In February this year we commenced legal proceedings against a tradesman who had been unable to complete a job for us, but had been paid in full.
We first met this person a few years ago. He was a close friend of our plumber and had done some previous carpentry work for us without any problems.
We agreed £3000 for a terrace job and paid him £2000 for materials as well as £1000 upfront as he said he would be going on holiday shortly after starting the work.
Scammed: This reader lost out to a trader who took their money but never did the work.
Since we trusted it and had used it before, we were happy to do it. But after his vacation was over, he never returned to our house.
We went through the entire laborious process of claiming the money back, which we did through HM Courts and Tribunals Service’s online system, Money Claim Online, an alternative to small claims court. We completed everything correctly and well within the specified time limits.
After winning our case, we lodged an injunction against the gentleman in early April and three days later received notification that our claim, of over £3,400, had been paid in full. But we never received this payment.
The Portsmouth courts have told us that bailiffs attended his property on April 19 and that he paid immediately. So where is the money?
We’ve tried every angle to get to the bottom of this, but we’re getting nowhere. Is there any way you can help? Then, via email
This is Money’s Harvey Dorset responds: If a dealer asks you to pay all cash up front for home improvements, it is often considered a red flag.
It is important to make sure that the tradesman you are hiring for the job is someone you can trust, rather than a cowboy looking to make a quick buck with shoddy work or, worse yet, a scammer who never intended to. do the work. .
But in your case you thought you had done exactly that.
Not only did the builder come recommended by his plumber, but he had previously done work on his home without any problems.
Instead, he went AWOL and left her £3,000 out of pocket.
While you did the right thing by claiming your money back, I’m very sorry to hear about the hoops you had to jump through to get this claim approved, only to find out that you never received the payment that was supposedly sent to you. .
In theory, Money Claim Online should allow you to make a claim to resolve a dispute, without having to go to small claims court.
The system allows you to follow the progress of the claim until its resolution. If HM Courts and Tribunals agree that your claim is valid, and the person who owes you money still hasn’t paid, you can get a ‘control order’.
This means that a bailiff from the defendant’s local court, in this case Portsmouth, will visit the person’s address to ask them to pay what is owed.
You did, but the money never came from the court to you. Instead, you were left looking for ways to get him back.
After speaking to the Ministry of Justice, who run Money Claim Online, I am pleased to inform you that they have assessed your case and informed me that the failure to make your payment was an error and that the payment has been sent.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson told This is Money: ‘We apologize for the delay caused in this case due to an administrative error.
“We are working with all parties to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
He later confirmed to me that he received a check for £3,403, which includes the amount of the claim and also a refund of the fees he paid.
> Have you had any problems with a dishonest merchant or Money Claim Online? Get in touch: harvey.dorset@thisismoney.co.uk