BAD SANTA: Don't get ripped off this Christmas

Claims direct

Broadly speaking, you have up to three months to make a claim, from when you become aware of a problem, or delivery in the case of online orders. You should be able to claim for non-delivery, goods not as described, or faulty, or an incorrect amount being charged. You should also be protected if a company goes bust.

As it's a bank-run scheme, rather than a liability enforced by law, you will usually need to have made some effort to resolve the problem with the company before attempting to claim through your bank. The bank's customer service people should be able to explain the process.

Whether claiming with reference to Section 75 or a chargeback scheme, it's also worth visiting sites like Money Saving Expert where you can download template letters to help you start the process. And in the both cases, if you don't have any luck, you can appeal to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

One other method of paying worth mentioning is PayPal; like it or loathe it, for a lot of people it's a popular way to purchase goods online, especially when you're buying from very small merchants who may not have the cash flow to afford a credit card facility of their own.

First, it's worth remembering that if you top up your PayPal balance from a card, the card company will consider that to the be transaction, not any subsequent purchases using the balance. Your best bet of receiving redress will be via PayPal's own Buyer Protection scheme.

This allows you to raise a dispute for up to 180 days after the transaction, with the exception of some items, such as cars, custom made goods, property and industrial equipment, which aren't covered. PayPal users in other countries have only 45 days to raise their dispute. UK buyers are also protected for digital goods, services, travel tickets, where people on other jurisdictions may not be.

PayPal offers protection for items that don't arrive, or don't match the description; you can't claim if you've just changed your mind. And if, for example, you return an item to a sender at an address that's not the one PayPal has, you could fall foul of its rules. Nevertheless it does offer some useful protection that you wouldn't get with, say, a postal order or cheque in the post. The full rules for the UK are here.

Buying online

For several years, the rules that govern buying online have been the Distance Selling Regulations. Since June of this year, they've been replaced by the new Consumer Contracts Regulations. Don't panic though, you still have the same rights as before. The update is largely about clarifying some points, ensuring vendors have to give information in specific ways, and bringing doorstep selling under the same rules.

For most people, the most important thing about the regulations is that with goods that are covered, you have 14 days to cancel an order, for pretty much any reason, including just changing your mind, or not really liking the colour. That time runs not from the date of order, or despatch, but from the date of arrival. If an order arrives in several bits, it's from the date the last bit arrives.