SINGAPORE: A Reddit user wrote that while he had traveled to Europe some months ago, his credit card was stolen by a pickpocket. The thief spent over Є8000, which is about S$12,000 within a couple of hours. Unfortunately, the bank that issued the credit card refused to reverse or cancel the transactions, saying he had reported his loss too late.
u/onx001 wrote in a post on r/Singapore on Thursday (Nov 2) that he only notified the bank after four hours because he had been busy with work and did not see the messages about the unauthorised transactions to his card immediately.
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Thus began back-and-forth negotiations with his bank that lasted “many weeks.” At one point, he decided to go directly to FIDReC, the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre, the entity that helps mediate between consumers and financial institutions.
To make a long story short, u/onx001 summarized his experience:
- The bank has refused to reverse/cancel this amount, citing that chargebacks are not done for physical card transactions (unlike online fraud)
- Reason is that I reported too late, even though it was as soon as I was made aware of it
- They offered to waive a portion out of “goodwill”
- I’m not sure whether to pursue further or go to the adjudication stage. Also not sure if lawyer costs are worth it.
He also said that his biggest takeaway from the situation is to not carry physical credit cards at all, as everything can be handled through Apple Pay or Google Pay.
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u/onx001 claimed that most banks in Singapore say that the maximum liability of a consumer is $100 if the loss of a credit card is reported immediately. However, he wrote, “But I’m thinking if this “immediately” may be(?) disputed since there are bound to be cases where it is difficult for the victim to report, i.e. phone stolen together, or beaten unconscious, etc? This is supported by the sub-code of the Code of Consumer Banking Practice citing that the liability should be $100 ‘unless the cardholder has acted fraudulently, or has been grossly negligent, or has failed to inform the card issuers as soon as reasonably practicable after becoming aware that his or her card has been lost or stolen.’”
He added that as far as he knows, the popular UK-based money service business Wise, as well as American Express (Amex) reverses charges on fraudulent transactions. A quick web search confirms that chargebacks are offered by both companies if requirements are met.
/TISG
The post appeared first on The Independent News.
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