Small claims...have I a case?

cossagepie

I had a bathroom fitted less than a year ago and soon after had some problems with the cistern. The installers at first were responsive but after a couple of attempts at rectifying the problem and realising it wasn't an easy fix became more and more difficult to get in contact with. The problem was eventually repaired by the cistern manufacturers own service guy.
I am now having problems with the cistern and also the sink tap. I contacted the original installers and they took my first phone call and said they'd be up within the week. That was a month ago and since then they are ignoring my calls. I've been told I can make a claim in the small claims court under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980. So my questions are:

1 Can I?

2 How would I go about this? I need my bathroom functional so do I have another plumber carry out the repairs and then look for reimbursement from the original installers? Do I leave the bathroom as it is and wait for the outcome of the case before doing anything?

3 How do I put a cost on the repair if I can't have it repaired before the claim? A claim amount has to be put on the application form.

I know this claim will not be for a large amount but I would pursue it purely because I think I have received terrible after sales service and to let these guys see that they can't get away with treating their customers like that. Alternatively should I just pay to get it sorted and move on?

Any help or advise would be appreciated.

kurtainsider

I'm no expert but I think that the procedure is that you write to them (keeping a copy) or email them outlining the issues and giving them a reasonable (30 days?) time to put things right. You also tell them that if it's not sorted by that date that you will pay someone else to fix the problems and backcharge them via the courts.

AndrewJRenko

For the Small Claims Court, you have to claim against whoever you paid the money to, presumably the installer. You have no contract with the distributors, so you can't sue them.

The problem is that the installer could just ignore the claim. Even if you win the case, enforcing a judgement is a long drawn out process in itself.

cossagepie

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

For the Small Claims Court, you have to claim against whoever you paid the money to, presumably the installer. You have no contract with the distributors, so you can't sue them.

The problem is that the installer could just ignore the claim. Even if you win the case, enforcing a judgement is a long drawn out process in itself.



My understanding was that if the claim is ignored the sheriff enforces the judgement and any costs in enforcing is payed by the installers.

AndrewJRenko

cossagepie wrote: »

My understanding was that if the claim is ignored the sheriff enforces the judgement and any costs in enforcing is payed by the installers.

Correct in theory, but difficult to achieve in practice. Here's the steps involved;

https://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/enforcing-a-small-claims-court-judgment.2094/#post-17476

And at the end of the day, if there are no assets to seize, you're left with nothing.

kurtainsider

I would think that it's well worth going through the process. Any business - unless they are complete cowboys wouldn't like to have a court judgement against them. Also - it would probably cause problems for them down the road with bank loans etc.

PMC999

I had a similar situation about 5 years ago and tried using the small claims process.
It turned out to be a complete waste of time as the contractor (who took a large deposit from me and other customers) claimed he had no assets.
I think it really depends on whether you are claiming against a properly established business or a fly by night self employed tradesman. Best of luck.

the_pen_turner

who supplied the cistern an tap.

what are the issues.

what was the original issue with the cistern and is the issue the same. if so then I wouldn't think the warranty given by installer would be valid if someone else fiddled with it. also if they got the manufacturer to fix it then surely the issue is with the manufacturer and their guy who fixed it. remember that all repair s have to be permanent

whats going on with the tap