Sometimes it happens and, if they have not suffered it themselves, the citizen will, quite likely, know someone who has: that, when reviewing the movements of their card, a charge suddenly appears that they have not had place. This is a very delicate situation, since you have to claim that charge and verify, in turn, that our money is safe.
In these situations, the important thing is to act quickly. The Bank of Spain that, after verifying that we have an undue charge on our card, the first thing to do is inform our bank or the card issuer that this charge has not been made by us. In accordance with the regulations, the client has up to 13 months from that charge to claim it, but it is very convenient to communicate it immediately.
The reason is that if the charge that should not be there is not reported, it might not be the last: as long as the notice is not given, the threat will continue to be there. And behind that charge there can be problems as serious as the cloning of a card, a theft or loss, the theft of our personal data…
For all this, it is key to report these charges to our bank. At the moment in which we do so, we also avoid the rest of the charges that could be produced in the same way and without authorization. Thus, with this, not only does the problem begin to be solved, but it will also not worsen in the future.
To inform the bank of these circumstances, it is the entities themselves that provide their customers with unrecognized charge forms, either on the bank’s website or at one of its branches. These forms must indicate both the date of the charge and its amount, and in cases of theft, a copy of the complaint may also be required.
When do we get our money back… and when not
When it is considered that the charge was not authorized, the bank has the obligation to refund the amount at the end of the business day following the customer’s communication. Things change when you do consider that the authorization took place.
In the cases in which the bank considers that the authorization for the charge did occur, it will not return the amounts, the loss of which must be assumed by the client. Those assumptions are the following:
-Fraud actions of the card holder.
– Negligent actions of the card holder: for not complying with their obligation to preserve or care for the card.
-Actions that compromise your financial security: when, for example, a client inadvertently provides their passwords and encourages a cybercriminal to take them, that money will not be returned.
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