Am I liable for the charges if my credit card is stolen? What is the law on lost card liability?

Generally, the terms and conditions of the Cardmember’s Agreement would determine the extent of the cardholder’s liability in the event that his credit card goes missing and is misused.

Usually, once you make a report with the credit card company about the loss of the card, all charges incurred thereafter are waived. However, the exact extent of your liability will depend on the Cardmember’s Agreement.

Most card providers also provide a Cardmembers Agreement that affords a S$100 liability cap before the loss is reported by cardmembers. However, this liability cap only applies to cardmembers who have not acted fraudulently, negligently, or have not failed to report the loss of the card in a timely fashion.

For most banks, acting negligently denotes negligent behaviour, such as leaving your card or wallet lying around unattended in a public place.

The most important thing to do is to check with your card provider and find out the exact terms and conditions with respect to loss card liability.

A criminal who misuses a lost or stolen credit card is usually required to make full restitution of the ill-gotten goods to compensate the victim as far as possible if he is successfully apprehended.