Righting
wrongs.
How Westpac helps you
resolve credit and debit card
transaction disputes.
Although at Westpac we do
everything we can to prevent
it, sometimes problems arise
with credit and debit card
transactions. If this happens,
we’ll do our best to resolve the
matter on your behalf.
This brochure should answer
your questions on what to do
in the event of a dispute on
your Westpac Credit Card or
Westpac Debit MasterCard®
and outlines the procedure we
will follow to resolve it.
If you need to query a transaction that was made using
your Personal Identification Number (PIN), we may
need to refer you to our Fraud department. If you think
fraud may have been committed on your account,
please call us as soon as possible on 1300 651 089
(within Australia) or +61 3 6345 1058 (International).
What is a dispute?
When you query a transaction on your credit or debit card
statement, this is defined as a dispute. Credit and some
debit card transactions are governed by the card scheme
rules set by Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
Among other things, these rules specify what makes a
transaction valid for your card type and when Westpac can
intervene on your behalf to seek reimbursement.
Westpac may not be able to investigate:
Quality of service provided by a merchant
●● Contract related disputes.
●●
Westpac is unable to investigate:
●● Billing disputes
●● Buyer’s remorse.
Types of disputes Westpac will investigate:
●●
Unauthorised transactions
●●
Transactions not recognised
●●
●●
●●
●●
Goods not received - the customer did not receive the
ordered merchandise at the agreed-upon location or by
the agreed-upon delivery date
Services not rendered - the merchant was unwilling or
unable to provide purchased services
Cancelled regular payments - merchant continued
to charge customer for a regular payment despite
cancellation notification
Duplication - customer charged multiple times for the
same purchase
●●
Differing transaction amount
●●
Defective merchandise
●●
Goods not as described
●●
Paid by other means - for example: cash, cheque or
alternate card
●●
Refund or credit not processed
●●
Refund processed as a purchase
●●
Reservation Cancellation - customer has cancelled a
reservation within the merchant’s cancellation period.
Before you begin.
Sometimes a transaction you are querying may simply be the
result of a misunderstanding. Before contacting us to lodge
a dispute, please consider the following explanations as they
may help clear up any confusion:
The company name isn’t known to me.
The company name that appears on your statement is
the merchant’s name. You may find some companies use
different trading and merchant names. A quick internet
search of the merchant’s name or a simple phone call to the
company will often confirm this.
The transaction date on my statement differs to
my receipt.
Sometimes delays occur for your purchases to appear on
your account (usually up to 7 days).
The transaction amount on my statement differs to
my receipt.
This normally occurs when the purchase was made overseas
or the merchant is based overseas. Foreign currency
exchange rates change daily and therefore the amount can
differ depending on the day the transaction appears on your
account. We recommend you contact the merchant directly
to clarify the transaction.
Have you entered into a contract or agreement with the
merchant?
If so, you need to check the terms and conditions for your
rights and responsibilities.
Have you recently agreed to a free trial or credit report?
Many free trial and credit report companies offer a
complimentary product or service but only after you have
agreed to a membership. If you provided your card details, it
is possible you have agreed to a paid membership once the
trial ends. If you don’t remember to cancel the membership
before the trial ends, you’ll get charged.
How do I raise a dispute?
If you have followed the steps in BEFORE YOU BEGIN and
WHAT NEXT? without a positive outcome, contact Westpac
via phone to discuss your transaction. Contacts to lodge a
dispute:
Personal Cards
I instructed the merchant to cancel my regular payments but
they have still charged me.
Merchants usually have contractual terms and conditions
that specify cut-off dates for cancelling regular payments.
Your instructions may have missed the merchant’s cut-off
date for the current period; if this is the case, the merchant is
within their right to charge you. We recommend you contact
the merchant directly to confirm the date they received your
instructions.
I don’t recognise this transaction.
If you can’t recall the transaction, try referring to your
calendar as it may help jog your memory.
Could an additional cardholder have made the purchase?
Check with any additional cardholders to see if they have
made the purchase.
If you keep your receipts, can you match them to the items
on your statement?
Reconciling your receipts to your statement can help clarify
transactions. We also recommend you keep your receipts as
they help provide a proof of purchase.
What next?
If you have considered the explanations and questions
from BEFORE YOU BEGIN and you are still unsure about
the transaction, the next step is to attempt to contact the
service provider, retailer or merchant directly to clarify
the transaction as soon as you have identified it. If they
are uncontactable, or if you cannot come to an agreement
within a few days of your initial contact, you should then
raise a dispute with Westpac to investigate the transaction
on your behalf.
By Phone
1300 651 089 (within Australia)
+61 3 6345 1058 (International)
By Fax
Attention: Disputed Transactions
+61 2 9767 4629
By Mail
Attention: Team Leader
Credit Card Disputes
Westpac Banking Corporation
IBN 56
GPO Box 179
Sydney NSW 2001
In Branch
Come into a branch and we will assist you.
What information do I
need to provide?
Each type of dispute has a specific timeframe and
documentation requirement, so you should gather and check
any available information that is relevant to your disputed
transaction, to help us investigate the matter for you.
The dispute resolution process.
1
You have lodged the dispute via phone, fax, in branch or mail.
2
Depending on the card and dispute type, Westpac may provide you with a temporary increase to
your available funds for the disputed amount for the duration of the investigation.
3
Depending on the card and dispute type you may receive one of two letters:
A confirmation letter advising we have ordered documentation from the merchant’s bank and we will
contact you once the information is received. We must wait up to 45 days for a response from the
merchant’s bank.
A confirmation letter asking you to sign and provide the information requested. This needs to be mailed
or faxed back to Westpac within 15 days. Once we have received the signed document with all the
requested information, if a chargeback right is available, a chargeback will be raised to the merchant’s
bank and a letter sent advising you. If we do not hear back from you after 15 days, we assume you have
accepted the transaction and do not wish for us to proceed with the dispute.
4
If Westpac receives merchant documentation, we will send it to you via mail.
5
You can then either accept or further dispute the transaction.
6
If you accept the transaction, the temporary credit you may have been provided will be
reversed (debit).
7
If you wish to continue the dispute, we will require you to provide a written reply to the merchant
documentation we sent to you.
8
Upon receipt of your written reply, further investigation will be carried out by Westpac and the
transaction may be charged back to the merchant’s bank.
Please note:
●●
●●
●●
The chargeback credit is conditional as the merchant’s
bank may come back with further information, we will
contact you if this occurs.
It’s important to note that you need to read through our
correspondence carefully and supply the mandatory
information requested.
If we don’t receive a reply to any correspondence sent to
you requesting information within 15 days, you may lose
your rights to dispute the transaction and the temporary
credit you may have been provided will be reversed.
Frequently asked questions.
In what timeframe will you resolve my dispute?
As your card issuer, Westpac must adhere to timeframes
and rules set by Visa, MasterCard and American Express to
resolve disputed transactions.
Dispute timeframes normally range from 75 days to 120
days from the date the transaction was processed to your
account. It is crucial that you notify us of any disputed
transactions as soon as possible to ensure we are able to
exercise these rights on your behalf. Once your dispute is in
progress, as some parts of the process can take more than
30 days, it is normal for no contact during this period.
What is the Bank’s role in resolving my dispute?
Westpac will act as a liaison between you and the merchant’s
bank and requires evidence before a resolution can be
achieved. All financial institutions that issue credit and debit
cards are bound by the rules set by card schemes such
as Visa, MasterCard and American Express. We are also
required to comply with the Australian Electronic Funds
Transfer Code of Conduct and the Code of Banking Practice.
These rules and regulations provide a merchant with the
opportunity to prove validity of a transaction before Westpac
proceeds with a chargeback.
What is a chargeback?
A chargeback is a procedure in which a customer’s bank
(such as Westpac) reverses all, or part, of the amount of
a transaction back to a merchant’s bank in accordance
with card scheme regulations set by Visa, MasterCard
and American Express. Chargebacks are most commonly
processed for: Non Receipt of Requested Documentation,
Goods Not Received, Cancelled Regular Payments, Paid By
Other Means, Services Not Rendered and Duplication.
How will I know if my disputed transaction is under
investigation?
Westpac will inform you in writing if a disputed transaction
is under investigation. Disputed transactions that are under
investigation are also reflected on your bank statement by
way of a temporary increase to your available funds while the
investigation is in progress. For Debit MasterCard accounts
only, because you access your own money, a temporary
credit will be issued while the investigation is in progress.
Do I pay interest on the transaction if I am disputing it?
While the transaction is under investigation, you will not be
charged any interest on the item.
What payments do I need to make to my credit card when a
dispute is in progress?
You should continue to pay your account the same way you
normally do, referring to your statement for the minimum
monthly payment amount. The temporary increase to your
available funds that we give you during the dispute does not
change the balance owing, nor does it change the minimum
monthly payment required. You must still make at least the
minimum repayment on the card to avoid charges such as
late payment fees and additional interest.
What happens if the dispute is not resolved in my favour?
You will see the transaction amount as a debit on your
statement. This is not a double charge of the transaction. For
Credit Card accounts only, it is a reversal of the temporary
increase to your available funds that we may have offered
you while the transaction was under investigation. For Debit
MasterCard accounts only, we reverse the temporary credit
that we may have offered you while the transaction was
under investigation.
How can I cancel a dispute I have lodged?
You can cancel a dispute by phoning 1300 651 089
(within Australia) or +61 3 6345 1058 (International).
What happens if I don’t lodge my dispute within 90 days of
the transaction date?
If you raise your query with Westpac after 90 days from the
transaction date*, Westpac may not be able to assist due
to the timeframes and rules set by Visa, MasterCard and
American Express to resolve disputed transactions. We
recommend raising the dispute as soon as you identify it.
* Time limits may vary where the Electronic Funds Transfer
Code of Conduct applies.
What is Verified by Visa™ and MasterCard SecureCode®?
Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode are cutting-edge
secure online shopping services that work with Westpac
to rely on a password to validate a transaction. This acts
in a similar way as a PIN or signature for over-the-counter
purchases. If a disputed transaction has been made using
Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode we may need to
refer your case to the Westpac Fraud department as your
details may have been compromised.
Things you should know:
1. MasterCard®, MasterCard SecureCode and the MasterCard brandmark are
registered trademarks of MasterCard International Incorporated.
2. Visa® is a registered trademark of Visa Worldwide Pte Limited. Verified by
Visa is a trademark of Visa Worldwide PTe Limited.
3. American Express® is a registered trademark of American Express Company.
Information current as at 13 August 2010.
Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141
CCD100 (08/10) 202170