Friday 2nd November 2007
Following a House of Lords ruling, banks have been made responsible for credit card transactions which take place overseas.
Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, banks share responsibility with suppliers for purchases of between £100 and £30,000.
If misrepresentation or breach of contract occurs, the credit card provider is now to be held as partly accountable.
As a result, cardholders may now claim money back directly from the banks if a product becomes faulty, rather than approaching the seller.
The test case has been pursued by the Office of Fair Trading since 2004, the industry body reveals.
Chief executive John Fingleton comments: "The application of Section 75 to overseas credit card purchases has long been uncertain, which is unsatisfactory for UK consumers.
"We are pleased that the House of Lords has resolved the issue."
UK payments association Apacs also welcomes the ruling, which director of corporate communications Sandra Quinn terms "no change" to the way most credit card providers were operating anyway.
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