Section 75 Consumer Credit Act - Paid on credit card but lost original invoice
skot4th
Posts: 18 Forumite
in Credit cards
Long story short.
Around April last year I bought a guest bed for the spare room.
The bed has only been used about 10 times as it's a guest bed, however the frame has broken and is fairly unusable as a bed.
I've contacted halifaxicon to raise a S75 claim, however they are saying as I do not have the receipt to prove I purchased the bed, I am unable to make the claim, even though I have provided them with a statement showing the purchase.
The bed cost £199.
The store I bought the bed from went out of business late last year, so I have been unable to contact them.
Do I need the original receipt to make a claim?
Below are the emails I've sent and recieved back from Halifax.
Halifax responded with the below email, which they sent me several times.
They sent me the above email, I replied with the below email. They then replied with the above email again, at which point I resent the below email, adding the section making the complaint.
They have now responded with the below email (again after several generic emails about my claim being dealt with)
Halifax have offered £50 compensation over the phone for the way my complaint has been handled, which they've already paid to my account. They stated that this did not prevent me from taking my claim further or from contacting the ombudsman.
What would my next step be?
Around April last year I bought a guest bed for the spare room.
The bed has only been used about 10 times as it's a guest bed, however the frame has broken and is fairly unusable as a bed.
I've contacted halifaxicon to raise a S75 claim, however they are saying as I do not have the receipt to prove I purchased the bed, I am unable to make the claim, even though I have provided them with a statement showing the purchase.
The bed cost £199.
The store I bought the bed from went out of business late last year, so I have been unable to contact them.
Do I need the original receipt to make a claim?
Below are the emails I've sent and recieved back from Halifax.
Dear sir / madam
I called your contact centre earlier today, however was asked to email as
the agent said my records didn't go far enough back on their system to
discuss my claim.
Around April / May 2017 I purcehd a bed from Reddish Beds for £199, which
was to be used as a spare bed in the guest room.
The bed had been used less than 10 times, before breaking. It no longer
fully supports the matress, meaning the mattress falls inside the bedframe,
effectivly making the bed unusable.
I phoned Reddish Beds numerous times to resolve the issue throughout
October and November 2016 , however each time was told I would be called
back by the manager. I even resorted to going in store twice around late
October / early November, however the correct person was still not around
to talk to.
Since then the business has closed down and the only contact details on the
website are for the manufactures who made their products, however as I
can't find the original recipt and theres no identifying marks on the bed
I'm unsure who manufactured the bed.
Therefore I am making a claim under section 75 of the consumer crediticon Act
regarding this purchase. I request a refund to the ammount of the original
purchase so that I can replace the bed with one that is fit for purpose.
I have included the last 4 digits of the account number which I use to pay
my credit card direct debiticon for you to identify me by as I have recently
reported my card lost, and therefor can not access my online banking to
check my account number.
Kind regards
Halifax responded with the below email, which they sent me several times.
Transaction Details: REDDISH BEDS
Transaction Amounts: £199.00
Thank you for your recent e-mail, however we need some additional information to continue with our investigation.
Please provide:
· Copy of your statement to show the transaction
· Copy of the invoice with the terms and conditions.
· Date goods were received.
· Proof of return including the tracking reference which confirms the merchant has received the goods OR if unable to return the goods, written confirmation to the merchant that the goods are available for uplift.
· A full breakdown of how you've contacted the merchant and the outcome – if you haven't contacted the merchant, please advise why not.
· Copies of any correspondence received from the merchant.
· .
· Copy of the Liquidator's/Administrators letter (if the company is no longer trading).
Please send the above information to us by fax, post or email.
We will review your dispute once this information has been received.
Please contact us on the number below, should you need any assistance.
PLEASE NOTE: When replying, please include your initials, full surname, your post code and the last 4 digits of your card number. To help protect your identity and stay safe online, please do not send any further information regarding your identity by e-mail. Alternatively you can send in your query by post to Lloyds Banking group Plc, Pitreavie Credit Card Operations, BX1 1LT.
Yours sincerely
They sent me the above email, I replied with the below email. They then replied with the above email again, at which point I resent the below email, adding the section making the complaint.
Hi
Thank you for the generic response to my initial email.
I have already answered most of your questions in my previous email, however will provide more detail if I can below.
1) You are my card provider. I have downloaded my statement from your website. I have attached the relevent statement to this email, however do not understand why you require me to do this? You clearly have access to the statement as I have downloaded it from your website.
2) As mentioned in my previous email, I am unable to find the original invoice and therefore can not provide you with this.
3) As I do not have the invoice I can not confirm the exact date the bed was recieved, however i believe it was Saturday 9th April 2016 - I collected the bed in person so there is no courier to consult.
4) As the store has closed down I am unable to return it. I am also unwilling to spend money on having a courier collect the bed, attempt to deliver it and then return it to me undelivered as the store has closed. This would be a waste of my time and money.
5) See my previous email
6) See my previous email
7.1) I am unsure how to obtain this. Their merchants website states that they have closed.
7.2) There is no provision under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for you to request a copy of the Administratores letter or for me to provide it - You are jointly responsible for the item if the company is trading or not.
As you have clearly ignore my previous email and are trying to make my claim unnecessarily convoluted, I would also like to make an official complaint about the way my claim is being handled and the service I have recieved From Halifax / Lloyds Banking Group.
If you are unable to satisfactorily resolve my complaint I will escallate my complaint to the Financial Ombudsmanicon.
Regards
They have now responded with the below email (again after several generic emails about my claim being dealt with)
Thank you for your documentation.
I am sorry to learn of the difficulties that you have experienced with this merchant.
Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 covers purchases made using the card costing between £100 and £30,000, where a misrepresentation or breach of contract has been proven.
As you are unable to provide sufficient information to prove there has been a breach of contract or misrepresentation, I am unable to agree to your claim because there is no invoice or paperwork to support the purchase.
I trust this clarifies our position and regret that I am unable to be of any further assistance at this time.
Yours sincerely
Halifax have offered £50 compensation over the phone for the way my complaint has been handled, which they've already paid to my account. They stated that this did not prevent me from taking my claim further or from contacting the ombudsman.
What would my next step be?
0
Comments
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There appears to have been no misrepresentation or breach of contract so I'm not sure that section 75 would apply, I suspect that the £50 offered is a result.0
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Around April last year I bought a guest bed for the spare room.
The store I bought the bed from went out of business late last year, so I have been unable to contact them.A bed I bought broke after no more than 10 uses, less than 6 months after buying it.
Can you confirm your dates
You say you bought it 11 months ago but the problem was less than 6 months after buying, when did the store go out of business? when did you raise the s75 case?
Over 6 months you would need to prove that the problem was present at time of purchase0 -
Not saying you should do this now, but if you did a small claim, it would be for the court to decide whether the original receipt was necessary. Against your witness statement and the entry on the statement, and in the absence of anything to the contrary from the CC, I would expect the judge to accept your evidence that the bed was purchased from the shop with the CC.0
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Let them know that if they don't play ball you will escalate to the FOS.
GIve them two weeks to respond and then do exactly that.0 -
Just an observation...
Section 75 applies to breach of contract (or misrepresentation). In your emails, you haven't explained what type of breach of contract you are claiming for.
For example, are you claiming because...the bed had a guarantee against breaking, and the company is breaching the terms of the guarantee (because they've gone bust)?
In which case, it's reasonable for the bank to ask for a copy of the guarantee t&cs.
Or, is it because the bed was one or more of these:- Not Satisfactory quality
- Not Fit for purpose
- Not As described
If that's the case, these are implied terms that apply to all consumer contracts. So any written t&cs provided by the shop are not relevant. Also, it's not really relevant that the shop has gone bust.
However, the bank may decide that they want a report from an 'expert' confirming that the bed was "Not Satisfactory quality" or
"Not Fit for purpose".0 -
However, the bank may decide that they want a report from an 'expert' confirming that the bed was "Not Satisfactory quality" or "Not Fit for purpose".
And again, this can be a situation where it can be worth considering a small claim. Judges can be remarkably down to earth in situations such as this. I was involved in a case (not s75) where a claimant brought a laptop to court with a video clip on a USB stick. Though criticising the claimant for not supplying the video earlier in the proceedings, everyone gathered around and the facts of the case became very clear. Judgment was given within 15 minutes.0 -
They wont just take your word for it that it has only been used ten times, it could have been used as a trampoline for all they know.
They want proof of breach of contract, until you do that with expert reports they need do nothing as you have no case.0 -
(emphasis added)They wont just take your word for it that it has only been used ten times, it could have been used as a trampoline for all they know.
They want proof of breach of contract, until you do that with expert reports they need do nothing as you have no case.
Indeed so. Which is why sometimes it's necessary to go to court where it will no longer be "they" who decide.
The burden of proof is only "balance of probabilities", ie the OP would have to show that it was more likely than not the breach occured.
Of course, once a claim form is issued, a settlement is more likely. Only a minority of cases end in a hearing and a judgment. The assessment on the CC side will no longer be "how can we fob the cardholder off/put barriers up to expect them to go away?" but rather "what are the costs of running a court case and what would the likely outcome be?"0 -
the op will also require an independent reportDon't put your trust into an Experian score - it is not a number any bank will ever use & it is generally a waste of money to purchase it. They are also selling you insurance you dont need.0
This discussion has been closed.
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