Claiming refund from credit card company

jatindersangha

Hi all,

I purchased an accessory in Sept 2007 direct from a manufacturer in the USA, paying by credit card.

I received the item 3 months later in Dec 2007. The item promptly broke as it was too brittle. I contacted the manufacturer who said that they would send me some replacement parts so that I could replace the broken parts (very simple - just 4 screws to be removed).

The replacement parts arrived 3 months later in Mar 2008 - when I found that they were the wrong size and didn't fit. So I sent the whole thing back to be repaired properly.

It's now been a year since I sent the item back -- and the manufacturer is proving hard to contact.


Can I claim a refund via my credit card company - given the timescales involved?
Obviously, I have been contacting the manufacturer in the intervening period, chasing them to send the replacement - and they always say "it'll be shipped in a few weeks".

To recap - I purchased the item in Sept 2007, sent it back in Apr 2008 and have not received a replacement or a repaired item. The cost of the item was $1500USD.

Thanks,
--Jatinder

chattychappy

As far as I remember, there was a relatively recent ruling holding that s75 protection extends to transactions overseas.

So in principle I think you could, though I can imagine it might be a struggle. From your timeline, it seems you acted reasonably in trying to deal with the supplier but that they ultimately failed to keep their side of the bargain.

I would certainly give it a go. I hope you've kept copies of everything. Something from the manufacturer admitting the original problem (ie that it suffered from a defect for which they are sending spare parts) could be handy.

The last year of fairly "non action" probably doesn't help your case, but I don't see why it should be fatal.

Interested to hear what others say...

jatindersangha

Hi Chattychappy,

Thanks for your reply. After reading it, I tried a few more forum searches and found a link to an article on MSE that stated that S75 applied to overseas transactions in the same was as in the UK since 2006.

So, I believe I'm in a good position to take this up with my credit card provider.

Will let you all know how I get on.

Thanks,
--Jatinder