How to protect yourself re payment for goods

[Annieisalright]

This is most likely a silly question

But whenever I make big purchases I do so via credit card for the protection element

I am commissioning a piece of art to be competed for a gift and all the artists I have found either take payment via Cheque or bank transfer

Is there any way to make either payment in a way that protects me if they turn out to be dodgy?

I've looked at reviews, previous work etc. so done due diligence but am worried as it's a large sum of money

TIA

We have a similar issue with paying for services for our wedding as most suppliers want bank transfer. The only thing we've managed with some is to pay small deposit by credit card and balance by cash to get the consumer protection offered by credit card. Perhaps see if that might work?

If you can pay with PayPal Credit, that will also give you section 75 protection.

PayPal goods & services. There's a cost attached but it gives the protection missing from a bank transfer. You might need to pay whatever fee the artist will pay to withdraw the money from paypal if you can't find any to accept payment within paypal but worth looking into.

I'm an artist and I use PayPal as it gives the buyer some protection. I also use stripe on my website so that a customer can use a credit card should they wish. Hope this helps

You won't be protected even if you use a credit card as it doesn't cover made to order or personalised items. Got caught out by this.

Yes, it does cover such items. Section 75 does not have any such limitation. However, you can only get a refund for such items if they are damaged or faulty. The 14-day cooling off period for items ordered online does not apply. If the goods in your case were damaged or faulty and your credit card provider refused a refund, you should refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman.