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Hi All,
A few details of the claim I am preparing are below. To try and keep costs down I've engaged a Barrister under the Direct Access arrangements and have had an initial discussion with him, he has advised that I send a second Letter Before Action now I have more details of my losses and costs as my first LBA mostly just included " Heads of Claim" without losses & costs.
I've provided the main details of my case(s) below but only have a couple of questions for advice at this stage which I have highlighted in bold :-)
The Events
I appointed a specialist vehicle restorer to restore and modify a classic car I owned (I'll call this the First Contract), his website stated he was a specialist in the manufacturer/model of vehicle I wanted restored.
During the work he would simply send me a few lines on an email saying generally what work he had done with the number of hours x hourly rate + materials which I would pay.
I live a long way from where he is based so I relied on him to send photographic records of the work to justify the invoice.
The details he sent and photo records became less and less while the costs seemed to keep going up for what I began to feel was very little progress.
I managed to visit a few times due to my concerns and on visiting I also became concerned at the quality of the work. On questioning some issues he maintained that "it was fine and the work wasn't finished so would be tidied up". I visited again (with short notice) and the work quality and output hadn't improved and my questions received the same answer.
One invoice claimed all the outer panels had been prepared and fitted to check fit & alignment, there were no photos but I paid on trust and asked for photos, he said he didn't take any, I asked for some and he said the panels had been removed to prepare for paint, I said I would visit and could he re-fit them so I could inspect, he said it would take too long to re-fit, I said I would pay for re-fitting. On arrival the outer panels were not only not re-fitted but were not in the workshop at all. The invoice for this alleged work was considerable and there was absolutely no evidence the work had been done.
Due to my concerns I arranged for the vehicle to be "taken away for some specialist steering system work", while away I arranged for a 3rd party to inspect the work (as I am by no means an expert), his conclusion was that not only was the work sub-standard with inferior welding but that in many cases it would actually present a danger in use. Other conclusions were that there was a lack of evidence that some work had been done, that some work would simply not work and that the value of the work actually concluded was significantly less than charged. His initial advice is that it may cost more to remedy the negligent work compared to starting from scratch.
I visited the guy doing the work and ceased the contract and said I would arrange for removal of my property.
It's worth noting that before my suspicions started I placed a second vehicle with him for less extensive work (a Second Contract) which he said he would also do, however, this work was never completed despite myself chasing up for progress. This went on for some time with many excuses as to why the work on this Second Contract was not proceeding.
Amazingly I then received a letter from him stating I had to pay several thousand £ in previously un-billed storage charges for this Second Contract vehicle before he would allow me to collect my vehicle and parts for the First Contract. Of course I ended up having to pay these charges in order to collect my property.
The Claims
As I see it Have two claims:
Against the Second Contract where he invoiced for storage charges not supported by the terms and conditions he says apply, the terms only say storage fees apply after the work is notified as complete and the owner fails to collect the vehicle. The work was never complete and I was never notified to collect.
Against the First Contract for negligent work and over-charging.
As they are separate contracts I believe I should claim separately, especially as the claim against the Second Contract is less than £10k so will fit within the Small Claims process. Whereas the claim against the First Contract is likely to be considerable, potentially £60k+.
Would you agree I should pursue the claims separately?
The claim against the Second Contract is is quite simple as he has mis-applied the terms and conditions he purports as being in force. I would even contest the terms and conditions do not apply as I was never given them before I appointed him to do the work, not only that but when the work commenced he was a Sole Trader and only became Ltd. Co. recently which is when the terms and conditions were created, so they did not even exist when the contracts commenced.
The claim against the First Contract is more complicated as I have to demonstrate sub-standard work, negligence and over-charging. I have appointed an Expert Witness to inspect the vehicle and produce a report covering these points the initial output of which I have mentioned above.
One further question at this time is to do with who I state as the Defendant in both of these cases. As I mentioned, when the work commenced on both contracts he was Sole Trader and only became a Ltd. Co. recently. I am concerned that stating himself as the Sole Trader being the Defendant may limit my ability to recover losses if the case is upheld in my favour as I'm certain most of his assets are in the new Ltd. Co. name. Equally if i state the Ltd. Co. as the defendant he could transfer assets to himself personally and trade as a shell company.
As both contracts started with him as a Sole Trader and then he became a Ltd. Co. can i state them as Co-Defendants so both entities are equally liable for the costs and losses I have sustained?
Sorry for the lengthy post but please let me know if you would like any more information in order to provide some advice.
Many thanks,
SF
A few details of the claim I am preparing are below. To try and keep costs down I've engaged a Barrister under the Direct Access arrangements and have had an initial discussion with him, he has advised that I send a second Letter Before Action now I have more details of my losses and costs as my first LBA mostly just included " Heads of Claim" without losses & costs.
I've provided the main details of my case(s) below but only have a couple of questions for advice at this stage which I have highlighted in bold :-)
The Events
I appointed a specialist vehicle restorer to restore and modify a classic car I owned (I'll call this the First Contract), his website stated he was a specialist in the manufacturer/model of vehicle I wanted restored.
During the work he would simply send me a few lines on an email saying generally what work he had done with the number of hours x hourly rate + materials which I would pay.
I live a long way from where he is based so I relied on him to send photographic records of the work to justify the invoice.
The details he sent and photo records became less and less while the costs seemed to keep going up for what I began to feel was very little progress.
I managed to visit a few times due to my concerns and on visiting I also became concerned at the quality of the work. On questioning some issues he maintained that "it was fine and the work wasn't finished so would be tidied up". I visited again (with short notice) and the work quality and output hadn't improved and my questions received the same answer.
One invoice claimed all the outer panels had been prepared and fitted to check fit & alignment, there were no photos but I paid on trust and asked for photos, he said he didn't take any, I asked for some and he said the panels had been removed to prepare for paint, I said I would visit and could he re-fit them so I could inspect, he said it would take too long to re-fit, I said I would pay for re-fitting. On arrival the outer panels were not only not re-fitted but were not in the workshop at all. The invoice for this alleged work was considerable and there was absolutely no evidence the work had been done.
Due to my concerns I arranged for the vehicle to be "taken away for some specialist steering system work", while away I arranged for a 3rd party to inspect the work (as I am by no means an expert), his conclusion was that not only was the work sub-standard with inferior welding but that in many cases it would actually present a danger in use. Other conclusions were that there was a lack of evidence that some work had been done, that some work would simply not work and that the value of the work actually concluded was significantly less than charged. His initial advice is that it may cost more to remedy the negligent work compared to starting from scratch.
I visited the guy doing the work and ceased the contract and said I would arrange for removal of my property.
It's worth noting that before my suspicions started I placed a second vehicle with him for less extensive work (a Second Contract) which he said he would also do, however, this work was never completed despite myself chasing up for progress. This went on for some time with many excuses as to why the work on this Second Contract was not proceeding.
Amazingly I then received a letter from him stating I had to pay several thousand £ in previously un-billed storage charges for this Second Contract vehicle before he would allow me to collect my vehicle and parts for the First Contract. Of course I ended up having to pay these charges in order to collect my property.
The Claims
As I see it Have two claims:
Against the Second Contract where he invoiced for storage charges not supported by the terms and conditions he says apply, the terms only say storage fees apply after the work is notified as complete and the owner fails to collect the vehicle. The work was never complete and I was never notified to collect.
Against the First Contract for negligent work and over-charging.
As they are separate contracts I believe I should claim separately, especially as the claim against the Second Contract is less than £10k so will fit within the Small Claims process. Whereas the claim against the First Contract is likely to be considerable, potentially £60k+.
Would you agree I should pursue the claims separately?
The claim against the Second Contract is is quite simple as he has mis-applied the terms and conditions he purports as being in force. I would even contest the terms and conditions do not apply as I was never given them before I appointed him to do the work, not only that but when the work commenced he was a Sole Trader and only became Ltd. Co. recently which is when the terms and conditions were created, so they did not even exist when the contracts commenced.
The claim against the First Contract is more complicated as I have to demonstrate sub-standard work, negligence and over-charging. I have appointed an Expert Witness to inspect the vehicle and produce a report covering these points the initial output of which I have mentioned above.
One further question at this time is to do with who I state as the Defendant in both of these cases. As I mentioned, when the work commenced on both contracts he was Sole Trader and only became a Ltd. Co. recently. I am concerned that stating himself as the Sole Trader being the Defendant may limit my ability to recover losses if the case is upheld in my favour as I'm certain most of his assets are in the new Ltd. Co. name. Equally if i state the Ltd. Co. as the defendant he could transfer assets to himself personally and trade as a shell company.
As both contracts started with him as a Sole Trader and then he became a Ltd. Co. can i state them as Co-Defendants so both entities are equally liable for the costs and losses I have sustained?
Sorry for the lengthy post but please let me know if you would like any more information in order to provide some advice.
Many thanks,
SF
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