How does a card chargeback work?

Chargeback and Section 75 get confused constantly, and the difference matters. Section 75 is a statutory right against your credit card provider for qualifying purchases. Chargeback is a set of rules operated by Visa, Mastercard and Amex between banks. Chargeback covers debit cards, which Section 75 does not; Section 75 has no upper limit on the claim, which chargeback effectively does through the scheme rules.

Step by step

1. Try the seller first.Banks will normally ask what you did to resolve it directly, and the scheme rules generally expect it. Keep the emails.
2. Check whether Section 75 applies instead.If you paid by credit card and the purchase price falls within the qualifying range, Section 75 is usually the stronger route because it is a legal right against the card provider.
3. Identify which chargeback reason fits.Goods or services not received, not as described, defective, a duplicated or incorrect charge, a cancelled recurring payment that was taken anyway, or the trader ceasing to trade.
4. Check the time limit.Scheme rules set a period, commonly measured from the transaction or from the date goods were due. Do not delay — the limit is a hard one and your bank will apply it.
5. Contact your bank and ask to raise a chargeback.Do this through the app, in writing where possible. Give the transaction date, amount, merchant name and a one-paragraph explanation.
6. Supply the evidence in one go.Order confirmation, the advertised description, the delivery promise, your correspondence with the seller, and photographs where relevant.
7. Expect a temporary credit and a defence period.Many banks credit the amount provisionally. The merchant can defend, and if they do, the credit can be reversed. Do not spend it until it is final.
8. Escalate if the bank refuses to raise it.Make a formal complaint to the bank. The Financial Ombudsman can consider whether the bank handled the chargeback request fairly.
9. Cancel any continuous payment authority separately.A recurring card payment can be stopped by instructing your bank, and they must act on that instruction. It is a separate step from a chargeback.

Tips

• Say 'I would like to raise a chargeback' explicitly. Front-line staff sometimes treat a complaint about a purchase as a fraud report, which is a different and slower process.
• Put everything in the first submission. A partial claim that gets defended is much harder to revive than one that arrived complete.
• Chargeback works on debit cards, which is exactly where Section 75 does not help. That is the main reason to know it exists.

Common mistakes

• Waiting to see if the seller comes good — The scheme time limits run regardless, and people routinely miss them while being patient with a company that was never going to respond.
• Reporting it as fraud — Fraud means a transaction you did not authorise. A dispute about a purchase you did make is a chargeback, and misclassifying it sends the case down the wrong path.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask