How to Make a Section 75 Claim, Step by Step

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes your credit card provider just as responsible as the retailer when something goes wrong with a purchase. If you bought faulty goods, an item never arrived, or a company misrepresented what it was selling, you can claim a refund from your card provider rather than chasing the retailer. The rule applies to purchases between £100 and £30,000, and it works even if you only put part of the cost on the card¹.

The protection is a legal right, not a goodwill gesture. It covers credit cards, not charge cards or debit cards, and it applies to online, telephone, mail order and overseas purchases as well as those made in a shop³. If the retailer has gone out of business, Section 75 can be the route to getting your money back when a refund from the company itself is no longer possible⁵.

This guide walks through what Section 75 covers, how to check you can claim, the steps to take with your card provider, the evidence to gather, where the protection does not apply, and what to do if your provider turns you down.

What Section 75 covers: purchases between £100 and £30,000

Section 75 applies to purchases between £100 and £30,000¹. The law makes the card provider as responsible as the trader for a breach of contract or a misrepresentation, so you can claim a refund from the card provider if you get faulty goods or your item never arrives⁶. The protection applies even if you only put part of the cost on the card, as long as the total cost of the item is more than £100 and no more than £30,000³.

The rule covers a wide range of problems. It applies to a breach of contract, which includes goods that are faulty, not as described, or never delivered. It also covers misrepresentation, where a trader gave a false or misleading account of what was being sold¹⁰. The protection applies notwithstanding that the debtor, in entering into the transaction, exceeded the credit limit or otherwise contravened any term of the agreement, so a breach of your card terms does not remove your right to claim¹.

Section 75 applies to purchases made on a credit card, including purchases from overseas websites¹¹. It covers online, telephone, mail order and overseas purchases⁷. The rules apply to foreign transactions as well as goods bought online, by telephone or mail order for delivery to the UK from overseas¹².

For purchases above £30,000, a separate protection may apply. If the cost exceeds £30,000 and is less than £60,260, and the finance was arranged specifically to buy the goods, service or digital content, Section 75A may apply⁵. This is a narrower route and depends on the finance being arranged for that specific purchase.

Check you can claim before you start

Before contacting your card provider, work through the conditions that determine whether Section 75 applies. The purchase must have been made on a credit card, not a charge card or debit card⁴. The item must have cost between £100 and £30,000¹. You must have paid at least part of the cost on the card, though the deposit can be less than £100 as long as the total purchase price falls within the range³.

The claim must relate to a breach of contract or a misrepresentation. A breach of contract includes faulty goods, goods that do not match their description, or goods that were never delivered. Misrepresentation covers a trader giving a false or misleading account of what was being sold¹⁰. Buyer's remorse is not covered: you will have to provide evidence to support your claim that there is something wrong with the items that have been delivered⁷.

You cannot usually use Section 75 if you did not buy directly from the trader, for example if you bought from eBay³. Purchases made through a third party such as a marketplace, voucher site, wallet or travel agent can fall outside the protection. If you have a joint credit card, the main cardholder should contact the card provider³.

The cardholder named must generally correspond to the person named in the contract, but a cardholder booking for themselves and their family can claim¹³. Section 75 does not apply to an agreement secured on land⁶.

Step by step: making a Section 75 claim to your card provider

A Section 75 claim is a legal right for a customer to claim from the card provider if something goes wrong with a purchase¹⁴. The process starts with the retailer and ends, if necessary, with the Financial Ombudsman Service.

1. Contact the retailer first. Ask for a refund or a replacement. Keep a record of what you asked for and what the retailer said. The law says the creditor cannot insist as a pre-condition of its liability under section 75 that the consumer should first claim against the supplier, but in practice most providers expect you to have tried to resolve the problem directly¹⁵.

1. Contact your card provider. Ask your bank for a claim form and make sure you specify that you wish to make a claim under Section 75¹⁶. Some providers ask you to call them to raise a Section 75 claim¹⁷. Others accept a written claim.

1. Send a formal claim letter. The letter should give your address, the company address, details of your complaint and your card number, the purchase date, the item and retailer, the fault, the sum you are seeking, and the Section 75 legal basis⁹. A covering letter should detail the exact nature of your claim and what you have done so far to resolve it directly with the company¹¹.

1. Wait for the provider's response. A formal claim letter typically asks for a response within 14 days⁹. There is no fixed legal deadline for a Section 75 response, but if the provider has not given a final response after eight weeks, you can take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service⁷.

1. Escalate if needed. After the card provider's final response, or after eight weeks with no response, you can try the Financial Ombudsman Service⁷.

If you are a victim of a misrepresentation and a credit card was used to purchase the goods or service, you may also be able to pursue your claim against the credit card company under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974¹⁰. If you used a credit card for the purchase, you might be able to pursue your claim under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974¹⁸.

Evidence to gather for your claim

A Section 75 claim needs evidence that something went wrong and that you have tried to resolve it. The card provider will want to see that there is a genuine breach of contract or misrepresentation, not a change of mind.

Gather the following:

• A covering letter detailing the exact nature of your claim and what you have done so far to resolve it directly with the company¹¹.
• Evidence that there is something wrong with the items delivered, including details of correspondence and receipts⁷.
• Proof of purchase, such as a receipt or statement showing the transaction.
• Any correspondence with the retailer, including emails, letters or notes of phone calls.
• A copy of the claim letter you sent to the card provider, with the date.

The claim letter itself should include your address, the company address, details of your complaint and card number, the purchase date, the item and retailer, the fault, the sum you are seeking, and the Section 75 legal basis⁹. If you are claiming for a misrepresentation, include details of what you were told and how it differed from what you received¹⁰.

If the retailer has gone out of business, include any evidence you have of the company's status, such as a notice on its website or correspondence about administration⁵. The Financial Ombudsman Service has dealt with cases where a travel company used to book a holiday stopped trading, and the customer was able to contact their bank or credit card provider to see if they could make a Section 75 claim¹⁹.

Where Section 75 does not apply

Section 75 has clear limits. Knowing where it does not apply can save time and point you towards the right route instead.

Charge cards and debit cards. Section 75 does not apply to charge cards or debit cards⁴. If you paid with a debit card, chargeback may be available instead.

Third-party payment services. Using your credit card with third-party payment systems can mean you lose important Section 75 protection on items costing more than £100. This includes PayPal, Google Wallet, buy now, pay later schemes such as Klarna and Clearpay, and third-party sellers on Amazon⁸. Claims for payments made via PayPal are highly contentious and unlikely to be upheld⁷. The Financial Ombudsman Service has said that section 75 might not apply if the customer used a credit card to put funds into a standard e-money account and then used that account to buy something²⁰.

Buy now, pay later. If you bought the item or service before 15 July 2026, you cannot start a Section 75 claim if you paid using buy now, pay later⁵.

Purchases not made directly from the trader. You cannot usually use Section 75 if you did not buy directly from the trader, for example if you bought from eBay³. Purchases made through a marketplace, voucher site, wallet or travel agent can fall outside the protection.

Agreements secured on land. Section 75 does not apply to an agreement secured on land⁶.

Items outside the price range. The protection applies to purchases between £100 and £30,000¹. If the total cost is less than £100 or more than £30,000, Section 75 does not apply, though chargeback may be available⁸.

Non-commercial agreements. Subsection (1) does not apply to a claim under a non-commercial agreement¹.

If your card provider says no: taking it to the Financial Ombudsman Service

If your card provider declines your claim, you can escalate the complaint. The Financial Ombudsman Service is free and independent, and it can look at complaints about Section 75 claims.

You can take your case to the ombudsman after the card provider's final response, or after eight weeks with no response⁷. If you try to use chargeback and you do not get your money back, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service if your card provider says they will not appeal to the trader's bank³. If the company in question will not refund you, ask your bank to help and escalate your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you are not happy with its response²¹.

The ombudsman has published guidance on Section 75 and electronic money services. Customers who used a credit facility or credit card to buy goods and services may be able to complain about the quality of those goods and services under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, but section 75 might not apply if the customer used a credit card to put funds into a standard e-money account and then used that account to buy something²⁰.

If your credit card company declines your claim, one option is escalating your case to the Financial Ombudsman²². The ombudsman can require a firm to put things right if it finds the complaint is upheld.

Where a firm has refused an application, the institution must inform the consumer in writing and free of charge of the reason, advise how to complain to it and of the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service²³. This applies to payment accounts with basic features, but the principle of clear complaint routes runs through financial services complaints handling.

Section 75 compared with chargeback

Section 75 and chargeback are different routes to getting your money back, and they apply in different circumstances.

Chargeback is the route to ask for money back where a debit card or charge card was used, or where a credit card or buy now, pay later payment falls outside Section 75³. It also applies to credit card transactions where goods cost less than £100, so section 75 does not apply²⁵. There is not an automatic legal right to receive your money back through chargeback rights or Section 75, as this will depend on the supplier's terms and conditions, scheme rules, applicable government laws and regulations and the approach taken by your card issuer²⁴.

If you are unsure which route applies, the Section 75 or Chargeback: Which Protection to Use comparison sets out the differences. For more on the underlying protection, see Section 75: credit card purchase protection.