Can I claim for time wasted on the phone etc.....

lovinituk

miserable_ol_so_n_so wrote: »

Thanks. If someone really had to pursue a small amount and small claims court was not an option, would it be realistic to engage a solicitor and obtain judgement and the solicitors costs ? I am thinking of an infirm person with no one to help do the small claims court work.

What you suggest is just not possible. You can't pursue a claim without the court. A solicitor cannot obtain a judgement without going through the court. For small amounts (now less than £15000 I believe), the only option in most cases is the small claims track - with or without a solicitor.

miserable_ol_so_n_so

naedanger wrote: »

I would not recommend you go down the route of engaging a solicitor over the matter, because I doubt what you don't doubt. (I doubt the solicitor would be able to recover their own costs from the other party.)

Perhaps speak to Citizen's Advice. (One thing is to be certain you take the correct party to court. I suspect that it is the retailer but if they have refunded the money to your card provider then maybe the retailer is not at fault.)

Thanks that is why I will take them both to court. The retailer says he has sent it back to my card provider. The card provider says they would have returned it to the merchant. Neither the merchant nor the bank has investigated what has happened to the money. One or the other has it. I have informed the merchant that the bank would have returned it but he does not want to know. I of course have no way of knowing what is what.

lovinituk

Rainbowgirl84 wrote: »

I'm wondering how you are going to apportion liability between the the merchant and the credit card company in your claim?

I was wondering that too. They can't both be expected to pay the full amount.

miserable_ol_so_n_so

lovinituk wrote: »

........For small amounts (now less than £15000 I believe), the only option in most cases is the small claims track - with or without a solicitor.

That then is license for the unscrupulus, the greedy and incompetent organizations to engage in stonewalling smaller claims. In my example, it is sheer incompetence of the call centre system that has prevented escalating my situation to someone with some sense.
Any way, I shall be issuing proceedings against the bank and the merchant. I have given them sufficient warnings and opportunities to confer with each other and find out where the money is and Thursday is the deadine and I will get down to it.

POPPYOSCAR

miserable_ol_so_n_so wrote: »

Thanks that is why I will take them both to court. The retailer says he has sent it back to my card provider. The card provider says they would have returned it to the merchant. Neither the merchant nor the bank has investigated what has happened to the money. One or the other has it. I have informed the merchant that the bank would have returned it but he does not want to know. I of course have no way of knowing what is what.

Why did they do that?

I recently cancelled a credit card.

I told them I needed to get a refund and they said no problem they would return any refunds to me.

miserable_ol_so_n_so

lovinituk wrote: »

I was wondering that too. They can't both be expected to pay the full amount.

I will leave it to each one figure out whose fault it is. I would also expect the party that is not to blame to recover their legal costs from the other. Long time ago, in a different case, where it was unclear who was to blame; (was it the merchant who sold me an extended warranty or the insurer who underwrote the warranty was responsible for a complex problem), a solicitor advised me to take them both to the small claims court and let them fight it out over who was liable. It did not get to court as sense prevailed and my problem was fixed.

miserable_ol_so_n_so

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

Why did they do that?

I recently cancelled a credit card.

I told them I needed to get a refund and they said no problem they would return any refunds to me.

Who told you they will refund straight to you? Was it the merchant or the card issuer?

wealdroam

miserable_ol_so_n_so wrote: »

wealdroam wrote: »

Miserable_ol_so_n_so, can I ask... are you retired?

Yes I am a pensioner.

Then your time has no value.

To put it another way, by spending time on this exercise you have suffered no loss.

Your arbitrary claim for £100.00 could even be seen as frivolous and costs awarded against you.

POPPYOSCAR

miserable_ol_so_n_so wrote: »

Who told you they will refund straight to you? Was it the merchant or the card issuer?

I did not say that.

The card issuer said that even though the account was closed refunds could still be made to it.

Obviously if there is still a balance it would come off that.

If the balance has been cleared they would send the refund to me.

miserable_ol_so_n_so

naedanger wrote: »

If your case meets the requirements for a Section 75 claim then I suggest you take that route rather than legal action. You can claim for costs and inconvenience (though there is no guarantee you will get what you claim).

One advantage of going down the section 75 route is that the credit card company can be held responsible even if the fault was due to the retailer's failings.
For details of a Section 75 claim see the following article:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases

If you do go that route then put your complaint in writing.

Thanks. I will look into this tomorrow morning.Tis way past my bedtime.