Headstone Not Delivered
Discussion
Ok so this is a long tale of woe so apologies in advance and a big pat on the back for anyone who read it to the end.
My 77 year olds fathers partner died in November last year having suffered a stroke after having a Covid booster. My father unknown to me ordered the headstone from a 'business' in January. The guy in question put a headstone up for my uncles grave about a decade earlier so my father had no reason to doubt him.
The guy came out to the house, talked him through the options, shape, colour, inscription etc and my father handed over a cheque for £895 this was the last week of January. This was to be completed within a month. Permission was sent to the wrong council to approve it, again he had made the mistake, you would think if he did this everyday he would know what graveyards are in which council area. This was the first time I suspected something. Then every few weeks or month the guy was ill, then in hospital with pneumonia, then he'd broken his leg, you get the idea.
Excuse after excuse after two months I told my father I'd do some detective work as I am sensing something is a bit dodgy. So I looked up the business and he isn't a registered company, the premises he rents are never open and the business beside have said they rarely see it open. They said he gets mail redirected to his house instead. In ten years he has 8 google reviews, 2 of which call him a conman and 5 which are far from glowing endorsements. So I suspect the business given the area it's located is a front of criminality, money laundering etc.
So after nearly three months the guy sent my father a text saying he would be up with a full refund by Monday evening, it never arrived. Instead he did receive a text from someone else from the same number saying "Mr X is in hospital". I know this guys name, name he goes under so I went to another memorials business that had been trading for 200 years. I enquired and said my father had been let down by another guy. The first thing he said was "it wasn't Mr X was it, we have 15 other headstones ordered by people let down by him". That is 15 that we know of. They said he used to work for them but left 20 years ago saying he had a broken leg and he can't get any credit to buy the granite so just pockets the money. They said he's been reported to the police and trading standards know all about him.
So it appears he does this repeatedly and to be honest it's disgusting, it's not a garden shed from B&Q it was a stone ordered by the grieving family to remember their loved one. I've done a bit of detective work and found the conman real name, his business addresses, the fact he isn't registered for tax or VAT etc and want to find out if he has any CCJ's. Basically what I want to know does my father have any comeback through small claims because he paid by cheque?
In days gone by you would have gone round for a civil chat but he has my fathers address so probably not the best route.
My 77 year olds fathers partner died in November last year having suffered a stroke after having a Covid booster. My father unknown to me ordered the headstone from a 'business' in January. The guy in question put a headstone up for my uncles grave about a decade earlier so my father had no reason to doubt him.
The guy came out to the house, talked him through the options, shape, colour, inscription etc and my father handed over a cheque for £895 this was the last week of January. This was to be completed within a month. Permission was sent to the wrong council to approve it, again he had made the mistake, you would think if he did this everyday he would know what graveyards are in which council area. This was the first time I suspected something. Then every few weeks or month the guy was ill, then in hospital with pneumonia, then he'd broken his leg, you get the idea.
Excuse after excuse after two months I told my father I'd do some detective work as I am sensing something is a bit dodgy. So I looked up the business and he isn't a registered company, the premises he rents are never open and the business beside have said they rarely see it open. They said he gets mail redirected to his house instead. In ten years he has 8 google reviews, 2 of which call him a conman and 5 which are far from glowing endorsements. So I suspect the business given the area it's located is a front of criminality, money laundering etc.
So after nearly three months the guy sent my father a text saying he would be up with a full refund by Monday evening, it never arrived. Instead he did receive a text from someone else from the same number saying "Mr X is in hospital". I know this guys name, name he goes under so I went to another memorials business that had been trading for 200 years. I enquired and said my father had been let down by another guy. The first thing he said was "it wasn't Mr X was it, we have 15 other headstones ordered by people let down by him". That is 15 that we know of. They said he used to work for them but left 20 years ago saying he had a broken leg and he can't get any credit to buy the granite so just pockets the money. They said he's been reported to the police and trading standards know all about him.
So it appears he does this repeatedly and to be honest it's disgusting, it's not a garden shed from B&Q it was a stone ordered by the grieving family to remember their loved one. I've done a bit of detective work and found the conman real name, his business addresses, the fact he isn't registered for tax or VAT etc and want to find out if he has any CCJ's. Basically what I want to know does my father have any comeback through small claims because he paid by cheque?
In days gone by you would have gone round for a civil chat but he has my fathers address so probably not the best route.
Edited by sutoka on Thursday 18th May 03:43
If you have the address and contact details, send him a letter by recorded delivery so you have a receipt. Title it Notice before Action.
You had a verbal contract with the supplier. Say you want your money back in full in 7 days. Failure to do so will result in action being taken.
That will show you mean business. He's not a limited company, so is personally liable. Next step is small claims court.
That's how I would play it to get the money back. Be firm but polite. Do not do things by text. You want everything in writing now so you have evidence. Also, start the diary of events, timings, what did or did not happen, and receipt for your costs. You the have something to share with the court if it comes to that.
Don't bother with Police before you get a refund. Only consider reporting him for fraud after you have money back.
You had a verbal contract with the supplier. Say you want your money back in full in 7 days. Failure to do so will result in action being taken.
That will show you mean business. He's not a limited company, so is personally liable. Next step is small claims court.
That's how I would play it to get the money back. Be firm but polite. Do not do things by text. You want everything in writing now so you have evidence. Also, start the diary of events, timings, what did or did not happen, and receipt for your costs. You the have something to share with the court if it comes to that.
Don't bother with Police before you get a refund. Only consider reporting him for fraud after you have money back.
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