Mia booked a package holiday but before leaving some significant parts of the holiday have been cancelled due to a change in the local circumstances.
Your refund rights for purchases
Peace of mind with your purchases
If something goes wrong with a purchase you made using your Barclaycard, you could be covered for certain types of transactions and get your money back.
To help give you peace of mind when using your card, we’ve created this guide to show you the two types of protection you have:
purchase protection using Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974
transaction cover using Chargeback
You’ll find out what these cover you for and see some examples to learn how they could be used.
Purchase protection with Section 75
What is it?
Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 is a UK law that applies to every UK credit card. It covers your purchases in some circumstances by making your credit card company jointly responsible, with the retailer or service supplier, for the goods or service supplied.
How does it work?
If you buy an item or service worth between £100 and £30,000 with your credit card, Section 75 could cover your purchase if the supplier breaches their contract with you – if goods are faulty or not delivered, for example – or they give misleading information about a product.
Using your Barclaycard to pay for some or all of your purchases will help you make sure you’re protected by this. Even if you just make part of the payment, a deposit for example, with your card and the balance by cheque or debit card, you'll be covered.
Protection for your transactions using chargeback
What is it?
Chargeback is another kind of consumer protection available to you. Unlike Section 75, which is a legal requirement, chargeback is part of the card scheme rules that major card providers like Visa, Mastercard and Amex sign up to.
How does it work?
If you buy an item or service with your Barclaycard and it’s damaged, not delivered, not provided, or you’re charged the wrong amount by mistake, you can ask your credit card provider to reverse your transaction.
It potentially covers purchases of any value, but it only reverses the amount of the transaction you made with your card. Time limits apply to certain types of chargeback claims – the most common being 120 days. Getting a claim to us as early as possible maximises the chances of being able to reverse the transaction.
Examples of using Section 75 or chargeback
Helen booked her flights and hotel separately, but now the airline has had to cancel her flight and she isn't able to get to her destination. The hotel are refusing to refund her if she cancels her booking.
David booked a holiday to Greece. He booked his hotel and flights separately but has now decided he doesn’t want to travel. David would like to get his money back from his credit card as his hotel and airline are refusing to refund him.
Jerry’s flight was cancelled by his airline and they’re only offering to re-book his flight, but Jerry wants a full refund.
Amy booked a package including flights and accommodation on her credit card for her and her friends for a hen party. The package has been cancelled and she won’t be able to get to the location. She booked some activities separately on her debit card for the whole group and is looking to claim them back from her credit card provider as the package was cancelled.
Jane ordered a pair of lamps online, costing £35.99 each. When they were delivered, only one lamp had been sent.
Nicola bought a coffee machine for £99. When it broke, she paid for it to be fixed, thinking she’d be able to claim back the cost.
Hassan bought a camera for £399 from an online retailer in Germany, but it never arrived in the post.
How can I make a Section 75 or chargeback claim?
What you’ll need
When you make a claim, we may ask you to supply some supporting documentation. So before you contact us, it will help if you have some, or all, of the below to hand:
- proof of your purchase
- terms and conditions for your purchase
- evidence that the goods or services were faulty, damaged or different from their description
- evidence that the goods or services were not delivered or supplied
- details of any descriptions or statements made by the seller about the goods or services
You should also keep the item itself, in case it needs to be examined or handed to us if your claim is successful. We may also need an independent report to show the nature, impact or cost of the problem.