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Paying for goods or services by credit card or linked loan is now a major part of daily life, with many people preferring this method of payment to using cash or cheques. An advantage of using a credit card is that, under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, customers who have a claim against a timeshare seller for breach of contract or misrepresentation will generally have an equal claim against the card issuer and for all the sums contained in the contract. See also here.

Claims are often made against the card issuer when the supplier has gone out of business, disappeared or will not engage with the Timeshare consumer. Resorts will sometimes tell timeshare customers that they must first get a court judgment against the supplier. Well that is simply wrong. The timeshare customer can choose whether to claim against the resort, the card issuer, the lender or in fact both.

In a case reported in issue 21 of ombudsman news (case study 21/11), we awarded a customer £250 compensation for the inconvenience a firm caused by repeatedly, and incorrectly, telling him that it was only required to meet his claim if he first obtained a court judgment against the supplier.

For section 75 to apply, certain conditions must be met. Most credit card and linked loan purchases will be covered, but:

  • the cash price of the goods or services must be more than £100 and not more than £30,000;

and

  • purchases are not covered if they are made by debit cards or by charge cards (where the monthly bill has to be settled in full).

So – if you paid, for example, £100.01 on a purchase of £30,000 you may be covered.

Also, section 75 only applies if the credit has been provided under a “pre-existing arrangement” that involves both the supplier and the credit provider. So credit cards are covered because suppliers are signed up by one firm (called the “acquirer”) to accept cards belonging to the relevant network – such as Mastercard or Visa. The arrangement involves both the supplier and firms that issue cards through that network.

However, credit card cheques are not covered because they can be made payable to anyone – not just to the suppliers appointed to accept the credit card. And the credit card company would not share liability if the card was used to withdraw cash to pay for the purchase.

There can be problems if the card is accepted by a different business from the one that provided the goods and services. We see this situation most frequently in connection with timeshare and holiday club membership, where it is not unusual for the timeshare or holiday club company to use the credit card facilities of another business. The business accepting the payment may simply be acting as agent for the supplier, in which case section 75 will not apply. In order for section 75 to apply, the business that accepts the payment and the supplier have to be “associates“, as defined in the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Where customers use a credit card to buy airline or other travel tickets from a travel agent, they cannot normally claim against the travel agent if the airline delays or cancels the flight. This is because the travel agent contracted to supply the ticket, not the flight. So the customer would not have a claim under section 75 either.

However, things are different if customers use a credit card to buy the travel agent’s own “package” of travel arrangements. In such instances the agent is the supplier of the holiday package. This situation is illustrated in case study 31/6.

Section 75 does not, in itself, provide grounds for a claim against a supplier. Customers must have a valid claim of breach of contract or misrepresentation under other law, such as the Sale of Goods Act 1979 or the Misrepresentation Act 1967. If they do, then they have a like claim against the card provider for the full amount of the claim.

The claim is not limited to the amount of the credit card transaction. Customers can claim for all losses caused by the breach of contract or misrepresentation. And this applies even if all they paid by credit card was the deposit.

So, for example, a customer who pays a deposit for goods – using a credit card issued by firm A – and then pays the balance using firm B’s card, has the choice of claiming for the cost of goods and any consequental losses against:

  • the supplier of the goods;
  • firm A;
  • firm B; or
  • all three.

But of course, the customer cannot recover the same money twice.

However, to uphold a complaint we need to be satisfied that the customer had a claim for breach of contract or misrepresentation. This is straightforward if the customer has paid for goods or services that have not been provided at all. It is not so straightforward if the claim is that the goods were not of a satisfactory quality, or not as described to the customer.

If the dispute boils down to a question of taste, or simply to disappointment with the goods or services bought, then we are unlikely to be satisfied that there has been a breach of contract.

For example, we did not uphold the complaint of Ms X who said that her new haircut, paid for by credit card, did not suit her. Nor the complaint of Mr Z (who paid for a meal by credit card) after an altercation in the restaurant concerned. We took the view that he had received the items shown on the bill, and that his dispute really concerned how the restaurant treated him and his guests, rather than the quality of the meal he had paid for.

Many people now use their credit cards, rather than travellers cheques or cash, to pay for goods and services while on holiday abroad. Whether section 75 applies to transactions abroad is a matter of dispute.

HSBC, Bank of Scotland and Sainsbury’s Bank have agreed with the Office of Fair Trading (closed in April 2014) that they will apply section 75 to transactions abroad. Other card issuers will not. The argument is due to be resolved by the courts, as the Office of Fair Trading, Lloyds TSB Bank and Tesco Personal Finance have applied to the High Court for a declaration on whether section 75 applies to foreign transactions.

In the meantime, most firms voluntarily operate a policy to accept otherwise valid claims up to the amount of the credit transaction. We consider all firms should do this as a matter of good banking practice.

 

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