Latitude 28° – Fraud Dispute Nightmare ($1 K)

bailbondsh on 11/06/2025 - 10:58
Last edited 11/06/2025 - 11:18 by 1 other user

Hi everyone, I’ve been with Latitude / 28° for years, but a recent fraud saga has me ready to leave. I’d like your input before I jump.

1 ▪ Your Latitude experiences
Fraud disputes: Have they ever refused you a refund?

Outcome: Did you eventually get compensated or have to escalate (AFCA, Ombudsman, etc.)?

Customer value: Do they look after loyal clients, or is it wiser to walk?

2 ▪ My case in brief:

Timeline What happened
18 Oct 2024 Wallet lost. Card cancelled next day (phone agent said a refund was “likely”).
18 – 19 Oct ≈ $1,000 spent via <$100 contactless taps:
• 8 × *SQ Bill Mart Ballarat Sebastopol
• 3 × Kmart 1261 / Bunnings 329000
15 Nov 2024 Initial dispute lodged with Latitude.
19 Dec 2024 Chased missing transaction times & merchant details.
03 Dec 2024 Police report filed (Ballarat WD3); provided exact times & asked for CCTV.
Jun 2025 Final 7-day demand to Latitude under ePayments Code. No response.

Pain points

Latitude says “card never left your possession” → denies refund.

Won’t provide merchant ABN / legal name → police can’t subpoena CCTV.

Kmart & Bunnings taps have clear store data; police promised follow-up but six months on, no update.

3 ▪ Next step: AFCA
I’m about to file an AFCA complaint for an ePayments-Code breach.

Looking for:

Sample wording / templates that got results with AFCA.

Anyone who forced Latitude (or any bank) to refund after contactless fraud.

General tips before I close my 28° account and move elsewhere.

Any real-world advice or war stories appreciated—thanks!

— Luke

Financial 28 Degrees Credit Card Latitude Finance Australia

Related Stores

Latitude Financial
Latitude Financial

Comments

  • PissLUR on 11/06/2025 - 11:01
    +3

    Are those shops your regular places? And why did it take you so long to dispute the charges?

    • bailbondsh on 11/06/2025 - 12:10

      Because they said they were investigating it from the beginning. But thanks for bringing that up, because I need to find my correspondence for when they opened the case. The crime was reported to them 1 day after it happened via the phone (I believe they opened a case on that day but I can't find the docs).

    • bailbondsh on 11/06/2025 - 12:19

      and No, Bunnings isn't a regular. KMART isn't but I have been there before. In fact I hardly ever buy things in the area it can be tracked down to, good point! As for Bill Square Mart (8 x transactions - couldn't find where it was), but I have a hunch that Latitude know exactly where it was.

  • Xyzzy on 11/06/2025 - 11:01
    +2

    Don't close the account until it's resolved.

    • bailbondsh on 11/06/2025 - 11:03

      Thanks, good idea

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 11/06/2025 - 11:24
    +2

    If it wasn’t for price protection I’d drop latitude - so bad these days.

    • bailbondsh on 11/06/2025 - 12:17
      +1

      The fact that I keep getting the $8 credit card fee every month since contacting them for months about this is the real kicker though

  • radicalvin on 11/06/2025 - 11:25
    +1

    hey mate, I used to have a 28deg card. So my two experiences with them
    1. Card fraudulently charged +$1k in NSW when I wasn't even living in Australia at the time in 2017. Called their support number, they cancelled the card and everything credited back within 2 weeks.
    2. After closing my card in 2024, there was a Global Blue reverting charge due to them rejecting my tax claim from my Europe shopping (Global Blue is a scam, that's another story). I didn't even realise this until I randomly checked my credit score which has been destroyed. I tried explaining the situation to Latitude who told me to talk to Experian, however, they both weren't able to action anything and they both suggested AFCA.
    Raised a case with AFCA, explained my situation. Everything sorted within a month, Latitude credited the false charge, Experian fixed my credit score. Happy days.

    My suggestion is don't stress, if you know you are not in the wrong and have all the evidence, it will get sorted even though the process may be a tad painful. Good luck :)

    • 115GSM on 11/06/2025 - 11:47
      -1

      Your case was resolved within 2 weeks. His is 6 months on-going!

    • bailbondsh on 13/06/2025 - 13:52

      Thanks for the message, sorry I didn't respond properly earlier.

      This message sums up my personal situation:

      Well when it happened (I am technically disabled via Centrelink, I go to a disability employment agency so my capacities are limited. I was also in the process of getting fully evaluated for ADHD/ASD (Autism Spectrum). In May I was diagnosed with ASD Level 2 (which enables me to apply for NDIS, which if applied for, I could be on permanent disability (which I haven't been on my whole life) - I am 40. Losing and forgetting things is part of many issues for me (which is technically executive function, the reason i lost my card).

    • bailbondsh on 11/06/2025 - 12:05
      +2

      I despise people like you. The problem is in real life you always keep your mouth shut.

      • star-ggg on 11/06/2025 - 12:19
        +1

        At least they didn't paste some lame AI answer

        • bailbondsh on 11/06/2025 - 12:21
          +2

          I have a disability, I wrote out all my notes to AI over the last few weeks, then got it to make sense and ordered. I think you need to open your eyes to a world where AI can be very helpful for people with diabilities.

          • Duckie2hh on 11/06/2025 - 13:19

            @bailbondsh:

            18 – 19 Oct ≈ $1,000 spent via <$100 contactless taps:
            • 8 × *SQ Bill Mart Ballarat Sebastopol
            • 3 × Kmart 1261 / Bunnings 329000
            15 Nov 2024 Initial dispute lodged with Latitude.
            19 Dec 2024 Chased missing transaction times & merchant details.
            03 Dec 2024 Police report filed (Ballarat WD3); provided exact times & asked for CCTV.

            The AI didn't explain why you waited 46 days before reporting the fraud to the police.

            • bailbondsh on 11/06/2025 - 13:24
              +1

              @Duckie2hh: I should have reported it straight away, but I had other issues I was dealing with at the time (which could be a big fault on my part). I trusted that they would sort it out for me as they've generally been pretty good and the person on the phone sounded confident I would get a refund.

              • Muppet Detector on 11/06/2025 - 14:02

                @bailbondsh: Do they have a time limit in which they allow you to raise claims?

                Just an aside, does it look a bit dodgy when someone takes 40 days to report $1000 stolen?

      • Duckie2hh on 11/06/2025 - 13:17
        -4

        Lol

        fraud saga has me ready to leave. I’d like your input before I jump

        So you had an issue with the provider… and you need validation whether to stay with them or not? What did you expect.

        • bailbondsh on 11/06/2025 - 13:20
          +1

          Yeah, and if you were helpful like another person here who said: I shouldn't close the account before getting the dispute resolved.

          • Duckie2hh on 11/06/2025 - 13:21

            @bailbondsh: So after your problem resolves… are you still thinking of sticking around with Latitude?

  • bailbondsh on 11/06/2025 - 13:18

    I called them up and when I asked for the transcript of my original dispute phone call, the phone hung up after being on hold to check wit their supervisor…

  • ytthr on 11/06/2025 - 14:27
    +2

    The afca does a great job, I don't see why you need sample wording or a template, just provide the facts and don't close the case until you are happy.
    I had coles mastercard keep trying to close my case when they could not stop strange monthly charges from Adobe, it took 4 month for them to resolve, stop charges and refund all the charges.

  • Mechz on 11/06/2025 - 15:02

    Do you have to make a formal complaint with Latitude before going to the AFCA?

    • bailbondsh on 13/06/2025 - 13:40

      Hi, i already made a formal complaint to them, but not sure on the rules.

  • tebbybabes on 11/06/2025 - 16:13
    +1

    Been with Latitude for years. Came to share my experience. My recollection of this is now a bit hazy as it was few years ago.

    I saw an item on my transaction list that I didn't recognise, and it happened at around the time I was flying overseas. I called them and said I don't recognise this biller and transaction. my card was then put on hold for safety. It was a bit of a pain because I was planning to use the card overseas. But I'd much rather NOT have fraud happening.

    Anyway, it turns out that the transaction was legit and I just didn't recognise the name on it. Got sorted out drama free and they sent me a new card to my address.

    Other times, the fraud department flagged a legit transaction my son was trying to do (he's on a supplementary card) and the transaction kept failing. turns out they were sending my number one of those verification SMS's asking if the transaction was legit. I was overseas again at the time and didn't get them. However, I did call in a few hours later and ask what was happening because my son's transaction kept getting kicked back. When they confirmed with me that the transaction was legit, the hold and flag was removed and all was ok again. When I landed back in Oz, and turned on my Oz sim, I got all the messages from latitude.

    So just sharing that so far, I haven't really had reason to complain.

    With regards, to the $8 monthly charge, THAT has been incredibly annoying. Still, since they give us $10 rewards credit every month, I believe that still leaves me $2 ahead! I just have to claim the rewards - in my case, supermarket GC will be perfect since I go to the supermarket anyway.

    • bailbondsh on 13/06/2025 - 13:43

      Interesting. Well I often make overseas purchases and annoyingly I always have to ring them up to get the transaction to go through.

    • arcticmonkey on 18/06/2025 - 04:49
      +1

      I left Latitude because they were stupid enough to send SMS messages when a person is overseas.

      Earth to the idiots at Latitude - not everyone puts roaming on their phone when they travel. Incompetence at its finest.

  • ValueInvesting on 12/06/2025 - 19:46
    +2

    @bailbondsh I wouldn't worry about cctv or the police report as it isn't directly relevant for AFCA or Latitude.

    The main thing which will decide if you're responsible for the $1K is if there was an 'unreasonable delay' in you notifying Latitude that your wallet was lost… It's not clear though why Latitude said the card never left your possession?

    • bailbondsh on 13/06/2025 - 13:38

      I think they're a strange a hell company, and when i asked them for a transcript of my original call they hung up on me (though I reckon cleverly disguised).

  • outlander on 13/06/2025 - 15:35
    +1

    Maybe you could call them up, and ask to appeal their decision?

    Start the call by asking for their name and any identifying employee designation, so they think you are talking seriously. Then ask to escalate to a manager if they say it's not possible. If they refuse that ask to be transferred to the complaints department.

    (this probably won't work but it could be worth a try)

    It sucks you're having this experience. I was with latitude before they went to shit, and they were really good. I was able to get a refund of a deposit I'd made to a bike sharing app a year previous. Only $50, but still

    • bailbondsh on 13/06/2025 - 15:39

      Thanks mate really appreciate the advice. I'm still weighing up my options. X

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