Most news articles on consumer law are needlessly confusing. Attorney Mike Cardoza takes a straight, no-nonsense approach on the current issues facing consumers today. Our blog provides an insider’s view on consumer rights, and explores topics such as threats to privacy and unfair credit reporting. Be sure to check back for regular updates.
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These Credit Card Charges Aren’t Mine. Why Was I Denied?inadequate investigations are not imaginary. Federal regulators have found real cases where credit-card issuers failed to conduct reasonable investigations before holding consumers responsible for disputed unauthorized charges.
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I Warned My Bank. Why Did They Let the Money Go?This situation is different because you are seeing the smoke before the house burns down. You call the bank and say, “Something is wrong right now.” You believe you have caught the problem in time because you did exactly what a responsible customer is supposed to do: you noticed the alert, picked up the phone, and told the institution holding your money that somebody appeared to be trying to take it.
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I Sent the Bank Everything. Why Am I Still Denied?This is something I see in Bank Hacking cases that makes me particularly angry. The bank does not necessarily give you one final denial and tell you to go away. Instead, somebody tells you there is another thing you can do: send us this, provide that, call this number, submit these documents, appeal the decision.
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The Bank Says It Investigated. Did It?Most people hear the word “investigation” and imagine someone gathering evidence, comparing facts, looking at timelines, reviewing spending history, and trying to figure out what really happened. That is what an investigation is supposed to be.
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Why Can’t My Bank Tell These Charges Aren’t Mine?It is bad enough when money disappears from your account. It is worse when your bank looks at obviously bizarre charges and basically tells you that ...
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Why does the bank say the PIN proves it was me?The bank may treat a PIN entry as strong evidence because its system recorded the correct PIN. But a PIN can be observed, captured, stolen, or misused. “PIN entered” does not automatically mean you authorized the transaction.
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Why did the bank ignore that it wasn’t me?The bank may have ignored that point because it treated technical records as more important than your report. But you were not saying nothing happened. You were saying the transaction happened without your permission.
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Why did my bank act like the case was obvious?Your bank may have acted like the case was obvious because its system saw familiar signals. But a familiar signal does not automatically prove authorization. The real question is whether you approved the transaction, not whether the bank’s system recognized part of it.
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Why didn’t my bank listen to what I told them?Your bank may have focused on its own records instead of the facts you reported. If you told the bank the transaction was unauthorized, the investigation should not stop at repeating that a card, PIN, chip, device, or login was used.
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Why Bank Fraud Investigations Feel Like the Robot DanceIt feels like the bank did not investigate what happened. It feels like the bank took the same system records that caused the denial, repeated them in a more official voice, and called that an answer.