The £100 to £30,000 Section 75 Threshold Explained

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes your credit card provider jointly liable with the retailer when something goes wrong with a purchase. It applies to a single item whose cash price is more than £100 and not more than £30,000, and the threshold is measured on the item's price, not on how much you put on the card¹.

That last point catches people out in both directions. A deposit of any size on a sofa costing more than £100 qualifies, because the item cost more than £100. A £200 basket made up of five £40 items does not, because the £100 minimum applies to each item rather than the total bill³.

Above £30,000 the rules change rather than stop. A separate right, Section 75A, can cover items costing more than £30,000 and less than £60,260 where the finance was arranged specifically to buy that item, and it has its own upper limit on the credit involved⁵.

Section 75 covers single items priced over £100 and up to £30,000

The core rule is short. Section 75 protection applies where the cash price of the goods or services is more than £100 but not more than £30,000⁸. MoneyHelper puts the same range as an item costing between £100 and £30,000, even if you are only paying some of that amount on your credit card². Which? describes credit card purchases costing more than £100 and up to £30,000 as carrying additional protection under Section 75⁹.

The legislation itself is narrower in wording than the summaries. It excludes claims so far as they relate to any single item to which the supplier has attached a cash price not exceeding £100, or more than £30,000¹. Older text in the same Act still shows the pre-amendment figures of £30 and £10,000, which is why some copies of the Act read differently from current guidance¹.

Two features of the wording matter in practice. First, it is the supplier's cash price that counts, so a discount, a trade-in or a gift card does not move the item below the threshold. Second, the section applies even if you exceeded your credit limit or otherwise breached the card agreement in making the purchase, so a transaction that pushed you over your limit is not excluded on that ground alone¹.

The threshold is the item's cash price, not what you paid on the card

The most common misunderstanding is that the £100 figure refers to the card payment. It does not. If you paid any part of the cost by credit card, you can use Section 75, as long as the total cost of the item is more than £100 and no more than £30,000⁴. Citizens Advice Scotland describes the same right in the context of home improvements: a Section 75 claim is a legal right to claim from the card provider if something goes wrong, and this includes paying a deposit by credit card even if that deposit is less than £100¹⁰.

The provider's own terms follow the same structure. American Express states that under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, if you use your card to buy goods or services and the cost of an individual item is more than £100 but not more than £30,000, the card issuer may be jointly liable with the supplier¹¹. Coutts sets out the test as the cash price of the goods or services being over £100 but not more than £30,000, and notes that the £100 minimum applies to each item or set of items rather than the total bill³.

That per-item reading is what decides split orders. A single delivery of furniture bought as one set can qualify as a set of items; five unrelated £40 purchases in one basket generally will not, because no single item passes £100³. Where a purchase is made through a third party, such as a marketplace, a booking agency or a wallet, the position is different again, and a claim may not be possible at all⁴.

Above £30,000: where Section 75 does not apply

Section 75 stops at £30,000 for a single item. The legislation excludes claims so far as they relate to any single item with a cash price of more than £30,000⁵. The Financial Ombudsman Service states the same test: the cash price of the goods or services must be more than £100 but not more than £30,000⁸.

What happens next depends on how the purchase was funded. If you simply paid the whole amount on a credit card, there is no Section 75 route for the excess. Chargeback may be available instead: it can be used where the total cost of the purchase is less than £100 or more than £30,000, or where Section 75 does not apply¹³. Chargeback is a card scheme process rather than a legal right, so it depends on the scheme's rules and timescales rather than on the Act.

If the retailer arranged finance specifically for the purchase, a different section of the same Act may apply. That is Section 75A, and it is dealt with below.

Section 75A: cover for linked loans over £30,000

Section 75A extends similar protection to purchases funded by a linked credit agreement, which is finance arranged by the seller specifically to buy the goods or service. The price of the item or service must be more than £30,000 and the amount of credit the seller has arranged for you must not be more than £60,260⁶. Trading Standards Wales gives the same range: if the cost of the item exceeds £30,000 and is less than £60,260, and the finance was arranged specifically to buy that item, Section 75A can apply¹⁵.

The section has its own exclusions. It does not apply where the cash value of the goods or service is £30,000 or less, and it does not apply where the linked credit agreement is for credit exceeding £60,260 and is not a residential renovation agreement⁷. The £60,260 figure appears in the legislation as amended and in the earlier consolidation of the same provision¹⁶.

There is also a conduct condition. If something goes wrong and the seller offers you a replacement or compensation which you have accepted, you cannot then claim under Section 75A⁶. Accepting a remedy from the trader can therefore close off the route to the lender.

How to check whether your purchase falls inside the limits

Work through the tests in order, because each one can end the claim before the price is even considered.

1. Was it a credit card? Section 75 does not apply to charge cards or debit cards¹⁸. Debit cards do offer chargeback protection on purchases, but that is not Section 75⁷.
2. Did you buy directly from the trader? A claim usually cannot be made if you bought through a third party, for example from eBay, and a claim might not be possible at all if you bought through a booking agency⁴.
3. What was the cash price of the single item? It must be more than £100 and not more than £30,000⁸. If the item was over £30,000, check whether seller-arranged finance was used and whether the credit was £60,260 or less⁶.
4. How did you pay? Paying any part by credit card is enough, including a deposit below £100⁴.
5. Was it buy now, pay later? For purchases made before 15 July 2026, a Section 75 claim cannot be started if the payment was made using buy now, pay later⁷. From 15 July 2026, under the new rules, buy now, pay later shoppers will be able to make Section 75 claims, with the provider jointly liable with the retailer for purchases costing between £100 and £30,000²⁰.

One further limit sits outside the price thresholds. The Financial Ombudsman Service notes that section 75 might not apply if a credit card was used to put funds into a standard e-money account and that account was then used to buy something²¹. Paying a wallet or e-money account from a card is not the same as paying the trader.

If a claim is refused and the provider will not move, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints about goods and services bought on credit⁸. Free, impartial help on where a purchase stands is available from Citizens Advice and MoneyHelper⁴.