If a boiler installer stops trading after taking a deposit or part-payment, what actually protects you depends on how you found them and how you paid — not on goodwill or hoping it works out.

The two protections that actually matter

There are two genuinely distinct forms of protection worth understanding before you pay a boiler installer anything upfront: financial protection required through a scheme like TrustMark, which is tied to how you found and engaged the installer, and Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which is tied to how you paid. They work independently of each other, and having neither in place leaves you relying on the general insolvency process, where an unsecured creditor (which is what an unpaid customer typically becomes) is often near the back of the queue for whatever money is left.

TrustMark’s financial protection requirement

TrustMark is the UK government-endorsed quality scheme covering work carried out in and around the home, and it’s a mandatory requirement for all TrustMark registered businesses that they provide customers with a minimum level of financial protection. TrustMark’s own guidance confirms this covers two specific things: prepayments, meaning deposits or other amounts paid in advance of work being carried out, and a minimum two years of protection for workmanship after completion. This means that if a TrustMark registered installer ceases trading after taking your deposit, or after completing work that then turns out to be defective, there’s a defined financial protection mechanism designed to step in, rather than you being left with nothing but a claim against a company that no longer exists. The specific mechanism can vary by business, since TrustMark vets multiple approved financial protection providers rather than running one central fund, so it’s worth asking which specific protection applies to your installer before you pay anything.

Section 75: your credit card as a backstop

Separately from any scheme membership, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 gives you a direct legal right against your credit card provider if a trader you’ve paid, in whole or in part, on a credit card breaches the contract, including by going out of business before finishing the work. The protection applies to purchases costing between £100 and £30,000, and the useful detail many people miss is that you don’t need to have paid the full amount on the card — even a deposit of a few pounds charged to a qualifying credit card can be enough to bring the full contract value within Section 75’s protection, provided the total cost of the job falls within that range. Under Section 75, the credit card provider is jointly and severally liable alongside the trader, meaning you can pursue a claim against the card provider directly rather than only against a company that may no longer be trading.

What neither protection covers

It’s worth being clear about the gaps. Section 75 specifically applies to credit cards, not debit cards, and not cash or bank transfer payments, so paying entirely by bank transfer to an installer with no scheme membership removes this particular safety net. TrustMark’s financial protection requirement only applies to TrustMark registered businesses, so an installer who isn’t registered with TrustMark, or a similar scheme with its own equivalent protection, isn’t bound by this requirement at all. An installer being Gas Safe registered, which is a legal requirement for gas work generally, doesn’t by itself guarantee either of these specific financial protections — Gas Safe registration is about competence to work safely on gas appliances, not about deposit protection if the business fails.

Reducing the risk before you pay a deposit

• Check whether your installer is TrustMark registered, and if so, ask specifically what financial protection mechanism applies to your job and what it would cover if the business stopped trading.
• Where practical, pay at least part of any deposit or stage payment on a qualifying credit card rather than entirely by bank transfer, so Section 75 protection is available as a backstop even if no scheme membership applies.
• Be cautious of a large upfront deposit relative to the total job value; staged payments tied to completed work reduce how much you’d stand to lose if an installer ceased trading partway through.
• Keep the paperwork — the contract, the deposit receipt, and confirmation of how you paid — since both a TrustMark claim and a Section 75 claim will ask for this evidence.

FAQs

What if I paid by debit card and the installer isn’t TrustMark registered?

This is the weakest position of the scenarios covered here. Debit card payments don’t carry Section 75 protection, though a chargeback claim through your bank may sometimes be possible depending on the circumstances; without scheme membership, you’d otherwise be relying on the general insolvency process as an unsecured creditor.

Does Section 75 cover the whole job if I only put a small deposit on my credit card?

Yes, in principle — provided the total cost of the job is between £100 and £30,000, even a small deposit charged to a qualifying credit card can bring the full contract value within Section 75 protection, not just the amount actually charged to the card.

Is TrustMark the only scheme offering this kind of protection?

No — other consumer protection or trade body schemes can offer broadly similar financial protection requirements for their members, but the specifics vary, so check what a particular scheme actually guarantees rather than assuming all memberships offer equivalent cover.

Sources

This guide draws on the following primary sources, current as of 17 September 2026:

• TrustMark: Providing financial protection for homeowners
• legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Credit Act 1974
• Which?: Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act

Related guides

Best Boiler Deals is an independent guide. We may earn a fee from some links; this never affects what we write. This article is general information, not legal advice on any specific dispute — contact Citizens Advice or a solicitor if you’re dealing with an installer insolvency.