Any solicitors/lawyers on here?

[Nudga]

Currently having a bit of trouble with a customer of mine claiming damages. They are even going as far as exaggerating this supposed damage with photos that have been made to look far worse than they actually are. Not only are they lying and making statements up that I have supposedly said, they are now demanding that they have their wooden floor relayed, their lawn relayed, the chimney breast re-plastered and repainted.

To me, this is a classic case of a professional claimer. I say professional because a bit research on Facebook tells me that the lady of the house works for a law firm and is I think, a junior lawyer herself.

They still have my goods at their house which still need paying for and they are using this supposed damage to try and keep the goods for free.

Are there any solicitors or lawyers on here that would kindly advise me?

I will go into town and get the free half hour but I would like as much ammo as I can to take on these people because so far, it looks like I could get shafted because she is flexing her new found lawyer muscles on me.

[Filo]

I'm no expert, but i sounds like she's trying to scare you into giving in to her demands by flexing her lawyer muscles

[Muttley]

Not a lawyer, but got some experience, albeit on a larger scale.

What do your contractual terms of sale say about limitation of liability, rectification of faults/damage, scope of work, retention of title to goods etc?

(You do have contractual terms of sale, don't you? If not, I suggest you get a lawyer to draft you some for future use and show you how to make sure they apply to future sales.)

What's the value of the goods they're holding? How much would you be out of pocket if you walked away?

If it is a fraudulent claim and the lady is a lawyer herself, then maybe suggest that you will be reporting her to the Law Society - you can search at http://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/?Pro=True

[Nudga]

I do have a small paragraph at the bottom of my quote sheets regarding decorative damage and that all goods remain my property until paid for in full etc. Probably not enough to cover me.

I fitted a hearth which is valued at £160.
Installed a flue liner which is valued at £300. And they have my stove valued at £410.
They paid me a deposit of £290.
I have told them that the deposit will cover the flue liner and that I will waiver the labour cost of installing this and the hearth.
I have asked for my hearth and stove back or that they pay me for them.
They have since taken out the hearth, I do not know if this is still in one piece.

They are claiming damages to the chimney breast, the chimney breast is not finished and is in need of repair (re-pastering) anyway. This part of the job they were going to get done themselves. The damage they are claiming is paint being pulled off by masking tape and a 5mm cut right at the bottom of the wall where I used a multi tool. This would be hidden by the hearth and skirting board. Also the chimney breast needs painting once they completed the plastering work.

There is more to it than this but just giving you a general idea.

[bigbadjack]

What are they saying you have actually damaged, Iv had a bit of experience with this kind of thing

[wing commander]

    it's sometimes the professional people that are the worst to deal with..I once rented a house out..For years I did it through the dhs and had social tenants without any problems...Then I rented it to a manager of a big local carpet shop and his wife who worked as a tax inspector...They stopped paying the rent and trashed the house and he was abusive...I had to go through the court process to get them evicted which takes ages and costs fortunes...When I finally got them out It had cost me over £5k in lost rent,damages and legal fee's....Then to cap it all surprise surprise  found myself under investigation for non payment of tax on the bloody rent she never paid in the first place....Like you say it turned out they had done it before and were professional fraudsters so you have my sympathy as I know how stressful it is...

[Nudga]

 They have emailed me this morning with an offer to either pay the difference of the deposit they paid to the cost of the stove and hearth or me pay back the deposit and retrieve my stove and hearth.
No mention of paying for a flue liner that I have installed though.
Not sure whether to pursue further or just cut my losses and accept their proposed terms.

[bigbadjack]

Id cut my losses and get my gear back

[Glyn_Wigley]

Id cut my losses and get my gear back

And then sue for the flue liner as it's not been mentioned in the deal! Unless they stick in a 'in full and final settlement' clause in writing somewhere...

Once you've got your stuff back they've no hold over you any more.

[jonnydog]

Id cut my losses and get my gear back

And then sue for the flue liner as it's not been mentioned in the deal! Unless they stick in a 'in full and final settlement' clause in writing somewhere...

Once you've got your stuff back they've no hold over you any more.

This

[Muttley]

I do have a small paragraph at the bottom of my quote sheets regarding decorative damage and that all goods remain my property until paid for in full etc. Probably not enough to cover me.

Probably not, strongly suggest you get some T&C's drafted by a lawyer (or if you're a member of a professional body, maybe they have some sample terms you could use, or maybe copy from a competitor's!). I would include the terms on the quote and get the customer to sign when they place an order stating that they accept the T&C's.

[Nudga]

My worry is that the woman as mentioned above is a junior in a law firm. Can strings be pulled or will court look more favourably towards a fellow professional?
At this moment in time I am leaning towards settling for the payment of stove and hearth under the condition that they refrain from any negative and disparaging comments or reviews on social media or trade websites.

[Muttley]

My worry is that the woman as mentioned above is a junior in a law firm. Can strings be pulled or will court look more favourably towards a fellow professional?
At this moment in time I am leaning towards settling for the payment of stove and hearth under the condition that they refrain from any negative and disparaging comments or reviews on social media or trade websites.

Unlikely they'd get special treatment from the small claims court.

You're basically going to be writing off £300 for the flue, whether you retrieve your goods and return the deposit, or accept the balancing payment.

Think of how many days work you might lose if you have to prepare for the case and attend court , plus solicitors fees.

To be honest, I would just take the hit of the £300.

If you're really concerned about bad publicity, you could ask them to sign a settlement agreement naming each party and stating exactly what each agrees to do and make it as Glyn says "in full and final settlement", stating that neither party shall disclose details of the contract or the settlement.

[Nudga]

I've just emailed saying that I'll pay back the deposit once I've got my stove, hearth AND flue liner.

[Colemans Left Hook]

My worry is that the woman as mentioned above is a junior in a law firm. Can strings be pulled or will court look more favourably towards a fellow professional?
At this moment in time I am leaning towards settling for the payment of stove and hearth under the condition that they refrain from any negative and disparaging comments or reviews on social media or trade websites.

Unlikely they'd get special treatment from the small claims court.

You're basically going to be writing off £300 for the flue, whether you retrieve your goods and return the deposit, or accept the balancing payment.

Think of how many days work you might lose if you have to prepare for the case and attend court , plus solicitors fees.

To be honest, I would just take the hit of the £300.

If you're really concerned about bad publicity, you could ask them to sign a settlement agreement naming each party and stating exactly what each agrees to do and make it as Glyn says "in full and final settlement", stating that neither party shall disclose details of the contract or the settlement.

yes it's like a tomlin order  (consent order) without going to court

a case like this is bread and butter -- usually filed as a money claim on line -small claims -  she should possibly be able to claim for alleged damage to the lawn on a house insurance policy --

I would spend that £10 as I said in a pm

job for the missus !!

[Nudga]

Result!!
Last night I offered all of the materials at trade price. They accepted.
I'm not out of pocket apart from a wasted day. I've also made them agree to not put anyway negative or disparaging comments on social media and trade websites.

Thanks guys for the advice and thanks to Colemans left hook for sending me links to various things. I used certain terminology that you advised in my emails so maybe that worked?

[jonnydog]

Glad it's all sorted.

... Next time don't f**k up and do a bodge job!!!

[Dagenham Rover]

Glad you got a decent result