ClubsNSW has launched an investigation after people who have never had dealings with the association had holding charges placed on their credit cards.
People who had never used ClubNSW’s services began noticing small charges on their cards, ranging from $0.01 to $1, in the past week.
ClubsNSW, which represents over 1,200 clubs across New South Wales, identified the charges as holding charges and suggested the cause could potentially be a “third-party payment gateway system provider” but it was under investigation.
“We have taken immediate steps in response, including launching a thorough investigation into the issue, which is progressing,” a spokesperson for ClubsNSW said.
It is not known how the credit card details were obtained. The organisation said it was still investigating the source.
The spokesperson said the issue was complicated as they did not have details of those charged as they were not customers.
“As investigations into the source of the credit card details are ongoing, we do not yet have the contact details of all those who may be affected,” a spokesperson said.
ClubsNSW directed people to seek to dispute the charge with their bank.
“We encourage anyone who has received a $1 charge purporting to be from ClubsNSW to contact their card’s issuing financial institution as soon as possible, to seek advice on next steps to dispute the charge and ensure their card details are not misused.”
The spokesperson acknowledged that the charge was an inconvenience, and said it was willing to assist anyone affected.
It comes after a tumultuous year for the powerful lobbying organisation, after the group’s former CEO was forced to resign over comments made about the then premier Dominic Perrottet’s religious beliefs.
Since the election, the group has also worked with the new NSW Labor government on a softer version of the former Liberal government’s proposals, with a trial of cashless card poker machines in select locations across the state.
