Martin Lee @ Sg
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Credit Card Liabilities in the Event of Loss

After a flurry of publicity as a result of a case reported in the newspaper about a woman who was slapped with a $17k liability after the loss of her credit cards, the Association of Banks of Singapore (ABS) recently announced steps to limit cardholders liabilities if their cards were lost or stolen.

This change in stand took a while to take place as the initial responses to the report by the ABS and banks did not hint of any changes to the procedures.

With effect from 1st November 2009, credit card holders will have a maximum liability of $100 if their card was lost or stolen. This is provided the loss is not due to negligence or fraud and is reported promptly.

MAS is also looking at the use of some authentication of online transactions using credit cards.

The positive change in policies meant that we are now finally on par with the practices adopted by other developed countries. Well, better late than later.

Kudos to the Straits Times and our other local press for highlighting the matter.

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4 comments
James Tan says 14 years ago

Hi Lion,

Credit card companies still make a practice to reveal one’s credit card number & expiry date in full in their respective monthly statements.

Should this be misplaced or sent to the wrong address or inserted into wrong letter box by the postman, anyone getting hold of it will be able to use/sell it for online purchasing to the great loss of its rightful owner.

Do u not agree ? I have already pointed out to 2 companies, but so far nothing has been done.

Reply
    lioninvestor says 14 years ago

    Hi James,

    Agreed but for online purchases, usually you will also need the 3 digit code which won’t be found on the statement.

    If you think about it, every time you pass your card over to the staff when you settle your dining bill, they can easily copy all your credit card information. The current situation is actually quite bad.

    Nevertheless, the 3-factor authentication might be in the pipeline. Once that is implemented, it will make our credit card transactions more secure.

    Reply
      James Tan says 14 years ago

      Unfortunately not all merchants ask for the 3 digit code & this is confirmed by the credit company.

      3 months ago one of my credit cards info was hijacked and within 6 hrs my card number & expiry date was utilised online of over $5,000 of purchases in Europe, USA & Brazil. The credit card company knowing my style of spending, immediately checked with me and immediately I told them to suspend my card as I disputed such purchasing.

      Within 2 months, the said company absorbed every cent of it. For this reason, the sooner MAS comes out with a token device, our credit cards will be at the mercy of the determined crooks.

      Reply
Huge Debt says 14 years ago

This should have happened many years ago, seem we are always very slow to protect consumers, from the recent problems, including LB Minibond issue.
Just to share an incident that happened to me last July when I was on a business trip to USA. I did not lose my credit card but somehow, a clever syndicate manage to duplicate my card and chalked up US$7K + of spending in Califonia within 2 weeks. I reported this case to Wells Fargo Bank and after a 1 month investigate, I was penalised for only US$50. They did not tell me the details though.
In the US, consumers can return any goods purchased within 7 days if they are not satisfied with the product or do an exchange if they found that they bought they wrong item. I did not once and no questions asked. Can such policy be implemented in S’pore, I doubt…

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