Service Provider Deposit Paid Then Jailed

A question about : Service Provider Deposit Paid Then Jailed

Hi All,

For our wedding we decided (well my Fiancee decided) we were going to have a chocolate fountain. At a show she put down a deposit and everything we thought would be okay.

We got a phone call from our wedding venue as he hadn't turned up. We rung his phone and there was a message, they have ceased trading and he is in prison. This was confirmed when ringing the court. He had been put in prison for theft.

Is there any way we can claim our deposit back from him when he gets out? What can we do? It's Ј50.00 and at the end of the day, Ј50.00 is a days work to a lot of people.

Best answers:

• You can go to small claims, and it seems likely you would win. However, you would then need to enforce the award - and how you would do that against someone in prison I do not know.
  I would write it off - sounds like he has got his comeuppance.
• But he hasn't has he? He has got his reward for a completely unrelated incident, why should he get away with this. I appreciate your reply and actually think the Ј25 online fee may just be worth paying...
• That'll more than likely just result in you being Ј75 down...
• I wonder if a quick check with Trading Standards within that guys area is worth a call. Is there a list of other customers this has happened too, would your call be the one call that is needed to secure further investigation. Has fraud been committed for example?
  5 minute phone call, well worth it in my view.