How to Resolve an Unauthorized Credit Card Charge?

The matter of fact is that your credit card can be a big attraction for hackers as compared to any other financial instrument. Thankfully, when you apply credit card in UAE, there exist certain provisions that save you from paying interest on any of such fraudulent charges. Whether you apply for a credit card online or through any other mode, go through such provisions before initiating the application process. In case you ever end up being a victim of such a fraudulent credit card charge, you can resolve the problem by following the steps mentioned in the article.

What are Unauthorized Charges?

Unauthorized or fraudulent credit card charges include charges for the transactions that you did not make. While these unauthorized charges can reflect in your account due to some technical glitch or clerical error, it can be because of a credit card theft.

Step 1: Make Sure the Transaction is Unauthorized

Irrespective of the reason, unauthorized charges should be reported as soon as possible. It will help you to reduce the liability on your part that arises out of these unauthorized charges. Before reporting such transactions, make sure that the transaction is not made by the authorized user -joint account holder (if any).

Note-Go through your credit card statements regularly in order to keep a check of doubtful transactions (if any).

Step 2: Report the Issue

• When you are sure that the transaction is indeed fraudulent, then the next step is to contact the credit card provider and report the fraudulent transactions on your credit card account. You can get in touch with the customer care of the provider by calling their helpline.
• It is advised not to provide any information related to your credit cards online through email or on calls to anyone who asks for it. By providing access to your information, you might fall for a phishing scam.
• You can also write about the issue to the issuer company on their official email address or by post, providing them with a summary of the situation, including the place, dates, and names involved. While contacting the issuer through any source, be sure you are including proof that you have not carried out the fraudulent transaction. Once the unauthorized credit card charges are reported to the card issuer company, it might typically close the compromised account or take the required action as per the demand of the situation.

Step3: Actively Follow-Up

Whenever you report a fraudulent transaction,  your provider will investigate it first and then provide any solution. Hence, the credit card provider might take a few days before providing the resolution. The time taken may vary from one credit card provider to the other. After the resolution of the case, if the outcome favours the cardholder, the transaction will be reversed by the bank.

Note

1. In case a legitimate transaction is falsely reported, the bank is authorized to charge a processing fee.
2. You are not liable to pay the charges for these disputed transactions but you will have to pay the regular legitimate outstanding balance of your bill.

In a Nutshell

While the card companies are taking required measures to enhance the security of online transactions, frauds related to credit cards are not inevitable. In case there are any unauthorized charges on your credit card, follow the above-mentioned steps carefully.

Having said that, you can always try to prevent such transaction by being extra careful. Make sure you go through your monthly statements on a regular basis so that you can detect errors or frauds (if any). Never leave your credit card unattended, or share the details of your card. While using your credit cards online, use a strong password and keep changing it frequently.