Credit Card Fraud and dealing with the BANK

My credit card has had unauthorized transactions since Dec 2010, and i am dealing with a major global bank who is doing nothing to stop it from happening.


After the first unauthorized transactions it was suggested to me to cancel the card and put in dispute forms. THe unathorized items were reversed, and i thought that this would be the end of it.


A few months later, further transaction were made, and to my surprise even though they were being made on the first (already cancelled) card they were appearing on the balance of the new card. Again the same procedures took place.. cancelled cards, dispute forms and much time wasted on the phone and faxing these forms. Again the items were reversed on my statement.


Up until this point even thought these situations were time consuming and frustrating i could somehow accept them as they were not happening often.


THen about 2 months ago, a day before a European trip, unauthorized transactions were agian made on the first card. This time they kept making them until they reached my credit limit. When i arrived at the airport in Europe, i had the pleasant surprsie of not being able to pick up my rental car as i had no credit left on my credit card, as again the transactions were linked to my new (3rd) credit card. It was a weekend, a public holiday on the monday in HK, and nothing could be done for a few days.


Since then i have been trying to resolve this. I have requested that the transaction made on the 1st cancelled card should not affect the balance of the new credit card. The banks reply is that they are not able to do this. I have also requested that this card be removed from my portfolio.. again they refuse to do this, even knowing that these transactiosn are not being made by me, and they are taking place on an already cancelled card. I have tried to deal with card dispute on the phone... they cnat do anything, and actually they are all so ridiculous with their suggestions that i wont even mention the resolutions thye have said to me. I have brought the matter up with a branch manager, who again could only call card disputes.. again nothing could be done. I told them i wanted to make a complaint, so they offered to write a report to present to the complaints department. THe next day i was again contacted by card dispute and told the same ridicuolus suggestions.. that i will just have to keep an eye on my statment , and they will do their best to stop the transactions from happening.


At this point i asked if this resolution to my problem was her idea or if she was just simply relaying a reply.. she wouldnt answer my question. I asked if the banks response to my case could be put into writing.. she said this could not be done.


So the banks suggestion to me as a consumer is that:

1) I need to accept that my credit card is not only being used by myself, but also by criminals.

2) The bank in question cant stop these transactions.

3) The bank in question will not remove this card from my portfolio, and expects me to keep an eye on statemnts , report fruadulent activity, submit dispte forms and accept the inconvenience of not knowing at any single moment whether i can use my credit card or not!

4) It is not known for how long this will continue for.

5) And i need to pay for the privelege of this service!!


Please, could sombody give me suggestions on what i can do.


Many thanks for any replies.

Cancel your account and go to another bank? This is just ridiculous.


And if for some reason you would like to stay with this bank, only cancel the credit card and get your credit card elsewhere.

Thanks 321,


I wish it was so simple.


Finally a reasonable solution has been reached... after 8 months..

I have managed to have any transactions immediatley reversed from my account if they are made on the first card.


Actually i have just learnt that a counterfeit card was made, and these transactions are going through when the merchant does not ask for an authorization code. By this means they are able to make the purchase, as the merchant does not know that the card is already invalid. Although this method of purchase is illegal, some merchants still do it.


Some advice for any others who may be in a similar position. DOnt waste your time calling the help lines or dealing directly with card centre etc yourself. Go into a branch, kick up a fuss until the bank manager realises that your problem has become his problem, and you will see that thye will do something finally. I did exactly that. Ispent more than 3 hours at a branch, until they realised that i was not going to go away until they made a genuine attempt to solve it. In the end they wrote up a case report and submitted it to Qaulity service Managment (Pretty much a complaints department), and finally i was able to get though to someone higher up who looked at my case on an individaul basis, and made the effort to find some kind of solution.


The most frustrating part in dealing with banks is that you can never talk with the person who is authorized to make any decisions. Card centres/bank managers will have employees who can relay messages, but ask them anything, and they have no response, other than reading out or repeating phrases they have been taught.

Hi beancurd,


You are lucky that your problem was quite a simple one. I have never lost my credit card. A counterfeit card was made using my details.. different story all together.

Bit late into your thread but I need any advice you have. I suspect the major global (but local bank) you dealt with is the same one I am having major issues wth but in my case the ironically titled 'Quality Assurance Department' are my problem not my solution.

I live in HK but was in Shanghai when I handed over a card for one small transaction and got the card straight back all normal and fine I thought. But the barman had somehow copied my card and put through HK$ 36,000 worth of bills in 2 other places that I never set foot in. As the barman used the original card to do it HSBC say its my problem even though the 3 fruadulent signatures on the 3 transactions are a joke.

Has anybody else had this issue or can advise what I can do? HSBC won't budge and won't even help me investigate with merchant's bank or police in China. Now I have a bad credit record as I am refusing to pay and waiting for the HKMA to investigate and opine based on my formal complaint about HSBC. Also sent compliant to their Compliance dept. and closed my account and now run out of options.

Hi APF, im truly sorry to hear about your situation.


My only suggestion is to keep going into your nearest branch and be as noisy as possbile. Once the bank manager realises you are not walking away, and you are making it their personal problem, they will start to do something about it.. there is no point wasting your time talking on the phone yourself with the various departments. It seems that no matter what you say, the response is always an answer that does not answer your question... or silence.


In my case it was never a problem of having the transactions reversed, rather, it was my attempts to have the card that was being used (which had been cancelled), to be removed from my name/account.


I can only say that hopefully there wont be further transactions made on your card.. as beleve it or not.. even though you have cancelled/closed your account, the transactions can keep coming through.


As for getting the transactions reversed.. i would just keep going into the branch and refuse to leave until something is done about it. There is always someone higher up in ranking that can investigate further.


Goodluck, and hope that some of this helps!