Bank credited me for fraud, merchant canceled charge, now my card has a $7000 positive balance. What do I do?

Credit cards Forum
1

My purse was stolen, and two fraudulent transactions totaling about $7000 were made on my credit card. I reported it the next day, and my bank issued a temporary credit while canceling the cards and sending replacements.

Now, two weeks later, the merchant appears to have canceled the fraudulent transactions. This has left my credit card with a positive balance of around $7000. I assume the bank will eventually reverse the temporary credit since the transactions are no longer there.

Should I just wait for the bank to sort this out, or do I need to report it myself? I’m in the US, in case that makes a difference. Thanks for any advice.

2

The system will catch this and reverse the temporary credit. Just leave the money alone and wait for the bank to handle it. There’s nothing you need to do.

3

Paz said:
The system will catch this and reverse the temporary credit. Just leave the money alone and wait for the bank to handle it. There’s nothing you need to do.

Thanks for explaining. I don’t plan on touching it, but I feel weird about calling them to say something!

4

@Moses
If I were you, I wouldn’t say anything either. Just let them sort it out. On the off chance they don’t, you might get lucky, but don’t count on it.

5

You might want to file a police report for your records, especially if the bank asks for documentation. That amount qualifies as felony theft in most states.

6

It might take some time for the bank to resolve this. I had a similar situation, and it took almost a year to fix. They even sent me a check for the balance by mistake, but I called and told them it wasn’t actually owed to me.

7

The money will eventually go back to the bank. Don’t spend it, even if it’s tempting. If you’re worried, you can call the bank, but it’s okay to just wait for them to handle it.

8

I had something similar happen with AmEx. They refunded me $5k and mailed a check. I put it in a high-yield savings account and earned interest. When they asked for the money back a year later, I returned the $5k but kept the interest I’d earned.

9

Don’t touch the money. The bank is likely still investigating, and the cancellation probably came after they flagged the transaction as fraud. They’ll handle it, but it might take some time.

10

This happens often when merchants issue refunds while the bank is still working on a claim. The provisional credit will get canceled once the system recognizes the refund. Don’t spend it.

11

Under Regulation E, banks have up to 45 days to investigate fraud claims. They’ll likely reverse the provisional credit when they finish their review.

12

You could contact the bank and let them know the merchant issued a refund. They might be able to adjust the balance sooner.

13

If you don’t need the money immediately, just wait for the bank to handle it. They’ll likely reverse the provisional credit and adjust your balance. Don’t spend it, even if it’s tempting.

14

Rian said:
If you don’t need the money immediately, just wait for the bank to handle it. They’ll likely reverse the provisional credit and adjust your balance. Don’t spend it, even if it’s tempting.

This was my hopeful scenario for enjoying a rare bank error in my favor, but I’ll stay patient!