A person buys a parrot from a pet shop, it becomes ill and dies. How can we act as judge and jury?"This may have overtones of Monty Python and dead parrot jokes, but both Barclaycard and HSBC have experienced such claims.In the HSBC case, the post-mortem revealed that the purchaser had fed the bird unsuitable food. As the cardholder had not been sold a sick parrot, the claim failed.While all credit cards have built-in statutory protection, some also offer insurance against loss, theft or damage. You can, however, make a claim against the credit card issuer without going to the supplier first."A spokesman for Barclaycard says many claims which it receives are not clear-cut "Take the case of the dead parrot. Enclose a photocopy of either the voucher you signed, or the statement showing the transaction with your letter.

If these are not available, give details such as the date and amount of the transaction.What should you do if the goods you have ordered by credit card are faulty or do not arrive The OFT says: "It is sensible to approach the trader first. Not all credit card companies will settle a claim on a purchase made outside the UK.If you pay for something by credit card and you learn that that the supplier has gone out of business, you should write to the credit card company immediately. For example, if you pay for a faulty carpet cleaner by credit card, and the cleaner ruins the carpets in your home, you can not only claim against the retailer and the credit card company for the cleaner, but also for the cost of replacing the carpets.But the law does not apply to transactions over pounds 30,000, to cards held by businesses, or to personal cards where the credit limit is more than pounds 25,000.Opinion differs as to whether the Consumer Credit Act covers transactions abroad. Under the Consumer Credit Act, credit card companies are jointly liable with suppliers if there is a problem with goods and services which have cost pounds 100 or more, and have been purchased wholly or in part with a credit card. John Bridgeman, the Director General of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) describes this as "one of the most useful consumer protection laws"."It enables shoppers to make a claim from a credit card issuer if a supplier goes out of business, or otherwise fails to give satisfaction," he says.Claims are not limited to the cost of the goods or services - unlimited consequential damages are also covered.

In the frenzied period of spending, customers should not forget the added protection that credit cards provide. Half-closing the eyes, one could believe it to be a sleepy Alpine village, populated by farming folk and their cattle.Further information on www. ischgl or from the Austrian National Tourist Office (0171-629 0461). CREDIT CARDS which have gone into overdrive during the festive season, will be heavily used again during the January sales.

This was the Monday after the opening party: the crowds had gone, the TV crews, too, and below the almost deserted slopes, Ischgl was delightfully placid. The only shop I found that sold more substantial provisions was the corner-shop equivalent of Harrods' food hall, its stock limited to such delicacies as dried wild meats and Cirpiani-brand spaghetti. Maybe that's why there's a double-decker running from the village up to the Ischgl ski area: so that Samnaun's inhabitants can go and buy fruit and veg.On the way back up on the Twinliner there were 178 empty spaces. But those who lack a head for heights should stand well back from the front of the car when it swings over the ridge for the final, steep drop into the valley.After the journey on the hi-tech Twinliner - the driver's dashboard has enough knobs, screens and flashing lights to keep a recording engineer happy - Samnaun proved a bit of a disappointment (starting with the lavatories at the lift-station, quite the smelliest I've encountered in the German- speaking world). The word "Doppelstockige" means double- decker: the Twinliner cable-car does indeed have two decks, allowing a total capacity of 180 passengers. A former principality, the Samnaun area is now effectively part of Switzerland, but it maintains its duty-free status and the tiny village, a bus-ride away from the cable-car, has become a sort of rustic, outdoor airport terminal.Its residents seemingly survive on a diet of perfume, cigarettes and liquor - quite a cheap way to live when a bottle of Famous Grouse costs only SwFr17 (about pounds 7).