Consumer claims relate to your legal rights when you buy goods or services. If you believe you have been treated unfairly, or have been mis-sold a good or service, you may be entitled to compensation.

Claim Experts have dealt with compensation claims from clients unhappy with their purchases relating to:

• Faulty goods
• Inadequate service
• Misleading contracts
• Credit and store cards
• Rogue traders

Cases of this nature relate to a few different areas of law. The vital parts to Consumer Claims are:

• Section 75 Refunds
• Breach of Contract & Misrepresentation
• Breach of The Consumer Rights Act 2015

Are you entitled to compensation? Let’s find out.

What is a Section 75 claim?

Individuals who have used a credit card have a right to claim a refund or damages from their credit card provider, rather than the supplier that actually provided the goods or services, providing that the purchaser meets certain criteria. This is in accordance to a key bit of law called Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Section 75 applies to purchases between £100 and £30,000 that have been made by a credit card – this would include any deposit paid – and applies per item bought. If you use your credit card to make a part payment for a purchase – for instance a deposit – then Section 75 will apply, but the value of the total purchase will still need to be less than £30,000.

Therefore, if you pay your bill on time, it is always worth making purchases on a credit card so that you get the benefit of this free protection.

If the credit card company does not adequately deal with your complaint, then you can also refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman, who has the power to insist that the credit card company pays damage to you.

Breach of Contract and Misrepresentation

In order to make a claim you will need to prove that the supplier has breached the contract, or that there has been some form of misrepresentation.

A representation is defined as a “statement of fact which induces one part to enter into a contract”. Misrepresentation is a false statement which has been made innocently, negligently or even fraudulently.

If the supplier has innocently made a false statement of fact, then you have the right to withdraw from the contract and receive a refund of any money previously paid, or claim damages for any foreseeable financial loss that you have incurred.

If the supplier has fraudulently or negligently made a statement without a reasonable belief that it was true, then you have the right to withdraw from the contract and receive a refund of any money previously paid or, alternately, claim damages for any financial loss that the incorrect statement has caused you (regardless of whether those losses were foreseeable or not).

Breach of The Consumer Rights Act 2015

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 implies certain terms into a contract for goods or services. Those terms include, for goods:

1. Goods must be of a satisfactory quality (Section 9)
2. Goods must be fit for a particular purpose (Section 10)
3. Goods must be as described (Section 11)
4. Goods must match a sample provided (Section 13)

And that services must be provided with:

1. Reasonable care and skill (Section 49)
2. A reasonable price (Section 51)
3. In a reasonable time (Section 52)

If the supplier does not follow these requirements, they may have breached the contract. If a breach of contract has occurred, you have the right to claim damages for any foreseeable loss that you have incurred as a result of that breach.

There are, of course, other examples of a breach, such as a supplier not completing work that they said they would do, goods not being delivered or goods being faulty.

What happens if the Supplier Ceases Trading?

This law is particularly helpful where the supplier is no longer trading – perhaps because they have gone bankrupt or into administration.

If the supplier is no longer around you are still entitled to bring the exact same claim against the credit card company. The credit card company are obliged to pay out if there has been a breach of contract or misrepresentation.

This may, for instance, assist if you booked a flight ticket on a credit card and the travel company or airline stops trading. If you do not receive the flight you have paid for, there has clearly been a breach of contract and you would be able to claim a refund or damages from the credit card company instead.

How much can I claim?

The good news is that you’re not just limited to a refund, you’re entitled to claim damages, even if those damages are more than you originally paid on your credit card.

What should I do if I have a Consumer Claim?  

If you believe that you have a Section 75 Claim we would ask that you contact Claim Experts as soon as possible. One of our experienced team would be happy to provide you with a free, no obligation chat. We would happily discuss your claim with you and see how we can assist.

At Claim Experts we make claiming for compensation easy:

✔ No Win, No Fee*
✔ No Upfront Payments
✔ An Expert Team
✔ A Track Record of Success
✔ Regulated and Authorised by The Financial Conduct Authority

At Claim Experts we offer a free initial consultation to go over the details of your Consumer Claim case and advise you on whether you have a viable claim. There is no obligation to proceed with us, we will just be there to discuss your options and put your mind at rest.