Small claims track - exchange of statements

[hillns]

I am pursuing a claim through the county court for repairs on a faulty vehicle I purchased.

The case has been allocated to the small claims track and I have a hearing date but no directions have been given for exchanging statements. I also want to rely on a letter from the garage where I had the vehicle repaired which is reference in the statement I have prepared.

Is this usual? Should I voluntarily serve my statement on the other party and send a copy to the Court or wait until the hearing?

[Amethyst]

Re: Small claims track - exchange of statements

It is usually 14 days before the hearing that witness statements and documents to rely on should be in. Has your hearing order got a second page to it with lots of text on as sometimes people miss it. You can put your witness statement and documents in without a specific order though so it isn't an issue.
Is the hearing the actual full hearing or is it case management etc ? How long has been estimated for the hearing ?

[hillns]

Re: Small claims track - exchange of statements

It's definitely only 1 page. It's a full hearing, 90 minutes has been allowed for it.

[Amethyst]

Re: Small claims track - exchange of statements

Okay, the CPR's do say standard directions apply to all small claims case so I would go with getting your WS and documents in 14 days before.

You need a copy to the court and a copy to the defendant.

Do you want to post your WS on here (anonymise it well though) to have a look at ?

[hillns]

Re: Small claims track - exchange of statements

Thanks for your help, a copy of my draft statement is attached

IN THE COUNTY COURT CLAIM NUMBER:

BETWEEN:-





________________________________________

WITNESS STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE CLAIMANT
__________________________________________________ __


1. My name is

2. On 3/3/2014 I purchased a VW Toureg, registration from D. The purchase price
was £. Credit was given for my previous vehicle traded in, a Range Rover registration


3. On 14/3/2014 I notice white smoke coming from the exhaust. The car was taken to R who diagnosed a problem with the pressure converters. These were replaced at a cost of £222.53 which was duly reimbursed to me by D. A copy of the invoice is attached, exhibit AW1.

4. On 26/3/2014 the vehicle was still blowing white smoke from the exhaust. I took the vehicle to G who ran a diagnostic which said that the EGR Cooler was faulty. The EGR Cooler was removed and checked and found to be okay. It was noted that some of the seals had perished. The cost of the diagnostic was £57.60. A copy of the invoice is attached, exhibit AW2.

5. On 15/4/2014 the perished seals were replaced by G. A further diagnostic showed that the injectors needed replacing. The cost of replacing the seals was £534.47. A copy of the invoice is attached, exhibit AW3.

6. A quote for replacing the injectors was prepared at £3281.63. A copy of this quote is attached, exhibit AW4.

7. D asked for the vehicle to be returned to them so that they could carry out any necessary repairs. This was done on or around 16/4/2015. We met a representative of D half way down the A1 and exchanged the car for a courtesy car.

8. On 13/5/2014 my wife, collected the VW Toureg from D and drove it home without any difficulty.

10. On 18/5/2014 I noticed oil underneath the vehicle whilst parked outside of my address. I sent a text to D but did not receive a reply.

11. On 20/5/2014 I took the vehicle to VW. They informed me that the wrong sump plug had been fitted to the car and as a result it had lost all of the oil.

12. I had not replaced the sump plug having no reason to do so. I can only assume that the wrong sump plug was either fitted at an earlier date of had been disturbed by the mechanic who fitted the injectors.

13. In any event I consider that the wrong sump plug being fitted pre-dates my purchase of the vehicle and will rely on Section 48(3) of the Sale of Goods Act (1979) in this respect.

14. VW replaced the sump plug and oil at a cost of £131.91. A copy of the invoice is attached, exhibit AW5.

15. On 29/5/2014 I noticed that the vehicle was still leaking oil. The vehicle was taken back to VW who determined that the injectors recently fitted had been fitted without the necessary oil seals.

16. VW provided me with video evidence of the missing oil seals and a copy of this was sent to D by email. A copy of the video is attached, exhibit AW6

17. Having had no response from D to my text/emails and having lost faith in their ability to carry out a satisfactory repair I authorised VW to replace the oil seals at a cost of £906.41. A copy of the invoice is attached, exhibit AW7.

18. On 2/6/14 the vehicle was returned to VW for a full diagnostic test.They determined that 3 of the injectors previously fitted by D were faulty.

19. The warranty company, W informed us that they would not pay as they considered the fault to be wear and tear, they were unaware that the injectors were new.

20. In any event the limit of cost provided by the warranty is only £750.00 and the cover is limited to breakdown of mechanical and electrical faults, not faulty parts or poor workmanship.

21. New injectors were fitted at a cost of £2072.65 and a copy of the invoice is attached, exhibit AW8.