Originally Posted by
Daveoc64
The same protection applies in other countries - in the UK the limit is £50 (which you could argue is *more* than $50, but the psychological effect is the same), yet Visa and MasterCard don't offer "Zero liability" here.
There is no distinction between Credit and Debit cards under UK law.
I haven't found a reference to UK legislation or legal precedent regarding consumer liability for credit card fraud, but the UK Cards Association has some deceptive language on their site (from
http://www.theukcardsassociation.org...prevention.asp):
If you are unlucky enough to become a victim of fraud you are protected by the Lending Code and should not suffer any financial loss as a consequence – provided you have not acted fraudulently or without reasonable care (e.g. you haven’t written down your PIN and haven’t disclosed it to someone else). If you are shown to have acted fraudulently or without reasonable care, you risk having to meet all the losses on your account.
There are two things wrong with this statement. First (from
http://www.theukcardsassociation.org...nding-code.asp):
The lending code is a voluntary code that sets standards of good lending practice for financial institutions to follow when dealing with customers within the UK.
Hence the 'Lending Code' provides no legal protection if a bank decides you are at fault for fraudulent use of your card. The second problem is that the fraud protection is contingent on your behavior, and since the Bank does not need to prove to a court that you have 'acted without reasonable care' you might find it difficult to dispute their decision.
None of this applies in the US. No matter how you behave, once you sign an affidavit stating the transactions were unauthorized your liability is capped. No other legal action is necessary, and any lawsuit filed by the bank would be summarily dismissed.