Not protected after all paying by Nationwide visa cc

andymanc

Just thought I should share this in case others also aren't aware

I made 2 very expensive purchases over the internet. Because they were so expensive & not something I could possibly afford to take chances with, once I thought they seemed legit I used the added protection of paying by credit card because of the added legal protection against anything going wrong that is often touted

In fact I would never have taken the risk of making these purchases over the internet if I did not totally believe that I was 100% protected by using my credit card.

Well, long story short - I was scammed, I got absolutely nothing other than promises & delaying tactics.

When I contacted Nationwide, my bank, who issued my Visa card it all seemed ok, though they dragged it out asking for the same information several times. Then they landed the bombshell...

They say that because the site processed my credit card transaction through Paypal, the legal protection simply doesn't exist!!!!!!!


Now I am devastated, I never saw that coming, no way, I thought I was being safe. I have lost 6 weeks wages. Nationwide are not interested, Visa are not interested, Paypal are not interested & I have no chance of pursuing these scammers myself. I have traced them as far as a mailing address but can get no further. I don't have the resources to track them down.

I thought I was protected, but it seems it is as easy as that to wriggle out of it, so beware, don't use any site that uses a processing site to process credit card transactions or you wont be covered!

CKhalvashi

I'd argue that this could be covered by S75a, but I'm not 100% sure on this.

If it's not, there's very little that can be done other than to take the other party to court, of which whilst on the facts you should win, there's no guarantee you'll get anything back from them.

CK

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

It doesn't help you but this has been the situation for some time. Here's an official MSE thread from 2009. Commiserations.

Nebulous2

Your post is fairly short on detail - but a bit of research beforehand would have easily uncovered that situation. Your credit card were asked by you to make a payment to Paypal. As long as they delivered that then they have fulfilled their part of the deal.

What you / Paypal then did with the money is a separate transaction. I simply don't trust Paypal, but that is a different story.

This is a hotly contested area, with lots of people having been caught out in the way you have been, but your security would only have come from paying the seller direct by credit card.

marvin

You could of course put a claim in with Paypal.

redcard

andymanc wrote: »

In fact I would never have taken the risk of making these purchases over the internet if I did not totally believe that I was 100% protected by using my credit card.

This is bizarre. You totally believed you were 100% covered without doing any research?

You obviously didn't buy a TV or a new car. What get-rich-quick scheme did you invest in? Was it weight loss pills?

agrinnall

andymanc wrote: »

Nationwide are not interested, Visa are not interested, Paypal are not interested & I have no chance of pursuing these scammers myself. I have traced them as far as a mailing address but can get no further. I don't have the resources to track them down.

http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

PeacefulWaters

CKhalvashi wrote: »

I'd argue that this could be covered by S75a

No chance.

As soon as the money transferred to PayPal it became nothing to do with S75.

Game over.

Wheres_My_Cashback

redcard wrote: »

This is bizarre. You totally believed you were 100% covered without doing any research?

You obviously didn't buy a TV or a new car. What get-rich-quick scheme did you invest in? Was it weight loss pills?

I suspect it wouldn't have been a troll elimination tool. I'd quite happily use my credit card to invest in one of those particularly around Bank Holiday weekends.

chattychappy

Despite the categorical statements above, the legal position is not settled - no court has ruled on this as far as I'm aware. Certainly S75 never envisaged the current situation. Until there is such a ruling, it is unlikely any CC will pay out except on a goodwill basis (or to prevent a ruling!)

Note the Which? comment on Paypal at: http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act#link-5 which suggests S75 can apply in certain circumstances. See also https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4028767 .

People obsess about the letter of T+Cs, but courts can sometimes see through T+Cs and look at what is the true nature of the arrangement. When you buy something online, paying via Paypal there is an argument to say that Paypal is acting as an agent for the merchant in collecting payment. Certainly they process the transaction as a "purchase" and when it appears on the CC statement, Paypal and the merchant are referred to. This suggests to me that the contractual link is not broken.

I wouldn't get your hopes up, but it is worth arguing further. If you fail I would still keep details of the transaction for at least 6 years in case there is some court ruling which changes things.

poggles

andymanc wrote: »

...I made 2 very expensive purchases over the internet. Because they were so expensive & not something I could possibly afford to take chances with, once I thought they seemed legit I used the added protection of paying by credit card because of the added legal protection against anything going wrong that is often touted...

If you were that worried about it, you should have sourced it from a local reputable seller that you trusted, and if necessary, sought professional advice before committing to buy.