Fantastic Plastic?
Banks are responsible for amounts that exceed Euro 150; however, customers are not liable for any transactions made by a thief after they have reported the theft of a credit card. The freezing of a credit card plays a key role because only after it is blocked by a bank, does the owner of a given credit card not bear any responsibility for transactions made by the thief. The credit card owner is accountable for stolen money which does not exceed Euro 150 until the card is frozen. This regulation was introduced by the Electronic Payment Instruments Act of 12th September 2002. If a perpetrator makes a transaction by means of the credit card for more than Euro 150, the surplus is covered by the bank and not the owner of the stolen card. “Unfortunately most credit card holders do not know about this Act and banks fail to mention it to their customers,” says Grzegorz Głowacki, chairman of the board in AllCards, operator of the Telephone Exchange of Lost Credit Cards (Centrala Kart Utraconych). By phoning +48 22 37 90 444 you can contact your bank in order to freeze a stolen or lost credit card. This phone number can be used for all credit cards. “Of course, every owner can directly call his or her bank, but the phone number of the bank is usually placed on the credit card,” adds Mr Głowacki. The Telephone Exchange of Lost Credit Cards also has its own website: www.zablokuj.pl, on which you will find lots of additional information, for instance, how to block a credit card issued by a supermarket or petrol station. This website will soon provide new services such as the freezing of lost mobile phones, ID cards and other valuable goods.
Rzeczpospolita
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