This is a case I ran at my previous firm. Unfortunately I had to pass it on just a few weeks before the trial once all the work had been done as I was moving firms at the time. All that was left by that stage was to brief the barrister and turn up to the trial so I know the file very well.

It deals with sections 56 & 75 CCA 1974 & with the date at which the limitation clock starts to run for a claim based on misrepresentation. It also has the added advantage of being a relatively short judgment.

Whilst I was the solicitor handling the file up to trial, it was someone else that decided to add 12 cases to the trial bundle that were of no use to the court.

Essentially the facts are that the Claimant was tricked into buying plots of land as an investment. The plots were worth less than she paid for them and had no investment value. She paid the deposit for them on her credit card. The companies she bought the plots from disappeared into the shadows and went bust. She then made a claim against MBNA for the FULL value that she paid for the plots (not just the amounts paid on her credit card). A £500 deposit allowed her to claim the cost of each plot (over £22,000.00).

The claim was brought after the usual limitation date had expired but we relied on the date that she found out she had been tricked and misled.

The claim was successful. The limitation date was effectively paused until she discovered the con. She could claim the full amount she paid for each plot. She also recovered interest since the date that she bought the plots.

Overall it is a very good example of s75 and how paying even just a small deposit on a credit card can provide a lot of protection.

The judgment can be read here -> http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/Misc/2014/1.html