Mis-sold a course or coaching in the UK? How to get your money back
If you paid by credit card and the course cost more than one hundred pounds and not more than thirty thousand pounds, your single strongest move is Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. The boundary matters: a price of exactly one hundred pounds is outside the protection, it has to be over. It makes your card issuer jointly liable with the seller, so if the coaching was mis-sold or never delivered as described, you can claim against the bank as well as the seller. It works even if you only paid a deposit on the card, as long as the total contract price sits in that range, though issuers sometimes resist deposit-based claims, so put the rule in writing and persist, and escalate to the ombudsman if they refuse. Pay attention to how you paid, because debit cards, business cards and some intermediaries like PayPal can break this protection.
Card chargeback. Separate from Section 75, a chargeback is a card-network route open to Visa, Mastercard and Amex, credit and debit. Use it for a service not delivered, not as described, or where the seller misrepresented what you were buying. The usual window is around 120 days from the transaction or from when the service was due. Ask your bank in writing for a "chargeback" or "disputed transaction."
Cooling-off, and the carve-out. Buy a service online and you have a 14-day cooling-off right to cancel for any reason. If the seller never told you about that right, it stretches to as much as twelve months. Sellers try to defeat it with an "already begun" argument, but that only works if you expressly asked for the service to start inside the 14 days and ticked a box acknowledging you would lose the right once it was fully performed. No proper checkbox at the point of sale, no valid carve-out, and a vague "no refunds" line in the terms is unlikely to stand.
Beyond cooling-off. Under the Consumer Rights Act, a service must be carried out with reasonable care and skill and as described. If it was not, you can ask for it to be done again or for a price reduction down to a full refund.
Where to complain. Seller first, in writing. If a financial dispute with your bank is unresolved after eight weeks, take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free, at financial-ombudsman.org.uk. For guidance and to reach Trading Standards, use Citizens Advice. For a money claim in England and Wales, the small-claims route in the County Court covers up to ten thousand pounds; Scotland's simple procedure covers up to five thousand pounds, and Northern Ireland's small-claims court up to three thousand.
A letter to start the claim. Send this to your card issuer in writing, alongside your complaint to the seller.
Dear [card issuer],
On [date] I paid [amount] to [seller] on my credit card ending [digits] for [the course or coaching]. The service was [not delivered / not as described], and the seller has not put it right. As the contract price is more than one hundred pounds and not more than thirty thousand pounds, I am making a claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which makes you jointly liable with the seller. Please treat this as a formal Section 75 claim for [amount].
[Your name]
A version to send the seller, and one to ask for proof before you ever pay, are on letters you can send.
Then check the next seller before you pay: proof you did not make yourself.
Common questions
- The course terms say "no refunds." Does that mean I cannot get my money back in the UK?
Not necessarily. A blanket "no refunds" line does not override your statutory rights. If you paid by credit card and the contract price was more than one hundred pounds and up to thirty thousand pounds, Section 75 makes the issuer jointly liable. You also have a 14-day online cooling-off right, which stretches to twelve months if the seller never told you about it, and under the Consumer Rights Act a service must be carried out with reasonable care and skill.
- Can a UK seller refuse my cooling-off refund because the course "already started"?
Only if you expressly asked for it to start within the 14 days and ticked a box acknowledging you would lose the right once it was fully performed. With no proper checkbox at the point of sale, the "already begun" argument usually fails, and a vague clause buried in the terms is unlikely to stand.
Sources
- For a credit-card purchase costing more than 100 pounds and not more than 30,000 pounds, the card issuer is jointly liable with the seller, so a claim can be made against the bank as well as the seller. A price of exactly 100 pounds falls outside the protection. · Consumer Credit Act 1974, Section 75Checked 10 June 2026
- An online purchase carries a 14-day cancellation right, extended to up to twelve months where the trader failed to give the required information. · Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013Checked 4 June 2026
- A dispute with a bank that is unresolved after eight weeks can be taken free of charge to the Financial Ombudsman Service. · Financial Ombudsman ServiceChecked 4 June 2026