In a statement sent to the press on Tuesday, June 28, the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir declared that it had filed a complaint once morest twelve banks which it accused of making their customers believe “that they have no right to reimbursement “when they are victims of bank fraud.
The scourge is growing and leaving more and more destitute victims. According to figures from the Banque de France relayed by UFC-Que Choisir in a press release, more than 1.3 million households were defrauded in 2020, an increase of 161% in the space of ten years.
Frequent refusals for large amounts
And when they go to their banks to claim compensation, the victims often come up once morest a clear refusal. The consumer association has identified more than 4,300 reports for non-reimbursement over the past three years. TF1 specifies that 60% of them “concern damage greater than 4,000 euros and possibly up to several tens of thousands of euros”.
However, UFC-Que Choisir ensures that “the law requires banks to immediately restore the victims’ accounts, except for gross negligence”. Accusations of negligence are the most common method of refusing reimbursement. An alibi which, according to the consumer association, is not admissible and even less so when the operation has been validated with the only SMS.
“Misleading Business Practices”
Among the other frequent justifications of banks, Que-Choisir points to the systematic refusal to reimburse in the event of reinforced authentication without the bank providing proof that its customer is at the origin of the payment, or even the fact that their insurance refuses any support.
Faced with what it considers to be “misleading commercial practices”, the consumer association has decided to file a complaint once morest twelve banks which it accuses of “duping their customers regarding the extent of their rights”: La Banque Postale, Crédit Agricole, Banque Populaire, BNP Paribas, Société Générale, CIC, LCL, Boursorama, ING, Nickel, Cetelem and Floa Banque.
As indicated BFM TVQue-Choisir also seized the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority (ACPR), the regulator of banks and insurers, and Bercy “to intensify controls and establish a framework guaranteeing the effectiveness of the right to reimbursement for victims of fraud”.
85% of fraudulent payments refunded
Our colleagues also point out that the Banque de France and the ACPR had, in April 2021, “called on payment players to reimburse better and faster in the event of fraud”.
The French Banking Federation then indicated that “banks reimbursed 85% of fraudulent card payments”. She also pointed out that these reimbursements “not automatic because it is necessary to verify that the dispute is not caused by a commercial dispute, that the fraud does not come from gross negligence or that the dispute is not made out of time. legal for example”.
