GEORGE TOWN: A prawn wholesaler is at his wits' end after being told that he owed his bank more than RM16,000 for transactions he did not perform on his credit card.
Tan Kean Huat's nightmare started on Aug 26 when he received a one-time password (OTP) on his cellphone for an RM995 transaction via his bank account.
He subsequently received another OTP for an RM2,979.50 transaction via his credit card.
The 49-year-old then contacted his bank to enquire about the transactions.
"I told the bank that I did not perform the transactions. I told the bank that my credit card could have been tampered with and asked it to block the transactions and cancelled the credit card immediately.
"I also asked the bank if there was any other suspicious transaction, to which it said there was none. The bank also told me that it would cancel my card and issue me with a new one. I thought that was it.
"But to my surprise, the following day, the bank called me to say there were 11 transactions totalling RM16,150. Nine for Touch 'n Go and another two for Razergold. This excluded the two transactions the day before via my bank account, which went through. One was RM995 and another for RM58.21.
"I was told to lodge a police report, which I did. I also wrote to the bank and submitted the dispute form and the bank said it was looking into it.
"However, until today, I have not received any answer. I just don't kno what else to do," he said here today.
He was accompanied by Penang Gerakan public complaints bureau chief Andrew Ooi and a friend, Lai Fa Hin, the retired southwest district police chief.
Tan subsequently lodged another two reports on Sept 5.
Tan said he went to the branch of the credit card issuing company, but the manager refused to meet him, asking him to go to Kuala Lumpur instead.
Tan said he had never lost the credit card and had used the card from the bank for more than 20 years, with a credit limit of RM45,000.
"Worse still, I was told by the bank that I had changed my phone number to perform the transactions, which I never did at all.
"I have been using the same phone number for a long time. How is it that my phone number be changed without my knowledge as the owner?"
Ooi said the bank should held responsible for the unauthorised transactions on Aug 27 as a report had been made earlier.
"There is clearly evidence of negligence from the bank.
"The victim is already helpless. Instead of helping, the bank is making it hard for him.
"Why should he be paying for the transactions he did not perform? The bank must be answerable," he added.
Ooi also urged Bank Negara Malaysia and the Finance Ministry to impose an additional security system to ensure greater safety.