Advice needed re possible action against LOM Maintanence

[nlbean]

I had LOM Maintenance out recently as our boiler was not working. Initially they sent an electrician, he looked at it and said we would need a plumber. He charged £78 and called a plumber from LOM. The Plumber came out but found that it was not a plumbing issue but an electrical one. Helpfully he was electrically trained so fixed the problem and charged £88. He said he would put in a complaint against the electrician and arrange for the £78 to be refunded.

However, on reviewing my credit card a few days later I found they had taken two amounts one of £158 and one of over £600. My husband called the company who said they would look into it and get back to us. They didn't so he called again and was told the same. Having heard nothing I checked my card again and found they had taken another amount of over £900. This company had now taken over £1,700 from my account. I called again this time it was a Saturday and I got the out of hours call out. The guy who answered gave me the directors email address, I emailed him and he emailed back the same day to say he would look into it and get back to me first thing Monday morning. weeks later and a number of email have been exchanged, he promised call backs and that the money would be refunded yet it is still not in my account. The last contact was on 15/03/2013 when I was told via email that the money had been refunded and to wait 2-5 days. It is now nearly two weeks later and I have emailed three times plus called the company directly but I am now not getting any response from the director. The last girl I spoke to said she would also email him but again nothing.

I am therefore in a position where I have over £1,700 on my car in error and this has been there for 5 weeks so I am paying interest. My husbands car is on its last legs and may break down at any moment and we were going to use the card to pay the deposit on a new one but can't because of this. I am also 22 weeks pregnant and wanted to buy a buggy that was on special offer but couldn't because of this large amount on my card. This is causing me a lot of stress at a time when I should really be staying calm and I am getting no where. I have raised a dispute with my credit card company and am awaiting the forms. I have been told this could take around 6 weeks to resolve. I am now very angry and upset and would like compensation for the inconvenience, interest and stress caused but unsure how I can make this sort of claim against a company who will not respond. Do I have a case and if so how can I take action against them to recover my costs plus compensation?

 

[Witch consumer]

Yes you do have a case but by far the easiest course of action is to ask your credit card company to repay the amounts,, thats the great thing about using credit cards for payments over £100, they are equally responsible for the payments taken under section 75 of the CCA.

 

[nlbean]

Thank you. I have raised a dispute with my credit card but that will not get compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused so I would like to also take additional action against I am just not sure how to start the ball rolling.

 

[ALewis]

Additional action for distress and inconvenience:
If a value can be placed on the distress & inconvenience and the value can be proven, by all means, go ahead. BUT typically speaking, a judge won't award a monetary value for distress or inconvenience , it's not feasible nor fair (don't forget, a judge is a middle-man .
Inconvenience from having extra days off because of the companies failures can be recovered as 'consequential losses' for your lost wages, however this will not be enforceable if you were going to have the day off regardless.

Think of it logically from an outsider's (judge's) shoes : "I've been caused distress, I'm looking for compensation of £100" , How have you placed a value of £100 on an unmeasurable, intangible mental hardship?

It seems unfair if you're the victim, but there we go.
Adam

Edit: Also note that the inability to purchase a new vehicle or a pushchair has not in fact caused you any harm. And even If the current vehicle had broken down, and your husband has to pay for public transport to get to work - you probably wouldn't be able to claim for the costs, as the scenario must be 'reasonably foreseeable' , and in my opinion at least, this would not be reasonably foreseen.
And the same goes for the buggy if you were to claim for the difference in price if the special offer no longer existed - would it be reasonably foreseeable to the company that their negligent acts would lead to yourself not being able to purchase a buggy which is on special offer?
It's a bit of a stretch if I'm honest.