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Most people prefer to carry a number of credit cards rather than carrying a wad of money in their wallets. It also makes sense, moreover they can also do as much shopping or at least till the credit card limit allows them to do. However if you have lost a card, then it can become quite a troublesome situation. Especially till the time that you report the card and it gets blocked. Between the time that has elapsed of your discovery of the lost card and the card lost reporting, somebody else may just have used your card.

Of course the sooner you report the loss of the lost credit or debit card, tee better it’s for you. This will also save you from further disputes that may arise later regarding the bills that may have been run on your card. This procedure should be followed for other claims as well.

This is the course of action that you should take in case you have lost your card.

The first thing that you should do on the discovery that you have lost your credit or debit card would be to call the credit card company / bank and ask them for all the transactions to be frozen. Additionally the card should also be blocked to ensure that further misuse doesn’t happen.

A request for fresh issue of the card will also be given. However the story doesn’t quite end here. Consumers should also get an acknowledgment from the credit card company / bank for the complaint. This complaint should include the time, date and the compliant number. Remember the bank is liable for the transactions only after the complaint has been made. So if a number of transactions have been made on the card prior to your reporting the lost card, ideally you can still pay for the transactions that have been made on the card.

Reporting the stolen card to the police

If a theft or a robbery has been committed that is a cognisable offence, the police will lodge an FIR (First Information Report). However if the card has been just misplaced, they will simply note it in their Daily Diary Report (DDR). Law mandates the police to lodge a complaint and give you a compliant of the FIR. However if they refuse to do so, you can always send you’re compliant through post to the Superintendent of Police who will order the complaint to be registered.

Even if you haven’t loss the card, but your card has been used fraudently for online transactions, you can report the same to the cyber crime cell of the police. The cyber crime cell will actually investigate further and find out how the information has been misused and if how.

In most cases, the cyber crime cell will only look into the matter, when the transactions involve huge sums of money. The cards are usually used for purchasing air tickets rather than for purchasing white goods or other electronic items as this can leave a paper trail behind.

When the card is lost, it’s always the onus of the consumer to report the card and stopping the transactions on the card. The consumers should also make a clear assessment of the potential damage that may have been caused before action is duly taken by the credit card company / bank or even the police.

Following it with the bank

When you make a police compliant, give the details of the lodged FIR/DDR and a detailed letter stating the dispute to the credit card company / bank. This letter should state clearly the losses or the transactions that have been made on the stolen card.

Give a clear view of stance when you write the dispute letter. In fact you can state that you don’t want to make a payment till the issue has been resolved. This will help you in the longer run. In fact now you wouldn’t have to pay a higher interest rate on non-payment of the disputed charges.

The bank is liable to sort out the issue within 30 days. In case it doesn’t sort out the issue within 30 days or the approach of the bank is found lacking by you, you can contact the Banking Ombudsman that ahs been appointed by the RBI. Many of the credit cards also provide insurance covers for protecting against card misuse that can also be availed by the consumers.

Only when you are completely sure tat you have misplaced your card, or the card has been stolen, should you ask for the replacement of the card. Else you would have to pay for the new card even if you eventually do find your old card.