Contractor not coughing up.....

[Chuck]

(won't work in this case as debt has to be more than £5k).

£750 these days AIUI. But probably not worth doing due to costs unless the debt is much larger.

 

[Pickwickpick]

£750 these days AIUI. But probably not worth doing due to costs unless the debt is much larger.

£750 is the minimum debt to bring a case in the small claims court, for bankruptcy its definitely got to a be a debt greater than £5k:

How to present a petition

1. Prove you’re owed at least £5,000 or a share of debts totalling at least £5,000.
   
   
2. Check for other bankruptcy petitions against the person who owes you money (the ‘debtor’).
   
   
3. Fill in the forms and deliver them to the court.

Apply to bankrupt someone who owes you money

A threat of bankruptcy carries a hell of a lot more weight than a small claims court case, so sometimes its the best threat/action to take, but its not cheap you have to front approx £1.2k

 

[island fling]

I.F.

Unfortunately I concur with the others in that you have learned an awful life lesson - the bigger the co. the bigger the ar5se. The brilliant news is that it could have been so much worse!

This scenario is just one of the reasons I record ALL of my phone calls automatically. It is fully legal and beyond valuable.

Personally, I'm not even sure I'd go down the small claims route as you'll be throwing good money after bad. If you have the MD's details just bide your time cos sweet revenge is best served stone cold...

If you decide to pull away, wait a few weeks and just bob back and post the name and nothing else. We will then know too.

Focus on the positives that 2019 will bring a person of your integrity bud. Forget the little sh1te and move on.

Thank you so much, this post has already allowed me to move on in my own head. The plus side that has come off this is I now have 2 new customers & hopefully their family & friends too. This shoddy companies loss has been my gain in the long run im sure.

All the best for your 2019 too, Yorkshire Dave & others.

 

[island fling]

Thanks to everyone that has posted, I get the general idea of where to go now.
I have 4 employees on the tools & 1 employee in the office so if there is any 'slack' days for the office I might just get him to follow this through. I tried calling the MD on my mobile for around a week because he would not return emails or calls at his office. I got his mobile number in a back handed way (but got it) then he took my call, claimed I was on drugs to call him & ask for money & said he wouldn't let a penny drop into my account. For this reason I want to see him suffer but I may just let karma do that..... I will fill anyone in with details of decisions/progress over the coming weeks.

Cheers all.

 

[Chuck]

.

 

[Rob Foster]

I have read the above and all the stuff about unauthorised works and small claims court.
Why not try and make a deal...I would. At the end of the day you are looking at getting zilch but make a deal and you could get something. It may be best to get an intermediary to put a deal together...this way things might work out...keep me informed
A little known instrument is called a garneshee order ..it put the fear of god into one of our plasterers years ago....not done by us I might add justbsome numpty customer of his


Centralheatking

 

[Mark K]

First, you don't have to travel to their local court, they have to come to yours.
Second, calculate how much you hsve actually lost, ie paid out. I know your labour has a value, but to you it's not cash and you probably still did everything you intended to. That may make it easier to take it on chin and accept that sometimes in business these things happen.
Third, they will need you before you need them, so move on, life is too short.

 

[Best]

Who Dares Wins.
Fight them for the money, but just don’t let it give you too much trouble

 

[Rob Foster]

Sometimes a solicitors letter can produce results.However you need to choose the solicitor carefully. Eg. there is one solicitor in Liverpool a national name whom have a reputation for only taking on winners and are relentless , generally a letter from them can be enough for a deal to be forthcoming. I know I used them recently in a different dispute. My letter was free ....I went to the same school as the senior partner.
centralheatking

 

[bacon_sandwich]

https://assets.publishing.service.g...hment_data/file/762843/mcol-userguide-eng.pdf

Here is a guide for filing a small claim, online. I have used it before and its very straight forward. Costs are low and you can claim interest.
Look at the protocol before going down this route. You will have to have written to them asking for payment before action, i.e. let them know you are going down this route as you will be adding these costs to the invoice so its only polite to let them know in advance.
Hope this helps.
BTW - i last used it on an car insurance claim, because the other side were taking the *iss, i did not bother with a letter before action, but i was a bad boy. Got my money in 14 days