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| Richard Durkin wins 16-year PC World laptop credit dispute with HFC bank | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A man who spent £250,000 on legal fees in a protracted 16-year dispute over a £1,500 laptop he bought from PC World, has won his court battle. | A man who spent £250,000 on legal fees in a protracted 16-year dispute over a £1,500 laptop he bought from PC World, has won his court battle. |
| Richard Durkin, 44, bought the laptop from PC World in Aberdeen in 1998. He paid a £50 deposit and signed a credit agreement with lender HFC Bank for around £1,500, Supreme Court justices heard. | |
| He returned the computer the next day because it did not have an internal modem, and asked for the credit agreement to be cancelled. | He returned the computer the next day because it did not have an internal modem, and asked for the credit agreement to be cancelled. |
| HFC said he had to keep making payments and after he refused the bank issued a default notice leading to him being blacklisted for credit. | HFC said he had to keep making payments and after he refused the bank issued a default notice leading to him being blacklisted for credit. |
| PC World has previously argued that Durkin bought the laptop knowing that it did not have an internal modem. Durkin claimed the financial blacklisting had a major impact on his finances and prevented him from buying a family home in Spain in late 2003. | PC World has previously argued that Durkin bought the laptop knowing that it did not have an internal modem. Durkin claimed the financial blacklisting had a major impact on his finances and prevented him from buying a family home in Spain in late 2003. |
| Mr Durkin took his case to court arguing that he had "validly rescinded" the credit agreement and initially won damages of £116,000. | Mr Durkin took his case to court arguing that he had "validly rescinded" the credit agreement and initially won damages of £116,000. |
| That ruling was subsequently overturned. The Supreme Court today ruled in his favour, saying he was entitled to rescind the credit agreement and had done so "validly". | That ruling was subsequently overturned. The Supreme Court today ruled in his favour, saying he was entitled to rescind the credit agreement and had done so "validly". |
| Five justices delivered their decision at a hearing in London. He took his fight to the Supreme Court - the highest in the UK - after losing an appeal in a Scottish court. | Five justices delivered their decision at a hearing in London. He took his fight to the Supreme Court - the highest in the UK - after losing an appeal in a Scottish court. |
| Mr Durkin said today that he was disappointed the Supreme Court did not restore the full damages of £116,000 awarded by a Scottish court. | Mr Durkin said today that he was disappointed the Supreme Court did not restore the full damages of £116,000 awarded by a Scottish court. |
| He told BBC News: ‘This decision is a great victory for all consumers and I am proud to have been the driving force behind it." | He told BBC News: ‘This decision is a great victory for all consumers and I am proud to have been the driving force behind it." |
| "As a result of the decision, no consumer will have to endure again what I had to put up with - the loss of the ability to buy a family home because of wrongful blacklisting of me." | "As a result of the decision, no consumer will have to endure again what I had to put up with - the loss of the ability to buy a family home because of wrongful blacklisting of me." |
| "Sometimes you have to do what is right, and not what is easy," he added. | "Sometimes you have to do what is right, and not what is easy," he added. |