In February this year we began legal proceedings against a tradesperson who had failed 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 he had done some previous carpentry jobs for us with absolutely no issues.
We settled on £3,000 for a decking job, paying him £2,000 for materials, as well as £1,000 in advance as he said he was going on holiday soon after starting the job.
Swindled: This reader lost out to a tradesman who took his money, but never did the work
As we trusted him and had used him before, we were happy to oblige. But after his holiday passed, he never returned to our house.
We went through the entire, laborious process of claiming the money back, which we did via HM Courts and Tribunals Service’s online system, Money Claim Online – an alternative to the small claims court. We completed everything correctly and well within any specified time limits.
After winning our case we submitted a warrant against the gentleman in early April, and three days later we received a notification that our claim, of more than £3,400 was fully paid. But we never received this payment.
We have been told, by Portsmouth Courts that bailiffs attended his property on 19 April and that he paid straight away. So where is the money?
We have tried every angle to get to the bottom of this but haven’t got anywhere. Is there any way you can help? Anon, via email
Harvey Dorset, of This is Money, replies: If a tradesperson asks you to pay all the cash upfront for home improvements, it is often considered a red flag.
It is important to make sure that the tradesperson you are contracting for the job is one that can be trusted, rather than a cowboy looking to make a quick buck with shoddy work, or worse still a conman who never intended to do the job at all.
But in your case you thought you had done exactly that.
Not only did the builder come recommended by your plumber, but he had previously done work on your house with no issues at all.
Instead, he went AWOL, and left you £3,000 out of pocket.
While you did the right thing by claiming your money back, I’m really sorry to hear about the hoops you have had to jump through to get this claim through, only to find that you have never received the payment that was supposedly sent to you.
In theory, Money Claim Online should allow you to file a claim in order to settle a dispute, without having to head to small claims court.
The system allows you to track the progress of the claim to its resolution. If HM Courts and Tribunals agrees that your claim is valid, and the person who owes you money still does not pay, you can obtain a ‘warrant of control’.
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.
He did so, but the money never found its way from the court back to you. Instead, you were left searching for ways to get your it back.
After speaking to the Ministry of Justice, which runs Money Claim Online, I’m glad to say that it has assessed your case and informed me that the absence of your payment was an error, and that the payment has been sent.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice told This is Money: ‘We apologise for the delay caused in this case due to an administrative error.
‘We’re working with all parties to resolve the issue as quickly as possible’.
You later confirmed to me that you received a cheque for £3,403, which includes the claim amount and also a refund of the fees you paid.
> Have you had a problem with a rogue trader or Money Claim Online? Get in touch: harvey.dorset@thisismoney.co.uk
