Barclaycard section 75 refusal?

coopsjc21

Hello
Last year I purchased a new garden shed from an online retailer. Upon erecting the shes I found I had a series of problems with it, missing parts, damaged parts and it leaked in places.

I complained to the retailer who partially refunded me and also admitted (by email) that it should never have been sent to me in the condition that it was in.

Over the winter I found that it leaked considerably more than at first thought and I ended up having to re-clad it to stop the leaks, at considerable cost to myself (I didn't want it replaced at this stage because of the effort & expense already invested). I sent lots of photos as evidence to the retailer and contacted them again to ask for a full refund (seeing as the materials and labour came to as much as the shed itself) but they ignored me.

I contacted my credit card provider and claimed under section 75. However after a lengthy period of time they are now saying that I am not covered, because there is no proof that the faults are with the retailer. They suggested me paying an independent assessor to have a look and confirm who is at fault, but no local company was willing to do this (I contacted 5).

I have an email from the retailer admitting it shouldn't have been sent out, and I have photographic evidence of the faults. However Barclaycard are claiming these are all to do with the first complaint, where the retailer partially refunded me, however they are all connected, it is simply a case of over the winter the problem was worse than I initially thought.

They offered a small refund as a goodwill gesture, but nowhere near what it cost me to rectify the building faults. I refused that and escalated my conmplaint to their "level 2" team.

Any advice on how to proceed from here?

Thanks!

grumbler

Well, s75 just gives you the right to hold Barcalycard responsible instead of the retailer.
As the deadline for a simple chargeback has expired long time ago, now Barclaycard have to pay you from their own pocket. It's understandable that they don't want to do this voluntarily as the case is far from being 100% clear.

If you believe that you are right you can sue either the supplier of Barclaycard (or both?) via the Small Claims Court.

MSE articles:

• Section 75 refunds
• Small Claims Court

coopsjc21

Thanks for your reply.

Would the Ombudsmans be of any use in this situation?

grumbler

Unlikely without a definite independent report.

coopsjc21

Ok thanks. I'll look around again for an independent assessor.

grumbler

Don't forget to claim the fees from Barclaycard later.

InsideInsurance

coopsjc21 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply.

Would the Ombudsmans be of any use in this situation?

First of all you'd have to make a complaint, either on the decision to decline the claim or about the request for an assessors report. If you arent happy with their response then you'd be free to escalate to the ombudsman.

I however think that the ombudsman would decline either of your complaints as you havent demonstrated that the product is inherently faulty rather than it being a matter of poor construction (assuming the retailer didnt construct it for you) or fair wear and tear.

Once you have an engineer report and have submitted it to Barclays if they still decline your claim you can then choose either to go to court by sending a letter before action or can make a complaint and go the ombudsman route

System

Also you may now struggle as you have had it repaired before an independent assessment was carried out and there is now nothing physical to inspect.