Please, please, please help. Credit card provider giving me the brush off!!!!!

jap220171

I have an ongoing problem with my Credit Card provider and they have given me the brush off and I just want some advice to know who is right.

Quick summary. Last November we had a major fire at home, which meant that we were not able to live in the house for 9 months. Whilst the insurance repaired the fire damage, my wife thought it would be a good time to get a new kitchen as well. The kitchen was undamaged by the fire, so I had to pay!!!

In April / May this year I paid for the kitchen in 2 installments on my Natwest Credit Cards, for a total of about £4,500. I also paid about £1200 for the installation, but they made me pay this in cash to the fitters! Following the installation in May, I have had several complaints to the kitchen company about the quality, and they have agreed that some of the items need to be replaced, but so far have done nothing about it. I always believed that if you buy something on credit card, then the card provider is also liable for any breaches made by the retailer under the Consumer Credit Act. From what I remember of the stuff I learnt at school, if the retailer refuses to remedy the situation, I thought that I could seek remedy from the card provide.

I wrote to Natwest this month explaining the situation, but they wrote back saying that "when you quoted your card number to the retailer you gave your irrevocable authority for your account to be debited. It is not possible for this department to prevent a charge being applied to your account or simply reverse it once it has been debited...it is with regret that we are unable to provide assistance where the dispute concerns the standard of goods and services received. The Bank is unable to sit in judgement on the merits of the claim or arbitrate between the parties involved|"

From what I found on the internet, I thought that this is covered by section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, but I don't know enough to challenge the bank.

Can anyone please let me know the extent, if any, of the bank's liability, and what I ought to do next?

Clariman

Hi jap. I am not an expert in this but I think you may have a case. There is some useful guidance here http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/guides_to/credit_liability.shtml

I think the letter that you have received looks a little like the credit card company's attempt to fob you off. Obviously they don't want to fork out the money, so if they can put you off then they will. I think the wording of their letter is interesting. It states that "it is not possible for this department to...". It doesn't say that the organisation can't! Also, you are not asking them to "sit in judgement" ... you are making a claim because they are jointly liable for the issues you have with the kitchen.

I would gather your ammunition and write back to them, specifically making a claim and that you are doing so under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 section 75.

The one issue you might have is that your issues are to do with installation and that is the bit you paid by cash.

Good luck
Clariman

ramagel

Clariman wrote: »

The one issue you might have is that your issues are to do with installation and that is the bit you paid by cash.

Sect 75 provides redress for consequential loss too (which is why the CC companies were up in arms against it being extended to foreign purchases (per Working Lunch)).

If the product itself was faulty or not to spec. then any 'adjustments' the fitters would have had to have made would be the responsibility of the retailer, I suggest. I'm also pretty sure that the retailer will have recommended the fitters (???) so their responsibility is extended.

The OP says however that it was due to the product being faulty so he definitely has a case jointly and severally against retailer and credit card.

I suggest reading through here, finding the appropriate letter to write to the cc co giving them (say) 28 days to resolve the issue or you will seek redress in the Small Claims Court.

Having said that: in this case you may be better going after the retailer/fitters as the 'appropriate' resolution to your problem is a properly fitted kitchen not money back - only the retailer can really do that. Same thing applies though: 28 days note then small claims court.

Better still: write to both - it's joint and several liability, after all!

jap220171

I agree best bet would have been to go back to original retailers and fitters. However, after 6 months of trying including letters of complaint to their MD with photographic evidence, together with repeated visits already for them to try and resolve the problems I have kind of given up on that route.

Just as a side point, as part of the installation of the kitchen they installed an extractor fan. When we discovered it was not working after a couple of weeks we contacted the extractor fan's manufacturers and asked for it to be fixed under the years warranty. They came out, replaced the motor, fiddled around with it for about an hour and then finally discovered that it had never actually been installed in the first place. All that the Kitchen Fitters had basically done was hang it on the wall and plug it in. They didn't bother with the actual extraction part.

So I guess after all that I have decided that they have had enough second chances, and I just want the money back, so that I can go to a different company.

ramagel

jap220171 wrote: »

together with repeated visits already for them to try and resolve the problems I have kind of given up on that route.

Don't. Final letter, recorded delivery both to their trading address and their registered office (bottom of letterhead or Companies House) , 28 days to reply and agree a legally binding contract to rectify the problems or Small Claims Court. Ditto to CC co mentioning Sect 75 and joint and several responsibility incl for consequential loss. The retailer clearly acknowledges the problem or they wouldn't have made repeated visits. You're on a winner: just do it the right way/least risky way (see below about enforcing judgement).

jap220171 wrote: »

IThey came out, replaced the motor, fiddled around with it for about an hour and then finally discovered that it had never actually been installed in the first place. All that the Kitchen Fitters had basically done was hang it on the wall and plug it in. They didn't bother with the actual extraction part.

All part of the responsibility of the retailer (I assume THEY recommended the fitters, YOU didn't choose them from the yellow pages?) Same advice as before

jap220171 wrote: »

So I guess after all that I have decided that they have had enough second chances, and I just want the money back, so that I can go to a different company.

You won't get it. All you'll get is them to do the job properly or - via the small claims court - a judgement in your favour for the cost of having got the work done by a third party. Then you have to enforce the judgement: which might not be possible against the retailer, but would probably succed against the cc co.

Best bet: get the retailer or credit card co to take the responsibility for getting the existing kitchen sorted.

2nd best bet: post in a forum (I don't know if there's the right one on here or whether you'll have to look elsewhere) about your Sect 75 rights. This is not so much a Credit Card issue as a Consumer Protection issue. For that matter talk to local CAB/Trading Standards: latter normally very helpful.