Section 75 time limit

Techno

Good morning
I bought windows and doors in 2006. Faults have developed with the front door and 2 window panes and when I tried to get the retailer to repair them I discovered after 6 fruitless months of trying that they had gone into liquidation and my 10 year guarantee was no more! I paid a £3000 pound deposit on my m&s mastercard so completed a section 75 claim with them. They have responded to say I am outside the 6 year time limit. I assume they mean from purchase.
Now the only reference to 6 years I can find relates to chasing the card company if they won't play ball or bringing a court case.
Could someone please tell me how I should respond to this letter or are they correct?
Many thanks
Techno

bris

They are basing it on the statute of limitations, meaning that even if they are liable you can't chase them for it.

It's not exactly true though, the 6 years can start from the time the fault was found not when the contract was formed.

You can take it to the financial ombudsman for clarification.

Techno

Thanks bris. I will send the ombudsman a copy of the information to see if anything can be done.

mo786uk

has there been any case law to say the 'cause of action' can start from when the fault became apaprent

the law only covers faults at the tiem of sale/service.

in this case the fault existed on sale but only became apparent after X number of years.

IMO therefore the breach happened in 2006 and the limitation period has passed.

bris

mo786uk wrote: »

has there been any case law to say the 'cause of action' can start from when the fault became apaprent

the law only covers faults at the tiem of sale/service.

in this case the fault existed on sale but only became apparent after X number of years.

IMO therefore the breach happened in 2006 and the limitation period has passed.

Time starts when fault is discovered, definitely, no, if's but's or maybes, time has not passed.

beeg0d

bris wrote: »

Time starts when fault is discovered, definitely, no, if's but's or maybes, time has not passed.

English law the statute of limitationsis 6 years from conclusion on contract, Scottish law is 5 years (i think) from discovery of fault.

However as section 75 makes the card issuer equally liable for the WHOLE of the contract and the contract included a 10 year garentee i beleave the issuerer would still have liability for that garentee as untill the garentee period is conplete the contract hasnt been concluded.

Hintza

beeg0d wrote: »

English law the statute of limitationsis 6 years from conclusion on contract, Scottish law is 5 years (i think) from discovery of fault.

However as section 75 makes the card issuer equally liable for the WHOLE of the contract and the contract included a 10 year garentee i beleave the issuerer would still have liability for that garentee as untill the garentee period is conplete the contract hasnt been concluded.

That would be very open ended and how would the CC Co have any control over extended guarantees?

Any terms that made CC Co liable for a potentially infinite amount of time would be unfair, if the OP wished to test it in court they could but this sort of thing would bring the big gun lawyers out and would set precedence (if it hasn't already).

bod1467

beeg0d's interpretation is correct - section 75 makes the credit provider jointly liable for the performance of the contract (which includes any guarantees/warranties), not just the liabilities per SOGA. Whether the CC company will accept this without a fight is another matter though.

InsideInsurance

Hintza wrote: »

That would be very open ended and how would the CC Co have any control over extended guarantees?

Any terms that made CC Co liable for a potentially infinite amount of time would be unfair, if the OP wished to test it in court they could but this sort of thing would bring the big gun lawyers out and would set precedence (if it hasn't already).

Some would argue that S75 is unfair anyway as what control does your card issuer have over the quality of a sofa or windows etc that you choose to buy?

These are the laws however and card issuers know that at the time of issuing cards and giving retailers merchant accounts. If a retailer sells a lifetime warranty and accepts credit cards then the card issuers are on the hook for a lifetime as per the terms of the warranty.

mo786uk

bris wrote: »

Time starts when fault is discovered, definitely, no, if's but's or maybes, time has not passed.

there is a big but. can you back it up with some legel reasoning?


having read the OP it i wll be covered by the gurantee if within 10 years and the gurnatee covers the issue as it will be a term of the cotnract.

the diea behind s75 was to hold creditors liable for the actions of their commerce partners the suppliers - hence it is harsh but the credit company coudl stop allowing dodgy companies to use their credit facilities.

shaun_from_Africa

bris wrote: »

Time starts when fault is discovered, definitely, no, if's but's or maybes, time has not passed.

Trading Standards and the Government have a different opinion.

Trading Standards

The six year period begins from the date of purchase in England, but in scotland there is a five year period and that starts from when the fault was discovered.

http://sogahub.tradingstandards.gov.uk/sites/default/files/OFT002_SOGA_explained.pdf


UK Government

The law states that a consumer can approach a retailer with a claim about a good they have purchased for up to six years from the date of sale (or five years after the discovery of the problem in Scotland). This does not mean that every good sold has to last six years; it is simply the legal cut off point for bringing a contractual claim. A consumer cannot hold a retailer responsible for fair ‘wear and tear’

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Cr-ekgZK3tcJ:www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/sn02239.pdf+&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk

I think that the confusion arises due to the wording used in the limitation act.

Time limit for actions founded on simple contract.
An action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/58/part/I/crossheading/actions-founded-on-simple-contract

Even if a fault was discovered years after purchase, the date of finding the fault isn't the date on which the fault actually started.
To have any chance of winning a claim, you must prove that the problem was due to an inherrent fault which means that although the problem was there at the time of purchase, it didn't manifest itself until a later date.
Therefore "the cause of action accrued" on the date that you were sold goods that had a manufacturing defect.