Can I do a S75 for this?

HopeAndDriftWood

We stayed in an apartment in Spain in June for a month. On check-in, we were told that they had discovered damage to the parquet floor but that it was now covered by a rug, and asked us not to move the rug or any of the furniture. The furniture was a gigantic electric recliner, so we wouldn't have tried to move it anyway! 

We paid the months rent, plus a deposit, upfront. My husband paid on his Amex; but through a PayPal interface - he doesn't believe he was logged in on PayPal and the transaction on his Amex shows as the name of the rental company, not PayPal.

We checked out on July 10th. Someone was supposed to come and review the apartment with us, but didn't show up, so we took a video of the whole flat.

On August 9th, they messaged to say that they were retaining 80% of the deposit. They alleged this was because it required additional cleaning due to things splashed down cupboards and hair on the floor, and new damage to the parquet floor. We disputed this, and sent our video evidence, which clearly shows there is nothing splashed down the cupboards, although the rug remains in place in the video so you can't see the scratched floor. 

They've admitted that they only checked the flat 21 days after we left, after new people moved in, but say that the new people have said it wasn't them. They are refusing to acknowledge that the images don't look any different to what we were shown when we moved in.

Their last message requested our bank details. They've now paid us £200 back - the deposit minus the amount for the parquet floor. 

Can we dispute the Amex fee, and just let Amex know that we've recieved £200 back separately but dispute them retaining £400 for damage we didn't cause? 

MyRealNameToo

If he logs into your/his PayPal account can he see the transaction listed?

Newbie_John

Even PayPal has it's own protection:
https://www.paypal.com/uk/legalhub/paypal/buyer-protection

but if it went through PayPal then nothing to do with Amex.

Brie

would s75 apply in Spain?

MyRealNameToo

Brie said:

would s75 apply in Spain?

Yes, as long as the card was issued in the UK under the CCA. This went to the House of Lords in 2007 as OFT -v- Lloyds TSB & others back when the lords was the highest UK court. They found in favour of the OFT saying it applied everywhere https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldjudgmt/jd071031/lloyds-1.htm

However, if its a breach of contract will be considered under whatever jurisdiction applies to the agreement

born_again

Newbie_John said:

Even PayPal has it's own protection:
https://www.paypal.com/uk/legalhub/paypal/buyer-protection

but if it went through PayPal then nothing to do with Amex.

If it goes through your PP account then S75 is out. If retailer is using PP as their means of taking payment & does not show in your PP account. Then S75 is valid.

@HopeAndDriftWood I would speak to Amex & see what they say. This is one of the situations that can swing either way. Amex might look at it different to other card providers, within their dispute process.

HopeAndDriftWood

It doesn't show on his PayPal account, he didn't log in. 

Thanks all. I'll raise it with Amex; we've got nothing to lose really. The contract was in English primarily; and governed under UK law. 

He was a bit of an idiot really; in a loving way - we were initially booking through AirBnB but they phoned him and offered him earlier check-in and to waive the cleaning fee if he booked direct, so they saved on AirBnB fees, which should have been a warning to him but wasn't!

Thanks all. I'll update when we hear back for future reference!