When it comes to paying for a man and van service, you usually have a choice: cash or card. Many people don’t think much about it—they just use whichever’s convenient. But the payment method you choose affects more than just convenience. It determines what protection you have if something goes wrong.
This guide explains the differences between paying by cash and card, the consumer protections available with each, and how to make an informed choice.
Why Payment Method Matters
Payment isn’t just about transferring money. It’s about creating a record of the transaction and, with card payments, accessing financial protections that can help you recover money if things go wrong.
With cash, once the money leaves your hand, it’s gone. There’s no trail, no third party involved, and no mechanism to reverse the payment. With card payments, your bank or card provider becomes a third party to the transaction—and in certain circumstances, they can help you get your money back.
Card Payment Protections
Section 75 (Credit Cards Over £100)
If you pay by credit card for goods or services costing between £100 and £30,000, you’re protected by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. This is a legal right, not just a voluntary scheme.
Under Section 75, your credit card company is jointly liable with the supplier if something goes wrong. This means if a removal operator fails to provide the service, damages your belongings, or the company goes bust, you can claim against your credit card company for a refund.
The powerful thing about Section 75 is that it applies even if you only paid part of the cost on your credit card. Pay a £50 deposit by credit card on a £400 removal, and you’re still covered for the full amount if things go wrong. You can also claim for consequential losses beyond just the original payment.
Chargeback (All Card Payments)
Chargeback is a voluntary scheme offered by card networks (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) that applies to both credit and debit card payments. It allows your bank to try to reverse a transaction if you didn’t receive the goods or services you paid for, or if they were significantly different from what was described.
Unlike Section 75, chargeback isn’t a legal right—it’s an agreement between card companies. But it still provides meaningful protection. If a man and van operator takes your payment and doesn’t show up, or provides a service drastically different from what was agreed, you can ask your bank to initiate a chargeback.
There are time limits: you typically need to start the chargeback process within 120 days of the transaction or expected delivery. For services booked in advance, the 120-day window usually starts from when the service was due to be provided.
What Card Protections Don’t Cover
Card protections have limits. They won’t help with disputes about service quality where the operator did provide the service but you weren’t happy with it. They don’t cover situations where you simply changed your mind. And chargeback isn’t guaranteed—it’s possible for a merchant to dispute the claim successfully.
But for the most serious problems—operators who take payment and disappear, companies that go bust, services not provided at all—card protections give you a route to recover your money that simply doesn’t exist with cash.
Cash: No Protection, No Trail
Cash offers no consumer protection at all. Once you’ve handed over notes, that money is gone. If the operator doesn’t deliver, damages your belongings, or their company folds, you have no payment mechanism to reverse the transaction.
Your only recourse with cash payments is pursuing the operator directly—through their complaints process, trade associations, or ultimately the courts. All of these require you to identify and locate the operator, prove what was agreed, and demonstrate what went wrong. Without a payment trail, even proving the transaction happened can be challenging.
Why Some Operators Prefer Cash
It’s worth understanding why cash is still common in the man and van industry.
For sole traders and small operators, card payment processing involves costs: transaction fees (typically 1.5-3% per transaction), monthly fees for card machines or payment apps, and the delay between taking payment and receiving funds in their bank account. Cash is immediate and fee-free.
Some operators also prefer the simplicity of cash for short, straightforward jobs. For a quick furniture collection that takes an hour, setting up card payments might seem like unnecessary complexity.
However, the move toward card payments has accelerated significantly. Payment apps and mobile card readers have made accepting cards much easier and cheaper than it used to be. Most professional operators now accept card payments as standard.
When Cash Might Be a Red Flag
An operator who only accepts cash—particularly one who insists on it—should raise questions. While there are innocent explanations, cash-only can also indicate:
Operators avoiding a paper trail, which might suggest they’re not declaring income properly or don’t have appropriate business registrations. Operators who know their service might lead to disputes and want to make chargebacks impossible. Or, in worst-case scenarios, scammers who specifically want payment methods that can’t be reversed.
This doesn’t mean every cash-preferring operator is problematic. But combined with other warning signs—no online presence, reluctance to provide written quotes, pressure to book immediately—cash-only payment should increase your caution.
Making the Right Choice
When Card Payment Makes Most Sense
For any significant job—a house move, expensive furniture transport, or anything where you’re paying hundreds of pounds—card payment is strongly recommended. The consumer protections are too valuable to give up.
If you’re using an operator for the first time and don’t have personal recommendations, card payment provides a safety net. If you’re booking through a platform or comparison site where you don’t know the specific operator, card protection becomes even more important.
When Cash Might Be Acceptable
For small, low-value jobs with operators you know and trust—perhaps someone recommended by friends or family who you’ve used before—the risks of cash payment are lower. If the job is £50 to collect a single item from down the road, the consumer protection argument is less compelling.
But even then, many operators now accept contactless payments, payment apps, or bank transfers that provide at least some record of the transaction.
A Middle Ground: Deposit by Card, Balance Flexible
A practical approach for many moves is to pay the deposit by credit card (securing Section 75 protection on the whole transaction) and then having flexibility on the balance. This gives you meaningful protection while potentially allowing the operator to receive the final payment in whatever form suits them.
Just ensure you get written confirmation of the deposit payment and what it covers.
Beyond Payment: Building Trust
Payment method is one factor in assessing an operator’s trustworthiness, but it’s not the only one. Professional operators who accept card payments also tend to have other trust signals: a verifiable online presence, reviews from previous customers, clear terms and conditions, and willingness to answer questions about insurance and process.
The payment question shouldn’t be viewed in isolation. An operator who ticks all the other boxes but prefers cash for small jobs might be perfectly fine. An operator who only accepts cash and also has no reviews, no written quotes, and pressure tactics is a different story entirely.
The Bottom Line
For any move where you’re paying a meaningful amount of money, card payment provides protections that cash simply doesn’t offer. Section 75 and chargeback aren’t guarantees—but they’re valuable safety nets if things go wrong.
Paying by card also creates a transaction record, makes disputes easier to evidence, and generally encourages professional behaviour from operators who know their service can be reviewed and their payment potentially reversed.
Unless you have strong reasons to prefer cash and high confidence in the operator, card payment is the sensible default choice for removal services.
If you’d like to book with a service that accepts card payments and provides clear pricing upfront, you can get an instant quote to see what your move would cost.
