disclosure authority

memememememe

I am going through a section 75 claim with tesco credit cards for my duff solar panel system - the company who fitted it have gone bust.
I've sent all the details and their reply so far is a letter telling me about my rights - which if they read my letter they would see I'm ok on that, a letter telling me what I need to do IF I havent already - again more reasons to believe they havent even read my letter. But the biggest concern I have is that they want me to sign a Disclosure Authority.
I have called them and asked why? they have said that its if they need to talk to the firm or an administrator wrapping up the company etc. So I asked what has that got to do with my claim?
they couldn't give a reason on why I should waive my rights.
my concern is that they are just holding up my claim and wont process it any further until I sign it. does anyone have any advice?
I am currently waiting for a call (within next 48 hours!!!) from the section 75 people as you cant actually be put through to them.
I dont really see why I should provide them with the ability to talk to and maybe claim from the company if they have to pay out to me when they havent even bothered looking at or addressing my claim - I was thinking of using it as a bargaining chip - sort my claim and I'll give you permission to use my data.

meer53

How do you expect them to look into your claim if they can't contact anyone to speak to them about it ?

They aren't just going to pay you without any investigation. The letters they have already sent are standard letters they have to send. They have to comply with procedures, i don't see your issue really.

Your decision, be awkward and the claim will take twice as long, play ball and it will move along nicely. It's not simply a case of "here's a refund" !

memememememe

bit aggressive aren't you?
whats to investigate? that they need me to sign away my rights to keep my data protected?
they cant talk to the company -they've stopped trading. and its irrelevant anyway as they are legally as responsible as the seller.
if they want proof of the state of my system they have already said I have to provide it. so they will not be talking to anyone.
it honestly mainly comes down to the fact I dont trust them as far as I can throw them. And as I can see no reason for them to demand this then they shouldn't have it.

MisterBaxter

I'm with meer53 on this one. Presumably Tesco CC will want to exhaust other options such as the possibility of any type of payout as a creditor you could be entitled to from the failed company, whilst in most cases there won't be much available to creditors (if anything) it can't be ignored. If Tesco CC only manage to get a fraction of the claim back from the administrators then it limits their liability.

Any disclosure authority you sign would only be for the purposes of investigating, managing and dealing with the claim and does it really matter too much where the money comes from so long as you get it back.

I would sign it to get the claim dealt with as quickly as possible even if their approach isn't strictly 'by the book', why give them excuses by denying what on the face of it appear to be a reasonable request.

chanz4

They would have a claim from the administrators also, op you are been obstructive and if you don't trust the cc why are you with them?

memememememe

but they have no right to make me wait while they see if they can get money from the company that have ceased trading. whether they can or cannot is irrelevant. I dont even have to go through the company at all to try and get my money back never mind them
they are responsible if I choose to get my money back through them. fullstop.
my claim is not dependant on anyone else.
All that the ombudsman expects in this case is under section 75 that I prove the cost of the goods from the company, that I paid using my credit card for at least 100 pounds and then that there is a fault etc. - which is easy to show as they are producing no power -EDF can confirm that for me.
they have my invoice, they have all the documentation like copy of contract etc, they know I paid on my credit card and all thats left is to show that its faulty and not fit for purpose (they have said if they require it that I will have to provide it - they will do nothing)

I'm with them because they give me tesco points - I dont trust any business - they are all in it for themselves - as am I.

perhaps I should put what they have actually asked me to sign up to:
"I, named above, authorise Tesco bank to discuss and obtain relevant information with and from all relevant parties in relation to my claim under section 75 of the consumer credit act 1974 concerning the contract I have with ************* in an attempt to resolve the dispute."

Its that last bit I particularly have a problem with - I do not want them to resolve anything on my behalf. I especially dont want to sign something that says thats what I want.
Again I have asked them for any reason why they need to talk to someone else with regard to my claim and they could not give me any reason. It seems to me they want to ignore my claim under section 75 and go down a completely different route - with my permission.

has anyone else been in this position ? and how did it pan out?

memememememe

New update -

I've just taken a call from the section 75 dept and they have apologised and said that I dont to sign this and they are now pressing ahead with my claim. As I thought I will need an independant report (which I can claim the cost of back)
So dont just take their word for it - dont let them bully you around.
sites like this are for letting you know your rights. dont be afraid to use them.
I'll let you know how it goes.

andyfromotley

hi meme,

well if you are not happy with it don't sign it. Fairly simple.

I would sign it as i think its fairly reasonable for them to contact the company/administrators/insurers etc if i am asking them to pay me out. But thats just me, like i said if you are not happy with it don't sign it and see what happens.

nidO

memememememe wrote: »

but they have no right to make me wait while they see if they can get money from the company that have ceased trading. whether they can or cannot is irrelevant. I dont even have to go through the company at all to try and get my money back never mind them
they are responsible if I choose to get my money back through them. fullstop.

This legal protection doesn't give you a carte blanche to just make a demand without providing them with full and complete information and expect them to just hand you a pile of cash.

Right now, your options are:

1) Agree to allow them to discuss your issue with the administrators of the business involved (which they will quite possibly decide they don't even need to do, they presumably ask for permission by default for all claims so that they can if you need them to)

2) Cut your own nose off to spite your face, take them to court and drag the whole process out, name them and the administrators of the business as joint defendants, and they'll then be able to and have to talk to each other anyway.

You'll notice I haven't included going to the Financian Ombudsman, whose rules, requirements, etc you keep touting in these options.
The reason for this, is that when making a complaint to the Ombudsman, you have to sign the following declaration:

I understand that you will need some personal details about me, that you might need to share information I give you – including sensitive or personal information – with the business involved and other relevant organisations, and that you might need to ask them for information that’s relevant to my case.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it.

Edit: Glad you got an answer you wanted, leaving my reply in place for posterity as it's still accurate.

chattychappy

memememememe wrote: »

New update -

I've just taken a call from the section 75 dept and they have apologised and said that I dont to sign this and they are now pressing ahead with my claim. As I thought I will need an independant report (which I can claim the cost of back)
So dont just take their word for it - dont let them bully you around.
sites like this are for letting you know your rights. dont be afraid to use them.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the update, and excellent advice.

S75 is onerous on CCs, but the law is clear. CCs are jointly and severally liable in the case of breach of contract (subject to the usual provisos).

The CCs aren't there to "help you", they are businesses driven by profit and quite rightly so.

You are quite right to say your claim on them has nothing to do with whether they can recover from the merchant - this is no excuse for delay.

As with all claims, one party makes the claim on the other, as you have done. The "defendant" can pay up, or make demands/make you jump through hoops. My advice would always be to co-operate whilst the demands are reasonable. Until you go to court, you really are governed by CCs own procedures. They can ask what they like.

At the point you think their demands are unreasonable you can go to court. S75 is hard law. Once you issue a claim in the county court, it will be for a judge to decide how to run the dispute. The CC is no more entitled to impose "procedures" on you than you are on them. The CCs (just as other any other potential defendant) know that many people will give up without ever suing. Demanding an "independent report" is standard procedure because a CC can't be bothered looking into whatever it is that you allege has gone wrong. At this point, I'm guessing many claims just go away. However if the problem is obvious - eg a few photos, video clip or whatever shows the problem, then a court might say that you have proved your case on the balance of probabilities and a demand for a report is disproportionate. There is nothing in law to say you always need an "independent" report. This is a creation by the CC.

I would never say "rush to court", but also don't avoid it. In the Small Claims track, judges can be very down to earth. They also can be very pro- the little man when it's obvious a financial institution has been wasting time. In my experience (of financial institutions in court, though not S75), many will just do a deal once a claim form has been issued rather than have the expense and hassle of pitching up to a hearing.

meer53

Ha ! You think i'm aggressive ? Bit ironic really.