Protection Abroad

Card issuers can be, by law, jointly liable with suppliers if the consumer has a valid claim for misrepresentation and / or breach of contract by the supplier. This only applies if the item is between £100 and £30,000 and where the credit limit on the credit card is no more than £25,000. Credit card holders therefore may be able to make a claim against their credit card company if they discover problems with goods or services that they have purchased with their credit card.

However, with some credit cards this does not apply to purchases made abroad which can cause a problem for consumers. The Office of Fair Trading believe that credit card companies should follow this law overseas as well and are putting pressure on them to do so. Three credit card companies have already confirmed that consumer safeguards on credit card purchases will apply to purchases made overseas as well as in the UK. These companies are HSBC, Bank of Scotland and Sainsbury’s Bank.