Declined Section 75 claim. No valid DCS link

fav68

Thanks again, I don't know what AIUI means. The roofer might not have called anyone on his phone. He might just have recorded me giving him my credit card details. It is very strange that a company came out to a job with no means of taking payment.

born_again

Many companies only take banking payments now for such work.

Grumpy_chap

I don't know what AIUI means

As I Understand It

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82107228#Comment_82107228

I wouldn't see it as particularly strange to be honest, in that some tradespeople may now bring low-cost card terminals but (without any stats to back this up) would see them as being very much in the minority, with traditional expectations of payment by cash (or even cheque) now being supplemented primarily by direct bank transfers - you did say at the start that "The roofing company wanted £2500 in cash or bank transfer before they started work".

I'm not sure there's much mileage in trying to figure out exactly who the roofer called but it does seem clear that he effectively considered payment to whoever it was to have settled the £2,500 bill for the job - presumably there haven't been any other unexplained transactions on the card since then?

I know it's not as simple as this but you agreed to the job at £2,500 and that's what you paid, so financially you're in the position you expected to be, albeit with more of a fight on your hands if in future you need to try a s75 claim for breach of contract - what tangible outcome are you looking for from FOS?

fav68

Is it normal for a roofing company to demand payment before they start work? £2500 is several times the amount they quoted to do the job. I had cash ready to pay the amount they quoted and could have got more from the cash point but £2500 was out of the question. I could have paid by bank transfer but it is really complicated to set up a new payee on my account. The work only took 30 minutes and I never did get the guarantee I was promised..

eskbanker

I think it's important to differentiate between concerns you have about the roofer's conduct and matters where you have some sort of sustainable claim against your card provider, as they're not the same thing, and the above points seem to be in the former category rather than the latter:

Is it normal for a roofing company to demand payment before they start work?

Not unheard of but it doesn't really matter what's 'normal' or not if that's what you agreed to.

£2500 is several times the amount they quoted to do the job. I had cash ready to pay the amount they quoted and could have got more from the cash point but £2500 was out of the question. I could have paid by bank transfer but it is really complicated to set up a new payee on my account. The work only took 30 minutes

Again, whether or not it was value for money is immaterial if (as above) he told you the price before you authorised him to proceed.

I never did get the guarantee I was promised

If the promise was only verbal then you're on weak ground here, especially if seeking assistance from an uninvolved third party who can only make decisions with evidence in front of them. Even if the company hasn't given you a piece of paper they could still argue that they'd be prepared to rectify issues in future if needed.

I don't mean to pick holes for the sake of it but just trying to help you focus specifically on what your card provider's liability (if any) is here, as that's all FOS will be interested in. You do still have the option of pursuing the roofing company via small claims though, but again you need to be clear about what outcome you're seeking...

fav68

Thanks, really appreciate that