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Wronged by Carpetright? You might be OK if you put it on plastic, says Paul Lewis
The results are in. Carpetright is definitely bust and there is no money left. So, 21,000 customers who had paid the firm a deposit or the whole amount will get neither their purchases nor their money back. But all is not lost for some of the customers owed around £8 million between them. And it gives us a useful lesson in how to pay.
If you pay with a credit card for goods that cost more than £100 and up to £30,000 – which would cover most Carpetright purchases – then if the goods are faulty, don’t arrive or are not what you ordered, the bank that provides your credit card is duty-bound to refund you. This powerful legal right is called Section 75, after the Consumer Credit Act it first appeared in. It means both the retailer and the bank are equally liable. If one cannot pay, the other must.
It doesn’t matter if you paid just part of the cost with your credit card: as long as the total price is more than £100, the bank must still refund all the money you have lost. So if you’re staring at an old carpet because your dream floor covering is now lost, contact the bank that provides your credit card and ask for a full refund of the price you paid.
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If you paid with a debit card, you still have some rights through a system known as chargeback. Your bank must refund the money you spent on that card – this right is part of the contractual agreement between banks and Visa and Maestro.
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Ask your bank very soon because you normally have to claim within 120 days of the date the goods should have been delivered. Carpetright went bust on 22 July, but argue that you did not realise the problem until the directors’ report came out in September. Your bank may object or put barriers in the way. If so, complain and then go to the Financial Ombudsman.
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If you paid any other way, you are unlikely to get anything back from the administration. That is why you should always pay at least some of the price for any major item on your credit card and wrap its protection around you.