Cardholder loans card to his son, a non-account holder, to go to store to buy groceries on Friday. While the son had possession of the card, he claims the card was stolen but doesn't know the card is gone until Sunday. Multiple charges are pending for several merchants to the local mall. No purchases have been made to 'buy groceries'. Does the cardholder have a Reg E claim?

The fact that the cardholder authorized a family member to use the access device does not negate Reg E protections if the card was stolen from that family member.

If your investigation concludes that the family member was lying and actually did perform the transactions, then you can deny the claim according to the definition of unauthorized EFT in 1005.2(m). However, in order to reach this conclusion, the family member would have to admit to lying or you will need evidence from the merchant(s) which may mean obtaining video surveillance there are no chargeback rights for in-person purchases.

Thank you Brian. I wasn't sure if Reg E would come into play or not since the son was given access to the card. The card being lost or stolen while in his possession threw a whole new ballgame for me. I have never had such a claim. I appreciate the clarification.