Faulty or Misdescribed Goods
What arrived is not what was advertised, or it broke almost immediately, and the seller will not put it right.
30 days
Short-term right to reject
6 months
Burden of proof sits with the retailer
6 years
Outer limit for a contract claim (5 in Scotland)
What this service is, and what it is not
Goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. That is the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and it applies to everything you buy from a trader, new or used, online or in store.
Your first remedy is against the retailer. Within 30 days of delivery you have a short-term right to reject faulty goods for a full refund. After that, the retailer gets one opportunity to repair or replace, and if that fails you can claim a refund which may be reduced for use after the first six months. For the first six months, any fault is presumed to have been present at delivery unless the retailer proves otherwise, the burden is on them.
Card claims come in when the retailer will not engage. Chargeback covers goods that are materially not as described or defective on arrival, and Section 75 makes a credit card provider jointly liable with the retailer for breach of contract on purchases over $100. Both are ways of reaching a solvent party when the seller is unresponsive, obstructive or gone.
These claims turn on demonstrating the gap between what was promised and what arrived. Listing screenshots, photographs, an independent report where the value justifies one. Weak evidence is the usual reason a genuine claim fails, and getting it right at the start is most of the work.
Business challenges this addresses
Nothing was written down
Verbal assurances from a salesperson are hard to evidence. Order confirmations, listings and adverts carry the description, which is why capturing them early matters.
The listing has been edited or removed
Sellers routinely amend a listing after a complaint. Archived versions and your own screenshots are what preserve the original description.
Fair wear versus a genuine fault
Retailers characterise faults as misuse. For the first six months the burden is on them to prove that, and we hold them to it.
You accepted a partial remedy
Accepting a repair does not extinguish your rights if the repair fails. One failed repair generally opens the right to a refund.
How we deliver it
Every stage has a named owner on our side and a defined output. You always know what is happening and what comes next.
Typical duration: Most cases resolve in 8–12 weeks
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Free assessment
We compare what was advertised with what arrived and tell you which remedy is strongest, retailer, chargeback, Section 75, or more than one.
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Preserve the evidence
Listing captures, photographs, correspondence and, where the value justifies it, an independent inspection report.
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Formal letter to the retailer
A letter setting out the specific breach of the Consumer Rights Act and the remedy sought, with a deadline. This alone resolves a good proportion of cases.
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Card claim
If the retailer does not comply, we submit the chargeback and, where the purchase qualifies, a Section 75 claim to the credit card provider.
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Escalation
Refusals go to the Financial Ombudsman with a full submission on the breach and the evidence.
What you receive
- A clear view of which remedy is strongest before you spend effort on the wrong one
- Preservation of listing evidence before the seller amends it
- A formal letter citing the specific statutory breach
- Chargeback submitted under the correct reason code
- A parallel Section 75 claim where the purchase qualifies
- Ombudsman referral if the provider refuses
What changes afterwards
Two routes, one claim
Running chargeback and Section 75 together means a technical failure on one does not end the matter.
The burden sits with the retailer
For the first six months they must prove the fault was not there at delivery. Most do not try.
Reaching a solvent party
Section 75 makes the card provider equally liable. If the retailer will not pay, the provider must.
Claims of this kind we have run
$11,500 used car rejected and refunded after an undisclosed write-off
The dealer described the car as having no accident history. A check run when he changed insurer showed a recorded structural write-off. A $250 card deposit did the heavy lifting.
- Total recovered
- $12,020 Total recovered
- Card deposit that engaged Section 75
- $250 Card deposit that engaged Section 75
- Recovery versus the dealer's first offer
- 12x Recovery versus the dealer's first offer
$2,480 refunded on counterfeit goods after the marketplace ruled for the seller
The marketplace closed the case in the seller's favour. The card claim did not depend on the marketplace's opinion, and reached a seller in another jurisdiction that no UK court…
- Refunded in full
- $2,480 Refunded in full
- To resolution
- 11 weeks To resolution
- Card claim of the platform decision
- Independent Card claim of the platform decision
Frequently asked
Thirty days from delivery for the short-term right to reject and a full refund. After that the retailer may repair or replace first. Card claim windows run separately, generally 120 days.
It has to be materially not as described, not merely a shade different. We will tell you honestly if we think a claim is too marginal to be worth running.
Not usually. For higher-value items, vehicles, appliances, jewellery, an independent report often decides the case, and we will say when we think one is worth the cost.
Yes. Goods from a trader must be of satisfactory quality accounting for age and price. Private sales are different, the protection is much narrower.
Services that pair with this one
Goods Not Received
You paid, the order never arrived, and the seller has stopped replying. Your card provider can reverse the payment.
Section 75 Claims
On credit card purchases between $100 and $30,000, your card provider is equally liable with the retailer. That is statute, not a scheme rule.
Services Not Provided
Work paid for and never done, or done so badly it has to be redone. Builders, installers, courses, memberships and professional services.