Payment Card Protections
  • Unauthorized use of your payment card
     
  •  As a payment cardholder, you have many protections against the unauthorized use of your payment card (such as a debit, credit, or stored value card).
     
  • Many countries have laws that limit your liability for unauthorised transactions, and some card issuers provide additional protections voluntarily.
     
  • In some cases, you may be liable for a portion of the unauthorised charge; in others your liability may depend on when and how you notify your card issuer.
     
  • Contact your card issuer to find out what protections you have and how to use them.
     
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  • What can you do if you pay with a payment card but don’t receive the product, receive the wrong product, or are billed for the wrong product?
     
  • Some countries have laws protecting payment cardholders in the event of non-delivery or delivery of the wrong item.
     
  • In some cases, card issuers provide protections (you may want to contact them to learn about these protections).
     
  • In either case, you may want to contact the merchant to try to resolve your problem directly. You can also contact the card issuer.
     
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  • What happens if you buy a product with a payment card and are unhappy with the quality?
     
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  • Protections against problems related to the quality of goods purchased online with a payment card are less common. The best approach is to do what you would do offline: try to resolve the issue directly with the merchant.
     
  • If you are not successful, contact your card issuer. Legal protections may apply in some countries.
     
  • You might also consider alternative dispute resolution.
     
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  • What can you do if the amount on your payment card statement differs from the amount stated on the website when you made the purchase?
     
  • Contact the online merchant and ask that the discrepancy be explained or fixed.
     
  • If you are not satisfied, contact the payment card issuer by letter to ask that the discrepancy be fixed.
    • Read your monthly statements promptly. Keeping good records about your transactions, including print-outs of your purchase confirmation pages, should help you resolve any errors.
       

    Source: OECD’s "Using Payment Cards Online: Frequently Asked Questions," which may be found at the OECD’s Consumer Policy home page: www.oecd.org/sti/consumer-policy