Section 75 Claim: Credit Card Protection Explained

If you paid on a credit card and the retailer goes bust, refuses to help, or the goods are faulty, section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 lets you claim the full amount back from your card provider instead. Here is exactly when it applies.

What section 75 actually gives you

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 is a statutory right, not a goodwill gesture from your bank. It says that if you have a claim against a retailer for breach of contract or misrepresentation, such as the retailer failing to deliver, sending faulty goods, or misdescribing what you bought, you have exactly the same claim against your credit card provider. The two are jointly and severally liable, which means you can pursue the card company, the retailer, or both, and you can go straight to the card company even if the retailer still exists and is simply refusing to help.

This matters most when the retailer cannot pay you back at all: if it has gone into administration or liquidation, or if it is based overseas and ignoring you, section 75 lets you recover the money from a UK-regulated card issuer instead of chasing a business that no longer answers, or does not answer to UK consumer law at all.

The £100 to £30,000 band, and why a deposit can cover the whole price

Section 75 only applies where the cash price of the item or service is over £100 and not more than £30,000. Below £100, or above £30,000, section 75 does not apply, though chargeback may still be available for lower-value purchases (see below).

The part-payment rule is the detail people miss most often. You do not need to put the whole price on the credit card. You only need to have paid part of it, even a small deposit, and it is the cash price of the item itself that has to sit in the £100.01 to £30,000 band, not the amount you actually charged to the card. Put a £50 deposit on a £2,000 holiday or a £250 sofa on a card, and the credit card company is liable for the full £2,000 or £250 if something goes wrong, not just the deposit you paid.

What section 75 does not cover

• Debit cards. Section 75 only applies to credit cards. A debit card purchase has no equivalent statutory protection; chargeback is the route there instead.
• Charge cards (cards like some American Express products where the balance must be paid off in full each month) generally fall outside section 75, because they are not classed as "credit" in the same way for these purposes.
• Buy Now Pay Later and most store credit apps typically are not covered either, though the rules depend on how the credit agreement is structured; check with the provider if you are unsure.
• Purchases of £100 or less, and purchases over £30,000, both fall outside the band. Chargeback, not section 75, is the option for a lower-value item.
• Some third-party payment routes. If the legal chain between you, the card issuer, and the supplier is broken by an intermediary, section 75 can fail to apply even though you used a credit card (see the PayPal and travel-agent point below).

Does section 75 apply? Checklist

• Did you pay with a credit card (not a debit card, not a charge card)?
• Was the cash price of the item over £100 and not more than £30,000?
• Did you pay at least part of that price on the credit card, even a deposit?
• Do you have a genuine claim against the supplier for breach of contract or misrepresentation (faulty goods, non-delivery, or the item was misdescribed)?
• Did you pay the supplier directly (or through a straightforward payment chain), rather than through an intermediary that could break the legal link?

If you can answer yes to all five, you likely have a section 75 claim. If the price falls outside the £100 to £30,000 band, or you paid by debit card, look at chargeback instead.

How to make a section 75 claim

1. Contact your credit card provider first, not the retailer, if the retailer is unresponsive or has gone out of business. Explain what went wrong, when you paid, the cash price of the item, and what you have already tried with the retailer.
2. Put it in writing and keep a copy. Include your account details, the transaction date and amount, and any evidence of the fault, non-delivery, or misrepresentation, plus proof you paid at least part of the price on that card.
3. You can claim against the retailer, the card issuer, or both. You do not have to prove the retailer cannot pay before claiming from the card company, though card issuers will usually expect you to have tried to resolve it with the retailer first.
4. If your card provider turns down a claim you believe is valid, ask them to explain why in writing, then take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which considers section 75 disputes for free.

Section 75 vs chargeback

Section 75 and chargeback are often confused, but they work differently. Section 75 is a statutory legal right that only applies to credit cards, within the £100 to £30,000 band, and makes the card issuer jointly liable with the retailer. Chargeback is a card-scheme rule (run by Visa, Mastercard, or American Express, not by law) that your bank can use to try to reverse a payment, and it works on both debit and credit cards with no fixed lower price limit, though it commonly has to be requested within around 120 days of the transaction. If your purchase falls outside the section 75 price band, or you paid by debit card, chargeback is usually the route to try. See the full comparison in the chargeback guide.

Paying through PayPal or a travel agent: the "debtor-creditor-supplier" chain

Section 75 depends on what is called a "debtor-creditor-supplier" agreement: a direct legal chain between you (the debtor), your card issuer (the creditor), and the business that supplied the goods (the supplier). When you pay a retailer directly with your credit card, that chain is straightforward.

The chain can be broken when a third party sits between you and the supplier. Paying through PayPal, for example, can mean you are contracting with PayPal rather than directly with the retailer, which has led card issuers to reject some section 75 claims on purchases routed that way. Similarly, paying a travel agent rather than the airline, hotel, or tour operator directly can complicate who counts as the "supplier" for section 75 purposes. This does not mean a claim is automatically impossible in these situations, but it is a common reason claims get disputed, and it is worth bearing in mind when deciding how to pay for a larger purchase. If in doubt, paying the actual supplier directly on your credit card keeps the chain simplest.

If you are still stuck

Your credit card provider is the first port of call for a section 75 claim. If they turn you down and you think they have got it wrong, the Financial Ombudsman Service will look at the dispute for free. For general, free, impartial help with any consumer problem, Citizens Advice runs a consumer service on 0808 223 1133 (0808 223 1144 in Welsh). For the wider set of rights this sits alongside, including your rights for faulty goods generally, see the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and faulty goods refund guides, and for the wider UK consumer picture see the UK Consumer Rights hub and the United Kingdom hub.

This article is for general information only and is not legal or financial advice, and it does not submit or pursue a claim on your behalf. For help with a specific dispute, contact your credit card provider directly, or the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 (0808 223 1144 in Welsh). See the UK Consumer Rights hub and the United Kingdom hub for the wider picture.