Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act is designed to protect you but as the legislation gets older more and more people are finding it hard to claim. Share your Section 75 claim stories here.
‘Section 75’ isn’t the cuddliest-sounding phrase, but it can be your best friend when something goes wrong with a purchase you’ve made on a credit card.
Part of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, Section 75 empowers you to be able to claim your money back from your card provider if something you bought doesn’t arrive, is faulty, or the retailer goes bust.
Imagine ordering a washing machine only to never be able to use it. If the machine breaks down or didn’t even turn up, Section 75 means even if, for whatever reason, the retailer can’t help, you could claim a refund from your credit card company.
Follow the advice on how to claim in our Section 75 guide and ensure you’re not out of pocket when the worst happens.
The small print
But wait, there’s a catch. Despite this, not every payment made on a credit card qualifies for Section 75 protection (although you can have paid any amount of that cost on the card to qualify for the protection). For example, the goods or service you’ve bought have to cost between £100 and £30,000 for the insurance to apply.
It’s also crucial that there’s a direct contractual link between the consumer, card provider and retailer or service provider. If there isn’t, you won’t be able to claim.
This can prove a major stumbling block if you’ve bought through an intermediary such as a travel agent, secondary ticketing site or third-party payment provider.
That’s why Which? is investigating problems readers face when trying to claim via Section 75.
Payment provider problems
The Consumer Credit Act is now over 40 years old, and today payments are processed in very different ways than they were when the law first entered the statute books. For example, it’s well-documented that Section 75 claims can run into problems when payments have been processed via PayPal (although payments made via PayPal may still qualify for its own buyer protection scheme).
We’ve also heard reports of claims being rejected because of the way the payment was processed behind the scenes – for example, where a retailer uses a processor, like Sum Up or iZettle to collect the payment. It appears that in some cases the way a payment is processed breaks the crucial direct link between the cardholder, card company and retailer supplying the goods or services.
Because the payment mechanism often runs in the background, the consumer may have no idea that the payment processor is involved, and may simply believe they’ve paid the retailer directly.
They only find out about it when they make a Section 75 claim, which the credit card company rejects. The problem appears to affect some payments made online as well as via card readers.
Your reclaim stories
Which? is investigating the problem to get clarity for consumers so they don’t end up out of pocket. We want to know what problems you’ve come up against when making Section 75 claims, including:
- Purchases made through third party/agent involvement
- Purchases made by additional cardholders
- Incorrect, misleading or unclear advice about your claiming rights
- Any other obstacle your claim faced
Please share your Section 75 claim stories in the comments below.
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