Can I Make A S75 Claim?

Compo55

Hi,
This is my first post so apologies if I am on the wrong thread...
In 2002 I purchased an expensive signed piece of memorabilia from a shop in the high street which came with an accredited COA.
In 2006 the chain of shops (the biggest autograph dealers in Europe) went into administration so I cannot make a claim against them.
In the last few days I put the item on eBay because the alleged signer had passed away. No clues for guessing who that would be!
eBay removed the item stating that they believed it was a fake...I made further enquiries with a respected autograph dealer who confirmed that it was a fake and he even named the forger saying this person signed literally thousands of autographs of this particular sports star!
I still have the original till receipt for the transaction that shows the FULL credit card number for a MasterCard.
Unfortunately I have no idea if the MasterCard was with a bank, building society etc.
All I can say is that the item was purchased with a MasterCard in September 2002.
Have I got enough information to make a S75 claim...and if so how do I go about it?

molerat

Before 2008 you may have had a chance but 14 years on not a hope.

bengalknights

No its way to late now for a claim

chattychappy

I disagree with the above answers.

S75 holds the lender jointly liable (subject to provisos) for breach of contract or mispresentation.

The usual limitation period for breach of contract is 6 years from breach. Normally for misrep, claims are made under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 and again, you are limited to 6 years.

However for common law Fraudulent Misrepresentation, you benefit from s32 Limitation Act 1980, which says that the 6 year clock doesn't start running until you knew about the fraud or could with reasonable diligence have discovered it. It is often more difficult to establish Fraudulent Mispresentation than other kinds, because of the necessity to show that the representor knowlingly lied or was reckless as to the truth (paraphrasing here).

I know nothing of the "authentication" scheme to which you refer. But I can see the main two issues here are:

1) Did the SHOP know (or was reckless as to the truth) that their product was a fake? It's not enough for them to have said something that was untrue (ie it's genuine when it wasn't) - we are too late for a simpler misrep claim. Is there any evidence that they were connected with the forger or involved in the scam? Were they manufacturing these things?

2) "with reasonable diligence" when ought you to have known that the signature was fake? No doubt you will wish to argue that you were reasonably diligent in getting the certificate and couldn't have been expected to know until now.

There is a trap here - it could be argued that if you couldn't have known about this scam until now, then the shop couldn't have known either. If they were "innocent" then your fraudulent misrepresentation claim can only go against the fraudster* for which there is no S75 backup. On the other hand, if it's been widely known for a time sufficiently long that the shop ought to have known when they sold it, then likewise you ought to have known more than 6 years ago.

But for now, I would have thought it worth a simple S75 claim to the CC. You bought something that was a forgery and you have evidence of both the original purchase and that the product is fake. You are claiming off the CC for a refund because of misrepresentation. If they claim limitation, then state that your claim is in Fraudulent Misrepresentation and point out S32 Limitation Act 1980. You only just found out so you're not time-barred. See what they say to that.. and take it from there!

(* You do not need to have a contractual relationship with someone to sue them for Fraudulent Misrepresentation - it is a "tort of deceit".)

Compo55

Thanks for the very informative reply chattychap...I'll make a S75 claim and go from there...just one further point...am I right in assuming that Mastercard will have details of the card with only the card number available? I have no idea who provided the card be it a bank, building society or credit card company

chattychappy

Yes, from the number it should be possible to determine who issued the card. It's the first block of digits. Whether Mastercard offer this as a "service" to people in this situation is another matter.

You could try starting another thread "who issued this card"... and include the first 8 digits. People might recognise it from their own records.

derps

https://www.bindb.com/bin-database.html might help you find the card issuer, although since 2002 the product may well have changed hands.