[jimworcs]

Mars advice is right and you should act quickly to cancel your card. In addition, if your card was issued in the UK, you are protected by the Consumer Credit Act. For any purchase over £100, the credit card company is totally liable for the failure of the airline or scammer to deliver the goods or services you ordered. Therefore, you will receive all of your money back. This protection states that if you paid on credit card, the card company is 'jointly and severally liable' under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, which means it is equally responsible, along with the retailer or trader, for the quality of the goods or service. This can be particularly useful if the company you bought from has gone bust or you can't contact them (as in this case, which sounds like a scam). The credit provider is only liable for goods or services costing between £100 and £30,000, and if the amount of credit is no more than £25,000. Some credit card companies have attempted to claim that transactions conducted outside the UK are not covered by this legislation. (They hate this legislation with a passion!!). However, the House of Lords has confirmed that Section 75 does apply to foreign transactions. Although in 2004 the High Court said the act didn't apply when people made purchases abroad, this was overturned by the Court of Appeal and confirmed by The House of Lords. This ruling also confirmed that the protection also applies if you buy goods for delivery to the UK from overseas or purchased the goods by telephone, mail order or over the internet.

You are protected, but I think Mars is giving good advice when he tells you to cancel the card.

One other thing... you did check that it wasn't just a marketing name and there was definitely no company making such a flight at that time didn't you? Some companies act like "virtual" airlines, selling tickets under their own name, but in fact booking you onto other airlines seats. Some of the big consolidators use this method.



This rule does not apply to debit cards or to American Express transactions, as these are not credit cards. However, if you used a Visa Debit Card you can request a Chargeback. Do this quickly, as it can only be processed within 100 days of the original charge.