Credit Card Questions & Answers

Related FAQ's & Guides Q. What's the best type of credit card to use abroad? A. The cheapest cards to use abroad are those that waive any foreign transaction fees as well as offering reduced handling fees and interest rates on cash withdrawals and foreign currency purchases. Q. What is a foreign transaction fee? A. A foreign transaction fee is an administration charge or ‘handling fee’ that is charged by credit card companies when you use a credit card to buy goods or services in a foreign currency. Section 75: Are You Already Covered? Section 75 holds credit card companies equally liable with the supplier if you ever buy something that's mis-sold, faulty, damaged, or doesn't turn up. Our guide to shopping abroad (with your credit card!) Our guide to shopping abroad with your credit card aims to answer all your questions and tell you the best ways to shop while you're abroad!

UNTIL recently the question of whether or not credit cardholders were covered for purchases made abroad was a grey area.

However, a recent ruling by the House of Lords means that cardholders who use their credit cards to make purchases abroad will be protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

This "purchase protection" that is by law offered by all credit card companies, includes cover for:

• Purchases made with the credit card whilst you are abroad.
• Purchases made from abroad by phone, mail order, or over the Internet using your credit card.
• Purchases made from a foreign supplier for delivery to the UK.
• Purchases made from a foreign supplier or agent who is temporarily in the UK.

The level of credit card purchase protection

In a recent ruling the House of Lords concluded that there was nothing in Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act that indicated that credit card companies should not be jointly responsible with the supplier for goods and services that are purchased abroad and are not delivered or are damaged.

It was therefore confirmed that credit card companies should be jointly liable for covering goods or services between the values of £100 and £30,000 – with no territorial limitations on where they were bought.

If you purchase goods from abroad using any of the methods outlined above, and the goods or services that you have ordered are either not delivered or are damaged, you can now make a claim against the credit card company instead of or in addition to the supplier.

It’s also worth noting that you do not have to contact the seller for reimbursement first; as the credit card company is individually liable you can go straight to them.

Remember though, you are only protected by the issuer of the credit card you used to pay for the purchase with - Section 75 cover does not include debit or charge cards.

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act means that you can make a claim against the credit card company if the goods or services that you have purchased on the credit card come to between £100 and £30,000, and if:

• The supplier fails to honour the contract.
• The supplier goes out of business.
• The goods were wrongly described.
• The items or goods are damaged or faulty.

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