Card Transaction Disputes FAQs

You may wish to dispute a credit or debit card transaction when you find a transaction on your credit card or debit card statement that you do not recognise or you do not believe is correct.

Please refer to HSBC's Disputing a Card Transaction page to find out more information.

• Transactions you believe are incorrect (amount or merchant),
• Transactions you believe you did not authorise,
• Transactions that you may suspect are fraudulent,
• Duplicated transactions,
• ATMs that dispensed an incorrect amount,
• Goods or services that you did not receive or that were faulty (in these cases we may ask you to contact the merchant in the first instance before raising a Transaction Dispute), or
  
• Recurring direct debits and regular repayment authorities that you have previously cancelled or you do not recognise (for example, Gym membership or Health insurance).
  
  

HSBC may not be able to assist you with disputes about:

• Quality of service provided by a merchant
• Contract related disputes
• Billing disputes
• Buyer's remorse

You must inform us of any transactions you want to dispute immediately. If you don’t tell us immediately, we may lose our right to exercise a chargeback right on your behalf as the card scheme rules prescribe timeframes for making chargeback requests.  We will investigate disputed transactions under the ePayments Code where they are reported to us outside of the card scheme timeframes or where chargeback rights do not apply for another reason. The ePayments Code regulates electronic payments including ATM, EFTPOS, credit card and debit card transactions, online payments, internet and mobile banking and BPAY.

You must still make at least the minimum repayment amount to avoid a Late Payment Reminder Fee and additional interest charges as well as any impact on your credit record. 

If the dispute is not found in your favour, we will inform you of the next steps and advise you how to escalate the matter should you feel that we have not adequately addressed your concerns.

Please refer to HSBC's Disputing a Card Transaction page to find out more information.

Once we receive a transaction dispute for your HSBC credit card or debit card we will confirm that we have received your form in writing. We may also contact you to discuss your dispute by giving you more information about the disputed transaction, or by performing a quick internet search to help you locate details about the merchant or to obtain more information if we need it.

In some instances, we may request more information and evidence from you to progress the dispute resolution. Specifically, if you believe you are a victim of fraud, identity theft or other illegal activity, we may ask you to report the matter to the police in the first instance.

For more information, please refer to HSBC's Disputing a Card Transaction page.

We aim to complete any investigation and provide you with a written response within 60 days from the date we receive your transaction dispute request. The timeframe can exceed 60 days if there are delays in receiving the necessary information to process the dispute from you or the merchant. We will inform you in writing if this is the case.

We will investigate disputed card transactions according to timeframes provided under the ePayments Code where they are reported to us outside of the card scheme timeframes or where chargeback rights do not apply for another reason.

You can contact us as follows to dispute a transaction. If you don’t recognise a transaction or you haven’t authorised a transaction, you should act immediately and tell us by calling us (instead of using the other contact methods listed below)

• Phone – 1300 308 008 (+61 2 9005 8220 if calling from overseas)
• Branch – visit your nearest branch
• Email – complete a Cards Transaction Dispute Form and email to cardoperations@hsbc.com.au

If you are a Corporate Card Customer, you should contact the Commercial Cards Contact Centre on 1300 300 437 in the first instance.

During the transaction dispute process, you may see the following entries on your statement:

DISPUTE ITEM RAISED – your transaction dispute has been received and is being investigated. The amount in dispute is not included in your outstanding balance and interest will not be charged against this amount.

DISPUTE ITEM RESOLVED – the investigation has been finalised and the transactions have been released from disputed status. This entry is not included in your outstanding balance.

DISPUTE RESOLVED CREDIT – the dispute has been resolved in your favour and the amount credited to your account.

CHARGEBACK CREDIT – in accordance with Card Scheme regulations, we have charged the disputed transaction (full or partial amount) back to a merchant's bank and credited your account.

You can ask us to reconsider by providing us with additional information in writing. Alternately, you may wish to raise a complaint.

You can contact us to make a complaint by phone, fax, mail, by visiting a branch or via email. Refer to the Complaints and Feedback page for more information.

If you are a Corporate Card Customer, you should contact the Commercial Cards Contact Centre on 1300 300 437 in the first instance.

In the event you feel that HSBC has not adequately addressed your complaint or if we have not resolved your complaint within 30 days, you have a right to escalate the matter to an external dispute resolution scheme if the matter may be heard by that.

A chargeback is where a bank reverses all (or part of) the amount of a disputed transaction back to a Merchant's bank in accordance with the applicable card scheme rules set by Visa, MasterCard or American Express.

You can ask for a chargeback when you make a purchase using a credit card or debit card and:

• Item was not received: you don't receive the goods you ordered.
• Item was significantly different: you paid for an item but received an item significantly different than expected.
• Unauthorised use: your credit card or debit card number is used fraudulently.
  

If you made this transaction using an HSBC credit card or debit card, you can request us to try and get your money back from the merchant/shop where you bought the goods from. It is important that you ask for a chargeback as soon as you realise something has gone wrong, because there are time limits.

Firstly, a customer can lodge a dispute in relation to an unauthorised transaction by completing HSBC's Card Transaction Dispute Form or discussing the matter in a branch or over the phone with a customer service representative.

HSBC will then investigate the dispute and review the eligibility of transaction for chargeback. In the event we determine from our investigation that you have a chargeback right, HSBC will send the disputed charge to the Merchant bank.

The Merchant bank then refers the dispute to the merchant, the place where the transaction was made; they will either accept the claim or not. If not, further investigation takes place. If the dispute is found in your favour because the merchant does not respond to the chargeback within 30 days or accepts the dispute, HSBC will exercise a chargeback right and a credit will be posted to your account. HSBC will then send a letter to you to advise you of the outcome of the dispute.

HSBC will claim a chargeback right (if the right is available) for a transaction on your account if:

1. you ask us to do so immediately after you see a transaction on your account that you don’t recognise; and
2. you give us the information and material we require to support the chargeback (as soon as possible after our request) and our investigation determines there is a chargeback right.

Otherwise any chargeback we have under the rules of the card schemes may be lost.

We cannot claim a right of chargeback if:

1. the right does not exist i.e. your claim must fall within a specific category before we can exercise our rights in respect of a disputed transaction; or
   
2. your claim relates to a special promotion. Special promotional transactions are outside chargeback rights and any complaint should be directed to the merchant or us where relevant; or
   
3. in relation to a BPAY transaction.
   
4. we’re unable to make the chargeback request within the timeframes prescribed under the relevant card scheme rules because you didn’t tell us about the transaction immediately and/or you didn’t provide us with the above information and material as soon as possible after our request.

We recommend that you notify us immediately of any disputed transaction. If you don’t tell us immediately, we may lose our right to exercise a chargeback right on your behalf as the card scheme rules prescribe timeframes for making chargeback requests. We will investigate disputed transactions under the ePayments Code where they are reported to us outside of the card scheme timeframes or where chargeback rights do not apply for another reason. The ePayments Code regulates electronic payments, including ATM, EFTPOS and credit card and debit card transactions, online payments, internet and mobile banking and BPAY. 

If you do not notify us in time, we may be unable to investigate your claim in which case you will be liable for the transaction.

As a subscriber to the Banking Code of Practice, HSBC has made a commitment to:

1. Claim a chargeback right where one exists and the cardholder has disputed the transaction within the required time frame;
2. Claim the chargeback for the most appropriate reason;
3. Not accept a refusal of a chargeback by a merchant's financial institution unless it is consistent with the relevant card scheme rules; and 
4. Include general information about transaction disputes with every issue of an HSBC credit card and debit card statement.