A First Citizens Bank customer is warning other cardholders to closely monitor their accounts after claiming she discovered another unauthorised transaction on her card. In a video shared online, the woman said she woke up to discover a transaction associated with Facebook that she did not recognise. She maintained that she had never run advertisements through Facebook and immediately became concerned about how the transaction had appeared. She said she attempted to contact First Citizens shortly after discovering the transaction but was unable to reach someone initially, describing being sent through several loops on the telephone. She also claimed an attempt to send a message to the bank was unsuccessful and resulted in an error. Concerned that further transactions could occur, the customer said she temporarily blocked her own card before trying the bank again later that morning. She said she eventually reached a representative and had a pleasant conversation until she was informed that the bank would block the card on its end, but she would have to pay TT$50 for a replacement card and another TT$30 for delivery through TTPost. The customer questioned why she should have to pay those costs when, according to her, she had done nothing to cause the unauthorised transaction. “Why do I have to pay for your breach in your system?” she asked, while expressing frustration over both the replacement cost and the time required to have disputed funds returned. She further claimed that this was not her first experience with suspected unauthorised activity involving her First Citizens accounts. According to her, she previously had to replace a card after transactions were made in Europe. The woman said she has held accounts with other banks but claimed First Citizens was the only institution where she had repeatedly experienced this type of problem. She urged First Citizens credit and debit card customers to pay close attention to their transactions, stressing that even relatively small unauthorised charges can have a significant impact on customers. She also criticised the prospect of customers having to wait for disputed money to be returned while continuing to pay regular banking fees. The customer’s claims represent her personal account of the incidents. She encouraged other customers who have experienced similar issues to share their experiences and urged all cardholders to regularly check their accounts for transactions they do not recognise.
