Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 is a UK law providing legal protection for consumers, making credit card providers jointly liable with retailers for breaches of contract or misrepresentation. It applies to purchases costing between £100 and £30,000, even if only a small deposit is paid by credit card.
The scheme enables you to claim a refund from your card provider if a purchase doesn't arrive or is faulty. Here's how to get your money back using chargeback: Contact the company and try to get a refund first before making a claim.
You do not have Section 75 rights if:
You change your mind about a purchase. Goods or services were bought with a money transfer or cash withdrawn from your credit card. Each single item purchased cost less than £100.
Section 75 of the CCA seeks to protect consumers. It states that a credit card provider is as responsible as a service supplier or retailer if the supplier breaches a contract or misrepresents their services.
You usually have around 120 days to raise a chargeback about goods or services. This might be from the date you expected to receive them but they weren't provided, or from the date you got something that was defective or not as described. Time limits might be longer or shorter depending on the circumstances.
Consumers seeking refunds can contact organizations like the Better Business Bureau, state consumer protection offices, or the Federal Trade Commission. Start by documenting your purchase and communication with the company. File a formal complaint with these agencies if direct resolution fails.
Five key consumer rights are the right to safety, to be informed, to choose, to be heard, and to redress (compensation), protecting consumers from hazardous products, misleading information, unfair practices, ensuring their voice is considered, and providing remedies for wrongs.
Purchases you should avoid putting on your credit card
There is no standard timeframe to resolve a chargeback or Section 75 claim, but if you're not happy with how long it's taking or the outcome of your claim, speak to your card provider.
If a company won't refund you, first formally contact them again, then dispute the charge with your bank/card issuer, and if needed, escalate by filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), your State Attorney General, and the FTC, or consider small claims court for larger amounts.
You must offer a full refund if an item is faulty, not as described or does not do what it's supposed to. In some cases you must offer a refund if the customer changes their mind.
Some common illegal practices include: Repeated or excessive phone calls. Threatening arrest or legal action they cannot take. Contacting you at work after being told to stop. Failing to verify the debt upon request.
Basic consumer rights protect your rights to safety, to be informed, to choose, and to be heard. We'll go into the details of these rights later, but overall your consumer rights are here to protect you from unfair, fraudulent, or otherwise deceptive marketplace practices.
This legislation only protects the consumer when they are dealing with a Trader, defined as “a person acting for purposes relating to that person's trade, business, craft or profession, whether acting personally or through another person acting in the trader's name or on the trader's behalf”.
If a company won't refund you, first formally contact them again, then dispute the charge with your bank/card issuer, and if needed, escalate by filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), your State Attorney General, and the FTC, or consider small claims court for larger amounts.
Many unethical and greedy companies, businesses and corporations are withholding your money. You don't have to accept a refund denial. Consumers have legal rights, if you have been denied a refund it may take a lawsuit to get what you deserve.
It's partly true: most negative items like late payments and collections are removed from your credit report after about seven years, but the underlying debt often still exists, and bankruptcies (Chapter 7) last 10 years, so your credit isn't entirely "clear" but mostly refreshed from old negatives. The 7-year clock starts from the date of the original delinquency, not when you paid it off or sent to collections, and the debt itself can still be pursued by collectors.
Usually, it takes 4-5 weeks for the refund to be credited to the account of the taxpayer. However, if refund is not received during this duration, the taxpayer must check for intimation regarding discrepancies in ITR; check email for any notification from the IT department regarding the refund.