From the complaints that we’ve seen, we know that consumers aren’t always aware of the rights and protection available when using plastic cards and credit.
They might not know what terminology to use – and financial businesses aren’t always explaining Section 75 and chargeback processes clearly.
Viv Kelly, Ombudsman Director for Consumer Credit, explains more about the issues we've seen and why we've updated our guidance.
Uphold rates suggest inconsistent approaches
Both chargeback and Section 75 offer protection for consumers. But our data, which show a wide range of uphold rates, suggest that there are inconsistent approaches among financial businesses.
We believe this is an opportunity for financial businesses to improve their processes. By following what we’d expect to see more closely, they can reduce complaints from consumers.
The benefits of improved processes around chargeback and Section 75
An improved understanding of chargeback and Section 75 can help your case handlers deliver good outcomes. Consumers won’t then need to complain to you in the first place about how you’ve handled a claim.
If a consumer does go on to complain about what’s happened, you can try to resolve the situation without it needing to reach our service.
But even with great processes in place, the consumer still might be unhappy with your final response.
If we end up investigating, an effective initial information-gathering process from you means that we can help everyone get quick answers.
Our updated information can help
To help you understand more about what we’d expect to see when complaints involving Section 75 and chargeback do reach us, we’ve updated our guidance.
It explains more about:
- the types of goods and services and issues in the complaints we see
- when chargeback and Section 75 might apply – and how they differ
- what we’d expect to see from you when handling a chargeback or Section 75 claim
- information we’ll ask for when we get a complaint
- what we’ll look at when deciding if you acted fairly – including the relevant law
Read our updated information for financial businesses about problems with goods and services bought using a debit card or credit.
Further resources
If you want to talk informally about a complaint you’ve received, you can speak to our Business Support Hub. They can give general information on how we might look at a particular complaint. They also offer guidance on our rules and how we work.
Find out how to contact our Business Support Hub.
If you’re a consumer, we’ve also updated our information for consumers about complaints involving Section 75 and chargeback.