I was wondering if there are any knowledgeable SF friends out there that can help me with a problem I have with my Bank.
I recently made a purchase online for 400 euros, I used my HSBC Visa Carte Bleu card, all processed smoothly but once I confirmed payment I received no acknowledgement from the website confirming my purchase. I tried contacting the business with the numbers provided and email, but received no answer. Suspecting fowl play I contacted HSBC, cancelled my card just in case and reported what happened.
Today I received a letter from HSBC basically saying that as I confirmed payment online the issue is nothing to do with them and I should contact the business I bought from to try and resolve, which I have been doing!
I have been trying to find out the protection ruling that Visa has here in France that allows me to get a refund, but thus far cannot find it. I know in the UK it is something like Section 75, but here is it the same? I am now also wondering if I am covered as my card is a Visa/Carte Bleu, or is HSBC just trying to get out of any responsibility?
A difficult one given that, if I have understood correctly, you admitted to the bank that you appear to have agreed to payment and then changed your mind - even if you did suspect that the site was dodgy afterwards ! Probably, your best bet is to demand that your bank provide you with a copy of the T&Cs for use of the Visa card, at least that way you will be able to see for yourself whether there is anything you can do. Generally, banks will only be inclined to reimburse you if you can make a showing that the debit itself on the card was fraudulently made by someone else. You could go to the gendarmerie and file a complaint, for which you will received a piece of paper (attestation), and then supply that to the bank with a request for reimbursement.
Note that you will also probably be charged a fee (generally around 8 Euros) for the issuance of a new debit card.
What rotten luck. Check your Card details ⊠you will have the paperwork somewhere⊠or look at your account online⊠the information of what guarantees you have, with any Bank, Cards, etc etc⊠are readily available to all customers.
Thanks Alex, I fear I am on the road to having to accept this loss! I assumed that I was protected under Visa rules, I will go get the T&Cs as you say and see if there is anything on there, although the letter from HSBC would indicate I am stuffed! The website in question all appeared to be legit, still registered still trading, but stupid of me to not have made an initial small purchase from it before making a big one! Costly mistake. I thought about going to the Gendarmerie, but wasnât sure that would help, I will give it a go. Thanks for your input.
Thanks Stella, I know, I feel a complete fool! Not a small sum of money to me either, so frustrating that this business is allowed to just continue trading in such a way!
Credit card purchases between ÂŁ100 t0 ÂŁ30,000 are protected by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. However debit card purchases are protected via a Chargeback scheme that Visa, Mastercard, Maestro and American Express have signed up to. The scheme enables you to claim a refund from your card provider if a purchase doesnât arrive or is faulty. It operates by the card company trying to claim your money back from the company youâve paid, by reversing the transaction.
Thereâs no minimum spend necessary but time limits apply for making a claim â usually up to either 45 or 120 days from making the purchase.
Chargeback claims can take some time to process because the card company has to get the money refunded before it can pass it back to you.
If HSBC prove obstinate I would make a formal complaint to them. If that has does nt produce any results then you could complain to the Financial Ombudsman.
The above assumes that your HSBC Visa card was issued by HSBC in the UK.
Unfortunately for me it is HSBC France and trying to find similar to what exists in the UK is hard. I would have thought it would have been the same, seeing Visa is global, but getting anything solid is bloomin hard!
Hiya Ann, thank you for replying. The site in question is ecolobois.fr I ordered a workbench from them.
I have been doing some more investigation and have found two old reviews from purchasers from this site with similar experiences. I feel even more dumb having now found these! I based my original purchase on looking up the company using societe.com which gave me the impression all was legit.
I have spoken to a friend who is an IT whizz and it seems that the guy on the site is indeed the owner and the addresses are his, so he is not so incognito, which makes it a bit more in your face!
I have compiled a pack of all my correspondence including all of his details and as suggested I am going to try my local Gendarmerie. Not to sure if there is anything that they can actually do with regards to me getting my money back, I was hoping that I was covered with my Visa, in that I thought I had guarantees!?
It is impossible to get the guy on the phone, I managed once, he just yelled down the phone that he would sort out the problem that evening and put the phone down, he didnât even ask my details so there was no way he was taking it seriously! The only proof I have of the order is that money left my account, I received no order confirmation, conditions of sale (returns etc) and no delivery information. The payment system on his site is via Credit Agricole, another reason I thought it was OK, but that is just a payment system.
Massively unimpressed with HSBC France, if I donât get this resolved I think they will be losing a customer very shortly, not that they will give a damn!
Hi Ann, thank you again for taking the time to look at this for me.
I made the Purchase on the 28/11/2018 at 17.46. I have emailed him twice today, firstly giving him the opportunity to do the right thing, and if he continues to ignore me that I can only assume this continued silence requires me take the matter further.
I have since emailed him again quoting the conditions of Retraction asking for the return of my money as stated. Not sure if I missed the deadline on this if that includes weekends!?
I had not seen that webwiki page, damn⊠I feel a complete whatsit for this!
Thank you so much for your advice and help Ann, it is very much appreciated
Hi all, I just wanted to update this thread and thank those that offered good advice.
The problem has been resolved (hoorah), having been hung out to dry by my bank (HSBC France) and having spent lots of time cramming up on bank card cover (Visa/Debit) I called the Gendarmerie in Goumois 25470, which is the nearest Gendarmerie to the registered offices of ecolobois.fr. They took all the information down and called the guy that operates the business, the Gendarmerie called me straight back and said that the guy had promised to transfer my money back the following day. I emailed ecolobois.fr stating that this is what we have all agreed will happen (so I had it in Black and White) and waited, Friday morning full refund appeared in my bank!
Phew, thought I had lost what is to me a lot of money, so am super happy with the Gendarmerie in Goumois, they were simply brilliant.
Anyway off now to leave some warning reviews about ecolobois.fr to warn others, but thank you SF, Alex Thurgood, Stella Wood, Nigel Roberts and Ann Coe, I am grateful to you all for taking the time to reply to my query.
Happy Christmas to you all and a very Happy (Brexit cancelled) New Year.
Well done Matt⊠it takes a certain amount of courage for anyone to go the Gendarme route⊠and especially when French is not your first language. Iâm glad they got it sorted for youâŠ
