<p>For more information please call the UK Finance press office on 020 7416 6750 or email <a href="mailto:press@ukfinance.org.uk">press@ukfinance.org.uk</a></p&gt;
<p>1. UK Finance is the collective voice for the banking and finance industry. Representing more than 250 firms across the industry, we act to enhance competitiveness, support customers and facilitate innovation.</p>
<p><strong>2. Support for SMEs impacted by Thomas Cook</strong></p>
<p>The banking industry recognises that suppliers may be impacted by Thomas Cook?s liquidation and may be worried about the prospect of getting paid and the impact of loss of future business.</p>
<p>Small business customers who are worried about cashflow issues should contact their bank as soon as possible to discuss the support that is available to them.</p>
<p><strong>3. Support for personal banking customers impacted by Thomas Cook</strong></p>
<p>The banking industry recognises that many customers may be impacted by Thomas Cook?s liquidation and may be worried about the prospect of getting paid or redundancy and falling behind on mortgage or credit card payments or incurring overdraft charges.</p>
<p>If any customer is worried about their finances, they should contact their lender as soon as possible to discuss the support that is available to them.</p>
<p><strong>4. Section 75 for credit card purchases</strong></p>
<p>When using a credit card, you may also have what is known as Section 75 protection. This provision (part of the Consumer Credit Act 1974) protects you if you use your credit card to buy something costing more than £100 and up to £30,000.</p>
<p>There are certain requirements that need to be fulfilled for a Section 75 claim to be available. The company from whom you bought the goods or services must be the supplier of those goods and services.</p>
<p>You may be legally entitled to get your money back if the supplier you bought the product or service from:</p>
<ul><li>breaks their contract with you, including if they go out of business; or</li>
<li>does not deliver what they have promised;</li>
</ul><p>You are even able to claim if you only used your credit card to pay for part of the cost of what you bought. The protection may also cover any losses you have over and above the original amount you paid or if you incur additional reasonable costs to get back home. We strongly recommend customers talk to their credit card provider before incurring additional costs to see if they will be covered.</p>
<p>There are some instances where Section 75 does not apply, such as when goods or services are paid for payment processors. This applies to buying through a payment platform like PayPal; through an online marketplace retailer like Amazon (when you are buying a third parties? goods through Amazon); or through an aggregator like Expedia, which sells on flight and hotel bookings. However, agencies like these may have their own payment protection systems in place.</p>
<p>Customers should speak to their card issuer in the first instance before they incur further costs as these will need to be considered on a case by case basis.</p>
<p><strong>5. Chargeback for credit and debit card purchases</strong></p>
<p>There is a mechanism for your card issuer to reclaim money from the retailer?s bank where you do not get the goods or services you paid for, including if the retailer has gone out of business. This is called a chargeback.</p>
<p>Chargeback is not a legal right. You should address a chargeback claim to your debit or credit card issuer, which in turn will put in a request to the retailer?s bank. The process for managing these claims is determined by a set of rules from American Express, MasterCard or Visa. There are no guarantees your issuer will be able to recover the money through chargeback, but they will assess your claim fairly. With a chargeback, the value claimed cannot exceed the value of the original transaction.</p>