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Related to my question about a locksmith blatantly overcharging me and ripping me off when I had no alternative. I called my bank to reverse the transaction but as it had been paid with Zelle there was nothing they could do; however, they suggested I take the locksmith to small claims court. This seems like a good approach as they charged $450 for a simple key cylinder replacement, and I can verify this was a gouge.

That said, when I went to go about submitting the claim, I realized I needed to provide the court with a mailing address so they could serve the locksmith. The locksmith has - through various means - dodged and refused to provide me with such a mailing address. Do I have any way to force their hand here? They "don't have a physical location" but it seems impossible to me that a business doesn't have a mailing address. There must be something I can do here, right? No way simply refusing to provide an address to be served at allows someone to avoid being (civilly) sued? Does this refusal make the matter criminal? Can I threaten them with criminal suit? Would this be blackmail?

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  • Possible duplicate: law.stackexchange.com/questions/101186/…
    – ohwilleke
    Commented Mar 14 at 21:41
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    Did you engage a locksmith with trading credentials and a business address, or a random cowboy advertising as a 'locksmith'? Your linked post implies you accepted their terms to charge you as they pleased. Having "no choice" because you needed the work done immediately, makes it an emergency repair, which is typically quite high. And why did you imagine that after drilling out the cylinder it would be reusable?
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Mar 14 at 23:26
  • I of course did not think the cylinder would be reusable. I asked what the cylinder would cost prior to the drilling and he stated he would not tell me until the drilling was completed and he could see the size of the cylinder required. I needed to get into the apartment. Surely this wouldn't allow him to charge me $50,000 for the cylinder because I "agreed to his terms", right? I've talked to several locksmiths in the area, an emergency services typically runs $400.
    – Runeaway3
    Commented Mar 15 at 1:41
  • Call the locksmith and ask them to give you an estimate for a new job, giving them a fake name so they don't know it's you. When they arrive, serve them the papers.
    – Barmar
    Commented Mar 15 at 23:58

2 Answers 2

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The NY Secretary of State has a searchable database of corporate and business entities. You should be able to find the registered address of the business there.

No, declining to provide a dissatisfied customer with an address does not make this a criminal matter.

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If the business is a limited company or a LLP, you can make a written request for the registered office address under Regulation 27 of the Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015. They are required to provide the information within 5 working days:

(1) A company shall disclose — (a)the address of its registered office; [...], to any person it deals with in the course of business who makes a written request to the company for that information.

(2) The company shall send a written response to that person within five working days of the receipt of that request.

A failure to provide the information without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence under Regulation 28.

If the business is an individual or a partnership then you can make a similar request under Section 1201 and 1202(2) of the Companies Act 2006. In this case they must provide an address for service immediately. A failure to do so is also a criminal offence under Section 1205.

Part 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules contains the rules for service. If the defendant does not give you an address for service, then CPR 6.9 tells you what to do. For example:

  • If the defendant is an individual, you must serve them at their "usual or last known residence".
  • If the defendant is a company registered in England & Wales, then you must serve them at "the principal office of the company; or any place of business of the company within the jurisdiction which has a real connection with the claim."

In the case of a company, assuming you know the registered name or the registered number, you can look up the registered address on the Companies House register.

Ultimately, if you are unable to locate a valid address for service, CPR 6.9(3) to 6.9(6) gives you various options you can exercise after taking reasonable steps to ascertain the address.

You can also make an application under CPR 6.15 for permission to use an alternative method of service. For example, you could ask for permission to serve by email.

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