Travel agent - taken money but not paid hotel.

[carreauchompeur]

chili1 said:

Just to bring closure to this thread. I managed to track him down yesterday. After a short chat and an accompanied visit to his bank, all money has been refunded.

"Accompanied visit"

Sounds effective though.

[Old Merc]

Well done,good result.
I do hope you very diplomatically told the dear old ladies never to go out with £3K in their hand bag!!!
And in future pay for items like this with a credit card.

[Gareth79]

VolvoT5 said:

Glad you got a refund but this is a perfect example of why paying by credit card is the way to go IMO.......at least that way there is some hope of charging back the money if it all goes tits up.

Another thing to bear in mind, if companies have a surcharge for credit cards then you can just pay a token amount by credit card (say, £5) to achieve the same protection.

[hora]

chili1 said:

Just to bring closure to this thread. I managed to track him down yesterday. After a short chat and an accompanied visit to his bank, all money has been refunded.

Excellent. Lots of people out there have money either invested with them or paid for services that the person users to prop up their cash flow. Awful people looking to gamble themselves out of a hole with others money (..risk)

[TVR1]

Gareth79 said:

VolvoT5 said:

Glad you got a refund but this is a perfect example of why paying by credit card is the way to go IMO.......at least that way there is some hope of charging back the money if it all goes tits up.

Another thing to bear in mind, if companies have a surcharge for credit cards then you can just pay a token amount by credit card (say, £5) to achieve the same protection.

You've been here slightly longer than me but still haven't learned that when you make a totally inaccurate statement, that you won't be pulled up?

Wrong. Consumer Credit Act 1975.

Purchases of £100-£30000 are protected.

£5? On your own baby.

I'd really like you to explain the 'surcharge' part too?

[VolvoT5]

My understanding is that it is important to pay on CREDIT card as well, not just a debit card as the protections aren't as strong for a debit card.

The surcharge, I guess he means that some businesses may charge extra for taking credit card payments, often about 1.5 - 2.5% in my experience.

I received over 1k refund when I bought a used car that didn't match the description and required substantial repair. The trader didn't want to know but when I submitted evidence to the card company they eventually charged back part of the transaction to cover the repairs, even though I only paid for part of the car on the card. I now always use a credit card for large purchases after that experience; it is such a great way to get extra protection should anything go wrong.

Edited by VolvoT5 on Sunday 17th April 11:02

[ging84]

TVR1 is the one making the inaccurate statement

see here

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/...

It's the value of the goods you're buying that is key - not the amount paid on the card

[tapereel]

Travel agents have to pay a high amount of credit are charges to credit providers because of the risks of fraud in that industry. They make a surcharge to cover the costs. That is all they are allowed to charge.
Some agents make a higher charge than the cost, quite a lot of online agents do this.

[Denis O]

Cooperman said:

Sounds like you visited him and asked him if he liked hospital food!

In many cases, this is the only way.

Well done OP for getting the cash back.

[elanfan]

Come on OP we've got to know. Don't incriminate yourself but if he just paid up fine but you could hint at what happened. Have you been locked up for demanding money with menaces?

[S10GTA]

JPJPJP said:

ABTA

ATOL

ATOL cover flights.

ABTA would have been the people to contact if he was a member.

[Gareth79]

TVR1 said:

Gareth79 said:

VolvoT5 said:

Glad you got a refund but this is a perfect example of why paying by credit card is the way to go IMO.......at least that way there is some hope of charging back the money if it all goes tits up.

Another thing to bear in mind, if companies have a surcharge for credit cards then you can just pay a token amount by credit card (say, £5) to achieve the same protection.

You've been here slightly longer than me but still haven't learned that when you make a totally inaccurate statement, that you won't be pulled up?

Wrong. Consumer Credit Act 1975.

Purchases of £100-£30000 are protected.

£5? On your own baby.

I'd really like you to explain the 'surcharge' part too?

Sorry late follow-up, but I see somebody pointed out that it's the purchase amount that counts, not the amount funded by credit. A £5 payment on the £3,000 purchase would still qualify for protection under section 75. A £5 payment on a £5 would not.

With regards to surcharges - retailers are entitled to surcharge for taking credit cards so long as it reflects their costs, therefore paying £3k on a credit card could be quite expensive if the retailer charges.

[TVR1]

ging84 said:

TVR1 is the one making the inaccurate statement

see here

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/...

It's the value of the goods you're buying that is key - not the amount paid on the card

I knew I was wrong but just kept posting it. One of those moments that you think 'somethings not right.....but post anyway'

Cheers for correcting.

[TVR1]

ging84 said:

TVR1 is the one making the inaccurate statement

see here

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/...

It's the value of the goods you're buying that is key - not the amount paid on the card

I knew I was wrong but just kept posting it. One of those moments that you think 'somethings not right.....but post anyway'

Cheers for correcting.