suing garage/owner for faulty work

[POORCARDEALER]

TooMany2cvs said:

POORCARDEALER said:

TooMany2cvs said:

SpydieNut said:

it looks like a Ltd company, so i may well be out of luck. the business name is XXX Ltd. it has business reg and VAT reg number, registered address etc. i've also looked on companies house now and the company is still listed as active (at the old address) and as a private limited company.

the chap and his wife were directors.

And still are?

If so, then great. There's your target.

Its not all good news though is it, the LTD company could end up been dissolved and the OP is throwing good money after bad.

Sure. And if you were going after the individual, he could kick the bucket.

Too much bad advice given on threads like this.

[snobetter]

Hope I'm not muddying the waters however, my own tale of engine woe was asked garage A to do some work, they subbed (unknown to me) part of the work out. Major engine failure in-between the two garages (honestly can't remember what it was now, brains cleared the trauma maybe...) neither garage would then touch the engine saying it was the others fault and if they touched the engine the other would blame them? Months of back and forth...
Point for this story, is garage A going to blame some / all of the damage on garage B, was evidence collected before during and after garage B touching the engine.
Hopefully those who know more can show I was messed around and you have nothing to worry about on this point at least.

My story ending for those who are interested: - Was on an evo 3 about 12 years ago, garage A eventually looked in engine, found it wasn't as bad as feared and repaired it...I had 6 months or so in a courtesy Carina instead of my evo.

[TooMany2cvs]

POORCARDEALER said:

TooMany2cvs said:

POORCARDEALER said:

TooMany2cvs said:

SpydieNut said:

it looks like a Ltd company, so i may well be out of luck. the business name is XXX Ltd. it has business reg and VAT reg number, registered address etc. i've also looked on companies house now and the company is still listed as active (at the old address) and as a private limited company.

the chap and his wife were directors.

And still are?

If so, then great. There's your target.

Its not all good news though is it, the LTD company could end up been dissolved and the OP is throwing good money after bad.

Sure. And if you were going after the individual, he could kick the bucket.

Too much bad advice given on threads like this.

And what are you suggesting is the bad advice?

The OP has a contract with one legal entity only - and that's whoever/whatever is on his invoice, in the lack of any evidence to the contrary. Sure, a company can be closed. A person can die. But you can't sue an individual employee for the cost of work their employer did, even if they had previously been a director of that company (but may well not have been by the time the work was invoiced)...

[POORCARDEALER]

TooMany2cvs said:

POORCARDEALER said:

TooMany2cvs said:

POORCARDEALER said:

TooMany2cvs said:

SpydieNut said:

it looks like a Ltd company, so i may well be out of luck. the business name is XXX Ltd. it has business reg and VAT reg number, registered address etc. i've also looked on companies house now and the company is still listed as active (at the old address) and as a private limited company.

the chap and his wife were directors.

And still are?

If so, then great. There's your target.

Its not all good news though is it, the LTD company could end up been dissolved and the OP is throwing good money after bad.

Sure. And if you were going after the individual, he could kick the bucket.

Too much bad advice given on threads like this.

And what are you suggesting is the bad advice?

The OP has a contract with one legal entity only - and that's whoever/whatever is on his invoice, in the lack of any evidence to the contrary. Sure, a company can be closed. A person can die. But you can't sue an individual employee for the cost of work their employer did, even if they had previously been a director of that company (but may well not have been by the time the work was invoiced)...

Well aware of that and the comment was not specifically aimed at you, however I think the OP needs to be made aware that it is very simple for the engine builder to dissolve the company once the OP has gone down the road of getting a judgement against them...often not difficult getting the judgement, getting the money from the company is a different matter.

[hora]

SpydieNut said:

thanks all - will be looking into the best way of going about this in the coming week.

and yes, it was in the NW, he was 'a subaru specialist' in stockport.

Stockport? The bloke who charged me £450 for a air fuel sensor + £120 fitting + £70 diagnostic + vat.

[themanwithnoname]

hora said:

SpydieNut said:

thanks all - will be looking into the best way of going about this in the coming week.

and yes, it was in the NW, he was 'a subaru specialist' in stockport.

Stockport? The bloke who charged me £450 for a air fuel sensor + £120 fitting + £70 diagnostic + vat.

Yup that's the one I'm thinking of.

Again I'm sorry to say it, but people's experience has been either:

• Silence
• Abuse
• Silence then Abuse
• Abuse then silence
• Good old fashioned threats of violence.

So, while it might be worth pursuing him down the legal route, do be aware that he has significant form. I'll see what I can dig up with regards how many times/if he has form for 'phoenixing' his business.

[hora]

I wouldn't have minded if he was in a main dealer showroom but in a industrial estate it felt like I was being taken advantage of. Adge and Hebden Bridge got my business after that experience so he lost repeat trade for a one off hit. Good luck

[Red Devil]

OP, if my guess is correct (fits most of the clues you have provided)*, he had a previous company which was dissolved in 2003.

The financials of the extant one began a steady decline beginning in 2011. The started to hit the fan in 2014.
In the following 12 months the balance sheet showed cash more than halved and net worth declined by a third.

 * In particular, the Director/Company Secretary of both of the above shares the same surname.

He is listed as the sole director of another company (at a different address) which was incorporated on 1st April 2015.
The only documents filed so far for that one are the NEWINC and AR01. Too new for any trading history.
SIC/NAIC Codes
68 - Real estate activities
682 - Renting and operating of own or leased real estate
68209 - Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate

[SpydieNut]

Red Devil said:

OP, if my guess is correct (fits most of the clues you have provided)*, he had a previous company which was dissolved in 2003.

The financials of the extant one began a steady decline beginning in 2011. The started to hit the fan in 2014.
In the following 12 months the balance sheet showed cash more than halved and net worth declined by a third.

 * In particular, the Director/Company Secretary of both of the above shares the same surname.

He is listed as the sole director of another company (at a different address) which was incorporated on 1st April 2015.
The only documents filed so far for that one are the NEWINC and AR01. Too new for any trading history.
SIC/NAIC Codes
68 - Real estate activities
682 - Renting and operating of own or leased real estate
68209 - Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate

I think you're correct - sad to see he has previous form

Seems like he knew exactly what he was doing.

[SpydieNut]

a quick update and thank you all for the advice

bottom line seems to be stay away from Pete ****, who used to own Pro**** in Stockport - he's ignoring my texts and emails.

he has, interestingly, contacted the garage where my car is now and offered to come in on a Sunday and rebuild the bottom end. i've told the garage I don't want him doing this. a)it's nowhere near enough of a contribution and b) if things do go tits up again and he's done some of the work, he'll blame the garage and they'll blame him

so the garage is in the process of doing the work - they'll have the block milled for 14mm studs etc and go from there. quote of £2.8k (incl VAT) all in.

i'm going to have to do it, as the car isn't worth much as a non-runner.

then try and see if i can pursue Pete down legal channels - and taking advice on this first, given he's sold Pro****.