fuzzball

Hi all.

Had a search and cant find the info im looking for.
Just wondering what my rights are if any in the following situation? I live in Valencia and i bought a laptop from a British company over the telephone, long story short i have paid for it but not received anything.. its been 12 weeks and the company where very apologetic at first promising it would be with me soon, this continued for some weeks but Ive recently been told that the company has gone out of business and i have 'unfortunately' lost my money, the phone line is now cut off and the email address is defunct. (Ever get the feeling you've been diddled??)

Im in the UK for the next 10 days but i dont have time to chase it up until i get back home, i paid with a debit card so im not covered by a credit card... If i lived at home id obviously go to citizens advice and maybe small claims etc but i have no idea what i can do from spain!

Any tips regarding my rights when dealing with uk companies etc?

Many thanks!!

Em x

valenciatim

Was it new or second hand? I presume it wasn't bought from a well known company or a one man band?
Short of naming and shaming them (which isn't allowed on here anyway), I don't know what you can do.
I recently came across a website that may help, don't know if I am allowed to put it on here, it isn't a commercial site

http://www.canyoutrustthem.com/index.php?id=296
May be worth a go.

fionamw

Any tips regarding my rights when dealing with uk companies etc?

Wish I could be more help, but I would try two things - search bbc.co.uk/watchdog & if you can do it without breaking the bank, phone/contact the Trading Standards Office in the UK area involved.
Good luck
fmw

betris

I would cut my losses and look at it as a lesson learned.

EsuriJohn

If the debit card used was a VISA the same rules apply as for a credit card. This emerged when the travel company went bust recently.

poshnbucks

Although debit cards are not covered by Section 75,Consumer credit act you do have some protection. All Visa debit and credit cards are covered by its chargeback rules, so you can claim your money back for the same reasons as Section 75, for example, if goods aren't delivered or aren't as they were described.

Visa Europe said: "Visa chargeback regulations allow banks to recover money paid on all Visa debit, credit and prepaid cards from the retailer's bank, if goods or services are not delivered or are not as specified."

Visa chargeback claims must be made within 120 days of the purchase or from the date the goods or services were due to be delivered.

The above taken from.......

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008...onsumeraffairs

There is also info here from the BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme...ch/7593369.stm

But the Visa Debit chargeback scheme is not legally binding, so you don't have any legal redress if you are unhappy.

I have a Visa debit card, but my bank says it hasn't heard of the Chargeback scheme. What should I do?

Unfortunately, a number of Working Lunch viewers have found this.

But a spokesperson for Visa Europe stressed that all legitimate claims that abide by the terms and conditions should be dealt with.

He told us that all banks who are members of the scheme should comply with the rules. The members include Nationwide, Barclays, Halifax, and Lloyds TSB.

So you will just have to insist, or ask to speak to someone more senior.

What if I bought goods outside of the UK, am I still protected?

Yes, in general for Visa debit. There are some small differences in the way the way the rules are applied in some countries, but in general, you should be protected.

Taken from ....

http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/cons...ur-rights.html

jurdyr

1 did you pay with your Credit Card ?
2 have that give you any tracker Number for you comaputer ?
3 have you google this company ?

jurdy

CBANDY

Same happened to me. Paid for something on my debit card and after 2 months it never showed up. Went to the bank and claimed the money back. Was in my account the same day. All i had to do was fill in a form. I was told that you are covered if you use a debit card. Speak to the bank.

jurdyr

that was point i was getting to
thank Cbandy

did you fine out that house price off the palces that was sold beside you yet
jurdy

fuzzball

thanks for all the replys!!! sadly i am in no way covered by my card, bank dont want to know.. the laptop i was buying was new. i have already half resigned myself to treating this as a lesson learned to be honest. I have researched the company and found little, they where a small company.. never heard of them before. i suspect they sold on ebay to as i have found some expired auctions with wording matching the adverts on there website, surprise surprise their ebay status is that they are no longer a member. I might type up an email on the off chance to bbc watchdog.. you never know!! I did consider going to the police but i was told by a friend this is not a criminal matter but a civil one (although they are crooks in my opinion!!!) :curse:

appreciate everyone being so helpful

jurdyr

again did you pay for you computer by you card ?
yes are no ?

Casa Santo Estevo

Whilst it is a great shame that you may have lost your money and PC maybe others will learn from this when they read it and purchase locally in Spain. Even for simple things like PCs. If you want the language in the operating system any Spanish company worth their wait in gold will be able you get you an English version. Or if you want to use Linux simply download the English version.

fuzzball

if you actually read back over what i wrote you will find your answer!!!!!!!
But because im nice and to save you the trouble:


sorry if i didn't make it clear but i did say it twice!!!!!!

CBANDY

Not found out yet how much the house was sold for as the new owners don´t move in until the 3rd of Dec.

CBANDY

Hi Fuzzball,

You say your bank was not interested!!!!! With Visa/Mastercard you are automatically covered by them. It is comon practice. Which bank are you with and what type of card is it?