Restoration of 1965 Elan S2

Post by **scimjim** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 1:46 pm

Bear in mind that a small claims court judgement may not be the end of it, enforcing payment could be another round of paper filling.

AnotherTim · Post by **AnotherTim** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 1:55 pm

Jim's right. The court can rule in your favour, but the cost and responsibility of recovering your outlay is not managed for you by the court procedure... that is yours to manage and organise, and then you get into the world of dealing with debt collectors, and they want paying one way or the other. Should they find that the attempts to collect the debt outweigh their investment in doing so, it's you who will get their bill for trying.

It sounds like you have rescued the cylinder head. It's cost you a whopping £800 more, but I would honestly consider whether you want to throw more time, money and anxiety at trying to claw back the original outlay because it's a risk with no guarantees sadly.

I took a bloke to small claims court (different anecdote to the previous one) and won hands down to get my initial deposit back that covered the strip down and washing of my provided engine. He had promised to rebuild the engine and fit it to my van. He hadn't done so though, and had gone awol due to some bad business dealings elsewhere. I got the judgement in my favour, and I found the bloke with some judicious detective work... and that was all I got - a certificate saying I was right, that I could present to a debt collector to instigate retrieval. You then have to negotiate to arrange a contract to collect that debt, and frankly I found that to be an alarming experience in itself. They are not nice people, and they don't have your best interests at heart, they see you as prey, vulnerable, desperate... easy profit for them one way or the other.

if you are unsure how to proceed, maybe have a go at talking in fairly non-commital terms to a debt collection agency or two about a hypothetical judgement in your favour... see how you feel after talking to them. It kind of takes the heat out of your rage when you realise you're thinking of dancing with a second devil.

The best you can hope to get out it, frankly, is that the other person's business then has a judgement against them, which can possibly have a (marginal) effect on their business. That much you can achieve for free, and you don't even need to attend court unless they choose to dispute it.

roymck · Post by **roymck** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 2:28 pm

Twice I have been to small claims court , once we won , second they didn't bother to turn up so won by default. Just make sure you have all the evidence written and even witness,s if reqd. They both paid up no problem . Go for it you have nothing to lose .

David Lanceley · Post by **David Lanceley** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 2:41 pm

Can all be done online, see;

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

Cheap, quick and enforceable. I've used twice now for car-related issues with good outcomes, pm me for more details.

Post by **MikeyBikey** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 9:33 pm

Good to catch up Geoff, sorry to hear this hasn't come out ok. I'd take up the Federation arbitration first. And tell him. He knows you are serious then. If no good small claims court. Even if only for the satisfaction of sticking to your principles. You may not get any money but its would be better than driving past every day and being bitter and twisted

anyways as we agreed, its a good job the others found the fault. You could have been looking at a massive bill.

Post by **GeoffTE** » Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:05 am

Good to see you too Mike. I've downloaded the claim forms from the FER and have emailed him to say I will be forwarding the completed forms with the photographic and written evidence if I haven't heard from him within the week. I'm scared now he'll send the heavy mob round

Post by **MikeyBikey** » Sat Dec 09, 2017 9:12 am

I'll give you a call later. He won't send the mob. I'll go and give him a visit as well.