Section 75 claim refused by MCard

Bantex_2

rickyfixit wrote: »

So.... You'd likely be out of pocket for accommodation as the chances of securing an equivalent deal ( especially in a ski resort) I would guess would be slim. We had to scour the net to find a chalet in the first place... You'd lose part of your holiday too, researching, relocating, etc. seems a tad unfair?

You could sue the supplier.

InsideInsurance

For a start you dont do a S75 claim against the card network (ie Mastercard in this case) but against the card issuer (eg Capital One, Natwest etc) as they are the ones providing you the credit.

Secondly, who did you actually pay with the card? When agents or intermediaries are involved things with S75 claims get much more complex as you are only covered for the duties of the company you paid directly (so to take a different example, if you paid with a RBS MC via PayPal you can only claim against RBS if PP failed to transfer the funds to the company because legally its PP you've paid directly not the company).


All that aside, you need to be a little more clear about exactly what the complaint is. If its that the hotel was described as luxury but you dont think this is the case because of poor decour then you are highly unlikely to win unless it was exceptionally poor as "luxury" is very very subjective. If its a complaint that your package was supposed to include 1 afternoon tea with no caveats of "subject to availability" etc and this wasnt provided then you may have a claim but that would only be for the standard price of 1 afternoon tea not the cost of the whole holiday.

yangptangkipperbang

rickyfixit wrote: »

Went to MasterCard for assistance. ............................MC written back refusing the claim, they say 'we operate under guidelines set by MasterCard and Visa'

What you have had is the standard "shut up and go away" response from these people !
Go back in writing - recorded delivery, and inform them that they DO NOT "operate under guidelines set by MasterCard and Visa" - they operate under English LAW !!

MC tried this on me - I, not only got my money back, but an extra £1000 for what I had to pay extra to get a similar product.

rickyfixit

InsideInsurance wrote: »

For a start you dont do a S75 claim against the card network (ie Mastercard in this case) but against the card issuer (eg Capital One, Natwest etc) as they are the ones providing you the credit.

Secondly, who did you actually pay with the card? When agents or intermediaries are involved things with S75 claims get much more complex as you are only covered for the duties of the company you paid directly (so to take a different example, if you paid with a RBS MC via PayPal you can only claim against RBS if PP failed to transfer the funds to the company because legally its PP you've paid directly not the company).


All that aside, you need to be a little more clear about exactly what the complaint is. If its that the hotel was described as luxury but you dont think this is the case because of poor decour then you are highly unlikely to win unless it was exceptionally poor as "luxury" is very very subjective. If its a complaint that your package was supposed to include 1 afternoon tea with no caveats of "subject to availability" etc and this wasnt provided then you may have a claim but that would only be for the standard price of 1 afternoon tea not the cost of the whole holiday.

Hi, thanks for the reply.
I contacted Tesco MC, who,sent me the forms to complete and return.
I paid the chalet owner (well, I secured the booking with it, and they processed the remaining balance after I left), not Booking.com.
The claim is for chalet being nothing like description on websites, in standard and facilities, and that the offer (fully catered inc afternoon tea every day) was not what we received. I can evidence the actuality v description with photos. It wasn't even able to accommodate all the guests because the dining room and the lounge were both too small. We came down one morning to find guests sitting on the stairs eating breakfast!

HTH,
Rickyfixit

rickyfixit

Yes, some good ones on TA, but realise now they were a couple of years old. Went on Booking.com whilst I was there as some of our fellow residents, a Dutch family, pointed out there had been some issues in the preceding weeks. One family had checked out within a couple of days; another had a partial refund. The Dutch family translated the reviews from Dutch for us!

rickyfixit

Hi, just occurred to me that reading this from outside, it could appear mercenary - but I don't actually want all my money back, I am a reasonable person with 20 years experience in retail hospitality. At the time, an apology and a discount of something like £50 each would have been perfectly acceptable. However, the host didn't apologise, called me 'weird', denied responsibility for all issues, including the clear health and safety problems, told me i could 'smell his flat' to prove he had been ill ( and I'm the weird one, remember); he then refused to correspond. I have asked MC to look at 50% as a result. I don't think that's unreasonable given the circumstances, but am open to your suggestions.

InsideInsurance

Its Tescos you have been speaking to not Mastercard, its important that you get the facts right.

If its a simple quality issue, rather than a failure to receive something that was supposed to be part of the package then you are in a much harder place.

Ultimately, write back to Tesco's heading it as a formal complaint about the result of your S75 claim stating you will escalate the complaint to the FOS if you are unsatisfied with their response. If you dont like their response or they dont respond within 8 weeks then pass the claim to the FOS. Make sure you are very clear what you want the resolution to be (ie by the sounds of it a £50 refund)

unholyangel

rickyfixit wrote: »

Hi, just occurred to me that reading this from outside, it could appear mercenary - but I don't actually want all my money back, I am a reasonable person with 20 years experience in retail hospitality. At the time, an apology and a discount of something like £50 each would have been perfectly acceptable. However, the host didn't apologise, called me 'weird', denied responsibility for all issues, including the clear health and safety problems, told me i could 'smell his flat' to prove he had been ill ( and I'm the weird one, remember); he then refused to correspond. I have asked MC to look at 50% as a result. I don't think that's unreasonable given the circumstances, but am open to your suggestions.

And that is likely why it was declined.

In a nutshell there are 2 elements at play. 1) Not receiving what was described - you are entitled to a partial refund for this imo. The amount you are entitled to depends on the severity of the breach. If they had only provided a 2 bedroom and you had booked a 4 bedroom, then you'd be more likely to be entitled to a large refund.
2) The actions of the owner - you can't claim for this. Increasing your claim just because of this belittles the validity of you actual case. Being upset etc essentially has no place in a business contract.

And lastly, this is providing it is governed under UK law. From what you said earlier, there is a strong possibility it is not governed under UK law. Section 75 only makes them liable in the same way the supplier is.