Refund request for an unauthorised card or account payment (Greece)

Published byDocMuse

The notice to a bank or other payment provider in Greece when an account or card was charged for transactions the holder did not authorise. It lists the transactions, when they were noticed and when the card was blocked, and asks for the whole sum back by the end of the next business day (Law 4537/2018, art. 73). Notice must be given without undue delay and within 13 months of the debit at the latest. The payer bears at most 50 euros unless there was fraud or gross negligence, which the bank must prove, and even then a consumer bears at most 1,000 euros — and the letter concedes no negligence.

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Common questions

How soon must a bank in Greece be told of a charge the cardholder did not make?

Without undue delay once the charge is noticed, and within 13 months of the debit date at the latest (Law 4537/2018, art. 71). First have the card or access blocked at once, usually by phone or in the app, and then send the written refund request, so there is proof of the notice and its date.

By when must a Greek bank refund an unauthorised payment?

Immediately, and by the end of the next business day at the latest after it noticed or was told of the transaction, restoring the account to where it would have been without it (Law 4537/2018, art. 73). It may hold back only if it has reasonable grounds to suspect fraud by the customer and reports them in writing to the relevant authorities.

Can a Greek bank make the customer bear part of the loss from an unauthorised payment?

For losses before the notice, the payer bears at most 50 euros, unless they acted fraudulently or with gross negligence (Law 4537/2018, art. 74); after the notice, nothing, unless there was fraud. Since Law 5019/2023, a consumer who was grossly negligent bears at most 1,000 euros. If the bank did not require strong customer authentication, the payer bears nothing, again unless there was fraud. The bank must prove gross negligence, which is why the letter does not concede it.

What if a Greek bank rejects the refund request?

A bank answers a payment-services complaint within 15 business days, or 35 in exceptional cases. If the answer is unsatisfactory, the customer can take the dispute, free of charge, to the Hellenic Financial Ombudsman within a year of the complaint to the bank, or to court.