Debit Cards Vs Credit Cards

[paulcr]

I know certain unscrupulous players may do chargebacks at casinos using credit cards, do I assume if I use a debit card at a casino there is no way I can be accused of doing a chargeback. Thanks in advance.

[Nifty29]

Hi Paul

Mastercard and Visa debit cards have the same consumer protections as the equivalent credit cards i.e. you can dispute any transaction where you believe the merchant hasnt fulfilled their obligations.

So the short answer is yes.

Im not 100% sure what you're getting at though - have you been wrongly accused in the past?

[vinylweatherman]

Hi Paul

Mastercard and Visa debit cards have the same consumer protections as the equivalent credit cards i.e. you can dispute any transaction where you believe the merchant hasnt fulfilled their obligations.

So the short answer is yes.

Im not 100% sure what you're getting at though - have you been wrongly accused in the past?

Here in the UK only VISA debit cards offer a similar facility to the chargeback. With CREDIT cards, it is LAW (consumer credit act) that a cardholder can consider the card issuer JOINTLY liable for the merchant failing to fullfil obligations. With DEBIT cards, there is NO law of joint liability, but VISA cards have a scheme that offers similar protection. Mastercard debit cards do not have such a scheme, and the cardholder would have to take action against the merchant.
It is only where FRAUD is involved, that customers can get their money back from the bank when their DEBIT card has been used by someone else, provided the card holder took reasonable care to protect their card from fraudulent use.

Whether credit or debit card, casinos will STILL take the same precautions, and may still not allow a player on record as having issued credit card chargebacks to play with a DEBIT card.

If the accusation is WRONG, then the Data Protection Act is your recourse, as companies keeping personal data MUST take steps to ensure it is ACCURATE. Errors in entering data are often the cause of such problems. Perhaps someone with a similar name has had THEIR record of chargebacks entered incorrectly into YOUR data. It can ALSO result from ID theft, where someone has done something criminal using YOUR ID details, and this has resulted in it being recorded as something YOU have done.

[Nifty29]

With DEBIT cards, there is NO law of joint liability

The rules in Australia are the same for both credit and debit cards.

I know this because I once had cause to dispute a transaction with an online merchant in the US (not a casino ) and it was all handled as if it were a credit card transaction. Over here we have 180 days to lodge a dispute.

Sounds like MC Debit cardholders in the UK are being screwed!

[vinylweatherman]

The rules in Australia are the same for both credit and debit cards.

I know this because I once had cause to dispute a transaction with an online merchant in the US (not a casino ) and it was all handled as if it were a credit card transaction. Over here we have 180 days to lodge a dispute.

Sounds like MC Debit cardholders in the UK are being screwed!

We are. We are often advised to use a CREDIT card where possible, BECAUSE of this extra protection it offers. With DEBIT cards, the law does not protect us to the same extent because any debit card transaction comes from money we already have, rather than have borrowed.
Interestingly, it has been suggested that if we use a debit card, BUT are overdrawn, then we ARE protected as if it were a credit card, because the money was BORROWED. This is the key to this law, it is designed to protect us against getting into DEBT for a service, or goods, that were not provided as described, or if the merchant goes bust before being able to fulfil the contract.