Thread: Stolen check card help!

Went for gas tonight, and my Visa check card was declined. Hmmm.

Got home, checked my account, and there are 14 transactions totalling about 800 dollars from area gas stations. NOT made by me.

Called the bank, they could give no other info until business hours tomorrow, but cancelled the card and will send out a new one.

What the heck happens now? Am I out $800 bucks, or does the bank, Visa, or anyone cover this? I'm lost on this one, and could use any advice before tomorrow.

2nd damn time I've been hit by thieves this year. 6 months ago my 4 month old truck that I worked forever to get, was stolen. Now this.

Must get out of this god forsaken crap hole of a city (L.A.).

Thanks for any help.

danrs

Man, bummer. Well, I've had my visa check card stolen 2 times and 1 time got just the number and expiration date stolen. I have learned my lesson with visa/mc check cards linked to your checking account. What will happen is that they will dispute the charges, etc. and you will get your money back but depending on the bank, that can take up to 10 business. With some banks you are ass out of the money until they conclude their investigation. This is what happend to me and my credit union. But I've heard that with other banks (like BofA) they as a courtesy place a temporary credit to your account in the meanwhile so you don't have checks bouncing, etc.

I will never carry a check card ever again. For now, I have a regular ATM card w/ NO LOGO. I do have a visa check card but it is safely tucked away. I use it as a back up just in case I loose my ATM card. All of my purchases, etc. are made w/ a credit card. Check cards are just too scary for me.

Visa & MC debit cards have similar policies to credit cards.

As long as you reported it lost/stolen to your bank, you should not be liable (max. $50).

Were they PIN based transactions or signature transactions? Do you have an AU on the account?

Checkcards DO NOT have the same protection as credit cards when it comes to lost/stolen cards. By law, a consumer is liable for a max of $50 of unauthorized charges on a stolen CC. That same protection does not extend to a check card.

Depending on the amount, most banks are likely to refund the fraudulent charges, but they are under no legal obligation to do so. You can find numerous horror stories on the internet of people out hundreds or thousands of dollars in these situations. I personally use a checkcard and find it quite convenient, but I generally keep a small balance (less than $300) to avoid large losses. Hopefully, you have one of the nice banks.

Visa & MasterCard networks both have zero liability policies in place for unauthorized purchases on both credit and debit cards.

Zero liability DOES NOT extend to ATM transactions or PIN based purchases (POS Transactions) processed by another network (Star, Most, NYCE).

Here is Visa's policy:

http://www.usa.visa.com/personal/sec...h2_/index.html

Visa's policy

It's simple. Shop for anything online or off—with absolutely no risk.
Use your Visa card to shop online, in a store, or anywhere, and you're protected from unauthorized use of your card or account information. With Visa's Zero Liability policy*, your liability for unauthorized transactions is $0—you pay nothing! Visa takes online security very seriously so that you can focus on your shopping.

Zero Liability has you covered:

Worry-free shopping
Ultimate security
Complete fraud protection
Owe nothing on fraudulent transactions.
Visa's Zero Liability policy means 100% protection for you. Visa's enhanced policy guarantees maximum protection against fraud. You now have complete liability protection for all of your card transactions that take place on the Visa system. Should someone steal your card number while you're shopping, online or off, you pay nothing for their fraudulent activity. If you notice fraudulent activity on your card, promptly contact your financial institution to report it. It is important to continually monitor your monthly statement to identify any unauthorized transactions.**

Visa's Zero Liability policy took effect April 4, 2000, and is a great improvement on the previous policy. The former policy required that you report fraudulent activity within two business days of discovery. After this two-day period, you could be held responsible for up to $50 of the unauthorized charges. With the new Zero Liability policy, you're no longer required to report fraudulent activity within two days and you're not responsible for any fraudulent transactions made over the Visa network.

The Zero Liability policy covers all Visa credit and debit card transactions processed over the Visa network—online or off. The only transactions not covered under the Zero Liability policy are commercial card, ATM, and non-Visa-branded PIN transactions.

For transactions on other networks, the liability decision is left to the financial institution that issued your card. The Issuer has the option of extending the same protections afforded by Visa's Zero Liability policy.

Get quick provisional credit for fraud losses.
Visa's cardholder protection policy requires all financial institutions issuing Visa products to extend provisional credit for losses from unauthorized card use within five business days of notification of the loss. However, many major financial institutions affiliated with Visa will issue provisional credit even earlier—within 24 to 48 hours after the loss is reported.

Shop safely with Visa.
Visa takes online security very seriously so that you can shop safely on the Internet. With the support of Member banks, Visa has invested millions of dollars in building a secure payment system. Visa works with law enforcement and technology companies to stay one step ahead of criminals.

As a result of these efforts, fraud as a percentage of our total volume has actually declined over time. In the early 1990s, fraud accounted for about 0.15 percent of total Visa transaction volume; today it's a mere 0.06 percent—that's less than 1/13 of one percent.

With Zero Liability, Visa continues to lead the card payment industry in consumer protection. Although card fraud is extremely rare and getting even rarer, Visa's policy eliminates any risk you face shopping online or off.

You're protected with Visa.
Visa has highly sophisticated fraud-screening solutions in place, and works with technology companies every day to enhance them. Field merchants also receive training from Visa on fraud protection.

Visa also mandates cardholder verification codes on the back of cards to help merchants match cards used for purchases with their authorized cardholders. Visa card Issuers should have these codes on all newly issued Visa cards as of 2001. Visa's address verification service also helps merchants screen card-not-present transactions.

Regardless of where you shop, enjoy the comfort of knowing you're protected with Visa.

*Covers U.S.-issued cards only. Visa's Zero Liability policy does not apply to commercial card or ATM transactions, or to PIN transactions not processed by Visa. See your Cardholder Agreement for more details.