Section 75 trouble

Disgruntl3d

Hi all. Having trouble getting my credit card provider to live up to their S75 obligations. I bought my wife a voucher for her birthday. She couldn’t use it because of the first lockdown so we phoned the company who had issued it to get it extended. They agreed. When we called back to use the voucher, we found the company was bankrupt. The bank won’t pay us back because they say the voucher has expired. They are asking us to provide evidence of voucher extension but the company no longer exists, so they are asking us for the impossible. What can I do? Do I have to go to the Financial Ombudsman?

thanks 

eskbanker

If you don't have any evidence of the extension then the card company will treat it as if it had expired without extension, i.e. at the time the company folded it would have had no (demonstrable) obligation to you and so you wouldn't have been due any refund, and IMHO it's unlikely that the FOS would consider that to be an unreasonable position - unfortunately, the fact that you didn't secure evidence of the extension at the time counts against you here.

Is there perhaps anything on social media or elsewhere that illustrates a pattern of the company extending vouchers in such circumstances?

Disgruntl3d

Good question - I will take a look. The liquidator said that he was puzzled they were questioning it because of the obvious changes that people had made to arrangements like this during the pandemic. But the CC company ignored that. I guess I could try and track down the company’s former owner to get written confirmation but it seems an awful lot of trouble to have to go to for a few hundred quid. 

Sandtree

So the voucher was bought from and to be used with the same company? IE it wasn't one of these "Wowcher" like setups where you buy the voucher from one company and use it with another?

Disgruntl3d said:
What can I do? Do I have to go to the Financial Ombudsman?

You log a complaint first, if you aren't happy with the outcome or they don't give a final response within 8 weeks then you can go to the FOS

Disgruntl3d said:
it seems an awful lot of trouble to have to go to for a few hundred quid. 

If a couple of hours isn't worth a few hundred quid to you then don't bother. The bank is entitled to ensure you have a valid claim and unfortunately people do make up stories to try and get money... I am sure if it was money coming from your pocket you'd be making sure you owe it.

eskbanker

Disgruntl3d said:

The liquidator said that he was puzzled they were questioning it because of the obvious changes that people had made to arrangements like this during the pandemic.

The liquidator is just offering a personal opinion that's ultimately irrelevant when you're trying to make a legal claim against another party, and is probably just happy that you're looking elsewhere....

Disgruntl3d said:

But the CC company ignored that. I guess I could try and track down the company’s former owner to get written confirmation but it seems an awful lot of trouble to have to go to for a few hundred quid. 

With a section 75 claim, you're seeking to hold your card company legally and financially liable for a breach of contract by another party, so shouldn't be surprised that they won't fall over themselves to pay unsubstantiated claims without asking pertinent questions.

Disgruntl3d

Yep understood and thanks for all the advice. I have plenty of proof - credit card receipt, the voucher itself (not a wowcher style one), the welcome pack and so on. The only thing I don’t have is a record of the agreement to extend the expiry date. From what you are all saying that is a reasonable ask from the finance company. The problem is I can’t get it because the firm no longer exists and I’m not sure it’s legally or morally right to chase the former owner for a letter. Stuck…

eskbanker

To be honest, I'm not even sure that a retrospective letter from the owner would be enough anyway - it's easy to make promises when you know you can't be held to them, so if there's no evidence from back in 2020 that the company was offering extensions then the card company may still reject your s75 claim, although you could ask them first I suppose....