A lot of people still don’t like making purchases on their credit cards when the internet or mail order companies are involved. These people should know though that using a credit card to pay for goods or services can offer an extra layer of protection when the items or services you buy are faulty, wrongly described or lost in transit.

So why is this?

According to the Sale of Goods Act you have the right to ask for a refund, repair or replacement of faulty goods and wrongly described goods whenever you feel justified. The retailer or manufacturer should put the problem right for you however some may consider your request to be unreasonable and in these circumstances your next step would normally be small claims court.

If you bought your items on your credit card though then your credit card company is now deemed to be ‘jointly and severally liable’, according to Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This means that the credit card company is as responsible for rectifying the problem as the retailer is and you can contact them to sort the problem out for you.

There are limitations to what you can claim for though and some credit card companies will be much more helpful than others – but it is your right to claim against them if the circumstances justify it. The goods or services you’re claiming for have to have cost between £100 and £30,000 but you don’t need to have paid the entire cost on your card and this also covers foreign transactions.

Another Important Right Worth Knowing

One other important right you have with regards to credit card use involves the Chargeback Process. This process allows you to reverse a transaction if the item you have received is faulty or not as described and, more importantly, when your card has been used fraudulently. Both Visa and MasterCard have a Chargeback scheme in place and it can be used in cases where Section 75 doesn’t apply, such as when the items in question cost less than £100.

For a successful Chargeback you’ll need evidence that there has been a breach of contract e.g. the faulty or wrongly described goods, and you have to make a claim within 120 days of the breach. This process is not as well known as the Section 75 rule however there should be someone within your credit card issuing bank that knows the procedure and can help with your claim.

Remember your rights every time you make a credit card purchase and hopefully you’ll never have to put up with faulty, badly described or missing items again.