Glossary · UK
What is Section 75 Protection?
A legal right under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 making a credit card provider jointly and severally liable with the retailer for a breach of contract or misrepresentation on purchases between £100 and £30,000, even where only part of the price was paid by card.
Full Definition
Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes a credit card provider jointly and severally liable, alongside the retailer or trader, for problems with goods or services bought using the card, such as items that are faulty, not as described, or never delivered, or a supplier that goes out of business before completing the contract. This means the cardholder can claim the refund or compensation they are owed directly from their credit card company instead of, or as well as, from the retailer, which is particularly valuable where the retailer has ceased trading, is based abroad and difficult to pursue, or is simply refusing to engage. Section 75 protection applies to purchases with a cash price of more than £100 and not more than £30,000, and critically, it applies to the full purchase price even if only part of it was paid on the card and the rest by another method, such as a deposit paid by bank transfer, provided the card payment element was directly linked to the transaction as part of a wider arrangement between the cardholder, retailer and card issuer. It does not apply to debit cards, though most debit and credit card purchases below the Section 75 threshold, and card payments generally, may still be eligible for a separate voluntary scheme called chargeback, which works differently, has shorter time limits, and is not a legal right in the same way Section 75 is. Worked example: a consumer pays a £600 deposit on a £3,000 kitchen renovation using their credit card, with the remaining £2,400 due on completion by bank transfer, but the fitting company goes into liquidation after taking the deposit and before starting any work; because the card payment was part of a single arrangement covering the full £3,000 contract and falls within the £100-£30,000 range, the consumer can claim the entire £3,000 loss from their credit card provider under Section 75, not just the £600 actually charged to the card, since Section 75 makes the card issuer liable for the whole transaction the card payment was linked to.