Losing a credit card is one of the utmost terrors of modern time. A stolen or lost credit card may cause unwanted consequences which may hamper your personal finance. Such are
In the cases of a missing credit card, most of the card owners become panic and get confused about what to do next. But the key to solving this problem lies in keeping calm and act quickly. Here we have bought 5 wise steps that should be taken in the case of lost credit card.
Steps to Take in Case of Lost Credit Card
Call Your Credit Card Issuer
The first thing you are to do is calling your credit card issuer. As soon as you find out your credit card is misplaced, you are to inform your card issuer about the incident. The credit issuer’s phone number can be found on the credit card statement. If you have online access to your credit account, you can also file a complaint on the website of the card issuer. But make sure that you take this action as soon as you notice the loss of your credit card.
Be Prepared with the Information
The card lost report of a cardholder will require to prove the identity. The card issuer will ask you a few questions about the credit card which you need to answer correctly. You are to tell the credit card number, the date when it was lost, whether you misplaced your card or if you suspect it to be stolen if you’ve already noticed fraudulent charges on your credit card, the date or amount of your last transaction of the card etc. So before you call the card provider, be prepared with all those pieces of information.
File a Police Report
If you believe that your credit card is stolen, you are to file a police report too. If your credit card is used in illegal activities, you may need to face the legal issues. To safeguard yourself from those unwanted situations, you are to file the FIR at the earliest.
Keep Checking Your Credit Card Statement
The report of lost credit card generally freezes the card. But the time till the card is frozen, you are to keep a sharp eye on the card statement. You are to monitor your account statement for unfamiliar changes. If you are charged for the expenditures you did not make, you are to inform the card provider right away.
Update any Accounts with Auto-Pay Setup
Many a time, credit card holders set up an auto payment of some important payments. We can set up an auto payment of electricity bill, phone bill, insurance premium etc. In case of lost credit card, make sure that you update your payments and don’t miss any of them.
Prevention Against Credit Card Misplacement
Needless to mention that the loss of misplacement of credit card can be one of the most disastrous happenings in financial life. One can take prevention against loss of credit cards. Let’s learn how to minimise the risk of losing credit cards.
Some of the small acts can help you to prevent the loss of credit cards until a great extent. At the first step, make sure that you carry only those credit cards which are required. Carrying many credit cards increase the chances of misplacing one or more cards without getting into your notice.
Secondly, always keep a list of the contact numbers of the credit card providers and keep it handy. In the case of missing credit card, you will be able to contact the card issuer at the earliest.
The next prevention from losing credit card is by keeping the alerts on. Many credit card providers give this option to send alerts when the charges are over a certain limit.
The Bottom Line
It is always good to know how to react during the loss of credit cards. Credit cards are sensitive and one should always be careful while handling credit cards.
