CASE: Banks Bully Sporns? We Can't Help!

[makapaaa]

Tok so much cok when this is the simple message it's trying to put across!

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Aug 3, 2009
CREDIT CARD FRAUD
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Customers are the first line of defence
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to various letters in response to the reports, 'Thieves use her credit cards to charge $17,000' (July 13), and 'Credit card stolen? Mind the pitfalls (last Tuesday).
A credit card is a credit facility extended by a bank to a customer. When a customer uses a credit card, the bank agrees to pay the merchant on behalf of the customer, and the customer agrees to pay the bank back. The credit card provides convenience for the customer as he does not need to carry large amounts of cash. At the same time, this means that credit cards should be handled carefully. Hence, both customers and banks have responsibilities.
Although merchants are required to review the signature on the card, in practice, it is easy to forge signatures. Banks therefore demonstrate their responsibility in many other ways.
For example, banks have fraud detection systems to monitor card usage on a real-time basis. Analysts review suspicious transactions and contact customers to verify and validate high-risk or value transactions. That was how letter writer Tan Shock Ling ('Here's what happened', last Friday) discovered her credit card was missing. Sometimes, however, the customer cannot be contacted, particularly if he is overseas. In some cases, the bank then 'blocks' the credit card as a safety measure and asks the customer to validate the transaction.
The first and primary line of defence is still the customer who has custody of the card. It is the customer's responsibility to keep the credit card safe. If the customer leaves the card in a handbag in an unattended car where it might be stolen, then, regrettably, that is negligence. With most banks, card members are liable for transactions effected before the bank is notified of the loss of the card. But where every reasonable precaution has been taken by the card member, including immediately reporting the loss of a card, the card member is not liable for any unauthorised purchases.
The Association of Banks in Singapore will continue to monitor this issue and keep abreast of developments. We encourage prudent behaviour by both customers and banks to prevent credit card fraud.
Ong-Ang Ai Boon (Mrs)
Director
Association of Banks in Singapore

 

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Take action please
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>'The financial regulatory authorities should get involved and ensure that customers are treated equitably and not on a 'guilty unless proven otherwise' basis.' </TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><DIV class=story_text><!-- 4 or less paragraphs so show all paragraphs first before showing the media and bkstry and stuffs --><!-- story content : start -->'The financial regulatory authorities should get involved and ensure that customers are treated equitably and not on a 'guilty unless proven otherwise' basis.' <!-- story content : start -->MR JAIRAM AMRITH: 'Last Friday's account by a victim of stolen credit cards ('Here's what happened') makes shocking reading. While no one seems to want to grapple with this issue, the banks continue to adopt a cavalier attitude. The financial regulatory authorities should get involved and ensure that customers are treated equitably and not on a 'guilty unless proven otherwise' basis.'

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</TD></TR><TR><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=left>Posted by: mbkho at Mon Aug 03 10:49:16 SGT 2009
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[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Safeguarding accounts a collective process
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to last Friday's letter by Madam Tan Shock Ling, 'Here's what happened'.
Under Citibank's terms and conditions, card members are not liable for unauthorised transactions made after they have reported the loss of the card. Card members are liable for all unauthorised transactions made on the card before the bank is notified of the loss.
On a goodwill basis, we offered to waive a sum of $1,425, as well as a three-month interest-free instalment repayment schedule for the remaining $4,275 charged to the card.
While the industry has strong fraud management practices in place that include prevention and resolution measures, safeguarding customer accounts is a collective process involving banks, merchants and card holders.
Adam Rahman
Corporate Affairs Director
Citi Singapore

 

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Set limits for credit card liability before consumers vote with their feet
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to last Tuesday's report, 'Credit card stolen? Mind the pitfalls'.
These days I am worried sick. Specifically, I worry about the six credit cards which are my constant companions every time I leave home.
What used to feel like an asset in my wallet is increasingly turning out to be an enormous liability. I shudder at the thought of losing my cards to thieves and facing the contingent liability arising from it.
I am lost at what exactly constitutes prompt reporting. What happens if I lose my wallet in a mall and realise only after a few hours? After all, it appears anyone can walk into the nearest shop in minutes and buy a bunch of Rolex watches on a fraudulent card without any questions asked, leaving me to face the bank's music!
Gone are the days when credit cards were needed only when travelling overseas or in an emergency. These days, savvy marketing tie-ups between card-issuing banks and merchants ensure that no aspect of our lives is complete without multiple credit cards.
With hefty discounts on airline tickets, petrol and groceries, special privileges at clubs and one-for-one deals in restaurants, credit cards have become a way of life for many of us. Therefore, it is important that regulators like the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) be proactive and set limits for consumer liability before consumers vote with their feet.
MAS should also look at all disclaimers of liability made to consumers in fine print, which need a trained legal mind to decipher. Perhaps banks should be made to insist on photo identity checks in high-value transactions as security measures seem inadequate.
Even after holding credit cards for more than two decades, I have yet to be notified by any bank of my lost-card liability in clear terms.
Deepak G. Gurnani

OK! Will forward your letter to the banks. Ta Ta! *chey*​

 

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Unfair to put entire liability on shoulder of cardholder
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to last Tuesday's report, 'Credit card stolen? Mind the pitfalls', and am perturbed to hear that cardholders are held liable for transactions made on their lost or stolen cards before they report the missing cards to the banks.
A lost or stolen card is only one side of the equation. For a fraudulent transaction to take place, the fraudster needs the merchant to verify the signature on the charge slip, and accept payment in exchange for the goods.
Should the merchant not be held responsible as well since it has failed to fulfil this part of its responsibility? Similarly, is it not the responsibility of the bank to ensure that the merchant exercises its due diligence in verifying transactions?
To place the liability entirely on the cardholder is unfair and appears to contravene the spirit of the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act.
Put simply, the idea of the merchant still making its sale and the bank still earning its commission from a fraudulent transaction at the expense of a victim (the cardholder) does not sound logical or fair.
Furthermore, my understanding is that a credit card transaction is built on the basis of a contract of sale. Since fraud is a crime, is it not right to say that a contract of sale and hence the credit card transaction that arises from it do not exist on the basis that they are illegal? If so, does a cardholder even have a case to answer?
Oh Kwong Wee

=> If ordinary Sporns can make sound arguments, why can't the BEST PAID Papaya dogs in the world do so?

 

[cooleo]