Complaint about an unauthorised payment transaction (Poland)

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A complaint to a Polish bank or other payment provider when money has left an account or card through transactions the customer did not make: the account or card, the disputed transactions with dates and amounts, when they were discovered and the card blocked, the police report, and a demand for a refund by the end of the next business day (art. 46 of the Payment Services Act). It reminds the bank that it must prove authorisation.

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Common questions

How quickly must a Polish bank refund an unauthorised transaction?

The bank must refund the amount promptly, by the end of the business day after the report at the latest, restoring the account to where it stood before the transaction (art. 46(1) of the Payment Services Act). It may hold back only where it has reasonable, properly documented grounds to suspect the customer of fraud and reports that in writing to the law enforcement authorities. Pointing to a log of logins is not enough on its own.

How soon must an unrecognised transaction be reported to a Polish bank?

As soon as it is noticed, and within 13 months of the debit at the latest — after that the claims expire (art. 44 of the Payment Services Act). With a lost or stolen card, the customer is liable for transactions before blocking up to the equivalent of 50 euro at most — unless they caused them intentionally or through gross negligence, by sharing a code, for example — and after blocking only if they acted intentionally.

What if a Polish bank refuses to refund an unauthorised transaction?

Once the complaint has been decided, the customer can ask the Financial Ombudsman (Rzecznik Finansowy) to intervene or to run a settlement procedure, and at banks belonging to the Polish Bank Association use its Consumer Banking Arbitrator. The local consumer ombudsman can help as well. In court the bank must prove that the transaction was authorised, and use of the card or app alone does not prove it (art. 45 of the Payment Services Act).

What is a chargeback, and how does it differ from an unauthorised-transaction complaint?

A chargeback is a card-scheme procedure in which the bank, at the customer's request, claims a card payment back from the merchant's bank — usually where the payment was authorised but the goods never arrived, the service was not provided, or the amount was taken twice. It does not come from statute, so its deadlines are set by the bank's and the card scheme's rules. For a transaction the customer never made at all, the statutory refund in art. 46 applies instead.