section 75 protection

Elaine_Haig

Hello,

I have recently bought 3 bridesmaid dresses from an online retailer and I am very unhappy with the quality (there is a hole in one and a stain in another) and they differ - albeit slightly - from the picture on their website. I want to return all 3 of the dresses and have tried going through the retailer but they are being very reluctant to honour their returns policy even though they state on their website thatchy would offer a refund to customers who are unhappy with their dresses. So I decided to see if I can get my money back via my credit card company.

My problem is originally the dresses cost £110 each but they applied a discount which took the price per dress down to just slightly under £100 approx £99.50 each (with the total transaction being £299). Would I still be able to get a refund through section 75 because the original cost of these dresses were over £100 each or does it go by the the price that I paid and therefore I should try "charge back"?

Any information/insight would be greatly appreciated.

eddddy

You would need to ask your bank for a chargeback (as you paid less than £100 per item).

You could explain that the retailer has 'breached the contract' by failing to adhere to the terms of their returns policy.

Helvetica_Van_Buren

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act

"However, to claim under Section 75 you don't have to have paid more than £100 or the full amount on your credit card – the card company is liable even if you made only part of the payment (a deposit, say) on your card."

meer53

The individual items need to be £100 or more each.

Dobbibill

@Helvetica Van Buren - The cost of the item needs to be at least £100 though, which it's not in the OPs case.

pvt

I would argue here that what you bought was a single item, it was a set of three matching bridesmaid's dresses. I would therefore argue that s75 would apply.

eskbanker

pvt wrote: »

I would argue here that what you bought was a single item, it was a set of three matching bridesmaid's dresses. I would therefore argue that s75 would apply.

I would argue that, based on your signature, you're seeing a glass that's at least half full, whereas a card company is more likely to argue that, if indeed there's a glass there at all, it's empty....

jonesMUFCforever

I would agree that as they were paid for as a set then S75 would apply.

However as there this a time factor for chargeback I would go down that route first - if it does not work or they dispute it then go for S75.

meer53

Never known dresses come as a set before ! If you bought 3 t shirts would they be a set ? No, thought not. It's not compulsory for bridesmaids to wear the same dresses.

eddddy

meer53 wrote: »

Never known dresses come as a set before ! If you bought 3 t shirts would they be a set ? No, thought not. It's not compulsory for bridesmaids to wear the same dresses.

Ummm... of course you can buy t-shirts in sets of 3 (as well as singulary)...

http://www.countryattire.com/lacoste-men-s-3-pack-100-supima-cotton-crew-neck-t-shirts-black.html
http://www.nortonbarrie.co.uk/hugo-boss-pack-of-3-t-shirt-ssrn-in-assorted
http://www.uttings.co.uk/p116288-beretta-set-of-3-hunting-t-shirts-beige-green-orange-ber-tsc67237mxa


But back to the original question on s75.

If the order/invoice says something like:

'Set of 3 Bridesmaids Dresses - £299'

You've probably got a stronger case. But I guess it might say something like:

'Bridesmaid Dress - £110
Bridesmaid Dress - £110
Bridesmaid Dress - £110
Discount - £31
Total - £299'

which might be a tougher argument.

Anyway, as suggested, try chargeback first.

eskbanker

Ultimately it all comes down to interpretation, initially by the card company and then maybe the FOS or even the courts but the wording of the act itself clearly refers to

any single item to which the supplier has attached a cash price not exceeding £100 or more than £30,000

Personally I'd have thought the 'single item = set' argument would only hold water if something was only ever sold as an intrinsically-linked set in that quantity, in the same way as, say, a three piece suite or a dining table with six chairs - in this case the dresses could presumably be sold in any quantity or individually.

I had a quick look through the FOS site for any precedents but couldn't find anything, and the main MSE s75 article also shies away from anything definitive, with the linked forum thread dying a long time ago after questions without answers - is anyone aware of anything more concrete than this theorising and supposition on both sides of the argument?!