Chargeback Reversed due to timelength

WaftyCrank

So earlier this year I place a chargeback against a purchase made from alibaba. The value of the chargeback was just over £12,000. The reason was poor quality of goods. Long story short the aluminium bottles weren't fit for purpose as they rusted with anything inside them. The credit card used was my personal card. 

So order placed in Oct 2019 and Nov 2019. Order received February 2020. Issue found with products March 2020. Then Coronavirus lock down occurred. So everything was delayed by 4 months. However I used that time to speak to the seller in the far East to try and resolve this matter. I spent months going back and forth until I finally gave in and contacted my credit card. This was August 2020 and the correct was granted 14th Sept 2020. 

This week I have had notification that the merchant has rejected the chargeback due to the timelength bringing this claim and thus outside of section 75 guidelines. I am not forced to pay back £12k which has since been reallocated. I am at serious risk of bankruptcy as a result. 

Do I have any legal recourse to resolve this chargebacl being reversed? Would the FCA be able to help? Small claims against the credit card company? 

whitesmith

Chargeback and S75 are two completely different things.

If the chargeback is reversed that means the merchant gets their money back. You then have to go after the credit card company itself - by raising a S75 claim. If successful, the CC company will pay you, not the merchant.

Sandtree

Chargeback has a timelimit of 120 days, as chargebacks mean that the bank gets the money from the otherside they will normally go with this first.

S75 is totally separate and has no explicit time limit other than the limits for the underlying liability. You could speak to your credit card issuer about making a S75 claim but given it stems from the Consumer Rights Act you may find certain challenges put up on if £12,000 of water bottles was a consumer purchase rather than a business purchase (which in itself may be a breach of the T&Cs of your personal card).

eskbanker

Bear in mind too that s75 requires an item value of over £100, so unless these were spectacularly expensive water bottles then it's unlikely that a s75 claim would be viable....

WaftyCrank

Well have another read of their letter to get a better understanding. I simply contacted them to explain the issue and reverse the transaction which to their credit they did. However now it has come back to this. 

I'm not sure if a breach of terms has occurred since anyone can buy from wholesale websites as a sole trader using personal cards but its certainly a good point to make. 

Either way. Let's for a moment assume not breach of terms has occurred. Is there a way I can prevent this legally without this pushing me into potentially being bankrupt. Any advice very much appreciated. 

WaftyCrank

Ok so after reviewing. The chargeback was declined (reversed) as a result of being outside 120 days. I was hoping the issues around Coronavirus meant there would be an extension to this. 

Section 75 isn't accepted because alibaba is a third party merchant and doesn't fall under the correct criteria for section 75. 

Sandtree

So you need to investigate your options of pursuing the merchant directly

WaftyCrank

Is there a method to pursue the merchant directly. They're based in China. I'm not sure i have a legal recourse. 

jonesMUFCforever

Was this a business transaction?
If so S75 does not apply either.

Sandtree

There are always options, if its cost effective to pursue is another matter... hence the need to do some digging. For a start, what legal jurisdiction applies to the transaction.

MattMattMattUK

WaftyCrank said:

Is there a method to pursue the merchant directly. They're based in China. I'm not sure i have a legal recourse. 

Probably not in terms of a legal recourse, it is almost impossible to sue a Chinese company which does not have a presence outside of mainland China and your changes of winning are slightly less than winning the lottery. 

Your only real chance was if your order was covered by Alibaba's Trade Assurance policy, as you mentioned you paid through Alibaba that might be an option, were they trade assured? 
https://tradeassurance.alibaba.com/
Edit: I have just seen your timeline, Trade Assurance claims must be made within 30 days of delivery, as you received goods in February unfortunately you have missed the window.

Also of note in the not "fit for purpose" criteria, you mentioned that they are aluminium water bottles and that they rust. Aluminium does not rust (although it does corrode), but it generally looks different to classic rusting. All water bottles are normally lined, there should be a plastic liner in the bottle, even the top of the range bottles like Sigg water bottles have a plastic liner. Two things to look for, are they even aluminium and are they lined, both of those things could well be relevant should you go down the Trade Assurance route.