Check if you can get your money back after a scam

If you've paid for something you haven't received, you might be able to get your money back.

Your card provider can ask the seller's bank to refund the money. This is known as the 'chargeback scheme'.

If you paid by debit card, you can use chargeback however much you paid.

If you paid by credit card and the item cost more than £100 but less than £30,000, you might be able to claim under the Consumer Credit Act - this is known as a 'Section 75 claim'.

If the item cost less than £100 and you paid by credit card, you can't use Section 75, but you can use chargeback.

If you paid using money from your PayPal account, you should open a dispute with the seller. Find out how to open a dispute on the PayPal website.

See our advice on getting your money back if you paid by card or PayPal.

From 7 October 2024 there are new rules for banks and 'payment service providers'.

Payment service providers include:

• building societies

• e-money firms like Revolut - check a list of e-money firms on the Electronic Money Association website

• savings providers

Contact your bank or payment provider straight away. Let them know what happened and ask if you can get a refund. It’s important to help them while they look at your claim - make sure you give them any information they ask for.

Your bank or payment service provider should usually refund you if you sent the money to a UK account by either Faster Payments or CHAPS.

They don't have to refund you if you used another payment method like BACS or Swift, or if you sent the money abroad.

If you're not sure what payment method you used, check your statement or ask your bank or service provider.

Your bank must refund you up to £85,000. You should usually get your money back within 5 working days - but it might take up to 35 working days.

Your bank or payment provider might charge a fee of £100, which they’ll take off your refund.

You might not get a refund if your bank or payment service provider can prove you:

• weren’t careful enough when you made the payment

• didn’t help them or give them information they asked for while they looked at your claim

If you can’t get your money back and you think this is unfair

You should follow the bank’s official complaints process. If your complaint isn’t sorted out in 8 weeks, or you get a final response letter, you can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman.

Your bank or building society should refund your money if they were registered under the 'Contingent Reimbursement Model Code' (CRM Code).

The CRM Code applied to transactions made from 28 May 2019 to 6 October 2024. Check if your bank was registered under the CRM Code on the Lending Standards Board website.

Contact your bank or building society straight away. Let them know what happened and ask if you can get a refund under the CRM Code.

If you can’t get your money back and you think this is unfair

You should follow the bank’s official complaints process. If your complaint isn’t sorted out in 8 weeks, or you get a final response letter, you can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman.

You should be able to get a full refund under the Direct Debit Guarantee. You can find out about the Direct Debit Guarantee on the Direct Debit website.

If you can’t get your money back and you think this is unfair

You should follow the bank’s official complaints process. If your complaint isn’t sorted out in 8 weeks, or you get a final response letter, you can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman.

It’s unlikely you’ll be able to get your money back if you’ve paid through a wire service such as MoneyGram, PayPoint or Western Union.

Even if you can’t get your money back, there are other things you can do – like reporting the scam and getting financial or emotional support.

There are things you can do to protect yourself if you ever need to use a money transfer service again.

You should:

• only send money to someone you know

• choose a password that’s hard to guess and don’t share it with others

It's unlikely you'll get your money back if you used vouchers or gift cards to pay the scammer.

To protect yourself in future, never give numbers on the back of a gift card or voucher to anyone you don't know.