Company refusing credit card payments - would this put you off making a purchase for £2000+?

[00982ruser]

I have had a quote from a company for some work in my home, which I was planning to accept. The quote is for £2000+, and the company has asked for a 50% deposit to be paid by bank transfer.

Just wondering how other mumsnetters would feel about this? I usually make big purchases on my credit card because of the consumer protection you get with card payments, however the company does not accept credit cards. I feel a bit reluctant to transfer this money as I have not dealt with this company before (they were recommended to me by another business, so not a personal recommendation as such).

Am I being over cautious, or should I go back to the drawing board and start looking for another contractor?

I paid £100 deposit on my car by credit card and the balance by bank transfer in order to get the S75 protection. Will they accept a small deposit from PayPal? You could pay it from PayPal credit (not ordinary PayPal) and get S75 protection that way

I've noticed this with a lot of small businesses recently. They are all moving to cash only for this reason.

We had our new front door installed about 8 weeks ago and paid by bank transfer. Never asked about credit card option. But then it was a local firm and they had done work for us before. I'd ask around your area and see what their reputation's like but it wouldn't necessarily put me off.

Insist on card. We lost thousands on purchases (kitchen) when companies went bust.

These were long trading companies with up to date accounts and we still lost it alll.

It's really not worth the risk.

@BobnLen & @Brahumbug yes it’s the S75 protection that I’m thinking about. I would rather spend £60 odd extra to cover the credit card charge than make a bank transfer (may be slightly over cautious as my friend has just had a very stressful experience with an apparently reputable window company (poor fitting installation) but luckily she paid by credit card!

Section 75 protection will cover you as long as you pay £100, so I would just tell them you need to do that and are happy to pay the rest by bank transfer. (If they won't accept that, I wouldn't proceed.)

Be careful if this. We found it not to be true.

Only the £ paid on the credit card was covered. We lost £25k believing this. (Did 1st part of deposit on CC then rest transfer, only CC was covered ).

We took at all the way to the ombudsman so know this for a fact.

🙄😕

This would be a "no" in the US - but bank accounts here use debit cards.

Maybe I'm missing the point, but £2000+ for a front door?

Could you pay for the door by card and installation by other means?

I actually wouldn’t mind paying by other means for this service, as long as it was a local company with a strong reputation. I did with my new front door in fact!

Credit card only for me for holidays, white goods and furniture but less so for services.

I couldn’t agree more @Delia65 - I live in a flat and regulations changed in Jan last year so I have to replace my current (really sturdy, security) front door with a fire rated door. It needs to installed so is compliant with regulations for gaps etc and then certified.

I think lots of flat owners are having to do the same, so we are over a barrel really.

Don’t do it. I went against my gut with a kitchen company and it ended up in no end of stress. They turned out to be complete cowboys-I had no kitchen for months, they never finished it and they took money directly from my bank account whilst I was in labour. Look for another option.

If I were you I'd be going back to the ombudsman because the law says differently. The exception would be if you didn't pay £100 per item (if it's not a set), for example if you bought a fridge and a freezer from Currys you'd need to have spent £200 on your credit card to be covered for everything.

But local companies with a good reputation can still go under. As can international companies with a good reputation. Remember Pan Am?

I had a new composite door about 6 months ago, and with fitting it was just shy of £2000. Seemed to be average price based on the quotes I got.

ETA And they took credit cards, payment after fitting via invoice and no deposit.

We have just had new doors fitted on the back. The fitter also supplied the door. He accepts cash, cheque and bank transfer. I asked if he would take PayPal (and then I would use my credit card to pay through PayPal) but he doesn’t.
I have tried to protect myself my having everything in writing and I’ve not paid until after the job is done. He is also registered with one of the national bodies, and I’ve checked. I also got reviews from others who had used him (not through him, independently).
Hope that helps.

Ours was a similar amount. Got other quotes to check.

Just for future in case you weren't aware you aren't covered by your credit card provider if you use a third party intermediary such as PayPal. You would have to rely on PayPal's buyer protection only.

Why?

Taking credit cards involves hassle to set up and fees taken from every transaction. That one fact alone would a daft reason not to use a good reliable tradesperson

I've recently had two different pieces of work done by long standing local businesses and neither offered credit card payment

The work was done to my satisfaction and I did a bank transfer, not dodgy in the slightest

Is it first glass by any chance?

Independent businesses wouldn’t necessarily take card payments. It costs the business to use these services so they would loose money. My husband has his own business and does not except card. Bank transfer only.

We're there some other factors, I've heard Martin Lewis talk about a similar case he was involved with and the person was able to claim all of the amount

ETA This is the link, did you pay more than £100?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2014/10/i-got-23k-back-under-section-75-after-paying-just-200-on-credit-card/

Oh I didn’t know that. Thank you

Good point about intermediaries, you can get round that by using PayPal credit, rather than normal PayPal, that gives you S75 cover.

Just built our house two different window companies and front door also separate all paid by bank transfer. quite normal. husband is a builder and hardly ever uses credit card to pay for stuff. either bank transfers or he has an account