If you read the financial press or even follow the personal finance site on Reddit, you will see complaints from people who reported a fraudulent charge but were denied by their credit card company. Some reporters are even seeing this trend as banks are making people work harder for their money, knowing that a percentage of them will simply give up the fight. What should you do if you had a valid claim denied by your credit card company?
Request a detailed explanation
Ask your credit card issuer for a written explanation of why your claim was denied. After reading though this information, contact them again to explain any discrepancies you see on the report. You can even ask them to reevaluate their decision, an excellent first step as you gather more information to send in.
Gather additional evidence
Collect any new information or documentation that supports your case. You may choose to file a police report – banks may pay more attention to your claim with such a report. Additionally, if the transaction was at a store you’ve never been to or in a state you’ve never visited, see if you can provide proof that you weren’t in those locations when the charge occurred.
Submit an appeal
If you have no further proof of your innocence, submitting a formal appeal may be a waste of time, especially if you have already asked them to reevaluate the case. However, if you have uncovered information pertinent to the case, by all means let the company know it.
Escalate to a supervisor
At any step along the way, you can ask to talk to a supervisor who may have more authority to overturn the decision. Consider recording the call, or at the very least take voluminous notes. If they provide next steps or a settlement in your favor, ask them to contact you with that information via email or through the secure contact page found on most credit card websites.
File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
The CFPB is a governmental regulatory agency that oversees violations of the Fair Credit Billing and Lending Acts. You can complete a form on their website to file a complaint. Make sure you have your information handy and are ready to take this step. You cannot submit a second complaint about the same issue.
From Reddit: Worked 3 years in the Financial Retail Service industry managing a team that oversaw incoming CFPB complaints. In about 95% of cases we ended up siding with the client because it was either more cost effective to write off the loss or because we did not have enough irrefutable proof that the client made the purchase(s) in question to stand up to the CFPB and challenge the complaint.
Other actions
You may choose to file a complaint against your bank. You can find your bank’s regulator by visiting the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. Your state may also provide a site where you can file a complaint. Depending on the dollar amount, you may also choose to take the credit card company to court. Obviously, this would be an expensive route, so understand what you might achieve in a best-case scenario before going down that road.
Steps you can take to prevent fraud
While you can’t be 100% safe from credit card fraud, you can definitely take steps so that you discover any discrepancies quickly. Sign up for credit card alerts so that if anyone buys something using your card you are notified. Read through your bill every month, making sure that you recognize the merchants and that the amounts are correct. Limit the number of cards you carry with you so if one is missing you will quickly notice it’s not there. Don’t purchase anything using public wifi. And finally, shred any documents that reveal your credit card number.
Credit cards denying fraud cases is yet another situation where companies seem to be making people jump through more hoops before they will do what they should. Don’t let them wear you down. If you have a legitimate complaint, keep fighting to get your money back.
Photo by Olly