Credit Cards: Understanding Your Rights and Your Responsibilities

Unauthorized transactions: what to do if you have a problem

Unauthorized transactions

If you find unauthorized transactions on your credit card account, follow these steps to find out whether you can be reimbursed:

1. Contact your credit card issuer immediately and report the unauthorized transactions. Also inform your local police.
   
   
2. Check your credit card agreement. By law, your agreement must explain your maximum liability in the case of lost or stolen credit cards, or the unauthorized use of your credit card account number.

Visa, MasterCard and American Express have zero-liability policies, so that if your credit card is lost or stolen, or if someone uses your credit card number to make transactions you didn't authorize, you can usually be reimbursed. FCAC monitors these commitments, so if you're having difficulty, contact FCAC and we will review the complaint.

The zero-liability policy applies to transactions made on the Internet, by phone or at retailers. However, it may exclude transactions made using a PIN (personal identification number) — for example, a cash advance made with your card at an automated banking machine. It may also exclude transactions made with convenience cheques, or transactions made on corporate credit cards.

Contact your credit card issuer to find out its policy on unauthorized transactions and how you can be protected. This type of policy is not usually listed in a credit card agreement, since it is a public commitment and not a legal requirement.

If you have a complaint

Federal financial consumer protection legislation requires all federally regulated financial institutions to have a complaint-handling process in place to help resolve disputes between consumers and their financial institutions.

If you feel that your federally regulated financial institution did not provide the required information to you or charged you a fee incorrectly, then you should make use of your financial institution's complaint-handling process and contact FCAC. FCAC can investigate your complaint to determine whether your financial institution has complied with its legal commitments.

The role of FCAC

Federally regulated financial institutions have certain legal obligations to consumers, including some related to credit cards as described in this publication. Any consumer can file a complaint with FCAC, and there's no cost involved. Call us toll-free at 1-866-461-3222 or send us a message at info@fcac-acfc.gc.ca.

For more detailed information on FCAC's role in handling complaints, visit the How to Making a Complaint section of our website.