Bank charge backs

Adam_Stevens

Good afternoon everyone.


New to the Forum so first thing thanks for taking the time to read my post. My partner and I are in a bit of sticky situation so any advice or hints greatly appreciated. My situation is thus :


Over the past few weeks my partner has been paying a friend via bank transfer for a bridesmaid dress. To date the payments have totalled £200. Since the last payment the relationship between my partner and the friend (the bride) have turned rather sour which I will not go in to detail about.


We have persevered to try and get a full refund from the bride and to date she has refused to give the already purchased dress in her possession back or give a full refund. We have now been blocked from making any kind of contact with this person.


As this is a case between two individuals (no companies involved etc) would our bank able to 'charge back' the payments. I am thinking as we have paid for a service which we have not received surely this is a case of fraud? Just a bit unsure as it is between two private individuals.


As mentioned, any advice is greatly appreciated. if you require more information please let me know.


Many thanks,


Adam & Katy

BoGoF

I may be wrong but charge back only applies to card payments

Adam_Stevens

Ok thanks BoGof. So in your opinion (I won't hold you to it) should this be logged as a fraud case?

[Deleted User]

No - no chargeback is possible.

stevenhp1987

Adam_Stevens wrote: »

Ok thanks BoGof. So in your opinion (I won't hold you to it) should this be logged as a fraud case?

But it's not fraud. You willingly made the payments.

It would be a civil case between them. If they think they are due a refund, they'd have to take the friend to court.

[Deleted User]

The bank won't treat it as a fraud case.

Whether you can make a case for fraud through the small claims court depends very much on the agreement between the two parties.

Adam_Stevens

The simple fact is that we have paid money to an individual who has not given the promised product and is now refusing to communicate.


Small claims court it is then!

BoGoF

Would the person have the means to pay should you win your case. If not it would be money down the drain

Chalkius

No chargeback as it's not a card payment.

Not fraud for the banks purpose as you intended to send money to that person.

Definitely a civil case.

Sparx

To echo others, you can't file a chargeback as this only applies to debit/credit card payments. And it's not fraud as you willingly made the payment via bank transfer...

It's a civil dispute. If you really want the £200 back, then you should take legal advice first to see if you even have a case. Before proceeding with any legal avenues, you would then have to look at making a money claim which you can do online quite cheaply.

Your friend could just argue you was helping contribute to the wedding funds. You could argue specifically you was buying the dress. You would likely need to provide evidence to prove the intention of the funds you paid are for a dress you didn't receive.

By the way, I'm not a solicitor or lawyer... Just seeing the argument from the other side which you could may well expect to hear in court. Before you start burning money on legal and court fees for the sake of £200.

Personally I would just call it a lesson learnt which cost me £200 to find out who my real friends are.

eskbanker

Adam_Stevens wrote: »

We have persevered to try and get a full refund from the bride and to date she has refused to give the already purchased dress in her possession back or give a full refund.

If the dress has already been bought with the £200 (or effectively so) then I can't see much of a case for seeking a refund based on the above precis of the situation (no doubt the full story is somewhat longer!), or is there a view that the original supplier of the dress might take it back?

Your partner should be entitled to the dress though (assuming the £200 covered the full cost), but does it have any intrinsic or resale value if bought as one of a set?