How to Make a Section 75 Claim: The UK Filing Guide

The short answer: Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes your credit card provider jointly liable with the retailer when something goes wrong with a purchase of £100 to £30,000 paid on a UK credit card. You claim from the card provider, not the shop — and you do not have to exhaust the retailer first, though showing you tried helps. The claim fails most often on three points: the price band, the direct-link rule, and thin evidence. This guide walks the filing step by step.

Step 1: Check you qualify

Credit card, not debit. Section 75 applies to credit agreements. Debit purchases use chargeback instead (about 120 days), not Section 75.
Price band: the single item (or the cash price of the purchase) must be £100–£30,000. A £99 item does not qualify even if fees push the total over £100; a £30,001 item does not qualify at all.
A claim against the supplier exists: breach of contract or misrepresentation — goods not delivered, faulty, not as described, or a service not performed. Change of mind is not a Section 75 claim.
Time: you generally have up to 6 years to bring a claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (5 years in Scotland) — far longer than chargeback, which is why Section 75 is the route for older purchases. Do not let that long window make you slow: evidence goes stale.

Step 2: The direct-link traps

Section 75 needs a direct chain: you → card provider → supplier. The classic traps that break it:

Paying through a third party that breaks the chain. If you pay a platform that itself becomes the seller (rather than merely processing the card payment), the link to the original supplier may be broken. PayPal is the famous grey area: paying a supplier through PayPal with the card as the funding source is often treated differently from a PayPal balance payment — check your provider's position and describe the payment flow precisely in your claim.
Cash withdrawals and money transfers used to pay a supplier generally do not create the link.
Additional cardholders: the claim is the main cardholder's, even if an additional cardholder made the purchase — the main holder files.

If the link is genuinely broken, chargeback (within about 120 days) may still be available — use our Section 75 vs Chargeback Picker to compare the two routes for your facts.

Step 3: Write the claim

Write to your card provider's disputes or claims team (online form or letter — keep a copy and proof of sending). Include:

Your name, account details, and the transaction: date, amount, supplier, item.
One sentence stating the claim: “I claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.”
What went wrong, in dated order, and what you asked the supplier to do, with dates.
What you want: full refund, partial refund, or repair/replacement cost — state the figure.
Evidence attached: order confirmation, delivery/tracking records, photos of faults, messages with the supplier, and any expert or repair report for faulty goods.

For purchases under the UK's deferred-payment (buy-now-pay-later) regulation in force from July 15, 2026, Section 75 can also apply to eligible regulated BNPL agreements — if your BNPL purchase falls in the £100–£30,000 band and the agreement is regulated, say so explicitly in the claim and ask the provider to confirm eligibility rather than assuming it.

Step 4: After you file

The provider investigates and may ask for more evidence or offer a partial settlement. If it rejects the claim or you hear nothing useful, complain formally to the firm: firms generally have 8 weeks to give a final response (15 working days for payment-services complaints). If you are unhappy with the final response — or 8 weeks pass without one — you have 6 months from the final response to take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge. Missing that 6-month window can end the Ombudsman route even if the original claim was strong.

Section 75 or chargeback first?

MoneySavingExpert's long-standing advice — echoed by banks — is that it is sometimes worth trying chargeback first, because it is faster and simpler, and keeping Section 75 in reserve. That advice makes sense when both clocks are alive. But chargeback's roughly 120-day clock dies quickly, and Section 75's 6-year window does not. If the purchase is older than 120 days, Section 75 is usually your only card-based route. If both are alive and the amount is large, consider which route's evidence burden suits your file — and never file both for the same loss expecting two refunds; you are entitled to be made whole once, not paid twice.

FAQ

Does Section 75 cover debit card purchases?

No. Section 75 is a credit-agreement protection. Debit purchases use the card networks' chargeback scheme instead (about 120 days).

What if my item cost £99?

It does not qualify — the £100 lower limit applies to the cash price of the single item, not the total order or fees. A £99 item with £5 delivery does not cross the line on that basis alone.

Do I have to complain to the retailer first?

No, Section 75 lets you claim directly from the card provider, which is jointly liable. But showing you gave the supplier a chance to fix it strengthens the file and speeds the decision.

How long do I have to make a Section 75 claim?

Generally up to 6 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (5 years in Scotland). The Ombudsman escalation has its own stricter clock: 6 months from the provider's final response.

Does Section 75 apply to buy-now-pay-later?

For regulated deferred-payment credit agreements under the FCA regime in force from July 15, 2026, eligible BNPL purchases in the £100–£30,000 band can attract Section 75. Ask the provider to confirm eligibility for your specific agreement.