The complainant, a 65-year-old pensioner, was a victim of card swapping at an ATM.
He contacted his banker immediately and requested his card to be stopped. However, transactions totalling a sum of R29 160.00 went off his account.
The complainant advised that on the day in question he immediately stopped the card at the ATM using his ID number. The bank however stated that he stopped the “wrong card”. The customer advised that he did not understand the bank’s contentions in this regard, as he only had “one card”. Our investigation into the complaint ascertained that the card number that was noted on the ATM when the complainant reportedly “stopped” the card was in fact the customer’s old cheque card number. He subsequently upgraded his account and was issued with a new card; however, the new card was not listed under his profile at the ATM. It was tabled with the bank that it is reasonable to expect an old card to be removed from your profile once a new card is issued, especially under the profile for “stop card” at the bank’s ATM. It was therefore our recommendation that the bank should reimburse the loss in full.
The bank accepted our position in this regard and refunded the complainant in full.
Principle: It is reasonable banking practice for a bank to ensure that its customer’s profile is updated and is a correct account of the banking profile held with the bank.
