taking a business based in Jersey to small claims court

[Sumita Singha]

I live in London and I recently used a company which handles the administrative part of another country's visa application system. This admin company is based in Jersey. I paid the admin company for a visa after submitting all documents required and was told that the visa would be approved. It now appears that the admin company did not tell me about a certain requirement due to which the application was rejected. They say that they will refund the fees after keeping the small (£8-00) admin fee. My argument is that admin company did not deliver its so called admin, therefore I should get the entire amount back. Now £8 is pennies and not worth much time really but it is a matter of principle that I should challenge them. Can I start a small claims procedure for a company based in Jersey?

 

[billybob99]

Not sure why on earth you would want to waste your time for £8, unless you don't value your time.

If you paid by credit card, you could do a charge back otherwise forget it and move on.

 

[Mr D]

I always admire people with the time and money to do something on principle.
Some of us are too poor to spend money over £8.

Is small claims court the only option you can take? Would a sit down protest at their office work? Would a media story work?
There are other ways of dealing with a company than chasing them for £8 and the costs to them can be far higher.
Its the principle of the thing.

 

[Sumita Singha]

I always admire people with the time and money to do something on principle.
Some of us are too poor to spend money over £8.

Is small claims court the only option you can take? Would a sit down protest at their office work? Would a media story work?
There are other ways of dealing with a company than chasing them for £8 and the costs to them can be far higher.
Its the principle of the thing.

yes, I am thinking of doing a media story about these admin charges from which companies make money regardless of whether they've done anything useful for you or not, and despite having made mistakes. It's like going to a restaurant and having a terrible meal and then a service charge being slapped on the bill. In a restaurant, you can decide whether to pay the service charge or not, depending on the service, so why not for these admin charges? BBC did a programme on admin charges sometime back but they only covered insurance companies.

 

[Mr D]

yes, I am thinking of doing a media story about these admin charges from which companies make money regardless of whether they've done anything useful for you or not, and despite having made mistakes. It's like going to a restaurant and having a terrible meal and then a service charge being slapped on the bill. In a restaurant, you can decide whether to pay the service charge or not, depending on the service, so why not for these admin charges? BBC did a programme on admin charges sometime back but they only covered insurance companies.

If the business made money on an 8 pound admin charge I would be surprised. Contribution towards the costs you have generated.

Service charge added to the bill? Yes that is common, it's not a tip it's extra voluntary price. You can ask to have it taken off.
For great food and service there is always a tip too, which is not company income and not subject to tax on profits.