Agreed... but I'm just a punter here the same as you, the fact is this subject was not the original topic in the original posters question and the point that it appears at the end of whether a, "German company is genuine" was purely accidental and came about through me posting the conditions for S.75. to generally advise Nathalie in her quest with buying goods from overseas on a credit card for her protection.

All I can suggest is email or write to MS and Martin Lewis's customer services with your concerns and ask them to place a, "Wealth" warning highly visible next to the application for Amex or affected diners club type cards, so people do not wrongly assume when applying, that they have the same level of protection as other credit cards.

I must advise anyone when applying for anything, always (no matter how long it takes) thoroughly read and understand the terms and conditions of what you sign your agreement to. !

Thank you very much for your prompt response.

I originally assumed your warning applied to something other than AMEX, and a cut and paste accident occured.

I now believe AMEX protection is superior to Section 75 so long as the purchase is less than £100 AND THE GOODS ARE DELIVERED.

Not only does AMEX fail to protect above a £200 limit, their T&C's appear to apply to "eligible" items, which could exclude items that never existed because the "supplier" was a fraudulent internet site run by a con artist.

AMEX protection appears to exclude non-UK retailers. And what do they mean by a retailer - does it have to be a shop with a cash register, i.e. are ALL internet purchases excluded. If the retailer was legitimate, but falls into bankrupcy / administration after charging against my card but before the "eligble items" arrive, or if having arrived they are unfit for purpose, I suspect that retailer will have no authority to either perform a refund NOR TO REFUSE a refund.

AMEX is listed under Credit Cards by moneysupermarket.com, and also by Martin's moneysavingexpert.com from where I first learnt of Section 75, and I thought that a "Credit Card" gave me total protection above £100. (So far as a purchase exceeding £30,000, I should be so lucky ! !)

I wonder how many people have, or will, suffer the great disappointment of departing for a luxury holiday, and being turned away because their travel company failed, and then when they try to book an alternative they find they have lost all the money - Section 75 was not there when they wanted it.

I really believe that ALL web-sites (including moneysupermarket.com and moneysavingexpert.com) that promote the AMEX 5% cashback should also clearly indicate that section 75 protection is absent.

Conmankiller, I am very new here. You clearly know your way around. Could you persuade these money??? sites to place a suitable caution where they promote AMEX. I think this topic should be known to anyone who thinks they have Section 75 protection - it should not be buried away at the tail-end of a long thread about whether a German Company is genuine.

Regards

Alan

Alan --- Please treat it with care then, because although Amex may be referred to as a credit card in most senses, it is not covered by and falls outside section 75 of the consumer credit act 1974. This is confirmed again by the article below from BBC consumer site.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/guides_to/credit_liability.shtml

..................................

This is the somewhat limited protection as stated, to what you're covered for in the T&C's for the Amex link you posted.

Refund Protection covers you in the event of any UK retailer refusing to refund you for any eligible items within 90 days of purchase. American Express will refund the purchase price up to £200 per item and £750 per card account for every 365 day period (terms and conditions apply).

conmankiller:

Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, if you use a credit card to buy goods or services costing more than £100 and the goods or service prove to be defective, you will have an equal claim for compensation against both the seller of the goods or service and the finance company. Section 75 (equal liability) applies only to credit transactions. The finance company does not have any liability for purchases paid for by charge cards because these are debit cards, not credit cards. American Express and Diners Card are examples of debit cards.

I am sure you are wrong about American Express.

Our host lists them under credit cards (cashback group) at http://www.moneysupermarket.com/cards/

I would be most disappointed if I found my 5% cashback was costing me Section 75 protection.

Alan_2

Good luck with your decision.....keep us updated. !

Hi,

Not sure yet, I've given her the dimensions to get a quote and have asked her to find out what payments they accept and whether they do installation and delivery. I can't quite make up my mind what to do as at least with the company I was looking at I could communicate with them easily and see what I was getting. The 'new' company's website is all in german, and I don't know if they speak English yet. However I would still prefer to pay by CC so that may well be my deciding factor... It's times like this when I wish I wasn't looking for perfection, it would make life so much easier :S

Hi Nathalie -- Is the other company a better price and will they accept a CC payment. What do you intend to do then. ?

I spoke to my German friend last night and surprisingly she has already got back to me. She made a few calls and turns out the company is legit. He's not a stonemason himself but a middleman. She got mixed reviews about the company, the design and intricacy of the work was very good but the sandstone he imports is from Poland and is of poor quality. However she said the marble is fine which is what I'm going for anyway.

Apparently the design I want he stole from another company and that company has offered to make the piece for me. So now I have two companies to choose from... I should have just spoken to her from the start lol.

Exactly, it seems odd to me that they would assume most would have funds spare.

It's not worth the risk, especially because the person who I'm buying it for would have been furious that I took such a risk in the first place lol!

I have one last option, I know someone who lives in Germany who might be able to find out if this company is legit. She would have quite a few connections also so if she can't find out she will probably know someone who can. Fingers crossed again.

Hmmm it's your gamble then, how much do you want the goods as opposed to the risks. ?

I had a good look round their website, there is no mention of them accepting a CC, although they claim to have been trading for the last 20 years,.... it's up to you now. !

They must be turning a lot of trade away through not taking CC, especially with the supply and installation service offered. How are people at a distance expected to pay otherwise...not everybody has the funds readily available in the bank.

Well thats the end of that, they say they don't have the facility to accept visa credit cards... a company that claims to serve the whole of europe doesn't accept a credit card as payment? Please. Is this possible??

I'm actually quite gutted now, it took me months to find something we liked and I'm back to square one ;(

my way or the highway, I like that... I might get carried away with that phrase lol

I don't even want to think about what I would have done if that happened... I'll keep you posted on the final outcome. Fingers crossed!

You're welcome Nathalie, remember tell them, "it's my way .......or the Highway". !

You are the customer stay in control, I would have hated you to post back in a Month's time telling us you had been "conned," with no way of reclaiming your hard earned money. !

Great, thanks! I'm going to print that off and wave it in the face of my cc company if it all goes pear shaped and the cc company runs a mile... I might just take the plunge now.

Thanks again conmankiller

Hi -- It is covered in full as long as you pay over £100 for the goods, I will find you the relevant legislation shortly in the consumer credit act 1974.

I would not part with anywhere near that amount of money to an unknown German company, unless it had the protection of the consumer credit act.......Here you are Section 75

What's more, even if you've only paid a deposit of, say, £1 on your credit card, you can claim a refund of the entire cost of the goods.

.......................................................

Credit Cards: Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, if you use a credit card to buy goods or services costing more than £100 and the goods or service prove to be defective, you will have an equal claim for compensation against both the seller of the goods or service and the finance company. Section 75 (equal liability) applies only to credit transactions. The finance company does not have any liability for purchases paid for by charge cards because these are debit cards, not credit cards. American Express and Diners Card are examples of debit cards.

Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, if you use a credit card to buy goods or services costing more than £100 and the goods or service prove to be defective, you will have an equal claim for compensation against both the seller of the goods or service and the finance company. Section 75 (equal liability) applies only to credit transactions. The finance company does not have any liability for purchases paid for by charge cards because these are debit cards, not credit cards. American Express and Diners Card are examples of debit cards.

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Section 75) provides you with a valuable legal right when you buy goods or services on a credit card. If you buy something costing between £100 and £30,000 on a credit card (but not a debit card), you can claim against your card issuer if something goes wrong. What's more, even if you've only paid a deposit of, say, £1 on your credit card, you can claim a refund of the entire cost of the goods.

So, if goods are damaged, faulty or don't turn up, or the supplier goes bust, your card issuer wears the supplier's shoes and must make good your loss (under what's known as a debtor-creditor-supplier arrangement or connected lender liability).