Section 75 Claim

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 creates a form of statutory joint liability for credit card purchases. Where the debtor under a qualifying debtor-creditor-supplier agreement has, in relation to a transaction financed by the agreement, any claim against the supplier in respect of a misrepresentation or breach of contract, he shall have a like claim against the creditor, who, with the supplier, shall accordingly be jointly and severally liable to the debtor.

This means a cardholder whose purchase goes wrong can pursue the credit card company itself, rather than only the retailer, for the same misrepresentation or breach of contract. The Act balances this by letting the creditor recover from the supplier in turn: subject to any agreement between them, the creditor is entitled to be indemnified by the supplier for loss suffered by the creditor in satisfying its liability under the section, including the costs of defending any claim.