How to Write a Section 75 Claim Letter UK: Get Your Money Back from Your Credit Card Company
A retailer has gone bust. A trader has taken your money and disappeared. A holiday company has cancelled and is refusing to refund you. A product arrived broken and the seller is ignoring your emails. In all of these situations, if you paid on a credit card, you may have a powerful legal right that most people do not know they have.
Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes your credit card company jointly and severally liable for the retailer’s breach of contract or misrepresentation. That means the card company is as legally responsible for the problem as the seller was. You can claim directly against the card company even if the retailer no longer exists, is based abroad, or simply refuses to engage.
This guide explains exactly how Section 75 works, when it applies and when it does not, how to write the claim letter, what evidence to include and how to escalate if the card company rejects your claim.
What Section 75 Is and Why It Is So Powerful
Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 creates a statutory right of action against a credit card provider where a debtor has a claim against a supplier for breach of contract or misrepresentation. As the actual text of Section 75 puts it, the creditor (your card company) is jointly and severally liable with the supplier. This is not a discretionary goodwill gesture by the card company. It is a legal obligation that has existed for fifty years and cannot be contracted out of.
Joint and several liability means the card company is fully liable for the entire claim, not just its share of it. You do not need to pursue the retailer first. You do not need to show you tried to get a refund from the seller. You can go straight to the card company. And unlike a chargeback, which is a banking scheme with its own rules and time limits, Section 75 is a statutory right with a six-year limitation period under the Limitation Act 1980.
The right is particularly valuable when the retailer has gone into administration, when they are based overseas and are ignoring you, or when the amount is significant and you want the certainty of a statutory claim rather than a discretionary scheme.
When Section 75 Applies: The Four Requirements
1. You Paid on a Credit Card
Section 75 applies to credit cards only. It does not apply to debit cards, charge cards, prepaid cards or cash. It does not apply to payments made through third-party processors such as PayPal, Klarna, Clearpay, or Amazon Pay, even if the underlying payment was made from a credit card. This is because the legal relationship is between you, the supplier and the card company directly, and a third-party payment processor breaks that chain.
If you paid by debit card, you may have a claim through the Visa or Mastercard chargeback scheme instead, which is not a statutory right but is a contractual process that many banks follow. Chargeback has a 120-day time limit from the transaction date for most dispute types.
2. The Cash Price of the Item or Service Was Between £100 and £30,000
The item or service must have had a cash price of more than £100 and no more than £30,000. This is the price of the individual item, not the total transaction. If you bought five items at £80 each, none of them individually exceeds £100 and Section 75 does not apply, even though the total was £400.
Critically, you do not need to have paid the full amount on your credit card. If the item cost £500 and you paid a £50 deposit on your credit card with the rest by bank transfer, Section 75 covers the entire £500. This is one of the most widely misunderstood aspects of the right and one of the most common reasons card companies wrongly try to limit claims.
3. There Was a Breach of Contract or Misrepresentation by the Supplier
Your claim must be based on either a breach of contract by the supplier or a misrepresentation they made that induced you to buy. Breach of contract includes: goods not delivered, goods not as described, goods faulty or not of satisfactory quality under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, services not carried out with reasonable care and skill, and the supplier ceasing to trade before delivering what you paid for.
Misrepresentation means a false statement of fact made before you bought, which induced you to make the purchase. A seller claiming a car had one previous owner when it had three, or a holiday company advertising a four-star hotel when the property was under construction, are both misrepresentations that give rise to a Section 75 claim.
4. You Are the Account Holder
The right belongs to the main credit card account holder, not to additional cardholders on the same account. If your partner has a supplementary card on your account and makes the purchase, the claim still belongs to you as the primary account holder. If your partner has their own credit card account and makes the purchase on that, the right belongs to them and they must make the claim.
Common Situations Where Section 75 Applies
Company goes into administration: You paid for a holiday, a wedding venue, a product or a service and the company has collapsed before delivering it. Section 75 makes the card company liable regardless of the seller’s insolvency.
Goods not delivered: You ordered and paid for something that never arrived and the seller is ignoring you or has disappeared.
Goods not as described or faulty: The product was misrepresented in the listing or description, or arrived faulty and the seller is refusing to refund.
Services not provided: A builder, contractor or service provider took your deposit and did not do the work, or did it so badly it constitutes a breach of contract.
Holiday or travel cancellation: An airline, hotel or tour operator cancelled and is refusing to refund, or the holiday was significantly different from what was described.
Overseas purchase: You bought something from a foreign retailer using your UK credit card and they have failed to deliver or have misrepresented the goods. Section 75 applies to foreign transactions.
How to Write Your Section 75 Claim Letter
Your claim must be in writing. Do not rely on a phone call. Phone conversations are not consistently logged, do not start any formal timeline and leave you with no record. Write to the Section 75 disputes team at your card company, or to the complaints team if you cannot find a specific address. Most banks accept secure messages through online banking, which is equally valid.
The letter does not need to be complex or legal in tone. It needs to be clear, specific and evidenced.
Full worked example: Section 75 claim letter
[Your full name]
[Your address]
[Your credit card account number or last four digits]
[Date]
Section 75 Disputes Team / Customer Relations
[Card company name]
[Address or sent via secure online banking message]
Subject: Section 75 Claim – Consumer Credit Act 1974 – [Supplier name] – [Transaction date]
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to make a formal claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 in relation to a purchase made on my credit card account.
Details of the transaction
Supplier: [Full name of the retailer or trader]
Date of purchase: [Date]
Amount paid on credit card: £[amount]
Total cash price of the item or service: £[amount]
Description: [Describe what you purchased: e.g. a return flight from London to Barcelona on [date] / a sofa described as solid oak with a delivery date of [date] / a full bathroom installation contracted on [date] for completion by [date]]
What went wrong
[Describe the breach of contract or misrepresentation clearly and specifically. Examples:]
[Company gone bust: The supplier, [name], entered administration on [date]. I have not received the [goods / service] I paid for and there is no prospect of delivery. The administrator’s details are [name and contact if known]. I attach confirmation of the administration.]
[Goods not as described: The [item] was described on the seller’s website as [description, e.g. ‘solid oak frame’ / ‘waterproof to 50 metres’ / ‘brand new, unused’]. When it arrived on [date], it was [describe the actual condition: clearly not solid oak / not waterproof / visibly second-hand]. This is a misrepresentation and a breach of contract under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. I raised this with the seller on [date]. They have refused to refund me. I attach the original product listing and photographs of the item as received.]
[Services not delivered: I contracted [company] to [describe the service] for a total price of £[amount], paying a deposit of £[amount] on my credit card on [date]. The work was to be completed by [date]. As of today, [nothing has been done / the work was abandoned incomplete]. I have attempted to contact the supplier on [dates] by [email/phone/letter] without response. I attach the contract and correspondence.]
The loss I am claiming
I am claiming £[amount], representing [describe: the full purchase price of £[amount] / the deposit of £[amount] / the cost of replacement goods of £[amount] / the cost of remedial work of £[amount]].
Under Section 75(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, [card company name] is jointly and severally liable with the supplier for this breach of contract / misrepresentation. I am asking you to refund the amount claimed to my account within 14 days.
If you do not accept this claim, please provide your reasons in writing so I can consider whether to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
I attach the following supporting documents: [list all attachments: order confirmation, receipt, screenshots of the product listing, photographs, correspondence with the supplier, administrator’s notice, contract, quotes for remedial work, any other relevant evidence].
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
[Contact details]
What Evidence to Include
The strength of a Section 75 claim depends heavily on the evidence. A well-evidenced claim is far less likely to be rejected than a vague one. Attach as many of the following as are relevant to your situation:
Order confirmation or contract showing what you purchased, when and at what price
Receipt or bank statement showing the credit card payment
Screenshots of the original product listing or advertisement, showing what was promised
Photographs of goods as received, showing the defect or mismatch with the description
Correspondence with the seller showing you attempted to resolve the matter first
Administrator’s notice or news article confirming the company has gone into administration
Independent quotes for remedial work if you are claiming the cost of fixing poor workmanship
Any expert opinion on the defect if the breach is technical or specialised
You do not need to exhaust your remedies against the seller before claiming under Section 75. However, evidence that you tried shows the claim is genuine and not a first resort. Many card companies respond better to claims that demonstrate good faith engagement with the supplier first.
If the Card Company Rejects Your Claim
Card companies reject Section 75 claims incorrectly more often than they should. Common wrongful rejection reasons include claiming the transaction does not qualify because the full amount was not paid on the card (not true: partial payment qualifies), claiming the purchase was through a third-party processor such as PayPal (this can be a valid reason but is often misapplied), or claiming the item price was outside the £100 to £30,000 band.
If your claim is rejected, read the reasons carefully. If the rejection is based on a factual or legal error, write back addressing it directly. Cite Section 75(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and the specific reason the rejection is wrong. Reference the transaction details that establish the price and the payment method.
If the card company still does not uphold your claim, or if eight weeks pass without a final response, you can refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free. The Ombudsman has upheld a significant proportion of Section 75 disputes where card companies have applied the rules incorrectly. You have six months from the card company’s final response letter to refer to the Ombudsman.
Section 75 vs Chargeback: Which to Use
Section 75 and chargeback are two different routes to the same outcome, and understanding the difference helps you choose the stronger option.
Section 75: A statutory right under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Applies to credit cards only. The card company is jointly liable. Six-year limitation period. Can claim the full amount even if only part was paid on the card. No requirement to have tried the chargeback route first.
Chargeback: A contractual scheme operated by Visa and Mastercard. Applies to both credit and debit cards. The bank asks the seller’s bank to reverse the payment. Typical time limit of 120 days from the transaction. The full amount must usually have been paid by card. The outcome is at the scheme’s discretion rather than a legal entitlement.
For credit card purchases within the price band, Section 75 is generally the stronger route because it is a statutory right. For debit card purchases, or for credit card purchases below £100, chargeback is the only option. You can try both simultaneously for a credit card purchase, but you cannot recover your losses twice.
Getting Help
Free guidance on Section 75 claims and when they apply is available from Citizens Advice and from the Financial Ombudsman Service. If you want help drafting a Section 75 claim letter that references the correct legal basis, describes the breach clearly and includes everything the card company needs to assess the claim, the team at LetterLab can help you get it right. A well-written claim letter is significantly less likely to be rejected than a vague one.
Quick Checklist: Before You Send
Did you pay on a credit card (not a debit card, charge card or third-party processor like PayPal)?
Was the cash price of the individual item between £100 and £30,000?
Was there a breach of contract or misrepresentation by the supplier?
Are you the main account holder on the credit card?
Have you stated clearly that you are making a claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974?
Have you included the transaction date, the supplier name, the amount and what went wrong?
Have you attached supporting evidence: order confirmation, receipt, photographs, correspondence?
Have you asked for a refund of a specific amount within a specific timescale?
Have you noted your right to refer to the Financial Ombudsman if the claim is rejected?
Are you sending by email or secure online banking message so you have a dated record?
The Key Takeaway: A Fifty-Year-Old Law That Most People Have Never Used
Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 has existed for half a century. It makes credit card companies jointly liable for the failures of the retailers you buy from. It applies when companies go bust, when goods are not as described, when services are not delivered and when sellers disappear. It covers foreign transactions. It applies even if you only paid a deposit on your card.
Most people who are owed money by a failed or dishonest retailer do not know it exists, or assume it is a discretionary goodwill gesture that card companies can refuse. It is not. It is a statutory right with a six-year limitation period and the Financial Ombudsman to enforce it if the card company does not comply.
If you paid on a credit card and something went wrong, write the letter. You may already have won.
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