 Print this page |
Ask the expert: “Can I get a refund from an online store?”
|
We’ve asked Nic Ciccutti, editor of moneysupermarket.com, to answer your personal finance questions. If you have a question you'd like answered please send it in
Q1. I recently attempted to purchase a camcorder from an internet site, using a shopping comparison service to search for the product. I entered my debit card details on the website and the company took the money. However, several days later I still hadn’t received my order.
As I believe that I may have been scammed, I contacted my bank (Barclays Premier account). They told me that there was nothing they could do as I’d paid with a debit and not a credit card. Surely this can't be the case?
I may have been a victim of fraud and I would expect the bank to help me out with this. Is it the case that if we use our debit card on the net and get scammed then that's just tough luck? Gareth
0% credit cards
Generally, as a consumer journalist, I'm pretty much automatically on the side of “us” against “them”, particularly the big banks. However, in this case I'm not clear exactly why you expect a bank to “help” and how.
If you pay for something by cheque and it’s cashed but you receive nothing, would you expect the bank to “help”?
If you went to a cash machine, withdrew £100 and bought 10 bottles of “perfume” from one of those nice men selling them out of a suitcase in the local High Street – and they turn out to be rancid-smelling rubbish – would you expect the bank to “help”?
Why is a debit card different?
The issue referred to by Barclays is specifically to do with the fact that if you paid for the goods by credit card (not debit or charge card), and the value is between £100 and £30,000, the credit card company has obligations to you under S75 Consumer Credit Act 1974.
A principle known as equal liability means that both the credit card company and the supplier have the same obligations and responsibilities to you for the goods being satisfactory.
ask the expert
Got money worries? Puzzled by your pension? In a spin over credit? Send your questions to our expert for help solving your money dilemmas
This, however, does not apply in respect of debit cards. Unfortunate but true.
As for the internet shop, I have just looked at its site. It appears to tick a number of key boxes in terms of its accreditation as a safe online dealer.
If you look in the right-hand corner of the site, you can see that the company is a member of ISIS (Internet Shopping is Safe), a reputable body with a click-through where you can raise a complaint if you’re unhappy with the dealer. The company also publishes its address on the site, as well as a London phone number. Again, this is unusual for a rip-off business.
This looks to me to be a case of poor service rather than theft. I would suggest that you pursue your complaint through ISIS and the company. If things do not progress, you should contact the local trading standards department operating in the area.
In future, it would make sense to use a credit card for online purchases, just because of the extra protection. Good luck.
If you've got a question you’d like to ask Nic, send it in
