How you might be able to get a refund if home improvements go wrong – what you need to know
THOUSANDS of homeowners may be missing out on a refund for home improvements that have gone wrong - here's what you need to know.
You may not know that you are able to claim your money back if you paid by credit card under Section 75 of the Consumer Rights Act.
This is because when you pay by credit card, your provider is partly responsible if you don't get the service you paid for.
It also applied to other credit agreements like store cards and store instalment credit deals.
Your purchase must have cost you between £100 and £30,000 as well in order to be covered under the rule.
So if you splashed out on a new kitchen for example and it doesn't get delivered, the units are faulty or the shop you bought it from goes bust, you have the legal right to go to your card provider and ask for your cash back.
But many households are in the dark about the law when it comes to getting money back over a home improvement gone wrong, according to inspection body RISA.
Homeowners lost out on a total of £2.4billion last year, with the average refund amount households missed out on standing at over £2,600, according to RISA's research.
It came as one in three homeowners said they have never heard of Section 75, with nearly half (45%) stating they could have got their money back if they had known about it.
How do I get my money back under Section 75?
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If you're getting nowhere trying to get your money back from the store you bought your purchase from, it could be time to put in a Section 75 claim.
The first thing to do is contact your credit card provider through its customer services helpline.
You should explain the situation and say you want to make a claim under Section 75.
You should then get a claim form - you'll need to provide evidence for this, including pictures of the faulty item, receipts or email exchanges between you and the company you bought the item from.
Then submit the form - the lender will use it to decide whether to pay out.
MoneyComms personal finance expert Andrew Hagger said: "Your card company has 8 weeks to try and resolve the issue - if it can't then you can take your dispute to the Financial Ombudsman Service."
The FOS helps customers get help if and when things go wrong.
To get in touch with it, you need to fill in a form, which you can find on the FOS website or simply complete .
Mr Hagger said you should be covered under Section 75 not only for poor goods, but for poor service too - if you paid by credit card.
"If work is carried out and is not of a satisfactory standard or completed how you wanted and the tradesman refuses to put it right you can get in touch with your credit card and ask them to try and resolve this on your behalf," he said.
"Credit card companies will have specialist teams who look after section 75 claims, so they should be able to help you resolve your 'dodgy tradesman' issues - as long as you paid at least £100 of the bill on your plastic."
Here's how to boost your finances by claiming thousands of pounds back in refunds.
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