Section 75 / Chargeback Refund Issued

DK2021x

Sandtree said:

Have you looked at CCA Section 75? 

Its 5 bullets, it says very very little but at the time of enactment it would be very rare to apply as credit cards and consumer finance was totally different in 1974.

It simply makes them jointly liable with the supplier, it doesnt really do much more than that other than carve out small transactions or very large ones. From an ombudsman perspective they will expect the general principles of Treating Customer Fairly, dealing with Vulnerable Customers etc but the only way you can put any time pressure on them is to register a complaint that its taking too long.

For a chargeback you wont hear anything else unless a defence is received and they dont uphold your dispute. That defence has to be made within 45 days but backlogs can mean its not processed until some time later. 

Thanks again. I did look into the CCA further after I spoke with BCARD in May 2021. It did surprise me when they used that specific term. I quoted the fact that they were jointly liable in my initial correspondence when I filed the claim in April 2021. 

I think I’m best to sit tight for now. No news is good news. I would like to think that I would have received some kind of correspondence from them if they were looking into anything further at this stage. At no point have they requested any further evidence, I did attach as much as I could at the beginning.

4 months is a long time ago, and as time goes on I suppose it’s the worry of them suddenly retracting the credit from my account. I just wish that they would send a letter to confirm that the claim has been closed, so either way; good or bad, I know where I stand. But without contacting them directly, I suspect I’ll never find out. I just know that I’d kick myself if I do give in and give them a call, to find out a week later they shouldn’t have issued the credit, and for it to be taken away - rightly or wrongly, it would just leave me in a bit of a financial situation that I don’t want to think about. 

born_again

DK2021x said:

What does that mean in this context?  Elsewhere it refers to the Consumer Credit Act, but that doesn't make sense here....

@eskbanker When I called to query where I was in terms of getting an outcome regarding my claim, they said that it had been referred to the CCA team to review. Then a month later, the credit was replied to my account. 

I suppose all I want to clear up is whether after four months, the credit is likely to be reversed by the bank. I know there is no telling as to whether this is defiantly going to happen. But what I’m trying to clear up is the likelihood of this happening. And whether I’ll ever hear from the bank again regarding the claim, or whether it’s closed. 

I understand all banks have had to deal with an influx of disputes over the last two years, but surely there has to be some kind of regulation in place as to how long a bank has to make up their mind, before the account holder is given a final response / deadlock letter. I can see that there are specific rules in place in regards to chargebacks, but in terms of S75 there seems to be little regulation in terms of timeframes. 

Thanks again  

S75 can take as long as the bank takes. I have known some take up to a year if they are large & complex cases.

You will also find that on a successful S75 claim will have to sign a full & final settlement letter.

Chargeback has fixed timescales. Is much faster & even if retailer contests. It can still be passed on for a S75 claim.

Rule of thumb. 
Chargeback = funds from retailer.
S75 = funds from Bank.

DK2021x

@born_again thanks for your help, much appreciated. Starting to think that this dispute may have been classified as a chargeback rather than a S75. Which is the opposite to what I thought yesterday morning. 

Really appreciate all the replies - thank you!  

eskbanker

DK2021x said:

Starting to think that this dispute may have been classified as a chargeback rather than a S75. Which is the opposite to what I thought yesterday morning. 

....but is what was pointed out in both of the first two replies!

DK2021x

@eskbanker Yes, I’m aware - thank you. I was simply highlighting the fact that my opinion had changed

easysteve589

Sorry to reignite an old debate. I used an American Express card to pay for a number of hospitality tickets for a football event in Spain in November 2023. The service was not as described and I contacted the merchant to resolve.

They flat out ignored my requests after 2 months of trying politely. I had a couple of replies from the original salesperson saying they’d passed my details to their complaints team. I never heard back. I emailed them directly from their website and still nothing. I even found contact details for more senior employees on LinkedIn and attempted to contact them with no success. The original salesperson also blanked my emails.

I was left with no option other than to raise a chargeback request via Amex in January 2024. The process took a number of weeks. Initially, Amex refunded the money while they investigated. After a few weeks they advised the merchant had provided evidence and they recharged my account. I then appealed the decision and submitted additional evidence and they once again credited the charge back to my account. 

I heard nothing from them but continued to monitor my Amex disputes account. The dispute moved to closed status and marked with a resolution date of 27th March 2024. I checked my account again on 30th May 2024 and I was showing as having no active disputes.

As of today, 11th October, I noticed a change in my available balance and after speaking with live chat was told the disputed charge had been reapplied. The advisor shared with me the notes that had been added to the account. They are as follows. 

Notes: ISO 4553: Cardmember rebilled as arbitration ruling in acq favor and SE t&c were accepted by CM and services were used as is.

After reviewing the information, you provided and the circumstances of the transaction, we believe the charge to be reasonable. The merchant support confirms that the terms and conditions were agreed for this purchase and the services are used as is.

As a result, the transaction will remain on your account and the amount previously credited has been reapplied to your account balance. You will see this reflected on an upcoming billing statement.

We suggest you work directly with the merchant to resolve this matter.

I was unaware any arbitration process was underway and I was granted no opportunity to provide any case or supporting evidence. I have not seen any of the evidence providing by the merchant. As above, I was also led to believe the case was closed on my favour, after Amex having initially sided with the merchant. 

I was also unaware it was at all possible for a chargeback to be reapplied after almost 9 months from the date of the resolution, and 11 months since the date of the event.

For now, I have opened a complaint with Amex and they will contact me within 3 days.

My question: is this normal and what options do I have from here?