On 05 November 2016, I phoned Vault Computers Limited of Bradford, Yorkshire and agreed a price for the computer I wanted them to assemble for me according to certain component options they offered. We agreed that I could pay by cheque, Vault undertaking to supply the computer “once the cheque had cleared”. On the same date, I sent them a letter referring to the phone call, repeating my assembly options and enclosing a cheque for the agreed amount, crossed and worded “Account Payee” made payable to Vault Computers. By 19 November 2016 I had heard nothing from Vault I phoned both numbers given on their website. Voice recordings said that the numbers were either not available or not accepting calls. By 05 December 2016, Vault had made absolutely no contact with me and the payment to them had not left my bank account. Therefore, on that date, I purchased a similarly priced computer from Amazon.co.uk using my credit card. I received the Amazon computer on 08 December 2016. On 10 December 2016, I found that the cheque to Vault had been paid on 07 December 2016. I immediately phoned Vault to ask them to stop my order, explaining that I had believed my letter to them had been lost and that I had bought a computer from a different supplier. They replied that they would attempt to stop dispatch of my order. They asked me to phone them in a few days for further information. On 19 December 2016, I phoned Vault again. They said that the computer they had assembled for me would be added to “stock” and they undertook to make a full refund of the purchase price by cheque. They said strikes at the Post Office would delay reimbursement until the New Year. By 01 February 2017, I had neither heard from Vault nor received reimbursement. On that day and the next, I made repeated attempts to speak to Vault on the phone but could not get through. One number returned the “Not Available” tone and the other, the same recorded message as on 19 November 2016. I sent letters dated 02 February 2017, 20 February 2017 and 18 March 2017 to Vault’s registered address, seeking a reply and reimbursement from them. However, Vault remained silent, even after receiving my letter-before-action, sent Recorded Delivery. On 12 April 2017, finding that Vault currently has a retail trading unit in Shipley, Yorkshire, I wrote to them additionally at that address. By 01 May 2017, there has still been no further contact with Vault since 19 December 2016 , no computer delivered from them and no return of my purchase money. There are no judgements recorded against Vault Computers Limited, no registered bankruptcies, and nothing to suggest they are in any trading difficulties. Vault’s silence is perplexing. If I format my small court claim according to certain presumptions about how they might defend against it, I might be furnishing them with a defence they had not considered. In particular, I find myself wondering if I should attempt to introduce statutory declarations laying out verbatim the conversations we had on the phone, which I had audio-recorded for the purposes of assisting my memory if I ever needed to to draft such statements. Those declarations , if the original audio recordings were present, might assist the court as evidence that, for example, Vault had agreed to accept payment by cheque, or had undertaken to reimburse me in full in the circumstances I had described to them. However, the same evidence might undermine my claim if those matters are not issue in Vault’s defence. Does anyone have experience of attempting to introduce audio-recordings to support small court claims? Does anyone have experience of swearing statutory declarations? There is a third way, which is to rely on the way things were left by Vault, expressly that they did not supply the goods within the prescribed period of 30 days, freeing me from the contract and entitling me to a full refund. However , not knowing Vault’s position, it might be counter-productive if , for the sake of simplicity , I omit the pertinent fact that I had asked them to stop my order. I may have had no right to cancel, if the goods were “made to the consumer’s specifications or are clearly personalised” per Reg.28 of The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Charges) Regulations. If there was no right to cancel, I am still not bound by the contract since Vault did not inform me of the absence of a right to cancel, as they were required to under Regulation 13 of the same body of regulations. Perhaps I am over-thinking this matter, but Vault’s silence is perplexing. Somebody say something...