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Section 32 protection for foreign purchase?
Voyager2002
Posts: 16,349 Forumite
in Credit cards
Hello,
Does anyone know whether I enjoy the same kind of protection when using a UK credit card to buy something when abroad?
I am in Thailand, and would like to buy an iPhone. The vendor says it is brand new and is in the original factory-sealed box, but with no warranty since it is a 'parallel import'. However, when I checked the serial number on the Apple website it was for a 'phone apparently sold four years ago: although that could have been a sale to an importer rather than an actual consumer. I don't really mind so long as it works, but should the 'phone turn out not to be fit for purpose I would like to have some kind of protection.
Does anyone know whether I enjoy the same kind of protection when using a UK credit card to buy something when abroad?
I am in Thailand, and would like to buy an iPhone. The vendor says it is brand new and is in the original factory-sealed box, but with no warranty since it is a 'parallel import'. However, when I checked the serial number on the Apple website it was for a 'phone apparently sold four years ago: although that could have been a sale to an importer rather than an actual consumer. I don't really mind so long as it works, but should the 'phone turn out not to be fit for purpose I would like to have some kind of protection.
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Comments
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I think you meant S75 which makes the CC jointly liable with the merchant in the case of misrepresentation or breach of contract.
S75 does cover overseas purchases, this was ruled on by the House of Lords (now the Supreme Court in this context) some years ago.
HOWEVER, it is still a grey area because your contract will be formed under Thai law. So potentially you have the situation of trying to show misrep/breach under Thai law in order to recover under UK law. How good is your Thai law?
UK consumer law implies into consumer contracts terms such as "fitness for purpose" which you mention. This may not be the case under Thai law.
S75 might be a handy backup, but CCs don't roll over and payout so easily. They might insist you get reports done to show what is wrong with you purchased. Be ready for a struggle.
My suggestion would be to check things out locally as best you can. Do not rely on S75 as some sort of catch-all protection should things go wrong. It seems you know you are buying something that might not be right.
Oh under UK law, it's not misrepresentation if you buy something knowing that what you were told is false.0 -
Voyager2002 wrote: »Hello,
Does anyone know whether I enjoy the same kind of protection when using a UK credit card to buy something when abroad?
I am in Thailand, and would like to buy an iPhone. The vendor says it is brand new and is in the original factory-sealed box, but with no warranty since it is a 'parallel import'. However, when I checked the serial number on the Apple website it was for a 'phone apparently sold four years ago: although that could have been a sale to an importer rather than an actual consumer. I don't really mind so long as it works, but should the 'phone turn out not to be fit for purpose I would like to have some kind of protection.
According to Wikipedia, if it's four years old (2012?) it's likely to be an iPhone 5 (not even 5S).
Is it likely an iPhone has been sitting around in its box for four years?
I wouldn't be surprised if it was an Android phone with an iPhone skin.
As chattychapp says, S75 may be a difficult to use if it all goes wrong.0 -
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Voyager2002 wrote: »Interesting...
The Apple website said that the serial number printed on the box I saw was for an iPhone 5s.
According to Wikipedia, the iPhone 5S "was unveiled on September 10, 2013 at Apple's Cupertino headquarters. It was released on September 20, 2013".
The date could be a manufacture date, but I doubt manufacturing began in 2012.0 -
Even iPhones bought legitimately in USA aren't covered by UK warranty, although, reportedly, Apples staff can be lenient sometimes.0
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Voyager2002 wrote: »Interesting...
The Apple website said that the serial number printed on the box I saw was for an iPhone 5s.
You thought it Section 32....did you get the serial number right?
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foxtrotoscar wrote: »You thought it Section 32....did you get the serial number right?
Fair point... but I copied the number directly from the box, and referred to the law from memory.
The odds against a random or mis-copied string of characters being the serial number for the right piece of kit must be astronomical.0 -
Could be a cloned serial number (either just re-using the number or someone reset the numbers in the factory and did a re-run duplicating them). Either way, if it's too good to be true and bought from a dodgy shop then it's probably fake
Sam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness:
People are rich because they spend less money. A poor man buys $10 boots that last a season or two before he's walking in wet shoes and has to buy another pair. A rich man buys $50 boots that are made better and give him 10 years of dry feet. The poor man has spent $100 over those 10 years and still has wet feet.
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As your living in Thailand then your purchase will be protected by their laws not ours. Does Thailland have a similar law?
The phone will be a fake, who has 4 year old Iphones in sealed boxes kicking about? Nobody sit's on the hottest mobiles on the market for a few weeks let alone years.0 -
As your living in Thailand then your purchase will be protected by their laws not ours. Does Thailland have a similar law?
The purchase would be protected by Thai law, rather than ours. But S75 of our law still applies, because the credit card agreement was formed under UK law, and is the means of financing the transaction. (See my earlier post.) Of course S75 wasn't written anticipating these jurisdictional issues, so if it went to a UK court, they would have to latch onto a Thai law equivalent of breach/misrep.
Actually the OP said he was in Thailand rather than living in Thailand. Perhaps I missed something. If indeed the OP is living in Thailand, there could be other issues concerning using a UK credit card.0
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