Credit card stolen? Mind the pitfalls
BANKS in Singapore are standing by their policy of holding customers responsible for transactions made on their lost or stolen cards if they do not report the missing card in time.
Consumers who cry foul may have no leg to stand on, as the policy is stated in the fine print on the contract they have signed.
A check with seven banks and two credit card companies has found that those who hold Singapore-issued cards are liable for any unauthorised transaction made before the loss is reported.
Some, like DBS Bank and Citibank, will at most review cases individually.
One bank that did not want to be named told The Straits Times it was unfair for banks to take the blame and shoulder the cost when cardholders themselves in most cases are careless or negligent. There may also be fraud involved.
Only Maybank and American Express (Amex) have limited liabilities for lost and stolen cards, capped at $500 for Maybank and $100 for Amex.
An ST report two weeks earlier about a consumer who was left with a $17,100 bill after she lost her cards led others like businessman Benjamin Ng, 46, to ask if the practice in Singapore was fair.
Mr Ng, who lived in the United States for 10 years, told ST: 'In the US, the consumers have the right to write off such obvious injustices by simply informing the banks when their cards are stolen and their liabilities would be wiped off.'
The US Truth in Lending Act has special provisions which limit cardholders' liability to $50 for fraudulent charges.
Malaysia's central bank, Bank Negara, limits consumer liability to RM200 (S$82) after a card is stolen.
In Singapore, banks are guided by the Code of Consumer Banking Practice, which is silent on credit card liability.
The exact extent of credit card fraud is not known, though Euromonitor International estimated that $5 million was lost in financial card fraud last year; this covers credit cards, Nets, debit charges and charge cards.
It found there were 7,180,900 credit cards in circulation last year, with $20,642,900 worth of transactions.
Amex and Maybank say they receive a few reports each month of lost or stolen cards while OCBC says it rarely comes across fraud.
Singapore Retailers Association executive director Lau Chuen Wei advises consumers to vote with their feet and walk away if they disagree with the terms and conditions of the issuing bank.
Agreeing, the Consumers Association of Singapore president Yeo Guat Kwang said: 'Consumers can choose to take cards from banks that offer them terms they are satisfied with.'
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