A Kyivstar subscriber lost 69,343 hryvnias from her bank card and discovered loans totaling 59,498 hryvnias - here's the court's decision.

A woman received a call from an alleged employee of Kyivstar. Later, she discovered that funds had been transferred from her bank card totaling 69,343 hryvnias and loans had been issued in her name amounting to 59,498 hryvnias. This is stated in the decision of the Khmelnytskyi District Court published on February 3, 2025.

On June 11, 2023, a text message was sent to the Kyivstar subscriber's phone, informing her about transactions involving the transfer of funds from her "Universal" payment card totaling 69,343 hryvnias. Since these transactions were unauthorized, she contacted PrivatBank to request the blocking of the card issued in her name. However, a loan agreement for 3,500 hryvnias and a credit agreement for 55,998 hryvnias were signed using the blocked card. She had not provided any instructions to the bank regarding an increase in the credit limit or funds, nor had she disclosed any information that could have led to the withdrawal of funds.

On June 12, 2023, the woman reported to the police that an unidentified person, through abuse of trust, called her phone number, posing as an employee of JSC "Kyivstar," and under the pretext of extending the validity of her SIM card, fraudulently acquired funds totaling 7,057 hryvnias from her bank cards at JSC "PrivatBank," which were transferred to an unidentified account, and a credit agreement for 55,998 hryvnias was issued, causing her property damage totaling 126,573 hryvnias. On June 13, 2023, a criminal case was initiated regarding this matter under Article 190, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

"The loss of money occurred due to the client's own imprudence in protecting her personal data and funds, which facilitated the illegal use of her payment card PIN and access to the mobile application that allows initiating payment transactions. Additionally, JSC "PrivatBank" is not a consumer center "Shvydko Hroshi," - stated PrivatBank.

What did the court decide?

The court partially satisfied the woman's lawsuit. The claim of JSC "PrivatBank" for the return of funds under the loan agreement for 3,500 hryvnias at the consumer center "Shvydko Hroshi" and under the credit agreement for other consumer purposes for 55,998 hryvnias was recognized as illegal and unlawful. JSC "PrivatBank" will be required to return the unjustly deducted funds amounting to 11,810 hryvnias to her, along with moral damages of 5,000 hryvnias.

"The court found that the respondent's inability to create conditions for protecting their clients' funds caused the woman moral suffering. Therefore, in the court's opinion, the amount of compensation to be recovered from the respondent in her favor should be set at 5,000 hryvnias," the court emphasized.