HSBC Visa Debit Card Disputes
This information will help to answer your questions on what to do if you want to dispute an HSBC Visa Debit Card transaction.
HSBC Visa Debit Cards and HSBC Premier Debit Cards
If a cardholder has a concern relating to the use of or transactions from a Visa Debit Card or a Premier Debit Card or believes there is an error on a Statement of Account relating to the use of a Visa Debit Card, the cardholder must tell us immediately in Australia by phoning 1300 308 008 or contacting their HSBC branch or, if overseas, phoning +612 9005 8171.
We may decide to resolve the dispute under the rules of Visa International card scheme. If we do so, resolution of the dispute will be governed by the time limits imposed by those rules and if a cardholder delays notifying us of any apparent error, our ability to investigate and resolve the dispute may be restricted. For this reason, cardholders should report any suspected unauthorised transaction to us as soon as possible.
If we are unable to resolve the dispute immediately to the cardholder’s satisfaction, the cardholder should notify us in writing of their dispute or complete the Transaction Dispute Form available within our Commonly Used Forms section. When we receive this advice, we will inform the cardholder in writing of our procedures to handle and investigate the dispute.
Within 21 days after receiving the written notification, we will advise the cardholder in writing of either the outcome of our investigation or our need for more time to complete our investigation. In all but exceptional cases we should complete our investigations within 45 days of receiving the dispute notification.
Subject to paragraph (a) to (d) below, where an investigation continues beyond 45 days, we will write to the cardholder and inform them of the reasons for the delay and provide the cardholder with monthly updates on the progress of our investigation and a date when a decision can be reasonably expected, except where we are waiting for a response from the cardholder and we have advised the cardholder of this fact.
If we resolve the dispute by exercising our rights under the rules of the Visa International card scheme we will:
- advise cardholders of either the outcome of our investigation or our need for more time in accordance with the time limits under those rules;
- write to inform cardholders of the reasons for delay only where an investigation continues beyond 60 days and provide cardholders with updates on progress every two months;
- inform the cardholder in writing of when a decision can be reasonable expected; and
- suspend your obligation to pay any amount which is the subject of the dispute or any credit or other charges related to that amount until the dispute is resolved. The cardholder’s obligation to pay any such amount or charges will be reinstated if the dispute is not resolved in the cardholder’s favour.
Note that although we are a member of Visa International card scheme, we cannot automatically exercise our rights under that scheme. A disputed transaction must fall within a specific category before we can exercise our rights in respect of that transaction. Even if we can exercise our rights, there is no guarantee that our claim will be accepted, as the Merchant’s bank may dispute the claim.
What can be disputed:
- Transactions not recognised - you did not make the transaction
- Transactions not authorised - the card was not present and the transaction was processed without your permission
- Goods not received - you did not receive the goods or services at the agreed location or by the agreed delivery date
- Services not rendered - a merchant was unwilling or unable to provide purchased goods or services
- Transaction amount differs - processed for the wrong amount
- Defective merchandise or goods not as described
- Cancelled recurring transactions - a merchant continued to charge you for a recurring transaction despite cancelling notification
- Credit not processed - incorrect processing
- Paid by other means - you paid for the goods and services in another way
- Credit posted as a debit - incorrect processing
- Duplications - when a single transaction is processed more than once
What can’t be investigated:
- Quality of service
- Billing disputes
- Contract related disputed
- Download software disputes
- Buyer’s remorse
