A News 12
viewer says her family had a
problem with debit card fraud -- if your card is stolen, you should notify your
bank right away. But what if you didn't notice and now it’s been days maybe
even a week? News 12's Walt Kane is in your corner with what you should
do.
Maya says
her 19-year-old daughter forgot her debit card at the gas station, and since then, her account had thousands of dollars withdrawn. She went to police
and filed a fraud claim with the bank, but after 10 days, they called back,
said the case is closed and denied it. The big question is how long did she wait to report the
card missing?
Under federal law, if you
contact the bank within two business days of the first fraudulent charge,
you're only responsible for $50. So if she did that, the bank would have to
prove those charges were hers.
But if you wait longer than
two days, you could be on the hook for up to $500, and if you don't tell your
bank for 60 days after that first fraudulent charge, you can be held
responsible for everything.
Bottom line: If you lose your card, even if you just think it's just
misplaced, ask for a temporary freeze, or just get a new one, and always report
fraudulent charges immediately, even for small amounts.
Meantime, David says, “I made an eBay purchase a while back and returned it, but have
not gotten my refund. Efforts to contact them have proven impossible."
eBay says you can ask them
to step in if the seller doesn't make good, but you must make the request
within 21 days of your refund request or 10 days after the refund deadline.
If you feel like the system isn't working, you have other options: If you paid by credit card, you can dispute the
charge. If you used PayPal, you can file a claim, or just dispute the charge with your bank, so if the
first approach doesn't work, try something else.