Which.co.uk/extra

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act also applies to foreign transactions as well as goods bought online, by telephone or mail order for delivery to the UK from overseas.

Key Information. Aside from offering you Section 75 protection, credit cards have other advantages. Some credit cards offer rewards, including cash back or air miles - the more you spend, the more benefits you can earn.

Paying by credit card and then clearing the debt in full will help build this up over time. Credit cards can also help you manage your cash flow. Payment will be due more than a month after purchases were made, so you may be able to delay paying for big-ticket items. If you bought something with your card and things went wrong, you can make a claim. There are some limitations to when a card company is liable along with the retailer or trader. Section 75 protection also requires your credit card provider and the seller of goods to be different parties.

Section 75 will not apply if the lender is also the supplier. It's the value of the goods you're buying that is key - not the amount paid on the card. Section 75 gives you the same rights against the card company as you have against the retailer. So if your claim against the trader is for the cost of fixing or repairing an item, this would be the claim you could bring under Section 75 against the card provider. Remember that you can make a claim even if an account is closed and that Section 75 can apply to credit card transactions made abroad.

Section 75 applies only to credit cards and not to debit cards or charge cards where all charges must be settled at the end of the month. If you use a debit card, it's possible that you may be able to use chargeback instead to get some or all of your money back - for more information read our guide to the chargeback system.

It's not unusual for a business taking payment to be acting as an agent for the actual supplier. If they don't explicitly mention anything about scholarships or university funding for students on their website, drop them a quick message introducing yourself. Explain your university plans and any goals you have for the future and ask whether they offer any financial support.

Worst case, they don't reply and you've lost a few minutes of your day; but best case, your initiative and enthusiasm impresses them and they can help you in some way plus it gives you a foot in the door for future work experience, internships and graduate schemes. Reaching out directly to your university's student services or finance department is the first step to making yourself known to them, especially if you speak to a specific individual. This way, when opportunities pop up for funding that match your criteria, they'll know to get in touch with you.

Don't be afraid to pick up the phone or fire off a quick email — no matter how simple you think your question might be, the university will be best equipped to answer it and not just when it comes to finance questions either, but also any questions you have about entry requirements, housing or the course too. Plus, universities will vary in what extra funding is available they offer, so don't assume anything. A good approach to an open day is to have a handful of questions to ask.

You could have a long journey to get there and back, so you want to make sure you're getting the most out of the trip. Before heading to an open day, check what the day will involve. If the latter, a finance-related session may be worth checking out. If you've crunched the numbers and going to university will be a real struggle without the extra help, consider putting it off for a year and working in the meantime to save some cash.

This will give you time to plan ahead and apply for scholarships the following year, as well as build up any skills and experience you can bolster your application with. Scholarships and bursaries can be competitive, especially if the criteria to apply is quite open; so don't wait around. Hopefully you should have most of your parents' financial information to hand from when you applied for student finance, which can save time. Many students are surprised by the typical cost of university life, including those bills which mum and dad are likely to have been taking care of eg monthly phone bill, household bills.

See what student life will cost you each month, try our student budget calculator. Allowing the student finance company to share your financial status with your university takes the hassle out of applying, and you could find yourself receiving a bursary automatically.

Read the small print before doing so to confirm you're happy with how your information will be used. Often this is simply the best way for universities to identify the students from low income households who would benefit most from extra help.

If you've already written your personal statement as part of your Ucas application, you'll have some practice talking yourself up in the best way possible, in an essay format.

However, it's worth doing some further research into the provider of the bursary and how the bursary came about. Like writing a personal statement above, an interview may be a familiar scenario you find yourself in when applying to universities. Again, do your research about whoever is providing the bursary to give you a few talking points to jump on.

Often your interviewer will come up with a topic or project that's quite broad or subjective, to see how you think and respond to this. And while you're seeking financial support, it's not about gaining sympathy with the biggest sob story to 'win' over your interviewer.

If you've encountered or overcome certain hardships up to now, don't shoehorn these in. Bring it up when asked or where it feels appropriate to the point you're making.

Once you get into the swing of applications, you might find it gets easier. That said, always take each scheme seriously and read any criteria or background information carefully — something mentioned here might inform what you write in an essay or talk about in an interview. The Scholarship Hub spoke to 20 organisations who offer bursary or scholarship schemes, and you might be surprised to hear that half said they had to work hard to attract applicants.

You can get fee waivers just by themselves, or you can get a mixture of a fee waiver and bursary in one package of support. A university or college might offer to reduce the cost of your tuition fees for a year or more, rather than give you a cash payment, or they could give you both. Bear in mind that because a high proportion of students will never pay off the full amount of their student loans that this might not be as generous as it appears upfront. In the case of fee waivers and bursaries, the latter is nearly always better news for your pocket.

A bursary is normally your best option because it is paid directly into your bank account — meaning cash upfront. A fee waiver is taken off how much you pay in tuition fees, effectively reducing the amount you end up owing to the Student Loans Company. They are awarded by the institutions themselves, with the amount of money decided on a case-by-case basis. As of the last few years, universities and colleges fund these themselves previously the UK government-funded these as well , as well as deciding who should receive this cash.

You can apply either if you simply have less money coming in than going out, or if an unexpected cost arises like an expensive repair bill. Your circumstances will be taken into account and certain groups — student parents, disabled students and so on — will normally be prioritised for help, although all UK students can apply.

You'll need to take documents that confirm how much student finance you receive , as well as expenses and outgoings eg bank statements to justify why you deserve this additional help. Learn more about hardship funds on the GOV. UK website. Bursaries used to be available from the NHS for students in health fields to help with tuition and living costs, but this has significantly changed in recent years.

Note, the below information refers to undergraduate students beginning a course after 1 August Students studying nursing, midwifery or Allied Health Professional courses are no longer eligible for an NHS bursary although there is still financial support available for these students. MP By Martin Pratt. Popular test categories. Latest Conversations. What to expect at the Which? Sugar Awareness Week: what actions can we all take? Support our campaigns Together we can make consumers more powerful.

Take action now. Have you overpaid for your phone? Join Which? Already a member? Log in. Keeping your energy prices in check.