Last verified 5 Jun 2026 · Source FOS + Civil Aviation Authority + ORR + Consumer Credit Act 1974
Honest answers to the eight most common UK compensation questions. Real figures. The right ombudsman. A complaint letter that cites the actual regulation. Sorted is on your side, not the insurer’s.
Before you start
Most successful claims aren’t about luck — they’re about structure.
UK insurers and airlines reject or lowball roughly half of first-contact claims. They almost never reject the same claim when it comes back through the right ombudsman, on letterhead, citing the correct regulation, with evidence attached. Free ombudsmen exist for almost every category below — they side with consumers in 30–60% of cases, and they’re binding on the company. Sorted just makes you look like the person who knows the route.
Pick what happened.
Each scenario uses the actual UK rules and numbers. No marketing fluff.
The honest read
UK banks have to refund more than they admit.
Four separate UK rules force banks and credit card companies to refund you in specific situations. Most people only know about one. Sorted picks the right one for your situation and writes the letter.
Section 75
£100 – £30,000
APP scam (CRM Code)
Full refund
Unauthorised payment
Same-day refund
Pick your situation
Which UK bank-claim route fits?
Tap the one that matches what happened. Sorted then drafts the right letter citing the correct UK regulation.
Section 75 Consumer Credit Act 1974
Your credit card company is jointly liable with the retailer.
Used a credit card to buy something between £100 and £30,000? Goods never arrived, were faulty, or the company went bust? Your credit card issuer is equally liable with the seller under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Even a 10p deposit on the card counts.
What counts as £100–£30,000. Each single item must be over £100. A £500 holiday with five £100 components still counts. A £90 item does NOT — even if you bought ten of them.
How long you have. 6 years from the breach of contract (England & Wales) / 5 years (Scotland). Way longer than most people think.
Common wins. Holiday cancelled and the operator went bust. Builder took the deposit and vanished. Wedding venue closed before the date. Electronic goods that never shipped. Furniture company in administration.
Visa / Mastercard chargeback scheme
Debit card alternative when Section 75 doesn’t apply.
Chargeback is not a UK law — it’s a Visa / Mastercard scheme rule. Banks have to follow it. Use it for debit-card purchases or credit-card purchases under £100.
Time limit.120 days from the date you knew there was a problem (or the date the goods/service should have arrived). Strict. Banks often refuse purely on time even if you have a strong case.
Common wins. Train ticket for a train that was fully cancelled. Online retailer that disappeared. Subscription you cancelled but were still charged. Hotel that closed before your stay.
Bank refusal → FOS. If your bank refuses chargeback, you can complain and then escalate free to the Financial Ombudsman within 6 months of the final response.
Authorised Push Payment scam — PSR mandatory reimbursement
From 7 Oct 2024, UK banks must refund APP scam victims.
If you were tricked into making a bank transfer to a scammer — fake invoice, "safe account" call, romance scam, investment scam, fake HMRC, purchase scam — your bank must refund you under the Payment Systems Regulator’s mandatory reimbursement scheme that started 7 October 2024.
Refund cap. £85,000 per claim (raised from earlier proposal of £415,000). Most APP scams are well below this.
You may be refused if. Gross negligence (ignored a specific scam warning from your bank), you were complicit, or you reported it more than 13 months after the payment.
Process. Report to your bank immediately (call the number on the back of your card). The bank must investigate within 5 working days and reimburse you if you qualify. Refused? Escalate free to FOS within 6 months.
Also call: Action Fraud 0300 123 2040 to log the crime — reference helps your bank claim.
PSR 2017 Reg 76-77 — unauthorised payment refund
Card cloned / lost / stolen — bank must refund same day.
A payment left your account that you didn’t make and didn’t authorise? Under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (Regulations 76 and 77), your bank must refund you the same day — unless they can prove you acted with gross negligence.
Gross negligence is a high bar. Sharing your PIN with a family member who used it = gross. Having your card stolen from your bag = NOT gross. Bank’s burden of proof.
Time limit. Report within 13 months of the transaction or you may lose the right. Same-day reporting is best.
What "same day" means. The bank must restore your balance to where it would have been without the transaction by the end of the business day after you reported it. They can later investigate — but you have the money in the meantime.
Draft your UK bank claim letter
Sorted writes the letter citing the right regulation.
If the bank refuses
1
Force a final response
Banks have 8 weeks from a formal complaint to send a final response (FCA DISP 1.6). If they go silent past 8 weeks, you can treat it as deadlock and proceed.
2
Financial Ombudsman — free
FOS escalation is free. Up to £445,000 binding award. 6 months from the bank’s final response to escalate. FOS upholds ~36% of finance complaints.
For the full UK complaint protocol — ombudsman picker, 8-week clock, FOS escalation letter — open Sorted Complaint Engine →
Free help — never pay a claims-management company
FOS is free. Sorted’s template is free. Citizens Advice consumer line 0808 223 1133 is free. Paid claims firms take 20–40% of any award — you don’t need them for any UK bank claim.
The honest read
UK261 compensation is fixed by law — not discretionary.
If your flight departed from a UK airport, OR was operated by a UK/EU airline arriving in the UK, AND it arrived 3+ hours late for reasons within the airline’s control (technical fault, crew, overbooking) — you are owed a fixed cash amount. The airline often offers vouchers or "goodwill" gestures instead. You can refuse those and take the cash.
What "within the airline's control" means. Weather, air traffic control strikes, security closures, and political instability are extraordinary circumstances — no compensation. Technical faults are usually NOT extraordinary (Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia). Crew shortages and overbooking are never extraordinary.
Short-haul <1,500km
£220
Mid-haul 1,500–3,500km
£350
Long-haul >3,500km
£520
Long-haul amounts halved (£260) if arrival delay is between 3 and 4 hours.
Draft your UK261 claim
Sorted writes the letter.
If they refuse
1
Write to the airline first
The letter above does this. Give them 30 days to reply. Under UK261 the limitation period is 6 years in England/Wales (5 in Scotland) — you have plenty of time but write early.
2
ADR scheme (free, binding)
If refused: escalate free to AviationADR (easyJet, Ryanair, Jet2 + others) or CEDR (BA, Virgin Atlantic + others). Their decision is binding on the airline if you accept it.
Money Claim Online (MCOL) for claims under £10,000. UK261 claims are well-established in UK courts; you can self-represent.
The honest read
Delay Repay is automatic in theory — messy in practice.
Every UK train operator runs Delay Repay. The standard scale starts at 15 minutes for most operators (some still use 30 minutes). You claim back online with the train operator, not the booking platform.
15–29 min late
25%
30–59 min late
50%
60+ min late
100%
Cancellation = 100%. If your train was cancelled, you can claim 100% of your single fare regardless of how late you arrived on the next train.
Keep your ticket (paper or e-ticket). Apply within 28 days of the journey on the train operator’s website. If refused, escalate free to the Rail Ombudsman.
1
Apply on the train operator’s site
Find the operator that ran the actual train (not who you bought from). Most have a "Delay Repay" form.
2
Rail Ombudsman if refused
Rail Ombudsman is free, statutory, binding. Operators must respond to their complaint before you can escalate.
The honest read
Package holidays have much stronger consumer protection than individual bookings.
If you booked a "package" (transport + accommodation, or 2+ services combined and sold by one organiser) you are covered by the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.
If the organiser cancels: you are entitled to a full refund within 14 days. They cannot force a credit note. If you accepted one and now want cash, you may still be able to demand the refund.
If "significant changes" are made: destination changed, hotel downgraded by >1 category, departure airport changed substantially — you can reject the change and demand a full refund plus compensation.
If the organiser becomes insolvent and you have an ATOL certificate, claim free with the CAA ATOL scheme. Otherwise escalate to ABTA ADR (ABTA members) or the CAA.
Draft your package refund demand
Calmly cite the regulation.
The honest read
First insurance offers are almost always lowballed.
The Financial Ombudsman has been clear for years that "market value" means what your specific car would have cost on the open market just before the loss — not the cheapest comparable example online. Insurers routinely use trade guides (Glass’s, CAP HPI, Parkers) that lag the real market by months.
The evidence you need: 4–6 examples of the same make, model, year, mileage and trim listed for sale at the time of the loss. Screenshot AutoTrader/Motors.co.uk/eBay listings (with date visible). If your car had extras, MOT history, low mileage or new parts — document them.
Honest expectation: evidenced challenges often improve the offer by 15–30%. FOS sides with consumers on car valuation disputes more often than not when there’s a clear evidence gap. You have 6 months from the insurer’s final response to escalate to FOS.
Challenge the offer
Sorted writes the response.
The honest read
Home insurance refusals are often overturned at FOS.
Common refusal reasons that don’t hold up at the Financial Ombudsman: "wear and tear" when there was a clear sudden event, "lack of maintenance" when no specific failure is shown, "undisclosed information" that wasn’t actually material to the risk, "unattended property" with no clear policy definition.
Under the Insurance Act 2015, the insurer must show that any non-disclosure was a "qualifying breach" that materially affected their decision. They cannot just refuse on a technicality.
Under FCA ICOBS 8.1, an insurer must handle claims "promptly and fairly" and "settle claims fairly". The Ombudsman applies this test rigorously. They also have 8 weeks to give you a final response. After 8 weeks of silence or a final response you disagree with, you can go to FOS for free.
FOS data: roughly 30% of home insurance complaints are upheld in the consumer’s favour (Financial Ombudsman annual statistics).
Build your evidence pack first
Strong evidence is what actually wins at FOS.
Tick what you have. The more boxes you tick, the better your case. The Ombudsman’s upheld-rate jumps when claimants attach contemporaneous third-party evidence.
One small habit that wins cases: the moment something happens (flood, storm, theft, accident), open a Notes file on your phone. Date stamp. Write a single paragraph of what just happened in your own words. That paragraph — written before any insurer told you what to think — carries serious weight with the Ombudsman.
Challenge the refusal
Sorted drafts the final response letter.
The honest read
Gadget cover is often oversold — but you still have rights.
If you have specific gadget insurance (e.g. Apple Care+, Currys Care, Insure2Go), the policy wording controls. If the insurer refuses, the FOS route is the same as any insurance: 8 weeks for a final response, then 6 months to escalate free to FOS.
Often forgotten: if the device is faulty rather than damaged, you may not need to use insurance at all. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the retailer is liable for faults within the first 6 years (5 in Scotland) — with the burden of proof on the retailer for the first 6 months.
Credit card protection: if you paid by credit card and the item cost between £100 and £30,000, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes the credit card company jointly liable with the retailer.
1
Check if it’s actually faulty (not damaged)
If faulty — go to the retailer under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 first. Don’t use up your insurance excess on something the retailer owes you.
2
Section 75 (credit card)
If paid by credit card for £100–£30,000: ask the credit card provider in writing to refund you under Section 75 Consumer Credit Act 1974.
3
Final response → FOS
If gadget insurer refuses, force a final response, then escalate free to Financial Ombudsman within 6 months.
The honest read
There’s a real time limit. Don’t miss it.
Mis-sold UK financial products — credit cards, loans, GAP insurance, mortgages, payment protection, motor finance commission — can almost always go to the Financial Ombudsman for free.
The 6-and-3 rule: you have 6 years from the act complained about OR 3 years from when you reasonably became aware of the problem — whichever is later. After both windows close, FOS can’t hear it.
Free, always. Never pay a claims-management company a percentage. The FOS process is free, and any solicitor/CMC takes a meaningful chunk of any award. Sorted’s template below does the same work for free.
Successful mis-selling outcomes are usually the original cost back + 8% simple interest per year from the date of the loss (the FCA-published rate for FOS awards).
Draft your mis-selling complaint
Free. Direct. No CMC fee.
The honest read
After 8 weeks, you can go around them.
The FCA’s ICOBS 8.1.1R rule requires insurers to handle claims "promptly". DISP 1.6 requires a final response within 8 weeks of you raising a formal complaint.
If 8 weeks pass without a final response, or you reach deadlock earlier, you can escalate to the Financial Ombudsman for free. They have power to order the insurer to settle, pay compensation for distress, and reimburse costs.
The letter below is the "deadlock and FOS notice" — it tells the insurer you’re treating the silence as a final response and you intend to refer to FOS. This often unblocks a stuck claim within days.
Break the silence
The deadlock letter.
Sources: Regulation (EC) 261/2004 as retained in UK law; UK Civil Aviation Authority guidance; Delay Repay scheme (RDG / Office of Rail and Road); Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018; Insurance Act 2015; Consumer Rights Act 2015; Consumer Credit Act 1974 s.75; FCA ICOBS 8.1 and DISP 1.6; Financial Ombudsman Service annual statistics. Not legal advice. For complex or high-value cases, speak to Citizens Advice (0800 144 8848) or a regulated solicitor.
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