I reclaimed £2,800 after following a Martin Lewis tip – it was quick to get the money back

A SHOPPER has shared how they reclaimed £2,800 after following a handy Martin Lewis tip.

You may not know that you can claim your money back if a product or service remains undelivered or faulty or if a firm goes bust.

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This is because when you pay by credit card, your provider is partly responsible if you don’t get the service you paid for.

This clever protection is provided under Section 75 of the Consumer Rights Act.

So if you splashed out on a new kitchen, for example, and it doesn’t get delivered, the units are faulty, or the shop you bought it from goes bust, you have the legal right to go to your card provider and ask for your cash back.

However, the cost of your purchase will need to fall within a certain amount to qualify.

Martin Lewis‘ team at MoneySavingExpert.com said: If you buy something costing more than £100 and less than £30,000 using a credit card, the card company has a legal responsibility to come to the rescue if there’s a problem with your purchase.

“This powerful protection is called Section 75, and it really works.”

In response to this tip, one Gael, an avid MSE reader emailed in to say: “Just wanted to thank you… we paid a deposit of £2,800 for furniture from a firm which went bust the next day (what timing!) using a credit card as per the tips you give.

“Our credit card company was great, all the money was back in our account as soon as the administration was confirmed (a month later).”

GET YOUR OWN MONEY BACK

If you’re not getting your money back from the store you bought your purchase from, it could be time to file a Section 75 claim.

Remember, to make a valid claim, the goods or services you bought must cost over £100 and not more than £30,000.

Section 75 applies to all goods bought in-store, online, over the phone or mail order.

To make a claim, contact your credit card provider – your first port of call should be its customer services phone number – and tell them you want to make a claim under Section 75.

It should then send you a claim form, which you can fill in, and your provider will use to process your application.

Your card firm might ask you to provide evidence, such as a receipt or a report verifying that the item is faulty or hasn’t arrived.

Then, submit the form – the lender will use it to decide whether to pay out.

Your card company has eight weeks to try to resolve the issue.

If it can’t, you can take your dispute to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

You cannot make a Section 75 claim if you paid by debit card.

However, these customers have another means to request a refund.

REFUND RULES FOR DEBIT CARDS

Chargeback is a consumer protection mechanism that allows individuals to request a refund from their bank or card issuer if they encounter issues with a purchase made either a credit or debit card.

While chargeback is not a legal right in the UK, it is part of the voluntary schemes run by card networks like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.

It is widely supported by banks and financial institutions.

Here, your bank will try to get your money back from the retailer or service provider.

You typically have 120 days from the date of the transaction to submit a claim.

Usually, it’s just a phone call where you tell the card firm what happened and ask it to do a chargeback.

Once you’ve spoken to your bank you’ll need to provide the full details of your transaction.

Some banks will ask you to fill out a claim form.

Others just take details of the transaction and start the claim for you.

There’s no specific timeframe when it comes to getting your money back.

Once you’ve applied for chargeback, it’s up to your card provider to contact the supplier’s bank to process the refund, which could take time.