As a father of four children, Patrick Vargas said he knows the value of money.
"I'm a hard-working person," he said.
Vargas regularly checks his bank account so when he spotted a suspicious charge for hundreds of dollars, he said he immediately called his bank.
"They said they were going to give me a temporary credit until they investigate it," he said.
The charge, according to Vargas, was linked to a tattoo shop in Hialeah. Vargas said he reached out to the business and let them know what had happened.
"It alarmed us," the business owner told NBC 6 Responds, adding that they checked their records and confirmed that Vargas had never been a customer.
That's the reason why the business owner said he called the bank with Vargas and they both told a representative that it had to be a case of fraud.
Vargas also filed a police report. Still, he says Chase Bank denied his claim twice, saying both times they "…found that the transaction was processed correctly or was authorized."
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"I have a family to take care of," Vargas said. "The way I look at it is they're taking food away from my children."
NBC 6 Responds contacted Chase and within 24 hours Vargas said he saw a full credit for $499.99 pop up on his account. In a statement, Chase said they were "…sorry for the error in denying the customer's claim and have credited his account."
Vargas said he was glad he didn't give up.
"I fought for my name," Vargas said. "I fought for my money. I fought for my family … it means a lot to me."
Vargas did not know how or where his debit card was compromised, but he said he will probably think twice before using it again in the future.
It's always a good idea to use credit instead of debit, if you can. There are better consumer protections for credit card transactions, if you're the victim of fraud.
