Five questions about your purchase — how much, how you paid, when, and what went wrong. You get one clear route: Section 75, chargeback, chargeback first then Section 75 — or an honest neither, with the reason why. Every rule is verified against the statute and MoneySavingExpert, and your deadline dates are computed for you. No account, nothing leaves your browser.
Step 1 of 6
What was the cash price of the single item or service?
Not the basket total — the price of the one thing that went wrong. Section 75 works on the single item's price, even if you only paid a deposit on the card.
How did you pay?
How did the credit-card payment reach the seller?
This decides whether the direct link Section 75 needs is intact. When in doubt, pick the closest match.
When did you pay?
The date the money left. The chargeback clock (usually ~120 days) is normally counted from the payment date.
What went wrong?
Is the seller still trading?
This changes the order: against a bust seller, chargeback often fails and Section 75 leads.
Ready for your route
Your answers are enough. The picker applies the verified rules below to your facts, computes your deadline dates, and gives you the next steps — including an honest neither when no route fits. It never promises an outcome; only your issuer (and ultimately the Ombudsman or a court) decides a claim.
Want the full reasoning, not just the verdict?
The companion guide walks through every question above — when Section 75 wins, when chargeback wins, the link traps, and the new BNPL rules.
Every threshold below was verified against a primary or authoritative source on 23 October 2026. Anything that could not be verified was cut, not guessed.
£100–£30,000, single item. Section 75 covers a single item or service costing more than £100 and no more than £30,000 — the item's cash price, not the amount you put on the card. A deposit on the card can bring the whole purchase into scope. Consumer Credit Act 1974 s.75(3)(b), legislation.gov.uk.
Joint liability. The card provider is jointly and severally liable with the supplier for breach of contract or misrepresentation — you claim against the lender directly. Change of mind is not a breach. Consumer Credit Act 1974 s.75(1), legislation.gov.uk.
6 years / 5 years. Section 75 has no card-scheme deadline; the usual legal limits apply — up to 6 years in England & Wales, 5 years in Scotland. Limitation Act 1980 s.5; Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 s.6; via MoneySavingExpert, Oct 2026.
~120 days for chargeback. Visa, Mastercard and Amex network rules usually allow about 120 days, normally counted from the payment date — but it depends on the situation, and your bank sets the exact clock. Chargeback covers credit and debit cards with no minimum amount. MoneySavingExpert chargeback guide, Oct 2026.
Try chargeback first (when clear-cut). MoneySavingExpert's advice: if you qualify for both and the case is straightforward, ask for a chargeback first — it's usually quicker. If it fails, try Section 75 next. MoneySavingExpert Section 75 guide (Martin Lewis), Oct 2026.
The direct-link traps. Paying through a logged-in PayPal account, or through a marketplace that takes your payment before passing it to the seller, usually breaks the link Section 75 needs. PayPal Guest Checkout with a credit card keeps it intact. Debit cards and bank transfers never carry Section 75. MoneySavingExpert Section 75 guide coverage table, Oct 2026.
BNPL, from 15 July 2026. The FCA started regulating Deferred Payment Credit on 15 July 2026; Section 75 now applies to eligible third-party BNPL agreements from that date. Older agreements and retailer-own plans are excluded. FCA (fca.org.uk) + MoneySavingExpert, Oct 2026.
Escalation. If the lender doesn't resolve your complaint within 8 weeks, or you disagree with its final response, you can take it free to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of that response. Via uktaxdrag.co.uk Section 75 & Chargeback guide, Oct 2026.
How this differs from other free Section 75 tools
freeflightclaim.com runs a free 7-step Section 75 evidence builder — it organises your purchase facts, timeline and documents into a case file once you've already chosen Section 75. Which? offers a free tool that builds a claim letter to send your provider. This picker does the earlier job neither of them does: it decides which route to try first — Section 75, chargeback, or both in sequence — and computes the deadline dates each route gives you. They complement each other; use the picker first, then a letter or evidence builder for the route it recommends.
General information only — not legal advice. This picker applies the published rules (Consumer Credit Act 1974 s.75, card-network windows, FCA BNPL rules) to the facts you entered. It cannot decide your claim — your card issuer, and ultimately the Financial Ombudsman or a court, does that. Verify deadlines with your issuer.
FAQ
Theirs is a 7-step evidence pack builder: it organises your purchase facts, timeline and documents into a case file once you have already chosen Section 75. This picker answers the earlier question — which route should you try first, Section 75, chargeback, or both — and computes your deadline dates. Different job; the two complement each other.
No — there is no legal requirement. But MoneySavingExpert (Martin Lewis) advises that when you qualify for both and the case is clear-cut, asking for a chargeback first is usually quicker, because your bank simply asks for the money back through the card network. If it fails, Section 75 is still there, since it has no short deadline.
Usually yes, as long as the single item or service cost more than £100 and no more than £30,000. The band applies to the item's cash price, not to the amount you put on the card — a deposit on the card can bring the whole purchase into scope. MoneySavingExpert adds: if chargeback cannot cover the full value (for example a credit-card deposit plus a cash balance), go straight to a Section 75 claim.
This one is genuinely murky. MoneySavingExpert counts PayPal Credit as credit for Section 75 purposes, but paying through a logged-in PayPal account can still break the direct debtor-creditor-supplier link the law needs. It is worth asking your provider about — it is not something to rely on. Try the chargeback route first in the meantime.
Yes. Section 75 has no card-scheme deadline of its own; the usual legal limits apply instead — up to 6 years in England & Wales (Limitation Act 1980) and 5 years in Scotland (Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973).
Chargeback Clock