Is this charge document legal?

[pt2537]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

the documents are heavily edited, so it is impossible to work out who did what etc, who signed what etc. Can you confirm on the consent order, are you the Defendant or claimant?

[Celestine]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

He's the Claimant from what I can work out. He brought the original case against the seller to recover his £1000. Seller was evasive, traced in July 2011.

What on earth happened at the Court Hearing in Feb 11, did you attend? You say you sought legal advice only after the Court Hearing?

[IanM]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

On day 7 when the engine failed you say you spoke to the seller and the car was returned, what was agreed on the phone?
If the trader insisted the failure was due to the thermostat installation, did he have an independent report carried out by the AA or similar to support his claim?
Effectively, when you handed the keys back and signed the car over to him he became responsible for its storage and security until a settlement was reached with regards to a refund etc.
Also, when you wrote to him rejecting goods in lieu of refund/replacement/repair you technically agreed to have the car back if repaired so you may well be responsible for storage costs but he would have to satisfactorily repair the car within a reasonable period of time in relation to the extent of the damage to justify his storage costs, although i've never met a mechanic that charges for storage while repairing a car! These costs would never in a million years reach the thousands of pounds mark so i would contest the charges and the judges overturning of the original judgement.
I'm not sure how you would go about it but you need to get yourself in front of a judge with as much evidence as possible and contest the original storage costs on the grounds of reasonable period of time to repair a car, find a new solicitor as soon as you can and explain everything clearly in the order it happened.
When the seller was tracked down for a debt by the bailiffs he managed to get a hearing to get the original judgement overturned so you should have the same right in law to do the same, keep fighting!
Your solicitor let you down badly, probably because he couldn't be bothered with it or he sold out your claim to the other sides solicitor to settle another case in his favor they would have been fighting each other over.
Make a complaint against him with the legal complaints service for poor service and advice, may not come to anything but you have the satisfaction of having your say and its kept on file in case of more complaints.

Thanks. My head is spinning a bit so I'll try to bullet points instead:

• Feb 2010 - car purchased £1000 from Trader via Auto Trader; engine light on trader says thermostat which will cost £50 to fix.
• Thermostat replaced by mobile mechanic on day 3 - car satisfactory
• Day 7 - Engine failure; water all over the road.
• Car recovered to Trader after speaking to him on the phone; Keys signed and handed over.
• Trader insists failure was due to thermostat installation - I disagree
• Contact lost
• April - June I write 5 letters to trader rejecting goods and accepting refund/replacement/repair.
• No responses
• County Court Claim issued and successful Aug 2010
• Trader dissappears but tracked down by Baillifs July 2011
• Feb 2012 court hearing - Judgement overturned and case assigned.
• I seek advice from Solicitor.

[barclayarua]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

Thanks Ian.
Looks like I've been let down.
I'll find a new solicitor ASAP.
Is there anyone you could recommend on a no win no fee basis?

[IanM]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

I don't know any specific firms that could help you but if you contact the Law Society and ask them for a list of solicitors in your area that deals with repossessions etc., have a look at the LS website and see if you can finds one on there.

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/

Click on Find a Solicitor and take it from there. Try to find one that offers a free initial consultation, usually Saturday morning appointments.

Thanks Ian.
Looks like I've been let down.
I'll find a new solicitor ASAP.
Is there anyone you could recommend on a no win no fee basis?

[barclayarua]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

the documents are heavily edited, so it is impossible to work out who did what etc, who signed what etc. Can you confirm on the consent order, are you the Defendant or claimant?

I haven't seen the consent order. I am the defending his counter claim.

[barclayarua]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

Thanks. I'll start there and keep you all posted.
Thank you to everyone who has responded.

[IanM]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

If you are defending his counter claim try and get an independent report from a motoring organization with regards to the damage to the car, what caused it, what's needed to repair it, the time needed to repair it, the cost of the repair etc. I do not believe he cannot justify storage costs for a car in for repair or in dispute, or for the time he had an order against him by the court which was chased by the bailiff's.

I would also try to get as much publicity about this as possible, try to get a local reporter to cover your story, see how many cars he sells or fixes then!

I haven't seen the consent order. I am the defending his counter claim.

[barclayarua]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

Thanks Ian, those are very useful tips.
I went to see a free solicitor for advice. He didn't seem very interested and said there is nothing I can do about this legal document.
I don't know what to do.
Is there anyone who can get this overturned somehow? Are there flaws in the way the document has been produced which I would utilise?
I'm getting very worried now at the prospect of losing my family home for a car that cost me £1000 :tinysmile_cry_t:

[IanM]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

I think somebody somewhere has pulled a fast one at your expense.

How did the trader get a judgement overturned and then get a judgement against you?

What did he say to the judge on that day or was it his solicitor that spoke for him?

It may be his solicitor that has produced documents to the court that may not have been legal, if he has presented fake invoices for unjustified storage costs to get your earlier ruling overturned then you need to complain to someone.(not exactly sure who yet).

Has the trader ever sent you an invoice for the storage costs?

At the last hearing did he produce evidence to the judge that you had never seen before?

You really need to find out on what grounds the earlier judgement was overturned before we can find a way to contest the ruling and stop them forcing you to sell your house.

Maybe your local trading standards can advise you, they may look into the way the storage costs were only brought up at the hearing in 2011, if these storage costs have been manufactured on the advice of the solicitor then it may be worth contacting the Legal Complaints Service and ask their advice as well.

If they are genuine costs then they will have been included in the mechanics accounts for the year they were invoiced for, albeit unpaid but should still be accounted for, unless the mechanic is guilty of false accounting.

Look at anything and everything and throw it back at them until they get nervous and start back tracking.

What area do you live in?

[barclayarua]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

I've been paying £1500 to avoid going to court and have payed £4500 so far. Last week (16th) a CCJ was entered against me for an £8000 (an additional £3000 I do not not what for) - all this to the cost of my family and my personal well being.
I'm sick of this and feel severely let down by the legal system. What can I do now? - I really need someone good to help me in the north london area.

[barclayarua]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

I've taken the advice of another solicitor who has stated that the previous solicitor was negligent in the way the case was handled and even appeared to be colluding with the other party!
There are obvious flaws in the other sides argument too. In the meantime the other parties solicitor has contacted my future employer via email to let them know I have a judgement against me. Is there any Action I can take against this? The case is going back to court soon (judgement).

thx.
Merry Christmas to you all.

BA.

[IanM]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

I've taken the advice of another solicitor who has stated that the previous solicitor was negligent in the way the case was handled and even appeared to be colluding with the other party!
There are obvious flaws in the other sides argument too. In the meantime the other parties solicitor has contacted my future employer via email to let them know I have a judgement against me. Is there any Action I can take against this? The case is going back to court soon (judgement).

thx.
Merry Christmas to you all.

BA.

Excellent news!

Make sure you put an official complaint about the solicitor who contacted your future employer and ask your future employer to provide a copy of the e-mail to your new solicitor so he can support your complaint to the SRA.

Merry Xmas to you too.