Q&A Your legal questions answered.
Send your questions to askdean@people.co.uk
If you paid by credit card you may be protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
Contact your card provider and tell them you want to make a Section 75 claim.
Similarly if you paid by debit or charge card you should contact your card issuer and say you want to make a chargeback claim.
When Monarch and Thomas Cook collapsed, the card providers did pay out under both Section 75 and the chargeback scheme.
If you have travel insurance that includes cover for scheduled airline failure – known as SAFI – you should contact your insurer.
If you did not book directly with Flybe and purchased your tickets through a third party, you should first of all contact your booking or travel agent.
QI’M in dispute with my gas supplier over two bills. One of them has charges that are more than 12 months old. Am I correct in thinking they can’t now charge for this? Cyril Green
YES that’s correct. The Back Billing Code prohibits suppliers from back billing more than 12-months. However, please note that the 12-month clock stops the moment they deliver the invoice to you.
I AM employing a builder to build an extension at my home. He has asked for a £10,000 advance payment for materials. How can I protect myself in this situation? David Kite
THERE are a few steps you could take. Firstly pay for the materials yourself and get them delivered directly to you. Secondly ask the
AQAI BOOKED MY FLIGHT THROUGH AN AIRLINE TICKET AGENT
Contact the agent directly and ask if they will refund you. You should also ask if they sold you travel insurance that includes SAFI – scheduled airline failure cover. MY FLIGHT WAS PART OF A PACKAGE HOLIDAY THAT IS
ATOL PROTECTED
If you have received confirmation that you are Atol protected, the travel firm is responsible for your flight arrangements and must builder to organise delivery direct. Thirdly ask him to enter into a personal written contract with you to protect the payment. The first is the safest.
MY neighbour’s tree has fallen into my garden, damaging the fence on the way down. He says that he will repair the fence but that he has no liability to remove
Qeither make alternative flights available or provide a full refund. However, the Civil Aviation Authority has released a statement saying that it believes very few passengers are Atol protected. CAN I CLAIM ON MY TRAVEL INSURANCE?
Potentially yes but check the terms of the policy carefully to see if it covers flights cancelled as a result of the airline’s collapse.
See more advice from Dean on theconsumerlawyer.blog.
the tree because it is on my land. Is he correct? Kim Perry
NO. He will be liable to pay for any damage and the cost of removing any debris. He should be covered under his house insurance for this.
I BOUGHT trainers online but I tried them on and found them really uncomfortable. I called the retailer to ask about a return.
They said they could not give me a refund because I had tried them on. Is that right? Gavin Hope
THE Consumer Contract Regulations state you can return goods purchased online any time up to 14 days after the date of delivery. The only exceptions would be if the goods were not in a saleable state due to being used, the goods being perishable or music and software CDS and DVDS where the seal has been broken.
AQA