Dealer Ignoring CRA 2015 & ignored LBA for 15 days. Small claims or cut my losses?

[yogiemoji]

Hi des8,

I hope all is well.

I'm still waiting to hear back from the county court (filed the case in April) but I'm following the dealer on companies house and now, the dealer has applied for their company to be struck off.
I've emailed companies house to stop as we are going through a court case.
He's also changed his address and his company name.

I may as well reveal the name of the company as it looks like this crook knows how to dodge the law...

The company's name is A&D Car Sales and he's changed the name to A&D Motors Ltd - they are two companies on companies house under the same dealer.

Also, Lloyds failed to manage the chargeback dispute on time and failed to get the dispute to visa within 120 days.

I'm not sure what steps to take now.

[des8]

You state you filed your claim in April, but in post 43 dated 11.03 you stated "I have started the claim against the dealer"
Whatever the date, you can make enquiries off the court as to the position.

More concerning is the news that the trader is filing to be struck off.
Whether or not he is successful I doubt you will find the company now has any assets of value

Regarding Lloyd's failure, have you raised a formal complaint with them?
If unproductive for compensation, you could then escalate to FOS.

[yogiemoji]

You state you filed your claim in April, but in post 43 dated 11.03 you stated "I have started the claim against the dealer"
Whatever the date, you can make enquiries off the court as to the position. - You're right des8, I started the court case in March, it's been so long now. I've emailed the court to find out more.

More concerning is the news that the trader is filing to be struck off.
Whether or not he is successful I doubt you will find the company now has any assets of value

Regarding Lloyd's failure, have you raised a formal complaint with them?
If unproductive for compensation, you could then escalate to FOS.

Hi des8, if he's moved all assets into the other company, do I not have any leg to stand on? - They are both under the same dealer's name.

This was my worry when I started this forum post back in post #7 Q3.

He's even changed the website and address (see detail below).

So it looks like crooks can play the law, I've wasted over 10,000 on the money claim online, the car, I've had to keep the car insured and now this crook is getting away with it. I followed what citizen's advice told me and did not drive the car either. Looks like I've wasted almost a year and am in huge financial loss. I'm not sure what I could have done differently...


From 4th April:



From 9th september:

[des8]

Presumably you have followed the correct procedure to stop the strike off? (https://www.gov.uk/object-to-a-limit...ing-struck-off)

If you don't get paid after winning your court case, you cold issue a winding up petition etc etc but this comes at a cost of around £2000 (can't remember exact figure) which is hardly worth while if the company is insolvent

I wonder why he is applying for a strike off anyway as i doubt it is just because of your claim.
I would continue your claim, as others might also be objecting (eg HMRC?) in which case the company might be wound up properly and creditors paid


How is the claim against the inspection company proceeding?

[yogiemoji]

He's already moved, and on companies house he's changed the address from 32 west Moseley to Old Lands Field, Portsmouth Road, Ripley, Woking, Surrey, GU23 6EL. When you look this address up on google you'll find a different business called Kingston Cars 13 (image attached). Not sure what he's trying to do here.

I emailed enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk with my reasons for why they should not strike off the company and called them, they said I'll hear back in 5 days.

Regarding the claim against the inspection company - the claim form has gone to court; I am awaiting further instruction to send the evidence in.

I've emailed the court for an update.

I'll keep you posted, thanks for your support des8

[yogiemoji]

Hi des8 ,

Companies house is asking for details of trading in the last three months and that a website does not suffice. May I ask whether you know the best way to find such evidence?

My only other thought is to share a recent google review:

[des8]

A&D Motors ltd is not a new company.
Mr Zhegrova has been a director for 3 years and company registered address changed in July this year.

A&D Car Sales are presumably being wound up as superfluous to his requirements, and are not still trading.
I note companies House today suspended strike off action.

I wonder why companies House think you would have trading details of A&D Car Sales, and did they say why they wanted trading details?

[yogiemoji]

A&D Motors ltd is not a new company.
Mr Zhegrova has been a director for 3 years and company registered address changed in July this year. - he's changed the address today too for his correspondence address

A&D Car Sales are presumably being wound up as superfluous to his requirements, and are not still trading.
I note companies House today suspended strike off action.

I wonder why companies House think you would have trading details of A&D Car Sales, and did they say why they wanted trading details? -I think it's needed to proceed a trading complaint against the company

Thank you des8,

This was companies house 2nd response after providing the review page and claim document:

"Thank you for your e-mail.

I acknowledge receipt of your objection to the striking off and dissolution of the above company. In view of the information and evidence supplied, I can confirm this strike off action has been suspended until 21st March 2023.

If you wish to maintain your objection beyond this date, you will need to make a further application in writing, enclosing up to date documentary evidence to show you are actively pursuing the company.

Evidence must show the full company name, including the word 'Limited', ‘Ltd’, or the equivalent, and should be received at least 2 weeks before the objection is due to expire. If no further evidence is received, action to remove will resume and may result in the company being struck off and dissolved.

As part of our work to digitally transform our services, we have created a new Apply to object to a company being struck off service.

This new service will provide you with an instant response to your request and will therefore reduce any delay in processing times.

If you would like to use this service to maintain your objection, please use the following link:

https://find-and-update.company-info...off-objections

Unfortunately, the evidence of trading you have provided is not sufficient.

As advised previously we request evidence, such as receipts and invoices, which must be dated and show the full limited company name, including any Limited/Ltd suffix.

I must point out that if the business name shown on social media/websites does not terminate with the word ‘limited’ or ‘ltd’ it would suggest that the company is trading as an unregistered entity, which is acceptable.

You are under no obligation to allow us to divulge your identity. You should note however, it will not be possible to pursue a complaint of trading activity without this information being divulged. Should you provide sufficient evidence, and a criminal enquiry be commenced, the accused is entitled to be informed of those alleging criminal conduct, and without permission to divulge enforcement action is unlikely to be able to proceed. This does not affect your objection, which will remain in place until 21st March 2023."

They want trading info for three months from the objection, I can only provide my purchase receipt from Nov last year. But I've just seen that the receipt and invoice don't include the "Ltd"...

[des8]

I don't think you want to get bogged down in whether or not he was trading , or if his forms were correct.
You need to decide if it is worth pursuing him through the courts

If the invoice & receipt don't include the correct company details (especially the Company Registration Number)& the "ltd" designation) you could perhaps have assumed you were dealing with a sole trader and sued him personally.
This would mean he would be personally liable and could not hide behind an insolvent company.
Whether or not it is worth paying the fee to change the claimant, and possible costs, i can't guess.

I don't know the exact position, but it might be worth a check on his personal assets

[yogiemoji]

I don't think you want to get bogged down in whether or not he was trading , or if his forms were correct.
You need to decide if it is worth pursuing him through the courts

If the invoice & receipt don't include the correct company details (especially the Company Registration Number)& the "ltd" designation) you could perhaps have assumed you were dealing with a sole trader and sued him personally.
This would mean he would be personally liable and could not hide behind an insolvent company.
Whether or not it is worth paying the fee to change the claimant, and possible costs, i can't guess.

I don't know the exact position, but it might be worth a check on his personal assets

To check his personal assets, would I look a CCJ up on him personally?

When you say 'You need to decide if it is worth pursuing him through the courts' Isn't it a bit late for that now? I've paid the money claim online fee of £455. And have gone through the full process.
I've now received a court date of 17th November. But it's saying I need to pay a trial fee of £346. Edit: Just checked the gov website, it looks like I will need to pay this fee and the judgment enforcement fee if I win and he doesn't pay.

The law is actually messed up. Whether I win or lose in court, this guy is just going to dodge the payment, I'll have to pay for the sheriff, then they'll find the assets on the new company name. He's probably transferred the assets to that other company.

The invoice and receipt include A&D Car Sales but not the Ltd.

I'm pretty lost on what to do now. My thought is to keep going but what if I lose the case? What if I win and he claims the company is bankrupt? - I only have until March and I'm pretty sure the courts will elongate this further if I win the case.

I know he's not a sole trader as both A&D Car Sales and A&D motors have ltd at the end of their names on the companies house website. So I don't think it makes any sense to try and sue him personally.

This has already cost so much. I don't think I'll ever trust Citizen's Advice ever again.

[des8]

If you know where he lives you could check to see if he owns his own property at https://www.gov.uk/search-property-i...-land-registry

Presumably the company have lodged a defence, so discontinuing the claim now might have an adverse costs effect unless it has been allocated to the small claims track.

Company invoices MUST include "ltd" and registration number. If they don't the purchaser may claim that that particular sale does not offer the owner the protection of a ltd company and so is personally liable.
That is the theory anyway, but whether or not one could argue it successfully in court is another matter.


Did you complain to Lloyds about their failure re the chargeback?

[yogiemoji]

If you know where he lives you could check to see if he owns his own property at https://www.gov.uk/search-property-i...-land-registry - Edit: just re-read this, if I find out where he lives, would this only be helpful if I decide to change the case to against the director?

Presumably the company have lodged a defence, so discontinuing the claim now might have an adverse costs effect unless it has been allocated to the small claims track. - they have lodged a defence, but it has been allocated to the small claims track. When you say adverse costs, are you saying that the defendant could suffer these?

Company invoices MUST include "ltd" and registration number. If they don't the purchaser may claim that that particular sale does not offer the owner the protection of a ltd company and so is personally liable.
That is the theory anyway, but whether or not one could argue it successfully in court is another matter. - Does it make more sense to continue the claim against a and d car sales and if he says that the company is bankrupt, switch to the claim to be against the director at that stage?


Did you complain to Lloyds about their failure re the chargeback? - yes, this is ongoing, they are saying that they contacted me in March but I have no record of this so I have to re-open the dispute against Lloyds.

Thank you des8, I've included my responses above in bold.

[des8]

To ascertain if he has personal assets try and find where he lives, and if he owns the property.

the adverse costs might (although unusual in a case allocated to small claims track) be awarded against the claimant if he discontinues

In your position I would continue with the claim as it stands.
If and when you win and he then declares the company has no assets will be the time to decide whether or not to sue him personally.
A win might also help you in dealing with Lloyds, because if they had acted promptly you would not have had to sue the company. As you won at court the chargeback would have been a fair way to have settled the matter earlier.

[yogiemoji]

I was wondering why it's a court trial and not a court hearing. Or are they the same?

[des8]

A trial ends with a ruling made by the judge . A hearing is a catch all term to describe any matter that comes before a judge and could include a trial.
Legal proceedings in the small claims track are often referred to as hearings as both sides are heard b y a judge before he makes a ruling.