The credit card refund that's all grief and no fun

A part of credit card law, introduced in the 1970s and known as section 75, means that credit card companies must take responsibility for refunding customers their money if the goods they bought never turn up or the supplier goes bust. The total cost of the goods you are paying for must be more than £100 and less than £30,000 for the law to apply.

With the recession causing more small businesses to fail - 120 are going to the wall daily, according to the Federation of Small Businesses - these claims are rising. Although there are no industry figures, the banks' trade body, the Association of Payment Clearing Services, admits levels are very high. But credit card companies appear to be coming up with a multitude of ways to wriggle out of paying back money to card holders.