Published on:
19
April 2023
A Clackmannanshire resident has praised the area’s Trading Standards team after they stepped in to help him recover over £3700.
Robert Fleming was devastated after being left out of pocket when the solar battery system installed at his home turned out to be faulty.
It was installed back in September and had never worked properly.
Earlier this year Mr Fleming ,88, raised a Section 75 claim with his bank to recover the cash as his system was still not working.
This was despite numerous attempts to get the company involved to remedy the situation.
But as the company had taken a payment via another business name and Mr Fleming had not received any official paperwork in relation to the works, his claim was turned down by his bank.
It was then Mr Fleming turned to Stirling and Clackmannanshire Trading Standards for help.
One of their consumer advisers got on the case and wrote to the bank to challenge their earlier decision to reject Mr Fleming’s claim.
And to his delight the intervention worked.
Mr Fleming said: “I don’t think I would have been able to resolve the situation on my own. I am extremely grateful for their help. I certainly would not have been able to battle on indefinitely.
“Contacting the Trading Standards team for help was the first step in me getting the situation resolved and my money back. I can’t thank them enough.
“My advice to anyone who finds themselves in a position similar to mine is not to struggle on alone, reach out for help.”
A spokesperson for Stirling and Clackmannanshire Trading Standards said: “We advised Mr Fleming to raise a Section 75 equal liability claim with his card provider, when the card provider rejected the claim, we intervened to outline to them where we believed his case met the required guidelines to be successful and made it clear that if the matter was not resolved to his satisfaction that a complaint would be raised with The Financial Ombudsman Service.
“It was further to this intervention that the card provider then agreed to meet the claim in full, albeit they claimed that this was as a gesture of goodwill to Mr Fleming.”
Councillor Fiona Law, Spokesperson for Environment and Net Zero, said: “Our Trading Standards team can intervene in instances when a vulnerable or elderly person is unable to progress a civil dispute on their own.
“I am delighted that in this case, Mr Fleming was able to get his money back thanks to the diligence and hard work of our Trading Standards team.”
If you find yourself in a similar situation help is still at hand for other residents who need support, via Advice Direct Scotland. You can find them online at advicedirect.scot or by calling 0808 164 6000.