Mr McGarry said: “Under the CCA, the credit borrower (cardholder) is not responsible to the lender for any loss arising from another person who is not acting as the borrower’s agent (be it a friend or family member).”
However, this can also come with a challenge.
Mr McGarry said: “If a borrower gives their credit card to someone else to make purchases for them, but that individual makes further transactions that the borrower did not authorise, that someone will still be treated as the borrower’s agent.”
The difficulty is that currently, “consent” is taken as the cardholder providing payment details.
According to Mr McGarry, Section 84 of the CCA states that unless a credit card is lost, stolen or liable to misuse, the card user may be made responsible for the following:
- A total of £35 (or the credit limit if lower) for losses arising from the use of the credit card between the period starting when the credit card was not in control of an authorised person, and ending when the credit card is back in their control.
- All of the loss from the use of a credit card where it has been acquired by a person with the borrower’s consent.
