A consumer group has welcomed a Law Lords ruling which allows people using credit cards abroad to get the same "money back" protection they get on goods bought in the UK.

Five senior judges backed the call from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which said credit card issuers should be jointly liable with overseas suppliers if there is a problem with goods bought by UK customers.

Martyn Hocking, editor of Which? Money, said the ruling is "excellent news for customers".

"This positive ruling will remove the uncertainty surrounding purchases overseas and over the internet, and consumers will be able to shop with greater confidence," he said.

"With most credit card companies, consumers already pay a charge each time they use a credit card abroad - the least they can expect is the same level of protection as they enjoy at home."

The move comes after the High Court rejected an OFT case against Lloyds TSB, Tesco Personal Finance and American Express Services Europe in November 2004, in which the firms argued they should not have to cover up to 29 million foreign suppliers, most of whom they have never heard of.

But this argument was later overturned by the Court of Appeal, which said that credit card customers are entering into an agreement that should cover them wherever they are in the world. This claim has now been backed by the Law Lords.

Lord Mance, sitting with Lords Hoffmann, Hope, Walker and Brown, said he supported the Court of Appeal verdict and the argument that it is the "primary purpose" of credit card issuers to provide coverage for customers who buy goods abroad.

He added that the 1974 Consumer Credit Act, which all customers enter into, allowed people to use their cards abroad, so it should also cover them for protection abroad.

Figures for 2004 show UK consumers spent almost £123bn on domestic credit card transactions that year, and a further £12.5bn on overseas transactions.

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