Chargeback via Triodos / MasterCard

happypig

Hello

I hope someone can help. Four months ago I paid a £500 deposit on a car that I had seen on eBay. The seller advised that this was a fully refundable deposit should I change my mind for any reason. It might be relevant that the seller took my card details and put the transaction through at some point after the phone call.

A couple of days later, before we had viewed the car, I found a post on a forum about the seller which changed my mind about purchasing from him. This others person said the car he was viewing was not as described, and he was having issues getting his deposit back.

We contacted the seller and said that we have changed our mind and requested the deposit back. We have recordings of several phone calls with this seller where he promised return of our money.

When it became clear that we weren’t going to get our money back I contacted my bank, Triodos, and requested a chargeback. We also reported the seller to Action Fraud.

Some weeks passed and eventually I had a response from Triodos. They advised that because the payment was a deposit, this is not covered under the chargeback scheme.

I’ve searched online for info on this but drawing blanks. Can anyone help?

I’ve also started a money claim (previously Small Claims) however we’ve received no response and the address of the garage doesn’t seem to exist anymore.

Any advise would be very very appreciated as I’m brassic and could sure do with my £500 back.

dj1471

Raise a formal complaint with Triodos, their response was nonsense. Escalate to the Financial Ombudsman if they still don't play ball.

jonnygee2

Some weeks passed and eventually I had a response from Triodos. They advised that because the payment was a deposit, this is not covered under the chargeback scheme.

Firstly, you need evidence that the deposit was fully refundable for any reason - hopefully you have this? The written Ts and Cs of the deposit will be very important in a successful chargeback claim.

Their response is completely incorrect. Pretty much anything can be charged back.

On the other, there is no 'right' to a chargeback, it's the choice of the bank as to whether they process them. FOS has a mixed record on this, they sometimes uphold complaints where chargebacks were withheld, but sometimes they just say there's no right to a chargeback.

Your best bet is to try and escalate this with the bank to someone more senior who will action the chargeback for you. Perhaps try and tactfully point out that there is no such exemption under the chargeback scheme.

If it doesn't work, then yes, complain to them and then ultimately complain to FOS, and hope that they take your side.

This is why credit card protection is better than debit card chargebacks (at least in my opinion) - you have a definite right to protection on credit card purchases.

Also - just one for the future - if someone asks you for a deposit and says it is refundable for any reason at all - maybe question why they would want such a deposit in the first place!

happypig

Hi. Thank so much for your replies. Sorry for not responding sooner. I was expecting notifications, but it appears I don’t have these switched on!

Yes, I have recorded telephone calls with the seller promising the refund of my refundable deposit.

I’ve spoken to Triodos today and it is being looked into at a more senior level, so everything crossed for a good outcome. If not, I shall pursue as advised above.

Thanks again!

Ben8282

Why do you bank with these people (Triodos)?
A £3 monthly fee for nothing in exchange.
No interest on your current account.
Can't pay in cash.

Terry_Towelling

To say no chargeback is available because it is a deposit is nonsense - as others have said. However, that doesn't automatically mean there is a chargeback right available.

Chargebacks for debit cards are the same as for credit cards - but credit card purchases also (sometimes) have the protection of S75 of the consumer credit act where you can provide evidence that a supplier is in breach of contract.

You may have rights in law to change your mind and expect a refund if this was an online purchase (seems it was) but Chargeback rules don't necessarily reflect all of' the laws of the land. Many powerful retailers and their card processing banks will resist implementation of new chargeback rights because they believe legal issues should be resolved in court, rather than by bankers. It's a balancing act; yes, you want to protect cardholders to encourage card usage but you also need to protect retailers or they won't take the cards in the first place.

I'm not sure how a card issuer would enforce a chargeback for, say, a missing refund (which has fairly stringent requirements that probably haven't been met here) based on a recording of a telephone call - a recording that might be quite easily faked (not suggesting that has happened here).

Of course you want your £500 back but you can't really cry poverty when you were actually planning on spending even more than that to buy the car.

If anyone with more up-to-date chargeback knowledge can suggest a way forward, I'd be happy to learn from their experience.

jonesMUFCforever

OP how can you be brassic after paying £500 deposit? How were you going to finance the balance?

SnowTiger

Ben8282 wrote: »

Why do you bank with these people (Triodos)?
A £3 monthly fee for nothing in exchange.
No interest on your current account.

Triodos is an ethical bank.

That warm, fuzzy feeling isn't free.