Credit card issued without consent? Here is what you can do

There are instances when a customer has received a credit card without his or her consent. Card issuers are restricted from offering unsolicited credit cards and are required to get the customer's prior and explicit authorisation before issuing the card, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules.

What should a customer do if a credit card is issued without his or her consent?

In such cases, customers should not activate the card through OTP or any other means.
According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) FAQs, Master Direction (MD) - Credit Card and Debit Card dated March 7, 2024, “Card issuers are prohibited from issuing unsolicited credit cards and are required to seek prior and explicit consent from the customer before issuing a card. However, if the customer receives an unsolicited card, he/she should refrain from activating or providing consent for activation of the card through OTP or any other means.”

If the customer does not provide consent for the card to be activated by not sharing the OTP, the card issuer will notify the customer that the credit card account has been closed and close it without charging them any fees. This notification will be sent within seven working days of the date the customer was asked for confirmation. Later, once the customer receives the message of closure, the customer should destroy the card.

What to do if you have received a card without applying for it?

According to the RBI FAQ page, “After receiving the intimation from the card-issuer that the card account has been closed, the customer shall destroy the card. Further, the customer may file a complaint with the card-issuer against the issuance of an unsolicited card and escalate it to the RBI Ombudsman as per Integrated Ombudsman Scheme.”

When and how to file a complaint against a card issuer?
The consumer must first contact the relevant card issuer to have his or her complaint addressed. Customers can file complaints with the Reserve Bank Ombudsman using any of the following channels if the card issuer fails to respond within 30 days of filing the complaint, rejects the complaint in whole or in part, or if they are unhappy with the response or resolution provided by the card issuer.

1. Online at https://cms.rbi.org.in.
2. Physical complaint (letter/post) in the form as specified in Annexure ‘A’ of the Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 to “Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre, 4th Floor, Reserve Bank of India, Sector -17, Central Vista, Chandigarh - 160017”.

Can a credit card be considered as ‘used’ even if no financial transactions have been undertaken?
In addition to financial transactions, any process initiated by the cardholder such as generation of statement, change of PIN, change in transaction controls, etc., shall be considered for treating a card as ‘used’. However, any calls made to the customer care center, for reasons other than those cited above, will not be considered regarding the usage of a card.