The gates of wrath: I paid £4,300 and they didn’t even match

Ms G. G. writes: I commissioned a local firm to make and fit three sets of bespoke wrought iron gates. I paid a 50 per cent deposit of £4,300, of which £100 was on Barclaycard. A few months later the work was almost complete, but with many problems. I refused to pay the balance until everything was satisfactory, but the company refused to do the work. I contacted Barclaycard but was told that because I had not paid the full invoice, it could not help. I then tried to make the full payment, but found the gate firm’s premises boarded up. YOUR refusal to pay the remaining £4,300 was understandable. The gates were incorrectly fitted, not a matching set, not galvanised as requested, and there was no sign of the intercom system you ordered. You had also paid £225 for waste removal and £480 for an independent report from a firm of landscape architects.

What adds a touch of absurdity to all this is you then found it impossible to pay the balance of the gate firm’s bill, which Barclaycard explained had to be done before it would consider your claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act – the bit of law that makes card companies jointly liable if a deal goes wrong.

I checked with Companies House and found the gate firm had failed to file accounts – and officials were threatening to have it struck off. I informed Barclaycard, which has now told me: ‘As the merchant is no longer trading, and not in a position to assist Ms G with rectifying the faults, we are accepting her claim in full.’

Barclaycard is paying you the full £4,300, plus the £225 for waste removal, and the £480 for the independent report. A great outcome.