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Use both routes when they fit, but do not treat them as the same protection. Section 75 is a statutory claim against a qualifying credit provider when a single item cost more than £100 and no more than £30,000 and the retailer breached the contract or misrepresented the sale. Chargeback is a card-scheme process that may reverse a qualifying debit, credit or prepaid-card payment, normally within a scheme deadline of about 120 days. A retailer’s collapse does not guarantee either outcome: eligibility, the payment structure, evidence and timing all matter.
Contact the card issuer or lender promptly and ask it to assess Section 75 and chargeback separately. Preserve the order, payment and insolvency records before you start.
The two protections in one view
The fastest way to choose a route is to identify the legal basis, the card used and the transaction details. This table reflects the Consumer Credit Act 1974, MoneyHelper guidance accessed 13 October 2026, and Financial Ombudsman Service guidance accessed 13 October 2026. The legislation page states that it incorporates changes in force on or before 1 October 2026.
| Question | Section 75 | Chargeback |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | A statutory claim against a qualifying creditor for the supplier’s breach of contract or misrepresentation. | A card-scheme dispute handled through the card issuer, seeking reversal or recovery of a card payment. |
| Which payments can qualify? | Qualifying credit-card transactions, point-of-sale loans and certain catalogue-credit arrangements, subject to the actual debtor-creditor-supplier relationship. | Debit, credit or prepaid-card transactions when the relevant scheme rules recognise the dispute. |
| Price or amount rule | The cash price of the single item must be more than £100 and no more than £30,000. | No equivalent Section 75 threshold; scheme grounds, evidence and timing control the case. |
| Can a part payment be enough? | Yes. Paying only part of a qualifying item’s price by credit card can still bring the transaction within Section 75. | The issuer assesses the particular card transaction and the amount that can be disputed under the scheme. |
| Time limit | The official overview cited here does not state a fixed statutory deadline. Prompt action is still important. | Usually about 120 days, with the starting point affected by the transaction and expected-delivery or event date. |
| Possible result | A claim against the creditor corresponding to the claim against the supplier; creditor and supplier can be jointly and severally liable. | Reversal or recovery of the card payment under scheme rules. It is not the statutory right created by Section 75. |
| Main risk | The contract, credit type and debtor-creditor-supplier links may not satisfy the statutory conditions. | The issuer may find that the dispute ground, evidence or deadline does not meet scheme requirements. |
Retailer insolvency is the factual setting, not a separate guarantee. You still need to show what was promised, what failed, and why the chosen route applies.
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How Section 75 works
It is a claim against the lender, not just a request to the retailer
Section 75(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 says that, for a qualifying transaction, the consumer has “a like claim against the creditor” and that the creditor and supplier are “jointly and severally liable to the debtor.” In practical terms, the card lender can be pursued for the same contractual failure or misrepresentation that would have been claimed from the retailer.
If a retailer has entered administration, liquidation or disappeared, that does not by itself establish liability. You must still identify the contract and the breach—for example, goods paid for but never supplied—or a qualifying misrepresentation. The lender then assesses the statutory conditions and the evidence.
The £100-to-£30,000 test applies to one item’s cash price
The statutory threshold concerns the cash price of the single item, not simply the amount that happened to appear on the card statement. An item priced at £100 or less is outside the threshold, as is an item priced above £30,000. The official guidance describes the lower limit as “more than £100” and the upper limit as “not more than £30,000.”
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Paying only part by credit card can still matter
MoneyHelper explains that a consumer may retain Section 75 protection even when the credit card paid only part of the qualifying cash price. The balance might have been paid by another method, but the item and the underlying contract must still satisfy the other statutory requirements. Keep proof of the complete price and every payment method so the lender can assess the transaction accurately.
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The payment chain must be the right one
Section 75 depends on a qualifying debtor-creditor-supplier relationship. A card logo alone is not enough. Intermediaries, payment processors, marketplace structures, finance providers and other parties can alter who contracted with whom and who extended the credit. The Financial Ombudsman Service advises looking at the actual transaction structure rather than assuming eligibility from the card brand.
Give the issuer the retailer’s name, the name on the card statement, the checkout or finance provider, and any marketplace or payment-service details. Ask it to state which relationship it has assessed and why it believes the statutory chain is or is not present.
What you may ask for
A successful Section 75 claim can seek the loss that follows from the supplier’s breach or misrepresentation, subject to the facts and ordinary legal limits. The claim is against the creditor for the corresponding consumer claim; it is not an automatic refund merely because the retailer failed.
How chargeback works
A scheme process available on more card types
Chargeback is operated through card-scheme rules and the card issuer. It can apply to debit, credit and prepaid cards when the transaction and dispute ground fit those rules. Typical retailer-failure facts may involve goods or services not received, but the issuer must classify the dispute under the applicable scheme reason code and process.
Unlike Section 75, chargeback is not a statutory claim against the lender. The issuer raises a scheme dispute, the transaction may be reversed provisionally or finally, and the merchant’s acquiring bank can challenge it. The result depends on the scheme rules and the evidence exchanged.
Timing is usually the urgent issue
The official guidance describes a usual period of around 120 days, but the clock is not identical for every purchase. It can run from the transaction, the date goods or services should have been supplied, or the date of an event, depending on the dispute circumstances and scheme rules. Future delivery and event bookings therefore need especially prompt action.
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Ask the issuer for the exact deadline and the date it uses for your transaction. Do not wait for an insolvency practitioner’s circular or a promised retailer response if that could consume the scheme period.
What chargeback can and cannot do
Chargeback seeks reversal or recovery of the card payment under the scheme. It does not create the joint-and-several statutory liability that Section 75 does, and there is no general £100-to-£30,000 price test. A low-value purchase can therefore be considered for chargeback, while a high-value purchase may fail if its dispute ground or evidence does not satisfy the scheme.
What to do after a retailer fails
- Identify the payment method. Check whether the payment was made with a credit card, debit card, prepaid card, point-of-sale loan, catalogue credit, bank transfer or an intermediary wallet. Download or save the card statement and order confirmation. A bank transfer does not become a card transaction simply because a card was used somewhere earlier in the process.
- Reconstruct the contract. Record the retailer, date, item or service, agreed price, promised delivery or performance date, cancellation terms and what remains outstanding. Save the product page, checkout screen, invoice, confirmation email and any marketing representation that influenced the purchase.
- Check the Section 75 item-price condition. Use the cash price of the individual item and the threshold explained above. Keep the full invoice even if the card paid only a deposit or other part of the price.
- Check whether the retailer is still reachable. If it is operating, a written request for delivery, refund or another contractual remedy may clarify the breach and create useful evidence. If it has vanished or entered liquidation, MoneyHelper says you can make the Section 75 claim to the card company without futile attempts to contact it.
- Notify the issuer or lender promptly. Tell the provider that you want it to assess Section 75 and, where relevant, chargeback. For a Section 75 submission, state that it is a claim under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and provide what you bought, where and when, the price, the payment evidence, your contact attempts and the remedy sought.
- Submit the insolvency and non-delivery proof. Include a credible administration or liquidation notice, a Companies House or insolvency-practitioner communication if you have one, and evidence that the order or service remains unfulfilled. Keep copies of everything sent and note the date, channel and reference number.
- Open a chargeback case before its deadline. Ask which scheme reason applies, what date starts the clock, and which documents are required. If you paid by debit or prepaid card, chargeback may be the principal card route; if you paid by credit card, ask for both assessments rather than choosing one without the issuer’s analysis.
- Respond to requests and monitor the case. Scheme disputes can involve questions from the issuer or a merchant’s bank. Reply by the stated deadline, distinguish facts from assumptions, and keep proof of delivery for documents. A provisional credit is not necessarily the final decision.
- Escalate a poor handling decision. If the bank or lender rejects the claim, gives no reasoned assessment, or mishandles the evidence, make a formal complaint through its complaints process. The Financial Ombudsman Service may consider the complaint if the firm rejects it or does not provide a final response within eight weeks.
Evidence checklist
Build one chronological file rather than sending disconnected screenshots. The following documents help the issuer establish the contract, payment, failure and timing:
- Order confirmation, invoice, receipt and the retailer’s terms.
- Card statement, payment receipt and proof of any balance paid by another method.
- Product, service or advertising pages showing what was promised.
- Delivery estimate, booking date, cancellation notice and any tracking information.
- Emails, chat transcripts, letters and call notes showing attempts to resolve the problem.
- Administration, liquidation or closure notices from a credible source.
- Photographs, inspection reports or independent assessments where the issue is defective or materially misdescribed goods rather than simple non-delivery.
- A short timeline stating the order date, expected performance date, failure date, contact attempts and the amount requested.
Do not alter original files or crop away dates, merchant names or transaction references. If a webpage has disappeared, retain a dated screenshot and the URL shown in the browser, while making clear that the copy is a record of what you saw.
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Choosing the route in common situations
Credit card, item within the statutory range, retailer in liquidation
Ask for a Section 75 assessment because the statutory price and credit conditions may be met. Also ask whether a chargeback can be filed within the scheme period. The issuer can run the two analyses under their different rules; you do not need to guess which legal characterisation will prevail.
Debit or prepaid card, goods never supplied
Section 75 is not the route for an ordinary debit or prepaid-card purchase. Ask the issuer to open a chargeback for non-receipt, provide the expected-delivery evidence and obtain the scheme deadline immediately.
Credit card deposit for a higher-priced item
Preserve the complete contract and proof of the deposit. Because Section 75 may apply when only part of the qualifying price was paid by credit card, ask the lender to assess the full item price and payment chain rather than rejecting the claim solely because the card charge was less than the purchase price.
Payment passed through an intermediary
List every party shown at checkout and on the statement. A payment intermediary or marketplace can affect the debtor-creditor-supplier relationship for Section 75 and can also determine which entity’s evidence appears in a chargeback response. The issuer should assess the actual flow of funds and contracting parties.
A future delivery or event date has not arrived
Do not assume that a retailer’s warning of financial trouble is enough to establish non-performance before the promised date. Record the contractual delivery or event date and ask the issuer how the scheme’s starting point is calculated. If the retailer has formally confirmed it cannot perform, include that confirmation.
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The payment was not yours
This article concerns an authorised purchase from a retailer that failed to supply. If the card payment was unauthorised, report it to the bank under its unauthorised-payment process as a separate matter; do not describe it as a normal goods-or-services dispute.
Deadlines, complaints and decisions
Why you should act before you know the final loss
Chargeback timing can be tied to expected delivery or an event, so waiting for a long insolvency process may close the scheme window. Open the enquiry promptly, ask the issuer to record the notification date, and provide further documents as they become available.
Section 75’s official overview cited here does not give a fixed statutory deadline. That is not a reason to delay: evidence disappears, statements become harder to retrieve and the lender still needs to verify the contract and breach.
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State the transaction date, amount, merchant, route requested, documents supplied, the decision received and the remedy you want—for example, a fresh Section 75 assessment, a chargeback submission before the scheme deadline, or an explanation of the relationship analysis. Attach the provider’s final response if one exists.
The Financial Ombudsman Service may review how the firm handled the matter when the firm has rejected the complaint or has not issued a final response within eight weeks. The ombudsman examines the firm’s handling and the facts of the dispute; it is not a substitute for preserving the card-scheme deadline.
Mistakes that commonly weaken a claim
- Assuming any credit-card payment automatically qualifies for Section 75.
- Using the total basket value instead of the cash price of the single item.
- Waiting for the retailer, administrator or liquidator while a chargeback deadline runs.
- Calling a chargeback a legal entitlement equivalent to Section 75.
- Submitting only a card statement without the contract, promised delivery date or proof of non-supply.
- Ignoring an intermediary or marketplace shown in the payment chain.
- Claiming an unauthorised transaction through a goods-not-received process.
- Assuming a provisional chargeback credit is final before the issuer confirms the outcome.
- Relying on an unverified social-media announcement instead of a credible insolvency or closure notice.
A practical decision checklist
Before contacting the issuer, answer these questions in writing:
- What exactly was bought, and what contractual promise was broken?
- Which card or credit arrangement paid, and which names appear on the statement?
- What was the cash price of each individual item?
- When should delivery or performance have occurred?
- What evidence proves payment, the promise and the failure?
- Is there a formal administration, liquidation or closure notice?
- What chargeback deadline does the issuer apply to this transaction?
- Have you asked for both Section 75 and chargeback where both could be relevant?
There is no published universal success rate for either route in failed-retailer cases. The outcome depends on the exact contract, payment structure, scheme rules, timing and evidence. A prompt, well-documented request gives the issuer the information needed to make that case-specific decision.
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