DC Cook Direct going bust

jmalpas

Can I outline what has happened to me and hopefully you can give me some guidance.

I ordered a Ford Mondeo Titanium Estate 2.0TDCI (with factory fitted roof rails) - Price was my existing p/ex and £11500.

On 18th March 2008 I put a deposit of £99 down using my Virgin credit card.

I then paid a further deposit of £401 (to take the total to £500 as requested by DC Cook) This was paid on a separate credit card around the 23rd March 2008 (I am awaiting the statements from the credit card company to confirm dates)

I was given a delivery date of 16th July 2008. This came and went along with the first week in Aug and then the second week in Aug. On the 26th Aug 2008 I was informed by DC Cooks that my car was at the dealer and ready to be registered and I was required ( by the terms of my contract) that the balance of money owed (£11000) was to be paid. This I did on 28th Aug 2008 by switch/Maestro transfer.

From the 26th Aug 2008 I have been told my car was ready but needed to be registered.

Then last week DC Cook Direct went bust

So my queries are

1 How do I stand with regard to the £11500 I have paid out – can I claim it back from the credit card companies using Section 75 and if so which one, or both?

2 If my car is at the dealer ready to register - surely this car is actually owned by me and not DC Cooks and therefore is not an asset to sell by the liquidators to raise money for creditors? Do I have any legal rights over this car as I have been told that when MFI went into receivership any furniture with the customers name on it had to be honoured?

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

YorkshireBoy

1. One or the other, not both...

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/31/creditcards-31.htm

2. What happened between 26th August and last week?

milliemonster

Do you have a receipt for the money you have paid?, why have you not picked the car up when it's been ready since August? I am not sure where you stand legally when you have paid money to DC Cook but the car has not been registered in your name yet, I would imagine you are looking at trying to get your money back but not the car (as you don't legally own it yet), however you paid £11k via maestro? I'm not sure if this offers you any protection at all, you need to speak to the CAB urgently I think

hippey

Assuming you have the receipt of sale, then the car is legally yours, it does not matter that it has not been registered by the DVLA yet.

However the gap from August to now seems very strange, there would be no reason why the vehicle would not have been registered as the dealer funding would be paid by Ford as soon as they register the car, however I am assuming this is brand new.

Have you seen the car? Do you know it exists? Then you could go and ask for the keys and make arrangements for it to be registered, this can be done, even if the dealer is in administration.

If the car does not exist, then you will become one of the creditors, and have to fight for your money with everyone else. You could try and claim the £99 & £401 back, although I think the CC company will also ask some questions over the length of time. Don't forget we all have an obligation in law to reduce our exposure to possible losses. The Maestro payment will hard one to sort out, if it was a CNP payment then you could argue that it was unauthorised in this situation and claim a chargeback, but the length of time will be a problem.

Good Luck

YorkshireBoy

milliemonster & hippey,

Depending on what happened between 26th August and last week, the OP may be reimbursed (either immediately or following legal action) by either (not both) of his card providers for the full £11,500. It's irrelevant that £11,000 of it was paid by debit card.

See my link in post #2.

jmalpas

the gap between Aug and now was because they told me it would be registered 2nd week sept - on 17th sept they told me they were cancelling the order - after threatening legal action they agreed to honor the deal but the car wouldn't be available until week of nov 8th and ever since then they had given excuses - then they told me it couldn't be registered til new year as ford had run out of fleet registrations - i was in the middle of trying to get this last bit sorted when they went bust.

YorkshireBoy

You have far more patience than I do!

What did the credit card provider say when you raised the issue with them, or are you procrastinating on that issue as well?

Norfolk_Jim

Have a look at Martins article on section 75 - Even if you only pay a deposit with your card, provided its over £100 your credit card company is jointly liable for the whole purchase, not just the deposit.
You have no claim against the virgin card because you paid less than £100 with it. You should have paid £100. Fortunately for you, provided you paid the additional deposit of £401 with a Credit Card (Muist be a credit card), that is the one to claim against - You will need to contact them and tell them you want to claim under section 75 - Follow the instructions in Martins article to the letter as the CC wont like it one little bit - but hey! Its the law.

YorkshireBoy

Norfolk_Jim wrote: »

You have no claim against the virgin card because you paid less than £100 with it.

That's not correct.

Providing the purchase price is between £100 and £30,000 and no more than £25,000 of it was placed on a pre-existing agreement, then you can pay as little as £1 on the card for FULL purchase price protection.

See the link in post #2 or, if you have more time, read the Act itself.

YorkshireBoy

Norfolk_Jim wrote: »

Have a look at Martins article on section 75

Which says...

Here’s a quick example of how it works…

Savvy Salma spots the high tech TV she’s been planning to buy at half price for £500 including delivery in a high street sale. Yet she’s only got £10 left on her card limit (don’t worry, it’s a cashback card, she’s going to pay it off in full).

Salma pays £10 of the cost on her credit card and the rest on her debit card. Sadly the next day the store goes bust, before her telly is delivered. Yet she can claim the WHOLE £500 back from the credit card company, because she paid in part on the card.

Therefore if you want protection…

As long as it costs more than £100, pay for even a fraction on a credit card and you’re protected.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases#deposit

Norfolk_Jim

Ah! I stand corrected there Yorkshire Boy. But the OP has a choice of two cards to claim against, so even better for them.