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Have you been treated unfairly?
What we do?
The law protects your consumer rights when you buy goods or services. We are here to help you by offering you consumer protection advice. You can get help if you’re treated unfairly or when things go wrong. This includes:
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Faulty goods or breach of contracts
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Credit cards and limit increase
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Mis-sold mortgages or insurance (PPI)
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Mis-sold warranties/extended service contracts
What are your rights?
The Consumer Rights Act 2015
This became law on 01 October 2015, replacing three major pieces of consumer legislation - the Sale of Goods Act, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations; and the Supply of Goods and Services Act. It was introduced to simplify, strengthen and modernise the law, giving you clearer shopping rights.
As with the Sale of Goods Act, under the Consumer Rights Act all products must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. The rules also include digital content in this definition so all products - whether physical or digital - must meet the following standards:
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Satisfactory quality - Goods shouldn't be faulty or damaged when you receive them. You should ask what a reasonable person would consider satisfactory for the goods in question. For example, bargain-bucket products won’t be held to as high standards as luxury goods.
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Fit for purpose - The goods should be fit for the purpose they are supplied for, as well as any specific purpose you made known to the retailer before you agreed to buy the goods.
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As described - The goods supplied must match any description given to you, or any models or samples shown to you at the time of purchase.
Credit Cards & Unauthorised Credit Limit Increase
Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the credit card company is jointly and severally liable for any breach of contract or misrepresentation by the retailer or trader. This means it is just as responsible as the retailer or trader for the goods or service supplied, allowing you to also put your claim to the credit card company. Section 75 gives you the same rights against the card company as you have against the retailer.
Six million credit card customers had their borrowing limits increased in the last year without being asked by their card provider, according to research by Citizens Advice, which is calling for the government to stop such unsolicited rises. The charity said that one in three of those customers whose credit limits were increased without their consent were showing signs of struggling financially, causing concern that the debt burden on the most vulnerable is increasing. This is a clear breach of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 as the consumer has never agreed to any increase and the credit card company has not acted responsibly as they were unaware of any change in the consumer circumstances. Contact us straight away if you think this has happened to you.
Mis Sold Mortgages or Insurance
The most popular type of mis-sold mortgages we see is the interest only mortgage. If you were only paying the interest on your mortgage each month, then the advisor should have made you aware how you would repay your mortgage when it finished. If your broker or lender didn't discuss this with you or give you examples of the cost of a Capital and Repayment mortgage compared to the lower costs of an Interest Only mortgage, then this would be an example of mis-selling.
Furthermore, was it explained to you that you may have to switch your mortgage to a Repayment mortgage rather than relying on rising house prices? If not, then this could also constitute mis-selling. Contact us today if you want to complain about being mis-sold an interest-only mortgage. If you were looking to consolidate your debts, were you advised that it would be cheaper for you to put all your loans, credit cards and finance onto your mortgage? If yes, you could be exchanging short term debts for a long term debt by adding it to your mortgage. Did the adviser explain to you that although you would be lowering your monthly outgoings initially, you may well be lengthening the term of your debt and vastly increasing the amount of interest that you would be paying? If not, this could be constituted as mis-selling. Contact us today if you were encouraged to remortgage to clear your debts.
Mis-sold Extended Warranties or Service Contracts
Extended warranty insurance policies often contain a complete list of the insured risks covered. For example, motor warranties usually list every part of the car that is intended to be covered under the policy. However, we continue to see cases where the consumer complains that the policy wording was misleading or ambiguous - and led them to misunderstand what was covered by the policy. Given the quick and simple sales process that applies in the case of many extended warranty insurance policies - and the fact that consumers often have a limited opportunity to understand the policy - we generally expect insurers to honor the reasonable expectations that were created in terms of the cover and the specific terms of the policy.
We see a lot of mis-sold Stairlift warranties / service contracts as the consumer feels pressured and sometimes even emotionally blackmailed to take out a expensive warranty without realising they are covered under the manufacturers guarantee anyway. Some of our cases we see unfortunately the user has passed away or moved to a care home or bungalow yet the stairlift company refuses to refund any of the money back. This is a clear breach of the Consumer Credit Act 2015 and we have a fantastic success rate in winning these cases. If you have been a victim of a mis-sold warranty or service contract then contact us today as time limits apply.
