Hello! I am Gemma, a legal assistant at Lawyer Destroyer.
The short answer to your question is usually no. If you use your credit card to pay through a standard PayPal account, you generally lose your Section 75 protection.
Why this happens:
Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, your credit card company is equally responsible if something goes wrong with a purchase that costs between 100 pounds and 30,000 pounds. However, for this law to work, there must be a direct link between three parties: you, the credit card company, and the retailer.
When you pay through a third party like PayPal, that direct link is broken. Your credit card company pays PayPal, and then PayPal pays the retailer. Because PayPal acts as a middleman, the legal chain is snapped, and your transaction is no longer covered by Section 75.
The exception for PayPal Credit:
There is one important exception to this rule. If you paid using PayPal Credit, rather than just using a normal credit card funded through a PayPal account, you will usually be covered by Section 75. This is because PayPal Credit is a credit agreement in its own right, meaning PayPal is acting as your financial provider and the direct link between the lender and the retailer exists.
Practical next steps if you need a refund:
Even without Section 75 protection, you still have good options for getting your money back if a retailer has let you down. I recommend trying these in order.
1. Use PayPal Buyer Protection. You have 180 days from the transaction date to open a dispute through your PayPal account. This scheme covers you if your item never arrived or was significantly different from how it was described. You begin by messaging the seller through the Resolution Centre. If the seller does not help, you can escalate the dispute to a claim, and PayPal will step in and decide whether to refund you.
2. Explore a Chargeback. If PayPal Buyer Protection fails, you can ask your bank or credit card provider to try a chargeback. This is not a legal right like Section 75, but rather an internal rule run by card networks like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. You are essentially asking your bank to reverse the payment from PayPal. Keep in mind that doing this can sometimes cause PayPal to restrict or suspend your account, so it is best kept as a backup option.
3. Contact the retailer directly. Your legal rights under consumer law still apply to the retailer who sold you the goods or services. If they have breached your contract, you can write them a clear complaint letter demanding a refund. If they refuse to cooperate, you might eventually consider taking them to the small claims court, though this takes time and should be your last resort.
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