Section 75 CREDIT CARD

vccc

Hi first post on the forum. Recently rented a villa in Portugal which was advertised on a UK well know Villa website with lots of facilities. When we arrived a number of the items that were listed on the website were not there or not working. On the Villas website it states " your contract is with the owners named on your Confirmation Invoice and these booking conditions are incorporated within that contract."
When I checked my Credit Card statement, the payment was made to the Villa Company and not to the owners. Currently the Villa Company have told me that the owners are willing to offer me £500 as a gesture of good will. My questions is can I make a claim under Section 75 on my credit card, or because it states above that my contract is with the owners named on my confirmation invoice I am unable to make a claim? My final question is if I can make a claim, how much money am I likely to receive back from Credit Card Company Any advice would be most helpful.

[Deleted User]

The credit card company shares liability, but it doesn't automatically mean you get a full refund.

How much do you think you should be refunded?

Terry_Towelling

Always a bit tricky when an intermediary is involved - especially when your payment goes via that intermediary.

The best I can offer you (and it's just an opinion) is to say that, yes, the contract being with the owners of the property is a point in your favour. The fact that the payment has gone through the villa company need not be a problem, if it can be established that said company were simply handling payments on behalf of the property owners under so-called pre-existing arrangements between them and the villa company.

To my mind, that means the debtor-creditor-supplier chain (that needs to be in place for a S75 claim to stand any chance) is in tact and covered entirely by pre-existing contractual arrangements.

Beyond this, you still need to prove breach of contract or misrepresentation and you need to be able to establish an exact value to said breach/misrep.

I am confident that your card company will disagree entirely with what I am saying here but that doesn't mean they are right, it's just their opinion, which, granted, is probably far better informed than mine - albeit 'spun' to benefit them.

Another possibility is a Chargeback for 'not as described'. That still needs evidencing by you, but the fact the owners are prepared to offer £500 might seem to suggest they agree that something wasn't as it should have been.

The issue you need to understand is whether any claim via your card company is likely to yield more than the £500 already on the table.

vccc

There were 9 items that were listed on the website that were not there when we arrived plus the day we arrived the air conditioning was not working and it took nearly 3 days to get it fixed. .
I have worked out a formula and I think i should be refunded at least 50% of the total rental I paid.

Ben8282

vccc wrote: »

There were 9 items that were listed on the website that were not there when we arrived plus the day we arrived the air conditioning was not working and it took nearly 3 days to get it fixed. .
I have worked out a formula and I think i should be refunded at least 50% of the total rental I paid.

What exactly were these 9 items? You would really need to show that the absence of these 9 items was significant.

vccc

well these 9 items were reasons why we booked this Villa.
The website was misleading, they advertised these items but they not at the Villa. Surely the Villa company is responsible for the Website?

Ben8282

vccc wrote: »

well these 9 items were reasons why we booked this Villa.
The website was misleading, they advertised these items but they not at the Villa. Surely the Villa company is responsible for the Website?

Here we go. WHAT WERE THE 9 ITEMS????

vccc

Safe/Apple TV/ Sonos Sound System/ Washing Machine/iron/Ironing Board/Coffee Machine/Ice Machine/linen change/childrens play room( unuseable because of a flood - floor had been raised/air con not working on the day we arrived.

Ben8282

When you arrived at the Villa and found these items missing what action did you take? Did you contact anybody? Did you give the owners of the villa a reasonable opportunity to put things right?
How will you prove absence of these items? What will you do if the owners of the villa accuse you of stealing them?

eskbanker

vccc wrote: »

I have worked out a formula and I think i should be refunded at least 50% of the total rental I paid.

What's the scale of the difference between your calculated 50% figure and the £500 that's on the table?

In terms of how likely it is that you'd get a better offer from the card company, it'll obviously depend on the strength of your case and how persuasive you are, so it wouldn't do any harm to negotiate more with the owners, armed with your formula.

However, if you went ahead with your stay, rather than insisting on the villa company finding alternative accommodation for you, I suspect that you'd have a sizable job on your hands making a claim for 50% stick....

vccc

i have another question if the owner of the Villa lives in Germany, can I take the owners to the small claims court? Which country do I file a claim Germany or UK?