Section 75 Consumer Credit Act

Nexis

Although Nationwide Building Society's credit card is provided by an external provider, the Society markets the card as its own.
Section 75 of the CCA makes the credit card company jointly and severally liable for any breach of contract by the trader. That means the credit card company is responsible to refund the money provided the contract was for more than £100. There is no requirement to claim against the trader first.
I bought a holiday directly (not through a travel agent) and due to covid the holiday company cancelled the holiday and offered a credit note that I didn't want to accept.
The holiday cost shy of £1000 so I claimed on the credit card I had used - Nationwide's card
The claim was rejected because I had not gone back to the holiday company and asked for a refund. The Nationwide said:- Under75, we need to determine if there has been a break in the debtor, supplier and creditor relationship. In order to understand if there has been a break then we need to see that the merchant is given an opportunity to resolve the issue with yourself. The section 75 process has been followed correctly.
That wording seems to be designed to deprive Nationwide credit card customers of their rights.. The Nationwide was a reputable building society looking after its members interests. Have those days gone?

Sandtree

They are entitled to test the relationship is unbroken but that doesnt require you to have approached the merchant to resolve the issue.

Also not sure why you think their credit cards are provided by someone else, the T&Cs on their website state the counterparty is the Nationwide Building Society but maybe its changed over time. Wouldnt make any difference anyway, its still the credit provider that you are claiming against be that them themselves or a whitelabling service

eskbanker

I could be wrong but suspect that they'll be hoping to be able to treat this as a chargeback claim, as they wouldn't bear the cost of this, unlike s75, but the chargeback scheme rules do require evidence of unsuccessful attempts to resolve with the merchant.  As above, it's your statutory right to claim from them under s75 though, even if the credit card company would prefer the option of having their costs covered under chargeback instead....

The MSE guide at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/section75-protect-your-purchases/#how is clear on the fundamental point:

Complaints about a product and the retailer/supplier isn't bust – go to the retailer first

Here you may be met by "that's not our business, go to the retailer". Actually you don't have to, it is its business and you've a legal right to redress. The law makes clear that the credit company is jointly responsible, so there's no 'first point of call'.

Edit: on reflection, and speculating again, I wonder if they're misinterpreting the meaning of the D-C-S relationship when they say "we need to determine if there has been a break in the debtor, supplier and creditor relationship" - the meaning in s75 terms is that there's a direct contractual relationship between the parties, but maybe an underpaid and underinformed Nationwide agent erroneously thinks it's necessary to establish if there's a breakdown in the relationship, i.e. that dialogue has been exhausted?

Sandtree

I havent looked at Nationwide’s website explicitly but there have been enough complaints recently of people raising a S75 claim and being told their Chargeback was unsuccessful but not normally in such clear words.  In a few cases those original posters had simply filled in a dispute form that they reached via a S75 webpage but the chargeback webpage lead to the same form so was actually agnostic.

I suspect Nationwide are just dealing with it as a dispute and hence trying chargeback first, the email is a bit rubbish as the D-C-S relationship is irrelevant in chargebacks but they wouldnt be the first bank to have terribly worded emails 

jsmith9

If your claim has been rejected, then your next step is clear - rise a formal complaint with Nationwide. Make sure you tell them it is a formal complaint. If nothing else, this will ensure it is looked at by the complaints team who may give you a more comprehensible answer!

[Deleted User]

Why didn't you ask the holiday firm for cash (they must give you that, not a credit note) or claim on your travel insurance?

jsmith9

They would normally not give cash but would instead refund to the original card where payments was made