Use Section 75 for VAT refund?

mikrt

Hi Forum,

This is actually a Visa Debit card query, but as it's a Section 75 question, it should be the same answer!

A month ago I purchased 2 of the same items off a VAT registered eBay seller. The amount came to £130.0 + postage. I specifically asked him before the purchase If he supplied VAT invoices, and he replied saying that yes, he does. I have email proof of this.

Item arrived, which was fine, but no invoice. I repeatedly requested one, but he refuses to send me one, claiming that he is unable to retrieve another from eBay.

VAT records are to be kept for 6 years, so I feel it should be easy enough if he wanted to.

Anyway, the upshot is that I am unable to claim the VAT element, £21.66. Not a huge amount I know, but it really is the principle.

I lodged a PayPal claim and lost. But would I be successful with a Section 75 claim, and would it be worth it?

Thanks a lot,

Mike.

grumbler

s75 is a section of the Consumer Credit Act. It doesn't apply to debit card purchases unless you used your overdraft to fund the purchase.

You can try Chargeback route, but it's problematic as Paypal was involved.
Why have they rejected your claim?

gb12345

mikrt wrote: »

Hi Forum,

This is actually a Visa Debit card query, but as it's a Section 75 question, it should be the same answer!

A month ago I purchased 2 of the same items off a VAT registered eBay seller. The amount came to £130.0 + postage. I specifically asked him before the purchase If he supplied VAT invoices, and he replied saying that yes, he does. I have email proof of this.

Item arrived, which was fine, but no invoice. I repeatedly requested one, but he refuses to send me one, claiming that he is unable to retrieve another from eBay.

VAT records are to be kept for 6 years, so I feel it should be easy enough if he wanted to.

Anyway, the upshot is that I am unable to claim the VAT element, £21.66. Not a huge amount I know, but it really is the principle.

I lodged a PayPal claim and lost. But would I be successful with a Section 75 claim, and would it be worth it?

Thanks a lot,

Mike.

Section 75 doesn't apply to debit cards.

p00hsticks

I'm not an expert but I thought that

a) Section 75 was for credit cards not debit cards (although I believe that Visa do provide similar protection on their debit cards cover on a 'goodwill' basis)

and

b) it's for consumer protection and doesn't cover B2B transactions (the fact that you're looking to reclaim VAT indicates to me that it's a business transaction)

mikrt

Oh, that means I'm stuffed then.

Chargeback only applies up to £100.

My purchase was £130, or Does it work as I'm only claiming £21.66??

mikrt

By The Way, I am not a business, but am self building my family home, which allows me to reclaim VAT on certain goods.

grumbler

mikrt wrote: »

Chargeback only applies up to £100.

Really? Who told you this?

Re the chargeback and Paypal see this post from a bank insider dealing with chargebacks:

dalesrider wrote: »

Chargebacks can be actioned against paypal. BUT they can reject on the basis that all they do is move the money.
Although they rarely do

However, this doesn't solve the problem as, if successful, you will probably owe money to Paypal and will risk losing account if you don't pay.

DigForVictory

Keep your email, keep all the paperwork involved, call the helpdesk & get your query on file. If they say 'no', it's gone; if they say 'dunno', you've a chance.
If at a future VAT visit it is queried, you can ask the officer to check your query is on file - and show your logic. For a small sum if you can show you have been Taking Reasonable Care, you should be OK.

gb12345

I wonder what the law is on the supplier not suppliying a VAT invoice to someone in your situation.

If you had been a VAT registered business then the supplier has to provide a VAT invoice - but I don't know what the position is with self-builders (might be worth a call to HMRC). Failure to provide an invoice to a VAT-registered customer can result in fines.

mikrt

After re-reading this,
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/visa-mastercard-chargeback

I may have been wrong about the £100 limit. It looks like it applies for credit cards, where anything over that Section 75 kicks in. So that may be worth a go.

gb12345

mikrt wrote: »

After re-reading this,
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/visa-mastercard-chargeback

I may have been wrong about the £100 limit. It looks like it applies for credit cards, where anything over that Section 75 kicks in. So that may be worth a go.

I don't think that a chargeback is going to work - you don't have a valid reason to get the money back from the supplier.

The supplier has charged you VAT, as he has to do as a registered supplier and the people that owe you that money back are HMRC - the supplier will just reject the charge back on the basis that he has charged you the correct amount for the goods that you purchased.

You would be better off finding out the rules on providing VAT invoices in your situation and then threaten the supplier that if he doesn't provide an invoice that you will report him to HMRC.