UK CONSUMER CLAIMS

UK Consumer Claim - Section 75

In the United Kingdom, the law that protects consumers from merchant fraud and related disputes is called Section 75. It works like a chargeback on the consumer end, but it’s not the same. What is the UK’s Section 75 consumer protection.

In the UK, the Consumer Credit Act 1974 is the law that set up protections for credit card users.

At this point in their history, credit cards were attracting enough fraud that legal protections were needed in order to ensure that consumers would continue to feel safe using them.

The CCA protects consumers from liability when their card is used fraudulently. It also provides protection in situations where the merchant doesn’t provide the consumer with the goods or services they paid for.

For many merchant dispute scenarios, consumers are advised to exercise their Section 75 rights to get their money back.

Section 75 is a part of the CCA that deals with credit card purchases and who is liable when misrepresentation or breach of contract occurs. When a consumer doesn’t get what they paid for, they can file a Section 75 claim, and according to the law, both the merchant and the credit card issuer are equally liable. 

"Section 75 protections apply to any single credit card purchase, card-present or card-not-present, made by a UK consumer. The purchase amount must be between £100 and £30,000. Debit cards are not covered."

One important detail is that if the credit card purchase was only a down payment or deposit, Section 75 still covers the entire purchase, even if the remaining balance was paid via some other means.

The scenarios Section 75 applies to are generally the ones lumped together as merchant or consumer disputes in an American dispute management context. 

Specifically: -

• Delivery never arrived
• Item is defective
• Item is not as described
• Merchant went out of business

Under Section 75, associated costs can also be recovered—so if you book a hotel and they lose your reservation, the cost of your alternate last-minute accommodations might be covered.

Section 75 explicitly does not cover transactions where a third party is mediating the purchase between the buyer and seller. In other words, consumers can’t invoke it when they book a hotel room through a travel agency, buy tickets from a ticket reseller, or make credit card payments through an intermediary platform such as PayPal.

A Section 75 claim covers breach of contract & misrepresentation, details of such can be found in the consumer credit act 1974 & consumer credits act 2006.

A Section 75a claim covers breach of contract only, for example when a supplier cannot be found, goes out of business or does not respond, details of such can be found in the consumer credit act 1974 & consumer credits act 2006.

Because Section 75 is a legal requirement, most UK banks will have an online form for submitting Section 75 claims and should accept them by phone or mail as well. With their claim, consumers may need to provide their proof of purchase, a copy of the purchase agreement, documentary evidence in support of their claim, and proof that they have already tried to contact the merchant.

Consumers are allowed to pursue reimbursement from the merchant and their bank at the same time but are only entitled to receive a single payout from one or the other.

The law doesn’t mandate a time limit for the issuing bank to respond, but it’s reasonable to expect claims to be resolved within six to eight weeks or less. If a claim is rejected, the consumer can try to appeal it by contacting the Financial Ombudsman Service.