HSBC backs down in dispute over $10,000 credit card debt
HSBC has waived more than $10,000 in unsettled credit card withdrawals for a former customer who accused the bank of sending debt collectors to pursue money she insisted she had not spent.
The U-turn came after Clarita Pacis Stolzenberg spoke to the South China Morning Post and warned she would take legal action if the bank did not stop sending debt collectors to harass her.
Her husband, Ferdi Stolzenberg, said the bank had informed the couple that it had decided to waive the $10,200 in cash advances after reconsidering the case.
The couple say the cash was withdrawn after a burglary at their home on May 28 when Mrs Stolzenberg lost cash, jewellery and a diary that contained the PIN of her HSBC credit card.
While her credit card was not taken in the burglary, she later found eight withdrawals were made from her HSBC credit card account at two ATMs on the night of the burglary. A total of $10,200 was withdrawn.
The bank said earlier that she should be liable for the sum because such transactions could only be performed using the card and the correct PIN.
Mrs Stolzenberg said the bank refused to acknowledge that a card did not have to be stolen for its owner to suffer fraud.
'The bank still claims that the original card was used. I don't know how,' Mr Stolzenberg said.
The bank told him the burglar could have taken the card to withdraw the money before returning it.
Police raised the possibility that the burglar could have used an electronic skimmer to capture the card data. That impression would have to be copied to a forged card before money could be withdrawn.
The bank refused to comment on individual cases when it was approached by the Post. But it said it would look into compensating customers for losses if an investigation showed that they were not at fault.
