Legal advice needed

[banksy6118]

So, long story short,

I took on a bike to repair and mot prep, spent the budget i was given and asked for more.
Fast forward a year with NO contact , another bunch of cash was handed to me out of the blue, i declined it and said come collect the bike.

bike was not collected. fast forward another 2 years. i was sick of it in my garden so gave it away.

the original owner got wind of this and is now trying to take me to small claims court.

all contact with owner was threw a friend, (no direct contact)

where do i stand?

cheers

 

[Paddy_R]

@NeilMcG would be the man to ask re this.

 

[KyleR]

What bike?

 

[banksy6118]

What bike?

we shall call it ''Bike A''

 

[KyleR]

we shall call it ''Bike A''

No no, you misunderstand me.

What bike?

 

[banksy6118]

No no, you misunderstand me.

What bike?

I understood clearly. i'm just not telling you

 

[bill]

Did you have a written contract if no did you agree a time frame .
Once you told them usually there is a three month time frame to collect.
Counter sue for storage of the bike that is the easy way to stop it.
25 quid a week for 3 years

 

[banksy6118]

Did you have a written contract if no did you agree a time frame .
Once you told them usually there is a three month time frame to collect.
Counter sue for storage of the bike that is the easy way to stop it.
25 quid a week for 3 years

no contract or time frame agreed. it seems like they basically used me as a storage option and get pissy when i had enough and got rid.

i thought about storage costs but i wasn't sure i could use that as an option. may look into it a little more.

cheers

 

[bill]

plus have you been paid for labour and yearly service cost

 

[stevieturbo]

Similar to above...however you would need to show or somehow prove you tried to contact the person over this time period to get things resolved.

 

[CharlySkunkWeed]

Similar to above...however you would need to show or somehow prove you tried to contact the person over this time period to get things resolved.

Would the same not apply to the owner ? As in would he have any proof the bike was left there ?

 

[andy_b]

I understood clearly. i'm just not telling you

Again, I don’t think you understood what he meant lol

 

[banksy6118]

Again, I don’t think you understood what he meant lol

jesus this was pre coffee. i get what he means now

 

[colin84]

As Stevie says, you would need proof you tried to contact the owner. Best bet is to deny all knowledge of it.

 

[banksy6118]

the owner has said they they received a message stating the bike was ready for the road. yet made no effort to come collect it or even contact me for collection.

 

[Terry]

If you've received an official notice re small claims then I'd be speaking to a solicitor as soon as you can, they could give you a steer over the phone prior to any appointment, the less you say or contact in the meantime the better.

Depending on the circumstances you could be into Lien law, although that's usually for people refusing to pay bills, and with them offering the additional cash - that might confuse matters. OR if you'd made clear that you wanted the vehicle collected, and made efforts to get them to pick it up or to contact them, then it may fall into the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act - but again it'll depend on the timeline and there's usually a procedure to follow.

There are probably a whole host of other things a solicitor can point you towards too, and if it did go to small claims you can always pay to have legal representation and advice on any counterclaim.

Personally, I'd either speak to a solicitor now to put your mind at ease if you've received a letter or wait until you receive any correspondence and then speak to a solicitor

 

[stevieturbo]

Would the same not apply to the owner ? As in would he have any proof the bike was left there ?

True too...but banksy has already admitted it was there, and he has done work etc.

 

[VEN©M]

Currently in the small claims process at the minute. Basically, you have the option to lodge a counter-claim, you're almost guaranteed to end up in front of a judge at that point and it's a matter of simply stating your case. Based on your account, i can't see a judge seeing you removing the bike from your premises after that period of time as being unreasonable, especially as you didn't sell for financial gain and didn't charge the owner for storage costs.

i would imagine that the issue might go away once you lodge a very well laid-out counter-claim before it ever gets to the courtroom.