What are amounts for credit card liability?

I read that Section 75 of some law means a credit card issuer must protect purchases over ?100 for free, so if there's a problem you can get your money back.

Is there no other guarantee for purchases under ?100?

I vaguely seem to recall there was a ?25 or ?30 limit for some other guarantee but that was a long time ago.

Reply to
pamela
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pamela posted

It's the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Originally the threshold was £30 but it has since been increased to £100.

The Distance Selling Regulations provide protection for all purchases made online, but only for a limited period.

Reply to
Big Les Wade

pamela put finger to keyboard:

If the item you purchase costs between £100 and £30k then you can claim against the credit card company if there's a problem, even if you've only paid part of the amount with the card. The card company is jointly liable with the supplier. (Section 75, Consumer Credit Act.)

For lower amounts you may be able to make what is called a 'chargeback'. This is not a legal obligation of the card company in the same way CCA S75 is, but the CC company holds the upper hand because their agreement with the supplier allows them to reverse the transaction; presented with appropriate evidence the CC company is going to look after their cardholder.

Reply to
Scion

If I bought something online for ?40 and I ended up in a dispute with the vendor or he went bankrupt then the credit card company would not offer me any compensation. Is this correct?

I make a lot of low value purchases online which are for ?10 or less. Would PayPal or some other alternative to a Visa/Master offer protection for these?

Reply to
pamela

"pamela" wrote

There's more than one angle to this, and others have explained the requirement of various Consumer Credit Act(s) and Distance Selling Regulations, but some credit card providers place a requirment on retailers to guarantee safe delivery of any item sent by mail order irrespective of its value.

It's always worth asking your credit card company for advice if you have a dispute.

John.

Reply to
John

Why worry if you make a lot of purchases at that sort of price? Surely most of them go through OK, the odd one that fails is hardly worth the bother of chasing.

I buy quite a lot of stuff direct from China via AliExpress and eBay, lots of it (most in fact) is of the 'less than £10' variety. I've had virtually no failures, there was one set of step-down DC-DC converters that was bad but, although I could have complained and probably got my £2.50 back, it really wasn't worth the hassle.

Reply to
cl

As an aside, I wouldn't buy a cheap item from China because I don't think it's worth letting them have my credit card number. It's not the loss of a pound or two that bothers me but the hassle of straightening out fraudulent transactions which may start appearring on my account.

On the other hand, if I spend ?40 then I do want my money back if there is a problem.

I very rarely use my PayPal account but I hear people say it offers good preotection when buying on eBay. I would like to know about non-eBay purchases with PayPal. Any info?

Reply to
pamela

"pamela" wrote

Buy it on eBay and pay by PayPal - there's no need for them to have your card details.

John.

Reply to
John

AliExpress is a reputable web site much like eBay with most of the same protections.

Yes, so would I, I've not had any issues with the one or two eBay purchases that have gone awry. Either got a replacement or a refund. I use PayPal wiuth eBay.

I'm just beginning to use my PayPal account more, more sites seem to accept PayPal and it does make things simpler and also means that my card details aren't spread around more web sites. So far nothing has needed returning/refunding.

Reply to
cl

You don't get the legal protection for items over £100 if you pay by CC by way of a third party such as Paypal.

For items under £100 paying Paypal by credit card may be the better option but for items over £100 a direct payment to the seller by credit card may/will be better if thinks go wrong

Reply to
alan_m

Doesn't PayPal offer any protection of its own?

Reply to
pamela

Except for the fakes they sell,I got a lenovo phone with a Sn

0123456789abcdef. and two IMEI numbers that were not listed but the phone worked, sort of.
Reply to
F Murtz

I had never heard of Ali Express until this thread but the reviews are not encouraging. While some users seem very pleased, the vast majority are not. See

formatting link

Reply to
pamela

Exactly like eBay then! :-)

Reply to
cl

I buy mostly electronics bits and pieces (components, small assemblies, etc.), the only failure I have had on that front was (as I said) some DC-DC step down converters.

I have also bought brake disks (excellent), bilge pumps (quite OK), dressmaking material (same as anywhere), and various testing equipment such as a cable tracer.

Purchases go back to 2012 or so looking at my E-Mail records.

Reply to
cl

but PayPall will

do you trust them not to make new debits to your card on the say-so of the retailer?

(I don't, perhaps that view is ill-founded?)

tim

Reply to
tim.....

only if you jump through a hundred hoops whilst standing on one leg and whistling mcginty's goat

Or so it seems, anyway

tim

Reply to
tim.....

Not in UK law. They may give you a refund but they are not legally obliged to do so. In addition if you sell on Ebay you may be treated as a trader with different rules regarding refunds.

Reply to
alan_m

People can commit fraud anywhere. A dishonest employee in the UK is just as likely to steal your credit card details as one in China.

Reply to
Chris in Makati

That seems most unlikely

It's going to be much easier for an outside agency to persuade an operative in a low cost country to "steal" for them than it is in a high wage country.

And AIUI it is the organised schemes that are the main los of data not the lone-wolf

tim

Reply to
tim.....

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