Dear Avani,The other day while I was out, I lost my debit card on campus, but I didn’t find out until it was too late. The next thing I know, there are $700 worth of miscellaneous charges on my account. I’ve tried calling the bank to cancel the charges, but in the mean time my account continues to go negative as new charges hit my account. Now, I can’t even pay my rent. I’m not quite sure how to move forward, and I’m afraid that whoever has stolen my credit card information will continue to charge things to my account. Any advice?
-AnonymousFirst of all, why didn’t you immediately report this to your bank? I’ve lost my debit card before and within 24 hours my card was frozen. If you report your card as stolen, most banks will reimburse you for your losses after investigating that the miscellaneous charges were not made by you. Many companies have toll-free numbers and 24-hour service to deal with such emergencies. It’s a good idea to follow up your phone calls with a letter. Include your account number, when you noticed your card was missing and the date you first reported the loss.As much as I want to sympathize with your dilemma, this should have been taken care of much earlier. If you would have immediately called the bank or walked into a branch and talked to a representative, the problem would have been tackled before it reached such a horrible level. I did a little bit of research and every single bank that I looked into stressed the same thing: “Report your card immediately.” The phone call literally takes five minutes. I don’t understand how the problem could have gotten so out of hand, and as unfortunate as your circumstances are, you are partially to blame for not taking care of it sooner. Lucky for you, banks are very much concerned about their image, especially in this economy. More than likely, the bank will write off your losses for good PR after conducting a fraud investigation. Also, if your debit card was a Visa, you are covered by it’s “Zero Liability” policy, which basically states that you won’t be held responsible for fraudulent charges made with your card or account information. Even if it wasn’t a Visa, most major banks have a way of reimbursing you, partially if not fully. You are very lucky that the money is leaving your account through transactions and miscellaneous charges and not through ATM withdrawal, in which case reimbursing is far more complicated and often not available.For future reference, try not to lose your card in the first place; and if it does get lost, report it to your bank immediately. The longer you wait, the bigger the problem becomes. For now, call your bank as soon as you finish reading this and take care of this mess before you’re completely penniless.
