What happens if my credit card company has an outage and I can’t access my account?

Keep in mind that a service outage doesn’t necessarily mean your personal data is at risk.

Steps you can take in the event of an outage:

First, contact your credit card company

Use the company’s customer service online or by phone, to find out about the outage and when they expect it to be fixed.

Look for other ways to access your account

If you can’t use your card to make purchases, try using a check or mobile app for payments, or paying in cash. If the outage means you can’t access account information online or pay a bill, try using the phone system. You can try contacting the company by social media. Remember not to put any account or personal information in your posts.

Double-check any automatic charges

Check with the credit card company to find out if ongoing payments, like subscriptions or other bills, are still being made during the outage. If needed, use another method to make your payments, on time if you can.

Ask the credit card company to reverse any fees

If you are charged fees or interest for late payments because of the system outage, contact the credit card company and ask them to credit your account for the charges.

Watch for fraud

To communicate with your credit card company, call the customer service number on the back of your card or shown on your statement. Thieves sometimes try to contact you with e-mail, phone calls, social media messages, or text messages that seem like they’re coming from an official source.

Submit a complaint

The CFPB accepts complaints about credit card companies and their services. Submit your complaint online or by phone at (855) 411-2372](tel:(855) 411-2372). You can [check out usa.gov to find other places to submit complaints. It includes ways to submit complaints about phone, internet, and cable companies as well as companies that sell other products and services and more.

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