OT : Credit Cards....

I went through this a few years ago when I needed to recover money
from an ISP that wasn't providing the service for which I'd paid two
years up front via Paypal.

The normal credit card protection didn't apply, as Paypal had
performed its contract correctly - i.e. it had passed the money on to
the ISP. However, the chargeback system was applicable, and my CC
company successfully retrieved the balance of the contract prepayment
from Paypal. Paypal's T&Cs allowed it to recover this money from the
ISP. I don't know if this actually happened.

 

IIRC Visa Debit cards now also allow chargeback, although the banks
keep *very* quiet about that.

 

I got a refund from Mastercard for a CC payment made via Paypal to a
dodgy trader on Ebay. Paypal and Ebay themselves, needless to say,
weren't interested.

 

Even if the retailer charges for the priviledge?

 

Yes.

I've just booked a holiday via lastminute.com - there's a 2% admin fee for
credit cards. This is offset by the 1% cashback on my Egg money card and
the 5% rebate from Quidco.

Even without the rebates I'd probably pay the 2% fee. Travel companies are
amongst the most likely to go tits up and it is cheap insurance.

As an example. A few years ago I booked a Virgin package trip to Florida
through a local travel agent. I paid the final balance to the travel agent
and was told my tickets would be posted to me. No tickets came so a couple
of weeks later I went back and found the travel agent closed. I contacted
Virgin, who said they had not been paid. I faxed a copy of my credit card
statement showing the transaction, our holiday was reinstated and I
collected the tickets at Gatwick.

Virgin knew that they would get the money eventually. Without that credit
card statement I would've been faffing about trying to get ABTA or somesuch
to take an interest.

 

Yup, sound policy.

I remember when we bought new carpets for the Chateau from some big
place in Kingston. It went bust shortly afterwards, and the only
people who got their deposits or payments back were the CC users.

Didn't affect us, actually, as we'd bought on interest-free credit.

CC companies sometimes try and get you to pursue the retailer or
seller first, but you shouldn't. The key words are 'jointly and
severally liable'. In other words, their liability is *exactly* the
same.

Plus, of course, it's their money anyway, not yours.

 

**** me! And I thought drug dealing was the way to make a fast quid or two.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

Is it? I've never had it happen to me, so if I'd paid 2% extra for every
transaction, that makes a lot of money that I would be down. OTOH with
the 2% in my pocket (or bank), I'm quids in. It's like breakdown
insurance.

If a retailer charges extra for CC usage, then I look elsewhere. If I
absolutely have to then I just weigh it up against how likely I think
they'll be there to deliver on the sale.

 

You are living in a false reality. Every time you use a credit card you are
paying that handling fee except that most retailers spread the cost across
all sales. Effectively, those paying by debit card or cash[0] are
subsidising credit card sales.

The retailers who make a surcharge for credit card payments are actually
being more open about their charging structure.

Ultimately, I don't give a toss how the retailer splits the final sale
price. If they wish to manipulate the figures to avoid a bit of VAT or
commission[1] then good luck to them. All I look at is the price I am
paying for the goods *in total*.

There is a risk with any retail purchase. As mentioned above, foreign
travel purchases are generally riskier than others. The tour operators are
exposed to all sorts of risks such as currency fluctuations and the whims
of foreign suppliers. Hence, IMV, buying with a credit card is essential
and I only look at the total price for the travel package including any
credit card supplement. Once that price is calculated I then decide if it
represents good value for money.

[0] although some retailers may look at cash sales as the most costly due
to the wages paid for processing and security
[1] like those Ebay traders who charge you 25p for an item plus £5 postage
just to minimise final sale fees

 

BerlinAir don't seem to understand the difference between debit and
credit cards

£6 tagged on for a debit card booking "because it's Visa"