Chargeback vs Section 75: how to get your money back through your card

By the PromptLeadz editorial team. Last reviewed 20 September 2026. General information, not legal advice.

When a seller won't refund you, the way you paid can be your best route back. A card dispute goes through your bank, not the shop, and the shop's opinion matters much less. In the UK there are two main tools, chargeback and Section 75, and the US and EU have their own versions.

This guide explains which to use and when, what evidence to send, how long each takes, and what to do if your bank says no. It covers the UK in most detail, then the US and France and the wider EU.

What's in this guide

1. Chargeback vs Section 75 at a glance
2. Chargeback: how it works, step by step
3. Section 75: the stronger UK tool
4. Which one to use: six common situations
5. The evidence that wins disputes
6. Templates you can send
7. In the US
8. In France and the EU
9. If your bank says no
10. Five mistakes that lose disputes
11. Questions people ask
12. Sources and further reading

Chargeback vs Section 75 at a glance

	Chargeback	Section 75 (UK)
Cards	Debit, credit, some prepaid	Credit cards only
Amount	Any	Single item or service priced over GBP 100 and up to GBP 30,000
What it is	Card network rules (Visa, Mastercard, Amex)	A law: the Consumer Credit Act 1974
Time limit	Usually around 120 days from payment or expected delivery	Normal legal limits, generally 6 years
Seller gone bust	Can still work	Works: the card company is jointly liable
Can claim more than you paid on the card?	No, only the card payment	Yes, can cover the full claim, even if only a deposit went on the card

Chargeback: how it works, step by step

A chargeback is a process run by the card networks. Your bank (the "issuer") takes the money back from the seller's bank, and the seller gets a chance to argue. It isn't a legal right in the UK, but banks are expected to use it where it applies, and the Financial Ombudsman can look at how your bank handled it.

Use it for:

• Goods or services that never arrived
• Goods significantly not as described, or faulty and not put right
• A cancelled booking or event that wasn't refunded
• Being charged twice, or the wrong amount
• A subscription charged after you cancelled
• A refund the seller promised in writing that never came

1. Contact the seller first, in writing, and give a reasonable deadline (7 to 14 days). Your bank will ask if you tried, and a written attempt is evidence.
2. Ask your bank for a "chargeback", using that word. Many banks let you start it in the app under "dispute a transaction". Give the date, amount, which problem it is, and your evidence.
3. Your bank may credit you temporarily while it investigates. The seller then has a period to respond with their own evidence.
4. The bank decides. If the seller defends it successfully, the temporary credit can be reversed. If the bank says no, ask for its final response in writing.

Most cases are settled within a few weeks, though complicated ones can take a couple of months.

Section 75: the stronger UK tool

If you paid any part of the price on a UK credit card, and the single item or service cost more than GBP 100 and up to GBP 30,000, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes the card company equally responsible with the seller for a breach of contract or misrepresentation.

That means you can claim against the card company for the full amount of your loss, even if you only put the deposit on the card. Put GBP 200 of a GBP 4,000 sofa on a credit card, the sofa never arrives, and the seller goes bust: you can claim the full GBP 4,000 from the card company.

It's especially useful when:

• The seller went bust (a furniture company, a holiday firm, a builder).
• It's been longer than the chargeback window.
• The problem is quality rather than non-delivery: a faulty car repair, a badly fitted kitchen.
• Your loss is bigger than the card payment.

Watch out for the link. Section 75 needs a direct chain between you, the card company and the seller. Paying through a third party (some payment processors, some marketplaces and booking agents) can break that chain. The price limit is also per item, not per basket: five GBP 30 items adding up to GBP 150 don't qualify. Debit cards and charge cards aren't covered.

Write to the card company:

I am making a claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit
Act 1974 for [amount] relating to [purchase] from [seller]
on [date], paid in part with my card ending [4 digits].

[One paragraph: what was agreed, what went wrong.]

Attached: [contract / receipt, messages, photos, evidence
the seller failed or went into administration].

Which one to use: six common situations

Situation	Best route
GBP 40 order never arrived, paid by debit card, 3 weeks ago	Chargeback
GBP 600 deposit on credit card, kitchen company went bust	Section 75 for the full contract loss
Faulty TV, bought 7 months ago on credit card for GBP 450	Section 75 (past most chargeback windows)
Charged twice for one hotel night	Chargeback (fast and simple)
Flight cancelled, airline won't refund, paid by credit card	Section 75, or chargeback if still in time
Paid via PayPal with a card	PayPal's own dispute process first

You can often use both: ask for a chargeback and, if that fails, make a Section 75 claim with the same card company.

The evidence that wins disputes

• Proof of what you were promised: the order confirmation, the listing (screenshot it now, it may change), the contract.
• Proof of what went wrong: photos, expert reports, tracking showing no delivery, a notice of administration.
• Proof you tried the seller: your emails with dates, their replies or silence.
• Proof of cancellation for subscriptions: the dated cancellation email or confirmation.
• A timeline: five to ten dated lines. Banks handle thousands of disputes; make yours easy to follow.

Templates you can send

To the seller first:

Subject: Order [number], refund request

I paid [amount] on [date] for [item/service].
[What went wrong, one or two sentences.]
Please refund [amount] to my card within 14 days.
If I don't hear from you by [date], I will raise a dispute
with my card provider.

To your bank:

I want to raise a chargeback for [amount] paid to [seller]
on [date] on my card ending [4 digits].
Reason: [goods not received / not as described / cancelled
and not refunded / charged after cancellation / duplicate].
I contacted the seller on [date] and [they did not reply /
they refused]. Evidence attached.

For more complaint wording, see our guide to cancelling a gym and getting charges back, which uses the same structure.

In the US

Credit cards: the Fair Credit Billing Act. You can dispute billing errors (charges for things not delivered or not accepted, wrong amounts, duplicate charges) in writing, to the card issuer's billing-error address, within 60 days of the statement that first shows the problem. The issuer must acknowledge your dispute within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles, and no more than 90 days. You don't have to pay the disputed amount while it investigates.

Quality problems on credit cards. Federal law also lets you withhold payment for goods or services that were faulty, as long as you tried in good faith to fix it with the seller. For many card purchases this applies where the purchase was over USD 50 and made in your home state or within 100 miles of your address.

Debit cards. Protections are weaker. For unauthorised transactions, report fast: your liability can be capped at USD 50 if you report within two business days of learning about it, and rises the longer you wait. For quality disputes, rely on the bank's chargeback process. Complaints about how a bank handled it go to the CFPB.

In France and the EU

For goods and services, ask your bank about a card dispute, often called rétrofacturation or contestation. It follows the same card scheme rules and time limits as a chargeback.

For payments you never authorised (card fraud, a debit you didn't agree to), the rules are strong: you have up to 13 months to contest, and the bank must refund quickly, by the end of the next business day in principle, unless it has reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or can show you acted with gross negligence. If the bank refuses, go to its médiateur, named on its website and statements.

If your bank says no

1. Ask for the reason and the final decision in writing.
2. Check whether another route is still open: Section 75 after a failed chargeback, or a small claim against the seller.
3. UK: complain to the bank, and if you're unhappy with the final response, or after eight weeks, take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. It's free.
4. France: the bank's médiateur, free.
5. US: a complaint to the CFPB, which forwards it to the bank for a response.

Worked example

Priya paid a GBP 600 deposit on her credit card for a GBP 4,000 kitchen. The company went into administration before fitting it. The chargeback window had passed. Section 75 applied, because the kitchen cost over GBP 100 and she paid part of it on credit. She claimed from her card company with the contract, her payment record and the administration notice attached. Because Section 75 covers the breach of contract, not just the card payment, she was able to claim her full loss, including the balance she'd paid by bank transfer.

Five mistakes that lose disputes

• Waiting too long. Chargeback windows are short. If something goes wrong, start the clock the same week: write to the seller, and diary the date you'll go to your bank.
• Skipping the seller. Banks expect you to have tried. One dated email with a clear deadline is enough.
• Vague reasons. "Not happy with the service" rarely wins. "The sofa delivered was grey; the order confirmation says blue" does.
• Using the wrong tool. A chargeback only returns what went on the card. If your loss is bigger and you used a UK credit card, Section 75 may cover the rest.
• Keeping the goods and saying nothing. If you're disputing faulty or wrong goods, tell the seller they're available for collection or return, and keep proof you offered.

Questions people ask

Does a chargeback hurt my credit score?

No. It's a dispute, not a missed payment. Keep paying the rest of your card bill as normal.

Can the seller fight a chargeback?

Yes. They can send evidence to their bank, and your bank then decides. That's why your own evidence and timeline matter.

I paid by PayPal. What now?

Use PayPal's own dispute process first, within 180 days of the payment. Card protections through PayPal are more complicated, because PayPal sits between you and the seller.

Does Section 75 work abroad?

UK courts have said it can cover purchases from overseas sellers made on a UK credit card, as long as the other conditions are met.

I sent a bank transfer to a scammer. Can I use these?

No, that's not a card payment. In the UK, call your bank's fraud line straight away: most victims of bank transfer scams must be reimbursed, up to GBP 85,000, if reported within 13 months.

How long does a dispute take?

Simple chargebacks often resolve within a few weeks. Section 75 claims can take longer, especially when a seller has gone bust. Chase every two weeks in writing.

Sources and further reading

• Consumer Credit Act 1974, section 75 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Financial Ombudsman Service (UK)
• Citizens Advice: consumer help (UK)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (US)