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Comment by simonjgreen | Hacker News Reader

I’m not sure how this works in US, however certainly in UK, and I know of comparable experiences in several other countries, credit card companies are legally required to do this. It’s not a perk of AmEx, it’s a perk of using a Credit Card.

Specifically in UK, the credit card provider is jointly and severally liable for any breach of contract or misrepresentation by the vendor.

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When I was working for Microsoft China, we had cases where a Chinese restaurant in Bellevue would go after Chinese coworkers visiting the states because ICBC AmEx didn’t offer the same fraud protection as an American or European sourced AmEx (then they would use the numbers somewhere else and create bogus charges). Countries have different rules and protections, and China puts the burden on the cardholder proving fraud took place (rather than the merchant that fraud didn’t take place).

I wonder if this helps explain WeChat’s popularity for payments

Credit cards in China never took off due to cost without the same safety guarantees. I did use UnionPay for most of my purchases back when I lived there, wepay didn’t support anyone without a Chinese identification card back then.

>> I was way out of my chargeback window

> I’m not sure how this works in US, however certainly in UK, and I know of comparable experiences in several other countries, credit card companies are legally required to do this. It’s not a perk of AmEx, it’s a perk of using a Credit Card.

I'm pretty certain this is not how it works in the UK, or anywhere else.

That's what the "chargeback window" is used for.

You are mistaken. In UK there is a six year window starting from when you receive, or when you should have received, the goods. Look up Section 75 protection.

Chargeback window is 120 days but that’s not what I’m referencing. A company going bankrupt and consequently not delivering is covered under Section 75, it’s a breach of contract.

Oh dear.

Not only are you wrong, I'm simply amazed you are unaware of Section 75. It's one the key advantages of using a credit card in Blighty.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/section75-protect-...

EDIT: Not to mention, 'chargebacks' are at the the card companies discretion. Section 75 is enshrined in law, so they can't weasel out.

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