Srinagar: Customers of the biggest bank in Jammu and Kashmir region have received credit card bills before they got a glimpse of the plastic. As reported by a leading Kashmiri news portal, one Ajaz Iqbal Bhat a resident of Chakka Bhaderwah who had applied for a credit card from the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Bank in Bhaderwah, received a credit card bill of Rs. 26,829, though he didn't get his credit card.

In another such case Rajinder Kumar a resident of Paneja got a credit card bill of Rs. 6000 and Arshad Wachkoo of Gatha got a credit card bill of Rs. 17,000. All these people had applied to the J&K Bank for a credit card few months back. Doda district now has more than 100 customers waiting for their credit cards and looks like there is a major racket operating in the area, which is misusing these credit cards, while the innocent owners are getting the bills.

Gauging the seriousness of the situation, the bank has decided to investigate this lapse and it is probing the role of the courier company appointed for the delivery of the credit cards. A spokesman of the bank said, "we are investigating the cases and the courier service has been called to find out where the cards have been misused." Consoling the suffering customers, the bank spokesman added that the matter will be thoroughly investigated and people who have not received their credit card and got such bills won't have to pay them.

Credit card delivery scams are pretty common in other parts of the country as well. Many times those who are entrusted to deliver the credit cards to its owner, default and misuse the credit card for withdrawing funds and shopping. An obvious remedy is to frequently check with the bank about the delivery of the credit card including the details of the courier and track it properly. If the credit card monthly statement shows any faulty transaction, report the matter immediately to the bank and get it investigated thoroughly. Being a vigilant customer goes a long way in preventing oneself from credit card scams.