Debit card protection? is there any now?

mcapm

Hello,
I've been stupid it seems?
I purchased a kitchen (cabinetry and doors) via a site online and it 'seems' the 'company' might not be who they purport to be.
The site is brilliant and makes out it is a manufacturer but after a little bit of checking online today I've found their given address as head office is a council style block of residential flats in High Wycombe.
They are now not answering their phone and mobile given to me.
They were advertising in a kitchen magazine too so I feel a little justified in thinking they might be reputable for lots of reasons.
I paid £4,300 via debit card (Santander) on 15th April.
Do I have any redress?
Can I get help from the bank, debt collectors, Sheriffs etc?

meer53

If you don't get your kitchen (either all of it or bits) or it's not as described when it comes you might be able to get your card issuer to dispute it for you under Visa Chargeback Regulations. There is no Section 75 cover on Visa Debit cards but you are covered for certain situations. Contact them for more information.

mcapm

Thank you for that reply.
Santander does operate a dispute system it seems but not held by any legislation to do so.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed I can sort it some way and trying to keep my wife from being depressed to boot.
It's not like we have money to fritter. This took years to save.
Any other help from anyone and I would be grateful.
Thanks.

Consumerist

mcapm wrote: »

Any other help from anyone and I would be grateful.

You can read more about chargeback on MSE <Visa / Mastercard chargeback> page.

Anthorn

It all depends on whether you verified the transaction with "Verified By Visa". That acts as a guarantee for the vendor and if authorised by that method VISA and hence your bank will not do a charge-back.

Consumerist

Anthorn wrote: »

It all depends on whether you verified the transaction with "Verified By Visa". That acts as a guarantee for the vendor and if authorised by that method VISA and hence your bank will not do a charge-back.

I am not aware of any reason why "Verified by Visa" makes any difference to a claim for chargeback.

Ask your bank for a chargeback within 120 days of realising you have a problem. If you're not happy with your bank's response then you can refer a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. See MSE's chargeback page referred to earlier.

meer53

Verified by Visa doesn't make any difference to chargebacks. A chargeback can be actioned whether Verified by Visa or not.

Verified by Visa may come into play if a transaction is fraudulent but never in a dispute.

thenudeone

The time limits for chargebacks are quite short compared to those for s75 claims (120 days?? vs 6 years) so get a claim in promptly if necessary.

There'll be no harm done if it turns out to be legit, as long as you had reason to be suspicious.

Check here http://www.nic.uk/ for who owns the domain name and for how long.

mcapm

I would like to thank EVERYONE for useful posts.
I'll let you know how I get on if the company turns out to be scammers or if legitimate, and what the banks tells me.
This will help everyone from making the same mistake I made.
Does anyone know how I get notified of a reply from this forum to my email?

Consumerist

mcapm wrote: »

Does anyone know how I get notified of a reply from this forum to my email?

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Anthorn

meer53 wrote: »

Verified by Visa doesn't make any difference to chargebacks. A chargeback can be actioned whether Verified by Visa or not.

Verified by Visa may come into play if a transaction is fraudulent but never in a dispute.

You know that for sure or are you just speculating?

In practise, by using Verified By Visa you have both verified that you are the owner of the card and have verified the purchase. When used with a protected credit card the bank may well do a charge-back if the goods are not received. But for a debit card highly unlikely but not impossible.

There is no such thing as a "fraudulent transaction" when it's Verified By Visa or even verified with Securecode.

More protection for you: Verified by Visa helps to protect your online transactions by adding an additional layer of assurance to processed transactions. This results in fewer transactions being queried and fewer refunds for you to make.

http://www.visaeurope.com/en/businesses__retailers/retailers_and_merchants/security/handling_visa_payments/card-not-present_sales/verified_by_visa.aspx