Decision finally made regarding credit card protection abroad

Over the last year there has been an argument going on between credit card companies and the Office of Fair Trading regarding card protection abroad. The battle has actually been going on for 12 years, but it has only been recently that the case has gone to court.

Now finally a decision has been made and credit card companies do have to take responsibility for any purchases that are made abroad. The credit card providers had been arguing that they should not be responsible for any loss or damage incurred from goods bought abroad. They claimed that it was not fair as there are different rules that apply when you purchase something abroad. There is also an obvious higher risk involved with the shipping of items.

However, despite their best arguments, the judge has ruled that all credit card companies will be responsible for any products purchased by consumers abroad. This is excellent news for consumers as it means that they can even purchase things on foreign websites and they know that they will be covered if anything goes wrong.

With foreign websites you cannot always be 100% certain that you will get what you have purchased. It could be different to how it was described, it could be damaged, or it could even just not turn up. Many people use the internet these days and the amount of goods being purchased online is steadily growing. So added protection on your credit card is definitely a fantastic move and it does take away part of the worry that comes with online buying.

However the one thing you do have to remember is that the goods have to be purchased from the UK. So you need to have used your credit card within the UK to purchase the products abroad if you do want to be protected.