[jabroni_salad]

When my bank account got drained, I could not pay rent or any bills. I had enough cash for about a week of food. It took 4 weeks for the bank to decide I could be made whole. Ever since then I have never even put a debit card in my wallet. I know what the laws say. I have read endless "well banks usually[...]" type messages. and yet all the same I one day awoke to find myself transformed into a giant cockroach.

[tptacek]

EFTA Reg E gives banks 10 days to make you whole (less an optional $50 deductible depending on when the fraud was reported). My experience going back decades is that they've simply reverted the charges instantly. What bank were you using? My experience is with the usual suspects --- Citi, Chase, and BofA.

Under the law, credit card issuers actually have more time to deliberate before making you whole, not less.

[Merad]

That's not quite accurate. They have 10 days to issue you a temporary credit if the investigation is going to take more than 10 days. They are willing to issue the credit immediately precisely because it's temporary. If the investigation resolves in your favor the credit becomes permanent and you never know the difference. If it takes more than 30 days - well, I worked with BofA about 15 years ago and saw more than a few customers who ended up with a giant mess because that temporary credit expired after 30 days resulting in a snowball effect of failed payments and NSF charges.

[jabroni_salad]

sorry, I ninja edited my comment to avoid having an identical discussion as the previous many times I brought up this topic.

It is nice that you know what the law is but that isn't the same as the law being followed. Also the bank was PNC, not the biggest guy ever but not a small player either.