Consumer complaint received 2025-08-06 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: Mercury Financial Intermediate LLC
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
In early XX/XX/XXXX, my Mercury credit card was stolen from my mailbox before I ever received or activated it. Over the course of just XXXX days XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX several unauthorized transactions appeared on my account, including : Purchases at XXXX ( I do not own a car ) A purchase at XXXX XXXX ( Ive never shopped there ) and other unfamiliar stores An ATM cash withdrawal totaling {$300.00} XXXX ride a bike to work and earn minimum wage in California. Im not the kind of person who starts using a new credit line for large cash withdrawals especially not immediately. These charges were completely out of character, and I reported the fraud within a week well within the XXXXday protection window under the Fair Credit Billing Act ( Regulation Z ). 

To clarify : I opened this Mercury account back in XXXX and activated the original card. I may have used it once or twice likely for something small like a XXXX bill but I didnt care much for it, and I never made it part of my regular spending. So by the time the fraudulent activity occurred, it had basically slipped my mind entirely. 

When I started seeing alerts in XX/XX/XXXX, I was confused. At the time of my first report ( made by phone on XX/XX/XXXX ), I did not report the account as stolen because I wasnt even aware a replacement had been mailed. I just assumed my old card was still valid I had no idea Mercury had issued a new one, much less that someone else had intercepted, activated, and used it. Mercury is now using that technicality that I didnt explicitly say stolen as the reason to deny my fraud dispute. But I wasnt paying attention to the account because I wasnt using it, and I had no way of knowing that someone else had taken over the account without my awareness. That reasoning is both misleading and unjust. 

Mercury initially told me I would need to wait 90 days for an investigation. When that was complete, my dispute was denied, with the explanation that the charges occurred in suspicious proximity to where I live. While technically true, this is misleading : I live and shop in XXXX XXXX. The charges happened closer to the XXXX area which I rarely, if ever, visit. If an account is compromised, its entirely logical a thief would use it nearby. Proximity alone is not a valid reason to deny a fraud claim. 

They also stated that the chip had been used, implying the physical card was present again, reinforcing my case. I never had the replacement in my hands. It was activated and used by someone else before I ever touched it. That should have triggered a deeper fraud investigation, not been used as an excuse to dismiss my case. 

Then, on XX/XX/XXXX, a {$950.00} refund appeared on my account. It looked like Mercury had finally acknowledged the fraud. But some time afterward, the refund was reversed with no explanation and no notification. When I asked about it, I was told it had been a temporary credit during the investigation something that was never disclosed to me at the time. No written communication was provided. This kind of silent reversal raises serious concerns about the transparency of Mercurys internal fraud process. 

In early XXXX, I contacted the fraud department again and explained the full situation including the fact that I now believed the replacement had been stolen directly from my mailbox. The agent acknowledged this and opened a second investigation. A few small charges were reversed, but Mercury continued to hold me responsible for roughly {$800000.00} in fraud and kept charging interest. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, after finishing my college finals, I contacted Mercury a third time. A general support representative acknowledged that the activity looked fraudulent and said they would escalate the case again. As of XX/XX/XXXX, I have received no update, and the interest continues to pile up. 

To this day, I have already paid nearly {$400.00} in interest over 9 months all stemming from unauthorized charges I never made, on a replacement I never received, activated, or used. Ive done everything I was supposed to do. I reported the fraud promptly, stayed engaged with the process, and was transparent at every step. But Mercury has continued to hold me financially responsible and has failed to protect me as a consumer. 

This reflects a total failure of XXXX fraud resolution process and a clear violation of my rights under federal consumer protection laws. 

I am prepared to escalate this through formal complaints to the CFPB and XXXX, and will consider small claims court if Mercury continues to ignore their obligations.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief