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Thread ID: 108621	2010-04-05 04:12:00	Disputed bill from Professionals - Any Lawyers ?	Digby (677)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
873014	2010-04-06 03:05:00	Thanks guys for the great replies. Very helpful and a lot to go through (as always) Just to clarify a few things. yes in my younger days I did have a few "bill's" that took me a while to pay. As I said it seems that if someone goes to court to get a judgement on you, the court only listens to them. But that is a separte issue. The company involved gave us a written quote for $3,500, and asked for a $2,000 deposit which they say is normal in their industry. When we told them we could not afford to go ahead on the $3,500 and we said that the work they had already done for us should make the current job much easier, one of their partners agreed that $2,000 should cover it. We then said that on that basis we would give them a $1,000 deposit, but they insisted on the $2,000 saying that should about cover it. On that basis we agreed verbally to go ahead. So we paid the $2,000 before they started the work. I like the idea of going to their proffessional body. I also like the idea of going to court with our two affadavits ! And the fact that they have not finished the work, should help us. Hopefully just threatening them with reporting them to their body might make them give us. Because you didn't do all this in writng,the oucome is in the lap of the gods. Let this be a lesson to us all.	Cicero (40)
873015	2010-04-06 05:11:00	Go and talk to your lawyer (If you have one) In some circumstances a verbal contract can be binding. Good on you for seeking advice here, but I don't think you are getting the best help. Talk to someone qualified to help. Maybe see your local Citizens Advice Bureau if there is one in your patch.	Richard (739)
873016	2010-04-06 06:18:00	Go and talk to your lawyer (If you have one) In some circumstances a verbal contract can be binding. Good on you for seeking advice here, but I don't think you are getting the best help. Talk to someone qualified to help. Maybe see your local Citizens Advice Bureau if there is one in your patch. www.cab.org.nz	Renmoo (66)
873017	2010-04-06 10:38:00	PS; What profession is this professional you are in dispute with?	KenESmith (6287)
873018	2010-04-06 10:56:00	Actually I don't think you have a leg to stand on. :)	Trev (427)
873019	2010-05-05 03:41:00	An update on this matter. Hi Guys I contacted our local Citizens Advice Bureau who said that they do not assist for businesses (only private) They sort of mentioned the Disputes Tribunal. Just to let you know that I looked up the Disputes Tribunal (after Robby P's hint) and it said that for $50 I could lodge a complaint with them. So I went and got the forms. I wrote to the company in question and told them, that as they were refusing to credit us the $1,500 they said we owed them, and were threatening us with debt collectors, then we had no recourse but to refer the matter to the Disputes Tribunal unless they withdrew their action. We have today had an email from them saying that they will no longer pursue the matter, and that they have closed their file. So that was a great result from our point of view. The company in question were Patent Lawyers. And to clarift things we had paid a deposit of $2,000. We do not have our patent yet, and have paid them a lot of money, but we are now going to try to complete our patent application ourselves. That is a great load off our mind, as it is / was a lot of money. I will be contacting Robby to personally thank him and offer him a small reward. Once again thanks guys Just shows how great this forum is.	Digby (677)
873020	2010-05-05 04:57:00	You dont have to worry about the debt collectors if the bill is disputed. Baycorp wont touch it with a bargepole if the bill is disputed. Verbal quote ok in law, Henry Ford did multi million deals verbally then a handshake. If you win and they dont pay you take them to the debt colectors	prefect (6291)
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