Getting a Refund from Your Credit Card Company

If you have made a purchase online using your credit card and something has gone wrong with the purchase, which means that you are out of pocket, you may be able to get your money back from the credit card company. The rule applies equally to goods and services but cannot be used for purchases for which credit card cheques or cash withdrawals were used. In addition, you must be the ‘principal cardholder’ so secondary cardholders cannot claim under this legislation.

Using Legislation To Get Your Money Back

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act provides protection for consumers that have incurred debt as a result of a purchase that has caused the purchaser to suffer loss. In these circumstances the Act states that the seller and the credit company are jointly liable in the event that the consumer has lost out in relation to a purchase.

Requirements Of The Purchase

The purchase must be made directly between you and the trader, so there must not be an intermediary or agent involved. This includes Paypal, Worldpay and Google Checkout, which have their own schemes to enable consumers to make claims for their money to be paid back.

Partial Credit Card Payments

Your purchase does not have to be wholly paid on your credit card. Conversely, even if you only pay a deposit for an item on your credit card, and pay the balance using another method you will still be covered by section 75.

Uses Of Section 75

So what would enable a purchaser to invoke section 75? There are numerous situations, e.g. a trader goes into liquidation before you receive your goods or service, or goes into liquidation while you are awaiting payment of a refund. If you have experienced problems with a purchase from a trader who has not gone bust it is a matter for you whether you decide to pursue a section 75 claim. Bear in mind however that it is generally much easier to deal with the trader.

Obtaining Your Refund

To get your refund, you should contact your credit card company and tell them that you are making a claim under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. Some may not know (or pretend not to know!) what you are talking about so you should be persistent and not let them tell you that you should take your issue up with the seller. It is up to the credit card company to decide whether or not to make a claim against the seller, and this is not dependent on your claim. Ask your credit card company to send you the appropriate form. If you do not manage to get a refund from the credit card company, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman.

Visa Chargeback

If your purchase was made with a Visa debit card you can use invoke something called ‘Chargeback’. To make a claim, contact your bank within 120 days of the purchase and explain the problem. Be aware, however, that this procedure is an internal policy particular to Visa, rather than something that is codified by law (and may therefore be subject to change.)