had been cashed, but CIGA for some reason had no record of me on their system. So it appears that the fault lies with CIGA, not GLS. That doesn't detract from the fact it took 14 months and numerous increasingly frustrated phone calls from me before the guarantee was even applied for. The guarantee has actually arrived in the post this morning! Mr Evans also said that he will reimburse me £150 for the cost of the installation, which is obviously good news. It's just a shame it took me posting on this forum from pure frustration to eventually get it sorted.

Thanks both for all your help. I know I have proof that the work has been done but assume that when I put my house on the market any potential buyers would want a guarantee. I'll certainly keep hassling them.

Thanks for replying, the website has been"under construction"all the time I have been dealing with them. I did get a receipt for payment. The only other correspondence I've received is a letter dated December 2011 apologising for the delay, as I mentioned earlier.The manager, a guy called Andy Evans who I dealt with initially was very helpful, but the last few times I've called I can't get past the receptionist who keeps assuring me it'll be "applied for when we send the next batch off". The last time I spoke to her in June she assured me the guarantee had been applied for from CIGA and would be with me in July. Surprise surprise, almost September and nothing. I phoned CIGA today and they have no record of any application for my address.

The company is called Greener Living Solutions, based in Mold, North Wales. As I said in my post, they are CIGA approved. I've done a quick check on the Companies House website and they are still trading. I don't think it was part of a local council scheme but it was sold to me as a discounted deal. I paid £150, my house is a 4 bed detached property.

Hi, this is my first post, not sure if I'm posting in the right section? I had cavity wall insulation done on my house in April 2011, after signing up following a cold call at my door from a very persuasive salesman (I know, mistake no.1). The work was completed ok so far as I know, but since then I have been unable to get any paperwork or the promised 25 year guarantee from the installers. The company is registered with CIGA as an approved installer. I have contacted the company on numerous occasions, to be told that my property will be included in the next batch of applications to CIGA, or will be fast tracked, or the guarantee has already been applied for. Subsequent calls to CIGA show no record of any such application having been made. The last communication I have from the company is a letter from December 2011 apologising for the oversight in not applying for it. Now when I ring the phone just goes to voicemail and emails remain unanswered. CIGA say they cannot help me. I want to put my property on the market, and obviously without a guarantee there is no proof the work has been done. Can anyone suggest what I should do next please? Many thanks.