TORBAY Hospitality Association has been told to pay a hotelier it threw out of the body almost £200.

A Torquay County Court judge has said the THA should pay Paignton hotelier Stuart Lewton £199.74.

This included £135 court fees and £47.72 reflecting a ten per cent discount on his 2010 THA guide advert which Mr Lewton said he never received, and £3.02 for VAT which the association accepted it may have overcharged.

He had claimed £618.90 refunds in advertising and subscriptions.

A THA application to have the Herald Express banned from the court was refused.

Chairman Len Lindon told the hearing the association disputed it owed Mr Lewton any money after his membership was terminated in January because his advert was still in the 2010 guide. They had already refunded half his membership with a cheque for £70.83.

"I don't know of any publication where you can take people to court and get your money back if you don't get business through your advert," he said.

District Judge Moon suggested to Mr Lindon and vice-president Teresa Butto that if the association found it had overcharged other members for VAT when it was reduced to 15 per cent they should repay it.

He told the THA to pay Mr Lewton's court fee though he said he had rejected some of his claims, including his claim for a refund on his advertising.

After the hearing Mr Lewton, from the Commodore Hotel in Preston, said the court hearing had been 'worth it'.

"They had their chance to respond and they didn't," he said. "It is a shame it came to this.

"I believe every single member should be able to claim the VAT back. With 200 members it could be a substantial amount. I raised this in meetings but was told I was wrong.

"None of this needed to have come to court. It doesn't look good for the association."

Mr Lindon declined to comment after the case.

Mr Lewton told the hearing he had been encouraged to join by association secretary Linda Hill, who was not in court, on the basis that he would get a ten per cent discount on his advert.

He claimed he had also been told the guide would be bigger and better when in fact it had fewer advertisers.

"I should have a refund because I was blatantly lied to by secretary Linda Hill," he told the court.

"Their admin is abysmal to say the least but anybody who questions it just gets kicked out."

When he received the invoice for the advert it was for the full price. He said he had not received any bookings from his THA advert.

Mr Lewton also claimed he had been charged 17.5 per cent VAT when the rate was 15 per cent.

Responding Mr Lindon said he was not in a position to corroborate what Mr Lewton claimed to have been told by Mrs Hill. "I was not party to it," he said.

He said the THA had refunded half of his membership fee and a fee for an enhanced web link to the THA site with a cheque for £70.83.

They declined to make a refund on the advert in their guide as he said Mr Lewton had the same benefits from the guide as other advertisers. "We felt it was inappropriate that we should make a refund."

If the offer of a discount could be proved he said they were happy to give a refund for that, and they would pay the sum involved if the VAT calculation was wrong.

"If any VAT is repayable we will pay it," he said.

District Judge Moon said the case centred around Mr Lewton's claim of misrepresentation.

"We are not dealing with the internal antics of any organisation." He said he would not consider claims relating to what occurred at association meetings nor alleged breach of society rules.

But he said that as Mr Lewton had a letter signed by Mrs Hill offering the 10 per cent discount the association was 'stuck'.

And he said: "If the VAT has been miscalculated, then clearly it should be put right."

The association has 28 days to pay.