Two different protections can come to a UK cardholder’s rescue when a purchase goes wrong, a trader disappears, or goods never arrive, and they are often confused with each other. One is a legal right written into an Act of Parliament. The other is a set of rules run by the card payment schemes. Understanding which applies, and when, decides whether a consumer has an enforceable claim or is simply asking for a favour.
Section 75: a statutory right
Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes a credit card provider jointly and severally liable, alongside the retailer or trader, for a breach of contract or a misrepresentation connected with something bought using the card. That means the cardholder can bring a claim against the credit card company directly, instead of or as well as against the seller, which matters most when the seller has gone out of business or is refusing to engage. The Act covers Great Britain and, with a related but separately worded provision, Northern Ireland.
The price limits that make it apply
Section 75 only applies where the goods or service cost more than £100 and not more than £30,000. That threshold is assessed against the cash price of each individual item or set of related items, not the total value of the shopping trip or the whole invoice, so two separate items each priced at £100 or less would not qualify even if bought together for more than £100 in total. A purchaser does not have to put the whole cost on the credit card to be covered; paying even part of the price on the card, such as a deposit, is enough to bring the whole transaction within Section 75, provided the total price of the item itself falls within the £100 to £30,000 band.
What it does not cover
Section 75 only applies to credit cards, not debit cards, and it does not apply to a plain cash withdrawal, because there is no debtor-creditor-supplier relationship of the kind the Act requires. Store cards and some other forms of running-account credit can be covered depending on how they are structured, but a straightforward debit card purchase is outside Section 75 entirely, whatever it cost.
Chargeback: a scheme rule, not a law
Chargeback is a different mechanism, run under the rules of the card payment schemes such as Visa and Mastercard rather than under the Consumer Credit Act. It lets a cardholder ask their card provider to reverse a transaction in certain circumstances, for example goods that never arrived or a company that has ceased trading, and it is available on debit cards as well as credit cards. Crucially, chargeback is not a legal right in the way Section 75 is; it is a voluntary scheme obligation the card provider has agreed to as a member of the relevant card network, so there is no statutory guarantee it will succeed, and card providers can and do decline chargeback requests that do not meet the scheme’s own conditions.
Why the price threshold pushes people toward chargeback
Because chargeback carries no minimum transaction value in the way Section 75 does, it is often the only realistic route for a purchase under £100, or for a debit card purchase of any size. A £60 item bought on a debit card, for example, has no Section 75 protection at all, since debit cards fall outside the Act, but a chargeback request through the bank is still worth pursuing.
Using both together
For a credit card purchase between £100 and £30,000, both options can potentially apply, and a cardholder is not required to pick only one; if a chargeback attempt fails, a Section 75 claim can still be pursued separately, since it rests on the Consumer Credit Act rather than the card scheme’s own rules.
FAQs
Does Section 75 apply if I only paid a small deposit on my credit card?
Yes, provided the total cash price of the item itself was between £100 and £30,000, part-paying on the card is enough to trigger Section 75 liability.
Can I use Section 75 for something I bought on a debit card?
No. Section 75 applies only to credit cards; a debit card purchase falls outside the Act regardless of price.
What if my item cost less than £100?
Section 75 will not apply, but chargeback has no minimum value, so it remains a possible route on either a credit or a debit card.
Is chargeback guaranteed to work?
No. Chargeback is a card scheme rule the provider has agreed to follow, not a statutory right, so a request can be declined if it does not meet the scheme’s own conditions.
The bottom line
Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 is an enforceable legal right that makes a credit card provider jointly liable for problems with purchases costing between £100 and £30,000. Chargeback is a separate, non-statutory scheme rule with no price floor that can also cover debit cards. Knowing which one applies, and pursuing both where a credit card purchase qualifies for each, gives a consumer the strongest possible position. This is general information, not legal advice on an individual purchase dispute.