Brendan Hughes

I'm told one of the great things about credit cards is the consumer protection you get with it.

I always assumed that this meant you phoned Visa and their legal dept got on your side. Now I hear that no, it allows you to make the complaint against Visa rather than the shop/manufacturer.

Does anyone (I'm thinking of Suresh!) know if this is valid in all of Europe, probably as standardised EU Consumer Protection / Credit law, or is it only specific to British law? I just went to my bank and they didn't know anything about it.

I've paid 300 euros for something that I've found is not fit for purpose, can't take it back to the shop (was bought in an airport), and the manufacturers haven't replied to my complaint.

Many thanks.

Suresh

Brendan,

Despite working for a major Dutch Bank now and previously for a large Swiss bank, I don't actually know the answer, sorry! I expect the answer is "no" though judging by what my colleagues said when I asked them! Somewhat ironically some local card issuers offer free insurance on purchases, but my employer isn't actually one of them....

I expect you're stuffed, but hope to be proven otherwise.

boxst

Hello

You usually have some sort of insurance against breakage as opposed to 'fit for purpose' type claims.

STeve

Brendan Hughes

Looks like the answer's no. EU are pushing a new Consumer Credit directive, but it's taking years to negotiate, and here's part of the analysis of the 2002 proposal:


Another key novelty of the proposal is the introduction of joint and several liability. The existing directive provides for subsidiary responsibility, by which the consumer is able to claim reimbursement from the creditor if his complaint against the vendor is justified and the latter refuses. This is certainly an advance for consumers, forcing lenders to monitor the good business practices of the retailers they cooperate with. It is already in place to a certain extent in Europe, with the most consumer friendly case of the UK, where credit card issuers are liable for all damages related to the purchase of the good. The Commission has adopted this model in the proposal.

A long-standing discussion conce rns maximal and minimum harmonisation. Traditionally, regulation close to the field of consumer protection has followed the minimum harmonisation principle, leaving to member states the prerogative of establishing more restrictive provisions that ensure the existing level of consumer protection in a country. However, given the few advances in the completion of the single market in these areas, the Commission seems, at present, to favour maximal harmonisation, such as the distance marketing of consumer financial services directive, whereby member states may not adopt provisions other than those laid down in the directive for the harmonised fields.

Banks have long sought maximal harmonisation that allows them to market financial products cross-border without further adaptation to the legal environments. However, they might be underestimating the risk of adopting the highest level of protection in every country that the maximal harmonisation approach entails. Contrarily, consumers are afraid of losing the high degree of protection existing in some countries for the purpose of maximal harmonisation. The search of common standards in consumer protection can bring the adoption of the lowest common denominator, and member states will not be able to establish additional provisions. The concept of "optimal protection" often mentioned as the best approach has not been yet developed into a practical set of recommendations.

The outcome is uncertain to foresee, since credit to consumers and consumer protection is a highly sensitive political issue and all elements of the proposal are bound to be extensively discussed. For instance, it is very unlikely the UK consumers and policy makers will renounce to the pure joint liability system for credit cards, whereas lenders in most of the Member States are radically opposed. The outcome might therefore be important areas are left outside the harmonised field, hampering the establishment of an effective single market for credit to consumers.


*****. Recorded Delivery to the manufacturer then.

dharbige

Good news - I think.

http://www.euroconsumer.org.uk/index...edit_cards.htm

In a nutshell, the court of appeal recently overturned a previous decision that equal liability of credit card companies for purchases made using their cards only applied in the UK.

Note that neither the manufacturer not the card scheme (i.e. VISA) has any liability - the liability is on the merchant you bought the goods from and your card issuer (Egg, Barclaycard etc.)

You should write a letter to your credit card issuer, copying the merchant, saying that the goods are not fit for purpose and you expect a refund. MAy be a good idea to quote the above case.

Brendan Hughes

Good news for some, but not for me - "Section 75 only applies to credit cards issued within the UK. The following information will not apply if you used a credit card issued by a country elsewhere in the European Union."

Nice page though.

dharbige

Ah yes. I forgot you were in Portugal. I guess the UK Consumer Credit Act does not apply there.