Page 54 - BANKING FINANCE JULY 2016
P. 54
FEATURE
What to do if
your credit or
debit card is lost
or stolen
A situation that no credit or tection against and fight frauds. If ample, Axis Bank Ltd gives a time of
debit card user would like you lose your card or it gets stolen, seven days to report a theft or loss of
to see herself in is to lose it you should first inform the bank and card. SBI Cards and Payments Ser-
somewhere and have it block it. After this, you will not be li- vices Pvt. Ltd's website says it's not li-
misused. But with the number of num- able for any of the transactions that able for any transactions incurred on
ber of card users in India growing sig- happen after it is blocked. the card prior to the time of report-
nificantly, the chances of card fraud is ing of the loss of the card to it.
also on the rise. If you lose a card, you You should file a report with the po-
should immediately inform your bank lice and lodge a first information re- Things to remember
about it and get it blocked. The liabil- port (FIR) and get an acknowled-
ity fee on a lost or stolen card is typi- gement for the complaint. You will Credit or debit card users need to
cally payable on the expenses in- need to give a written application take adequate precaution in case of
curred during the period between the containing your bank debit or card loss or theft of their cards. Even
loss and your informing the bank. number, and/or account number and though most of banks have the zero
the date of loss. liability policy features, it is better to
Most banks have a zero liability policy enquire about this feature when tak-
that comes as a feature in the card, You might also need to give a copy of ing a card. Also, if there is a dispute
and some will ask you to opt for it. the FIR in case there is an on the lost or stolen credit card, the
What this means is that the card user unauthorised transaction online. If onus is on the cardholder to prove it
does not have to pay anything against the fraud happens outside India, you is not her fault.
the expenses occurred during the pe- would also need to furnish a copy of
riod between the loss and you inform- your passport. The bank will reissue a The bank or credit card issuer will re-
ing the bank. Here is a look at what card if the earlier one was lost, stolen fund or reverse the disputed transac-
process to follow if you lose your card. or damaged, usually for around tion if the customer is able to prove
Rs.100. her innocence but this may take time.
Process to follow If you see any suspicious activities via
All banks have some sort of zero liabil- your lost card, report it to the bank
If you have been a victim of card ity policy to protect cardholders, es- immediately. Further, the disputed
fraud, including theft or loss, accord- pecially if card loss is reported within amount on your credit card can im-
ing to a master circular by the Re- the stipulated time. This may vary pact your credit score too, as the
serve Bank of India (RBI), Frauds-clas- depending upon the type of transac- bank will report you as defaulter. The
sification and reporting, it is the tion and reporting deadlines. For ex- credit score will take 9-10 months to
banks' responsibility to provide pro- get back on track. (Source: Mint)
54 | 2016 | JULY | BANKING FINANCE
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