Successful claim under Section 75 - Merchant says I owe them money

s7beck

Hi all,

A few months ago I made a chargeback for faulty goods with my CC company. After providing all the information they told me I needed to make a claim instead under section 75 and I filled out the form.

After an initial 45 days where the merchant could dispute, which they did, I provided more information and the CC company gave them another 30 days to dispute it. They did not dispute and I had the funds credited to my CC account.

The Merchant has been bombarding me with emails and have told me I owe them the money and are threatening court action if I don't pay.

It is my belief that as it was not a chargeback but a scuccessful claim under section 75, then the account is settled.

I disposed of the faulty goods.

My question is, who owns the goods? And do they have a case?

From my CC company:

Dear ****

Your reference: Section 75 / **********

CLAIM UNDER SECTION 75 OF THE CONSUMER CREDIT ACT 1974

Thank you for contacting us in regards to your claim against **** dated ****** for an amount of £****

GOOD NEWS:

A refund of £**** has been claimed from the Merchant. Also, any interest or fees charged in relation to the transaction will be refunded. This can take up to 48 hours to show on your account.

Thanks all

retiredbanker1

You cannot keep the goods and get your refund.

QrizB

I think your credit card company have processed this as a chargeback, not as a Section 75 claim.

A Section 75 claim is a claim against the CC company not a claim against the merchant. The CC co message says they've claimed a refund from the merchant so they've not paid you themselves.

Had you previously tried to claim from the merchant? How did that go?

Woodstok2000

Under a section 75 claim your lender has paid you back the money, so typically they would then own the goods.

Tell the merchant to deal with the credit card company, its not your problem to deal with them.

Vitor

I think the section 75 part and the goods ownership point need separating.

Section 75 makes the credit card provider jointly liable for the merchant’s breach of contract. It does not automatically mean the merchant has agreed that you may keep, sell, or dispose of the goods. If the remedy was effectively a refund/rejection, the usual position is that the goods should be made available for collection unless you agreed to return them.

The problem is that OP disposed of the goods. That may make the merchant’s position stronger than it would otherwise have been, because they can argue they have been deprived of the goods after you received the money back.

I would not ignore the letters. I would ask the card company, in writing, to confirm exactly what basis they paid you: section 75 compensation, reversal/recovery from the merchant, cancellation of the contract, or some other settlement. I would also ask whether they told the merchant the goods were to be collected or returned.

If the merchant issues a claim, you would need to defend it on the basis that the goods were faulty, the section 75 claim was upheld, and the refund was proper. But disposing of the goods was unwise unless the merchant or card company had clearly told you they did not want them back.

If the merchant still had a right to recover the goods, then disposing of them may have created a separate issue.

s7beck

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82053180#Comment_82053180

Hi,

Merchant was terrible to deal with. Multiple fob-offs and claiming their business policies were paramount etc. This is why I went down the route I did.

s7beck

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82053178#Comment_82053178

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82053181#Comment_82053181

Two conflicting views, this is why I am so confused.

I have been researching for a few days and some sources say I keep the goods, others that the CC company owns them, very few say the merchant has to have the goods back.

It is quite a complex case tbh, I spent a lot of time and money and materials trying to rectify the faults. I believe I can make a claim for damages/consequential losses and significant inconvenience, which is what I would do by way of a counter claim should they take me to court.

I just would like to know the facts of the matter before I have to defend myself, if I have to.

Thanks

Vitor

So the facts you need are not “some websites say I keep them”. The facts you need are:

What exactly did the card company decide?
Was it a section 75 damages payment, a refund after rejection, or a recovery from the merchant?
Did anyone tell you the goods were yours to keep or dispose of?
Did you give the trader or card company a clear chance to collect them?
What evidence do you still have of the fault and of the cost of attempted rectification?

Until those are answered, I would not assume the merchant has no case.

Grumpy_chap

That has been processed as a chargeback - equivalent to stopping the cheque.

Under S75, the CC does not usually recover from the merchant.

If you have a refund, whether from merchant (chargeback) or from credit card (S75), you don't also retain title to the goods. Who agreed the goods could be disposed of?

If you still have the goods and the refund via chargeback, the merchant can seek recovery via normal legal channels.

bazdvd

if you have disposed of the goods then you might end up having to pay for them.

What was the value? Did you tell the merchant you were disposing of their goods?

user1977

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82053216#Comment_82053216

The value being the cost price of the (faulty) goods, not the price originally paid.