Chargeback or Section 75 Claim

Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), implemented via Regulation Z

Dispute window

"Send your written notice no later than 60 days after the credit card company sent the statement where the error first appeared."

Issuer deadlines

"Once you point out a mistake on your bill, the credit card company has 30 days to tell you it got your letter. It gets another two billing cycles to finish looking into your dispute." You don't have to pay the disputed amount, or related finance/other charges, while it's under investigation.

Unauthorized charge cap

"If there is unauthorized use of your card before you report it missing, the most you will owe for unauthorized charges on the card is $50." If you report a lost/stolen card before it's used, or only your account number (not the physical card) was stolen, you generally have no liability.

Source 1 → · Source 2 →

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (credit cards) and chargeback (voluntary card-scheme protection)

Section 75

"If you use your credit card to buy something costing more than £100 and up to £30,000, you're covered by 'section 75' of the Consumer Credit Act... This means the credit card company has equal responsibility (or 'liability') with the seller if there's a problem with the things you've bought or the company you've bought them from fails." Applies even if only part of the price (e.g. a deposit) was paid by credit card. Does not apply to debit cards.

Chargeback

"Chargeback isn't legal protection like section 75... It's an agreement Visa, Mastercard and American Express have signed up to... You must make a claim within 120 days of making the purchase. If the purchase is for something in the future, for example, tickets to an event, the 120-day limit starts from the day the event would have happened." Works for debit, credit or prepaid cards.

Complaint route

If not satisfied with the card company's response, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Source →