Amazon Marketplace warning - Banking and finances in Garrucha - Garrucha forum - Costa de Almería forum in the Almeria province of Spain
Mini Digger Almera
ASSSA Insurance
UK DIRECT REMOVALS
Have Tools Will Travel
Grupo Platinum Estates
DELMURJ SL

Join the Garrucha forum

Join the Garrucha forumMy name's Alex and this is my website all about Garrucha in Spain. Register now for free to talk about Banking and finances in Garrucha and much more!

Amazon Marketplace warning

Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2024 5:49pm
7 replies3 members subscribed
TheWanderer

Posts: 23

9 helpful points

Location: Garrucha

Joined: 10 May 2024

I think this is worth knowing.

Amazon is not primarily a seller, with loads of warehouses full of the goods we buy. It is mainly a reseller, with over 80% of its shipments being from 3rd party suppliers. You can check this by looking on the right hand side, where it will say, "Shipped from Amazon" and underneath, "Supplied by SomeCompany." This can include Amazon Prime items. So what's the big deal, you ask? In Spain, when you buy an item from a reseller, you get your warranty from the supplier. No big deal unless the supplier either goes bankrupt or decides to stop using Amazon as its selling platform. What happens then is that nobody is responsible for the warranty, and Amazon will only give you 90 days from the date of purchase. I bought a Samsung phone in 2022 which has 2 years' warranty, which is 730 days. To 90 days, that's a difference of 640 days, only one day short of 1 year 9 months. That's a lot of warranty to lose on an item that could potentially have cost over 1000€.

There appears to be a loophole in Spanish law that Amazon can use to back out of its responsibility. One way round this is if you pay with a UK credit card, and you can make a Section 75 claim against Amazon if it refuses to honour the warranty. If your card is UK based, the transaction is deemed to be done there, so it is subject to UK consumer law. It's easy to make a claim, all on line (at least with a NationWide credit card) and you can attach emails and documents in support of your claim. This is the second time I've made such a claim against Amazon. Now, I don't buy anything of value from Amazon unless I use my UK credit card.

Also note that if the supplier is no longer using Amazon for whatever reason, you also lose your product support.
chrisso50

Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2024 1:45pm

chrisso50

Super helpful member

Posts: 1390

1742 helpful points

Location: Roquetas de Mar

Joined: 23 Jul 2018

Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2024 1:45pm

I doubt this is true. Amazon.es has to comply with EU law, just as Amazon.uk did before 2020. In our experience returns for defective products are dealt with satisfactorily by Amazon.es. Certainly we don’t use a UK credit card to pay for purchases, as that would entail a conversion service charge.

Chris

TheWanderer

Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2024 8:16pm

TheWanderer

Original Poster

Posts: 23

9 helpful points

Location: Garrucha

Joined: 10 May 2024

Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2024 8:16pm

chrisso50 wrote on Sun Nov 24, 2024 1:45pm:

I doubt this is true. Amazon.es has to comply with EU law, just as Amazon.uk did before 2020. In our experience returns for defective products are dealt with satisfactorily by Amazon.es. Certainly we don’t use a UK credit card to pay for purchases, as that would entail a conversion service char...

...ge.

Chris

It is true. You are entitled to your opinion. I am only trying to help people, and I would not waste my time writing about anything which is not true.

Regarding charges for purchases in other currencies, there are still a few credit card companies that don't charge. Nationwide doesn't, and it also gives excellent exchange rates.

Nelngaz

Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2024 2:09pm

Posts: 82

45 helpful points

Location: Roquetas de Mar

Joined: 8 Jun 2022

Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2024 2:09pm

TheWanderer wrote on Sat Nov 23, 2024 5:49pm:

I think this is worth knowing.

Amazon is not primarily a seller, with loads of warehouses full of the goods we buy. It is mainly a reseller, with over 80% of its shipments being from 3rd party suppliers. You can check this by looking on the right hand side, where it will say, "Shipped from Am...

...azon" and underneath, "Supplied by SomeCompany." This can include Amazon Prime items. So what's the big deal, you ask? In Spain, when you buy an item from a reseller, you get your warranty from the supplier. No big deal unless the supplier either goes bankrupt or decides to stop using Amazon as its selling platform. What happens then is that nobody is responsible for the warranty, and Amazon will only give you 90 days from the date of purchase. I bought a Samsung phone in 2022 which has 2 years' warranty, which is 730 days. To 90 days, that's a difference of 640 days, only one day short of 1 year 9 months. That's a lot of warranty to lose on an item that could potentially have cost over 1000€.

There appears to be a loophole in Spanish law that Amazon can use to back out of its responsibility. One way round this is if you pay with a UK credit card, and you can make a Section 75 claim against Amazon if it refuses to honour the warranty. If your card is UK based, the transaction is deemed to be done there, so it is subject to UK consumer law. It's easy to make a claim, all on line (at least with a NationWide credit card) and you can attach emails and documents in support of your claim. This is the second time I've made such a claim against Amazon. Now, I don't buy anything of value from Amazon unless I use my UK credit card.

Also note that if the supplier is no longer using Amazon for whatever reason, you also lose your product support.

Hi, do you know if the same applies with UK debit card? Because we are resident we can't have a UK credit card.

Thanks

Advertisement - posts continue below

TheWanderer

Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2024 2:50pm

TheWanderer

Original Poster

Posts: 23

9 helpful points

Location: Garrucha

Joined: 10 May 2024

Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2024 2:50pm

Nelngaz wrote on Mon Nov 25, 2024 2:09pm:

Hi, do you know if the same applies with UK debit card? Because we are resident we can't have a UK credit card.

Thanks

Fortunately, the Section 75 guarantee applies to UK debit cards as well as credit cards. Check with your card issuer to see if, and how, they charge for currency conversion.

You may find the information here useful:

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/complaints-can-help/credit-borrowing-money/goods-services-bought-credit

I am also resident in Spain and I have a UK credit card, so it is possible. I never cancelled it when I left England, I just advised the issuer of my Spanish address, and they started sending my statements here. Nowadays, my card issuer advises me by email when a statement is ready and I log on to their site and download a copy in PDF format.

Nelngaz

Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2024 3:26pm

Posts: 82

45 helpful points

Location: Roquetas de Mar

Joined: 8 Jun 2022

Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2024 3:26pm

TheWanderer wrote on Mon Nov 25, 2024 2:50pm:

Fortunately, the Section 75 guarantee applies to UK debit cards as well as credit cards. Check with your card issuer to see if, and how, they charge for currency conversion.

You may find the information here useful:

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/complaints-can-help/credit-borrowing-money/goods-services-bought-credit

I am also resident in Spain and I have a UK credit card, so it is possible. I never cancelled it when I left England, I just advised the issuer of my Spanish address, and they started sending my statements here. Nowadays, my card issuer advises me by email when a statement is ready and I log on to their site and download a copy in PDF format.

Thanks, interesting because I'm with Nationwide and had to cancel the credit cards and close any savings accounts when we moved here 2 years ago?

Still, I can use debit.

TheWanderer

Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2024 3:46pm

TheWanderer

Original Poster

Posts: 23

9 helpful points

Location: Garrucha

Joined: 10 May 2024

Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2024 3:46pm

Nelngaz wrote on Mon Nov 25, 2024 3:26pm:

Thanks, interesting because I'm with Nationwide and had to cancel the credit cards and close any savings accounts when we moved here 2 years ago?

Still, I can use debit.

That's weird. I don't even have a bank account with Nationwide. They are obviously happy for me to continue using the card, and they have no problem sending me new cards every few years... I do think that once you no longer have a UK address, you can't open new UK accounts of any kind.

Nelngaz

Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2024 3:54pm

Posts: 82

45 helpful points

Location: Roquetas de Mar

Joined: 8 Jun 2022

Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2024 3:54pm

TheWanderer wrote on Mon Nov 25, 2024 3:46pm:

That's weird. I don't even have a bank account with Nationwide. They are obviously happy for me to continue using the card, and they have no problem sending me new cards every few years... I do think that once you no longer have a UK address, you can't open new UK accounts of any kind.

Hmmm, very weird??🤷‍♀️

Sign up for free or login to reply to this topic

Want to reply to this topic? Login or register for free to post your message:

Find more Banking and finances topics from a particular area:


Register for free!

Login to your account

Mini Digger Almera
ASSSA Insurance
UK DIRECT REMOVALS
Have Tools Will Travel
Grupo Platinum Estates
DELMURJ SL
Advertise your business here
Advertise your property