What Section 75 Actually Does
Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes your credit card issuer "jointly and severally liable" with the seller for a breach of contract or misrepresentation -- in plain terms, if the seller lets you down (goods not delivered, service not provided, company goes bust, or what you were told turns out to be false), your card issuer is equally on the hook for putting it right, not just the seller. This applies where the cash price of the item or service is more than £100 and not more than £30,000.
A commonly misunderstood but well-established point: you do not need to have put the whole purchase price on your credit card. As little as 1p paid on the card is enough to trigger full Section 75 protection for the entire purchase price, as long as the overall cash price of the item was over £100 -- for example, paying a £60 deposit on a card for a £2,000 holiday, with the balance paid by debit card or cheque, still gets you full Section 75 cover for the whole £2,000 if the holiday company fails to deliver.
It's the cash price of the individual item or service that matters, not how much you actually paid or financed. This makes Section 75 meaningfully broader in practical effect than it might first appear -- it isn't limited to purchases made entirely on credit.
What You Can Recover
Section 75 makes the card issuer equally liable -- not merely a backup if the seller can't pay
Full refund or remedy for the breach
The card issuer owes you the same remedy the seller would owe for a breach of contract or misrepresentation -- typically a refund, but potentially other contractual remedies depending on the facts.
Protection even if the seller has gone out of business
Because liability is joint and several, you can pursue the card issuer directly even if the seller is insolvent or has disappeared -- a major practical advantage over relying on the seller alone.
Financial Ombudsman Service adjudication (free)
If your issuer wrongly refuses a Section 75 claim, the free, independent Financial Ombudsman Service can investigate and order the issuer to pay -- the Ombudsman upholds a significant share of Section 75 complaints where issuers have incorrectly refused claims.
Section 75A: Extended Protection for Purchases Over £30,000
Where the cash price of the item exceeds £30,000, Section 75 itself no longer applies, but Section 75A can extend protection to certain larger purchases -- up to roughly £60,260 -- financed through a "linked credit agreement": a credit agreement that exists specifically and exclusively to finance that particular purchase (for example, a dedicated loan for a car), rather than a general-purpose credit card. verify the current upper limit, as this figure is subject to periodic revision
A key procedural difference from Section 75: under Section 75A, you must first take reasonable steps to pursue your claim against the supplier directly and fail to get satisfaction, before you can bring the claim against the credit provider. Section 75 has no such prerequisite -- you can generally go straight to your card issuer.
Section 75A does not apply to credit secured on land (e.g., a mortgage), and only covers linked/dedicated finance arrangements, not general credit cards -- so a large purchase put on an ordinary credit card above the £30,000 Section 75 ceiling typically falls outside both provisions. verify how your specific finance arrangement is classified before relying on Section 75A
When Section 75 Doesn't Apply
Debit cards, charge cards, and most "buy now, pay later" products generally fall outside Section 75, which is specifically a credit card / relevant credit agreement protection -- these payment methods may still have chargeback rights instead (a different, non-statutory scheme run by the card networks), but not the same statutory joint-liability protection.
Purchases at or below £100, or above £30,000 (unless Section 75A's linked-credit-agreement conditions are met), fall outside Section 75's covered price range.
Some payment intermediary arrangements (e.g., certain third-party payment processors) can affect whether the necessary direct debtor-creditor-supplier relationship exists for a Section 75 claim -- if your purchase went through an intermediary rather than being a straightforward direct card payment to the seller, check with your card issuer or the Financial Ombudsman Service before assuming standard coverage applies. verify Section 75 applicability for any payment-intermediary-funded purchase
How to Make a Section 75 Claim, Step by Step
You claim against your card issuer directly -- you don't need to sue the seller first
Confirm the purchase qualifies
Cash price over £100 and up to £30,000, paid at least in part on a credit card (even a small deposit is enough), with a genuine breach of contract or misrepresentation by the seller.
Gather your evidence
Order confirmation, receipts, correspondence with the seller, your card statement showing the payment, and clear documentation of what went wrong.
Contact your card issuer and raise a Section 75 claim
Most major issuers have a specific Section 75 claims process -- ask for it by name and reference the Consumer Credit Act 1974, Section 75, to make sure your claim is routed correctly rather than treated as an informal complaint.
Escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service if refused
If your issuer rejects a claim you believe is valid, you can escalate free of charge to the Financial Ombudsman Service, typically within 6 months of the issuer's final response letter.
Documents to gather
- Order confirmation, invoice, or booking reference
- Your credit card statement showing the payment (even a partial/deposit payment)
- Correspondence with the seller documenting the problem
- Any evidence of the breach or misrepresentation (photos, written claims made by the seller, delivery/tracking records)
Timelines and Limitation Periods
No fixed deadline to raise a claim with your issuer, but court claims and Ombudsman escalation have their own clocks
There is no specific statutory deadline in the Consumer Credit Act itself for raising a Section 75 claim with your issuer, but if it ends up in court, the general Limitation Act 1980 contract-claim period (commonly 6 years) applies, and Ombudsman escalation has its own 6-month window from your issuer's final response. verify current figures directly against legislation.gov.uk and the Financial Ombudsman Service before relying on them
| Jurisdiction | Limitation Period |
|---|---|
| Raising the claim with your card issuer | No fixed statutory deadline, but claim promptly -- delay can weaken your evidence |
| Escalating to the Financial Ombudsman Service | Typically within 6 months of your issuer's final response letter verify |
| Court claim (if it comes to that) | Generally subject to the Limitation Act 1980's contract-claim period, commonly 6 years verify |
Realistic Outcomes and Caveats
Clear-cut cases -- a seller that has gone into administration, or an undisputed non-delivery -- tend to resolve quickly and favorably once the issuer confirms the purchase meets Section 75's price and payment criteria.
Card issuers do sometimes incorrectly refuse valid Section 75 claims, particularly around the "even a small deposit counts" rule and the linked-credit-agreement distinction under Section 75A -- the Financial Ombudsman Service has specifically flagged this as a recurring issue and upholds a meaningful share of complaints on exactly this point.
This page can help you identify whether your purchase qualifies and how to claim, but it cannot predict how your specific issuer or the Ombudsman will resolve a disputed case.
Common Pitfalls
Assuming you needed to put the whole price on the card
Even a 1p deposit on a credit card is enough to trigger full Section 75 protection for the entire purchase price, as long as the cash price exceeded £100 -- don't let an issuer wrongly tell you otherwise.
Using a debit card and expecting Section 75 cover
Section 75 is specifically a credit card protection -- debit card purchases don't qualify, though the separate (non-statutory) chargeback scheme may still be available.
Confusing Section 75 with chargeback
Section 75 is a genuine statutory legal right enforceable through the Ombudsman or courts; chargeback is a voluntary card-network scheme with no legal backing -- Section 75 is generally the stronger route when both are available.
Not pursuing the supplier first under Section 75A
For purchases over £30,000 relying on Section 75A's linked-credit-agreement provision, you generally must first try to get satisfaction from the supplier before claiming against the credit provider -- unlike ordinary Section 75.
Missing the Ombudsman's escalation window
If your issuer refuses your claim, don't let the roughly 6-month window to escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service lapse while you keep negotiating informally.
Organize Your Section 75 Claim
Use the calculator to document your purchase and organize your evidence before contacting your card issuer.
Organize Your Section 75 Claim
Use the calculator to document your purchase and organize your evidence before contacting your card issuer.
This stays in your private workspace until you choose a next step. It does not submit a claim on your behalf on its own.
Official and Legal References
Section 75 Is UK-Specific
Section 75 is a right unique to UK-regulated credit agreements under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 -- there is no direct US equivalent (the closest US analogues, the Fair Credit Billing Act's billing-error process and voluntary card-network chargeback rules, are materially weaker and operate differently). If you're disputing a US credit card charge, see the credit card chargeback guide instead; this page applies specifically to UK-regulated credit card purchases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Real edge cases, answered in plain language
I only paid a small deposit on my credit card -- am I still covered for the full amount?
The seller has gone out of business -- can I still claim?
My purchase was over £30,000 -- am I out of luck?
Organize Your Section 75 Claim
Use the calculator to document your purchase and organize your evidence before contacting your card issuer.