“If the debtor under a debtor-creditor-supplier agreement falling within section 12(b) or (c) has, in relation to a transaction financed by the agreement, any claim against the supplier in respect of a misrepresentation or breach of contract, he shall have a like claim against the creditor, who, with the supplier, shall accordingly be jointly and severally liable to the debtor”.
The TCA receive many calls about making a claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Although we have previously posted about this, we have revisited the subject in order to provide all Consumers with an easy “how to”;
The facts
- The purchase must be over £100.00 and under £30,000.00;
- The purchase has to have been made on a Credit Card or Linked Loan. (This includes deposits);
- There isn’t a time limit for making a claim under Section 75; however the statute of limitations in the UK is six years (five in Scotland). This means that once you begin your claim, you have 6 years in order to settle the matter and/or issue Court Proceedings. If you exceed this timeframe you will be unable to proceed through the Courts if needed;
- Purchases made by a secondary card holder i.e. wife/husband are not covered.
- Purchases made through a third party I.e. travel agent are not covered.
- If the retailer/supplier has gone bust you are still entitled to claim from the credit card company;
- Purchases made abroad are covered.
How to make a claim
Step 1 – Firstly you need to decide if you want to do it yourself or not. In the event that you do; if the company you purchased from is still trading, you should always attempt a settlement with them. If you are not satisfied with their response then approach your credit card company.
Step 2 – Contact your credit card company and request a claim for or, Write to your credit card provider detailing;
- What you bought
- Where you bought it
- When you bought it
- How you bought it
Along with this you need to detail;
- How much you paid. Including copies of receipts.
- How the goods and services you received constituted a breach of contract
- Dates of attempts that you made to contact the company and the responses you’ve had.
- An explanation of what you want from the credit card company – namely to refund the money you paid for the goods you’ve received.
Step 3 – If your application is rejected by the Credit Card Company and you believe that it was an unfair decision by them, then you can make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service;
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm
The Time Timeshare Consumer Association is a not for profit organisation. It has extensive costs in supporting timeshare Consumers and as such, we rely upon the generosity of individuals, communities and businesses so as to provide a continuation of the free services that we offer.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk