Quartzize Worktops not paying installer to fit kitchen for their client.

[Its WAR]

My son fits kitchens. Quartzize Worktops Ltd email him the instructions to install the kitchens for their customers. The Quartzize  contract with their customers states the customer pays the installation fee directly to the installer when the job is finished. Some jobs remained unfinished as Quartzize supplied damaged worktops. Quartzize eventually supply a good worktop and gets another installer to finish the work. The customer pays the second installer. My son doesn't get paid.

 

My son issues a money claim to Quartzize for £2000 unpaid work. They defend saying that two customers were not their customers, but belong to one of their many other companies eg  'Joes Doors' or 'Smiley Kitchens' . The director has over a dozen trading names, some ltd, some dormant. He says  that part of the summons should have been issued to the other company or that my son should be suing their customer directly for his installation fee because it is them that should be paying my son.

 

My son's instructions to do all the installations always come from Quartzize. My son has never entered into a contract with Quartzize customers directly, he doesn't have a formal contract with Quartzize either, only a very basic letter stating the amount of his fee as a commission of the total job and to collect that fee from their customer when the job is finished.

 

It seems to me, the contract their customers have regardless of whether it is with Quartzize or Joes Doors is irrelevant. At best they show they are in breach with Quartzize or Joes Doors by failing to pay, or they are not in breach if they do pay the final installer. However, my son remains unpaid for the work he has done up to the fitting of the worktops and he is right to have issued a claim against the company that is instructing him to do the work.

 

Documents prior to the hearing are to be exchanged this week.

 

Any pointers would be interesting to hear.

 

 

[dx100uk]

if there's proof the other companies are/were owned by the defendant, me thinks this is just done to avoid ccj's etc, just like the motors traders use the same trick, change names, phoenix companies, just so they get no comeback.

 

as long as your son's ws exhibits such evidence, i think the judge will see through it.

 

dx

[Its WAR]

They have a bunch of trading names which appear to be separate companies. ALE Marketing Ltd which trades as  Joes Doors Swansea, Joes Doors Manchester, Joes Doors Winchester but ALE Marketing is a dormant company yet Joes Doors are trading. They have Joes Doors.co.uk, www. Joes Doors.co.uk, Joes Doors Ltd, www.smieykitchens.com, Quartzize Ltd, Quartzize Worktops Ltd. The registered ltd company number for Joes Doors (shown on their website) actually belongs to ALE Marketing. ALE are the initials of the director or major shareholder.

 

They advertise on TV and their websites to find customers, send their salesman around and get them to sign a contract with either Quartzize or Joes Doors or other trading name, then Quartzize send my son the instruction to fit.  It is all smoke and mirrors but I guess the dormant companies are simply to stop other companies registering an identical name. It is difficult to know exactly who you are doing business with, but the only company that sends my son the instruction is Quartzize Worktops Ltd. They have also been the only company that have paid him at times the various customers have not, or if additional payments have been due..............this has happened regardless of which company the customer has been dealing with.....in other words, Quartzize have been paying my son for invoices he has raised to them, even when their customer belongs to Joes Doors.

 

It seems odd that one company is paying the bills belonging to another. I reckon HMRC would be interested.