A practical guide for Pakistani cardholders on reporting fraud, preserving evidence, and escalating a dispute when the bank does not give a satisfactory answer
 |
| What should a Pakistani cardholder do after an unauthorized transaction? Secure the card, lodge a formal dispute, preserve evidence, obtain a written decision, and escalate through the proper complaint channel when necessary. |
The Fraud Alert Is Only the Beginning
I saw the international transaction on my card account and knew I had not made it. My first reaction was simple: contact the bank and stop whatever was happening.
Complaints were opened. Later, they were closed.
The merchant eventually refunded my money, but the episode changed the way I think about card fraud. A customer can easily mistake a complaint number for a proper transaction dispute. They are not the same thing.
Reporting fraud tells the bank that something has gone wrong. A card dispute asks a harder question: was the transaction authorised, and who should ultimately bear the loss?
Pakistani cardholders need to understand that distinction before the trail goes cold.
Secure the Card First, Then Dispute the Transaction
The first call should stop further exposure.
If you see a transaction you did not authorise, contact the card issuer immediately. Ask the bank to block or secure the card against further use. If the banking app allows you to freeze the card yourself, use that control while you contact the bank.
But do not stop there.
Tell the bank clearly:
I did not authorise this transaction. I want to lodge a formal fraud and transaction-dispute complaint.
Blocking a card prevents or limits future use. It does not automatically reverse a transaction that has already gone through.
Ask for the complaint number and write it down.
Then preserve the transaction alert and a screenshot of the entry. Keep merchant emails separately because they may become useful later.
Dates matter.
SBP's current consumer-protection framework requires banks to operate formal complaint-management systems and acknowledge complaints through channels such as SMS, email or recorded communication.
Put the Fraud Complaint in Writing
A telephone call is useful for immediate action. I would not rely on it as the complete record.
After calling the bank, send the complaint through its official written complaint channel.
State the transaction date and amount. Identify the merchant exactly as it appears on the card account and say plainly that you did not authorise the payment.
Include the complaint reference number already given to you.
Then ask the bank for two things:
Please confirm whether the transaction is being handled through the applicable card-dispute process and provide your final written decision on my fraud complaint.
The bank may not disclose confidential Visa or Mastercard information. It should still be able to tell you whether your claim remains under investigation, has been accepted or has been rejected.
Tell the bank exactly what type of dispute you have.
“I never made this transaction” is different from “I bought something but did not receive it.” A duplicate charge is different again. Card networks can apply different dispute rules depending on the circumstances.
Do not blur them together.
Do Not Assume a Replacement Card Ends Everything
A fraudulent card transaction often leads customers to replace the card.
That is sensible, but replacement alone may not terminate every merchant relationship.
Stored card credentials, merchant tokens and network account-updater arrangements can sometimes allow legitimate recurring merchants to continue receiving updated card credentials after replacement.
So if the transaction involves a subscription or a merchant that previously stored your card, ask the bank another question:
Are any recurring credentials or merchant tokens connected with this merchant still active?
This matters particularly where a customer has replaced a card after an unauthorised or disputed recurring payment.
A new piece of plastic does not always mean every old payment relationship has disappeared.
What the Bank Owes You
SBP treats the bank itself as the first complaint forum.
Its published consumer-protection guidance says banks must maintain centralised complaint-management arrangements. Customers should receive acknowledgement of the complaint and information about the resolution process.
For fraud cases, SBP's published complaint guidance also sets specific response expectations, including interim communication where detailed investigation is required. Cardholders should therefore preserve every SMS and email received from the bank rather than relying on a call-centre conversation alone.
The important point is not whether the bank agrees with you.
A bank can investigate a fraud claim and reject it.
But rejection should not leave the customer guessing.
If the bank closes the complaint, ask:
Was my fraud claim accepted or rejected?
Then ask what the investigation established about authorisation.
If the claim was rejected, request the reason in writing.
And where a card-network dispute could apply, ask whether such a dispute was raised.
A status marked closed does not answer those questions.
My Experience With HBL Made This Clear
HBL publicly provides a dedicated complaint email:
customer.complaints@hbl.com
It also says customers can lodge complaints through HBL Mobile, its website and its contact centre. HBL's own credit-card terms provide that disputed transactions may receive temporary credit during investigation and direct customers to submit written disputes through the same complaint email.
HBL also publishes the contact number 111-111-425 for credit-card problems and emergencies.
My problem was not that I had nowhere to complain.
I complained.
The difficulty was understanding what had actually been decided when the tickets were closed.
That is why I would now insist on a written outcome rather than treating a complaint number as the end of the process.
Bank Alfalah Cardholders Have a Similar Formal Route
Bank Alfalah provides the complaint email:
contactus@bankalfalah.com
Its official fraud-awareness page tells customers who suspect fraud to block the card or account access immediately, report the matter through the bank, and lodge a formal complaint.
Bank Alfalah also lists the same email on its main complaint page and provides a 24-hour contact number:
+92 21 111-225-111
For customers dealing with ATM or alternative-delivery-channel transaction disputes, Bank Alfalah also publishes:
atmsettlementunit@bankalfalah.com
For ordinary card-fraud complaints, however, I would begin with the main complaint channel unless the bank specifically directs the case elsewhere.
One clean complaint trail is better than sending the same dispute to several unrelated employees.
Should You Contact the Merchant?
Yes, where practical.
But contact the merchant in parallel with the bank, not instead of the bank.
My own experience shows why.
OpenAI refunded the transactions quickly. The merchant action solved the immediate financial loss.
But imagine the merchant had refused.
I would not have wanted to discover later that I had relied on merchant correspondence while failing to lodge a proper card dispute with my bank.
Card-network deadlines can matter.
Report the suspected fraud to the issuer first. Then pursue the merchant where the facts justify it.
Banking Mohtasib or State Bank of Pakistan?
Pakistani consumers often assume that the sequence is:
Bank → SBP
For many ordinary complaints against commercial banks, that is incomplete.
The bank remains the first forum.
Where the bank does not provide a satisfactory resolution, the Banking Mohtasib Pakistan is generally the next formal forum for eligible complaints against commercial banks.
Bank Alfalah's current complaint page, for example, tells customers that if a bank complaint remains unresolved to their satisfaction or no response is provided within the prescribed period, they may approach the Banking Mohtasib.
HBL gives the same alternate-grievance route on its complaint page.
The Banking Mohtasib's published contact email is:
info@bankingmohtasib.gov.pk
This distinction matters because the Mohtasib exists specifically as an independent dispute-resolution forum between customers and banks.
When Should You Approach SBP?
SBP operates its own consumer-protection function, but it does not replace the bank's first-level complaint process.
The most useful route for consumers is Sunwai, SBP's complaint-management portal. It is designed to route complaints to the correct forum, including the bank as the first forum, the Banking Mohtasib as the second forum where appropriate, and SBP itself in cases falling within SBP's jurisdiction.
SBP also publishes a Consumer Protection complaint email:
cpd.helpdesk@sbp.org.pk
Its published contact details also list:
Helpline: +92 21 111-727-273
But there is a lesson here from my own experience.
I forwarded correspondence to SBP and received no response. I later found that copying or forwarding correspondence to the regulator is not necessarily the same thing as formally lodging a complaint.
If you want SBP or another forum to act, use the prescribed complaint mechanism.
Do not assume CC'ing a regulator creates a case.
Why Sunwai Is Better Than Random Emails
Sunwai exists precisely to reduce that uncertainty.
The portal asks for the complainant's details and routes the grievance according to the applicable complaint framework. It also allows consumers to view complaint status.
That makes it preferable to sending the same email to several addresses and hoping someone assumes ownership.
A formal complaint needs a trail.
The trail matters later if the dispute reaches the Banking Mohtasib or another authority.
Build the Case From the First Alert
By the time you escalate a card-fraud dispute, you should not be relying on memory.
Keep the original transaction alert and the card statement showing the entry. Preserve the complaint number and every written response from the bank.
If the merchant refunds the payment, save that evidence too.
The objective is to create a simple chronology:
When did the transaction occur?
When did you discover it?
When did you notify the bank?
Then record what the bank decided.
A regulator or ombudsman can understand dates much more easily than a long emotional narrative.
A Complaint Number Is Not a Resolution
My own case ended better than it might have.
OpenAI refunded the disputed transactions.
What stayed with me was how easily a customer can confuse complaint administration with actual dispute resolution.
The bank can open a ticket.
It can later close the ticket.
The question for the cardholder is what happened in between.
I would now build the evidence from the first alert and insist on a written outcome.
Because when somebody uses your card without permission, the most important thing after stopping the loss is knowing exactly what your bank decided.
Practical Steps for Pakistani Cardholders
- Block or freeze the card immediately and call the issuing bank.
- Tell the bank explicitly that the transaction was unauthorized and that you want a formal fraud/dispute complaint.
- Get the complaint number and record the date and time of the call.
- Send the complaint in writing through the bank's official complaint email or portal.
- Preserve the SMS alert, statement entry and merchant correspondence.
- Ask how the transaction was authenticated and request the bank's written finding.
- Ask whether a card-network dispute or chargeback was raised, where applicable.
- Do not assume card replacement terminates recurring merchant credentials. Ask about stored tokens or updater services if relevant.
- Contact the merchant in parallel, but do not rely on the merchant instead of formally notifying the bank.
- If the bank rejects or inadequately resolves the complaint, use the Banking Mohtasib route where applicable.
- Use SBP Sunwai for proper routing and escalation rather than merely copying SBP on an email.
-
If contacting SBP directly within its jurisdiction, use
cpd.helpdesk@sbp.org.pkand retain the complaint reference.
Useful verified contacts
HBL complaints: customer.complaints@hbl.com
Bank Alfalah complaints: contactus@bankalfalah.com
State Bank of Pakistan Consumer Protection: cpd.helpdesk@sbp.org.pk
Banking Mohtasib Pakistan: info@bankingmohtasib.gov.pk
SBP Sunwai: Sunwai complaint portal
Comments
Post a Comment
Please keep discussions respectful and on-topic