where the streets have no name

G Evans from Whitehaven asks: What proportion of a purchase has to be made by credit card to gain the protection offered for purchases over 100?

For example, if you pay the deposit of something on credit card and then the rest in cash which bit is covered?pandora charms

When the cash price of a purchase is between 100 and 30,000 and the consumer pays even only a partial amount such as a deposit, using a credit card, store card or credit agreement provided by the seller, then the credit card company or credit provider become equally liable for any breach of contract or misrepresentation by the seller. This extra protection is provided by section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Following a ruling in the House of Lords earlier this year it was confirmed that this protection extends to purchases made abroad.

Tracey bought costume jewellery from a major high street store about two weeks ago. After wearing it a couple of times, beads on the necklace fell off and she realised that it didn’t sit symmetrically on the neck. However, she hadn’t kept the receipt as initially she’d been happy to keep the item.

She took it back and they acknowledged it was faulty but only offered a credit note. She pressed for a manager to be consulted and the reply came that they should not have to give a refund, but would in this case, but they needed Tracey’s name and address. Tracey took the money but refused to give her details and advised them to refer to the Sale of Goods Act. Shouldn’t they have just given her a refund straight away?

Tracey did the right thing to pursue her rights under the Sale of Goods Act for unsatisfactory goods. To do this you need to return the item to the store you purchased it from, as soon as possible, with proof of purchase; this is normally a receipt but can be a debit or credit card statement or cheque stub. Own brand goods, something exclusive to one shop (such as a customised carrier bag) or the packaging may prove where you bought the item. If someone was with you when you bought it, they can back you up.

Remember it is up to you to show where and when you bought the item.

It is reasonable for the store to ask for details of the person who they are dealing with; they often do this to protect themselves against shoplifting fraud. They must obviously treat the information correctly under their Data Protection Act obligations.

Another lady called Tracey emailed us about printer cartridges. She bought one which was faulty. She emailed the helpdesk of the company she bought it off who told her she needed to call a helpline. She did this but it was a premium rate number which ended up costing her about 13.50. The cartridge itself cost 30.

She says ‘I fail to see why any customer should have to pay 13.50 to get a faulty item replaced! What do you think?’

Whenever an item is faulty you do have a right to your money back or a replacement and if you bought that item over the internet or by mail order this would include any return postage costs etc.

The important thing is these rights sit against the business you bought the item from. It is not clear from the question but if we assume it was purchased directly from HP over the internet then Tracey would be entitled to any ‘consequential losses’ she incurred trying to put things right, such as the phone call.

If Tracey approached HP because of the warranty she had on the item then she has to abide by the terms of the warranty, which could include the use of a premium rate number. This is why Consumer Direct would always advise consumers to pursue their rights directly with the supplying business in the first instance rather than rely on the warranty provided by the manufacturer.

Mike from Nuneaton got in touch after a dispute with a dry cleaner. He took two items in. One was done without a problem. The other item however, was in the same condition when he got it back as when he took it in so he refused to pay.

The dry cleaners said payment was due as it had been machine washed and not dry cleaned. He explained that he’d been unable to remove the mark by washing and that was why I had brought it to them. They said they could not and would not dry clean the item as the label was marked not to dry clean.

Does he have any rights in this situation?

It will very much depend on what happened when you first took the items into the cleaners. Whether the specific problem was pointed out to the shop and what you exactly asked them to do. A dry cleaner is providing a service and so under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, he must clean your garment or other item with reasonable skill and care, and within a reasonable time.

Johnsons are members of the Textiles Services Association the trade association for the laundry, dry cleaning industry they operate a code of practice part of the Code provides a dispute resolution service.

Mrs Simpson bought a DVD player from a high street electrical store. But she found it only played old DVDs. She took it back to the store and they tested it and confirmed this. Can she expect an exchange or refund from the shop?

That time would be extended if the new format had only just become available eg you had bought a digital ready TV but when digital TV was switched on in your area your TV didn’t work.

To get a refund or exchange Mrs Simpson would have to prove the item was mis described but the length of time it took her to find this out goes against her unless there were factors such as the digital TV example above.