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| Monday, 24 November 2008 |
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Credit cards: when things go wrong |
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Friday, 18 January 2008 |
Reversing a transaction If you find a charge you dispute, tell your institution immediately. For example: - mail order goods do not arrive or are faulty
- you get charged twice, or for a higher amount than you authorised
- you cancel an authority to debit your credit account directly but the merchant goes on directly debiting to your account
- a thief steals your card and forges your signature to buy things
- a thief uses your card details to buy over the phone or internet.
Usually, in these circumstances, your financial institution will immediately reverse the transaction. Your institution will then seek a chargeback of the disputed amount from the merchant's bank. Unless the merchant can establish that you, or a secondary card-holder, did in fact get the goods or authorise the transaction, the transaction reversal remains in place. However, time limits do apply to the chargeback right. That why its important to check your statements and contact your institution immediately if there’s a problem. The EFT Code also applies to unauthorised transactions made on your credit card where the transaction wasn’t one intended to be authenticated by a signature. Credit card direct debits
Stopping direct debits from your credit card can occasionally prove difficult. Although the chargeback rules allow these transactions to be reversed after you have cancelled your authority, getting the trader to actually stop processing unauthorised transactions may be a problem. For more information, see How to make direct debits work for you. Credit card disputes
Credit card disputes do arise, for example: - Your institution may claim that an unauthorised transaction was due to your negligence by not keeping your PIN secret; or by failing to tell them of unauthorised use within a reasonable time.
- You may claim that your institution ought to have reversed a disputed transaction promptly under the chargeback rules but has failed to do so, leaving you with a loss.
- You dispute liability for transactions made by a secondary cardholder because you had already cancelled the secondary card, or the transactions exceeded the credit limit on your account.
If you are not satisfied with the way a credit card dispute is handled by the staff of your institution, you may take your complaint to the institution's internal complain handling process or to an external dispute resolution body . To find out which scheme covers you, and details of how to contact them read Complaining about a financial product or service. |
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