Debit card rant

It would be annoying, though I've never heard of that. Are you sure that's the reason, joem? I would contact my bank if that happened to me.

You could always just ring the bank... oops!

Maybe Tuesday then!

Their fraud department will be open 24/7.

A few years ago I tried to buy a new camera lens over the Internet. Despite the fact that I'd previously used the same debit card to buy a camera and other lenses over the counter from the same store, it seems that buying something over the Internet to be delivered to the card-holder's home address is too suspicious and the transaction was blocked. (Fortunately the store accepted payment by PayPal, which went through even though the money was coming from the same bank account.) I could have understood it if it was a store I'd never used before for delivery to a new address, but that wasn't the case.

Several years earlier someone stole my card while I was in Romania and took several hundred pounds out of my account with no trouble at all, because apparently using a card to get cash at a location 2000 km from anywhere the card had been used before isn't even slightly dubious.

My mistake it isn't fraud, but then against is there for a good reason to stop these bad people. How would you feel if your card did get used fraudulently and you had to meet the cost of the fraud and it was exorbitant because they didn't have the software to detect illegal activities.

You could use a different card, if you have on?

The three occasions I've had fraudulent transactions the clever card people didn't pick them up. Even though they were all bizarre and totally out of synch with my spending patterns and, on one occasion, perpetrated thousands of miles from where I was.

Yeah I could, but the annoying thing is having to write out all the details again and again. I'm a bit of a Luddite I'm afraid.

I travel internationally every week for work and when I first started it was an absolute nightmare. I eventually rang them and said under no circumstances are you to block me using my card abroad... they wanted me to call them each time I went away.

I use Revolut now for most of my abroad spending - works a treat... usually.

When there has been fraud and the bank sends a new card, before destroying the old one I think carefully first if I have ordered tickets that will require presentation of the card used to pay for them. I've already forgotten what the procedure will be with Hamilton but have already had to get a new card since buying the (but the old one is kept safe in case!).

Or using your card to pay £200 a day off a Barclaycard account registered at a different address and to which you'd made no previous payments... just for example.

I've had too many problems with my debit card with my traveling. My bank then tried to tell me it would be better to get a credit card, and then I had a go at them telling them that it's my money and I get to choose where and when I spend it, and it can be anywhere in the world as I do enjoy my travels.

Worse example was when booking last years New York trip, my friend and I agreed that I would book the flights and she would book the hotel as they were both similar prices so we didnt have to transfer money to each other. She booked the hotel with her credit card with no problem. I used my debit card and had the money taken out of my account, but had the rest of my money frozen. Thankfully I realised the next day as my balance didn't add up and I got that sorted a few days later. But I also booked a couple of Broadway tickets the same night I booked the flights.

Fastforward 5 months, go to the Gershwin Theatre with my print at home ticket...BARCODE INVALID...go to the box office and they tell me that the seat had been sold, but for some reason been cancelled, but they didnt know why...luckily was able to buy the same seat again on the same card.

I got back to the hotel, and decided to throw a couple of dollars in the computer in the lobby to check my ticketmaster account, and every purchase was cancelled about 3 days after the tickets were booked. So because my bank froze the remainder of my account, ticketmaster wasn't able to to take the payment.

I gave my bank hell when I got back home, and everything has been fine since.

Techie son had a similar problem when making some Travelodge bookings (in one go)  for a tour he was working on. 

The credit card company said there had  been some fraud with people making multiple bookings at Travelodges and so had stopped his card. 

It's the same with booking train tickets. I usually book several at once but now know that the card gets suspended after a few transactions so have to leave it until the following day. I don't telephone the bank as the card seems re-set automatically. But it is annoying, more so for theatre tickets when you want to book particular seats before they go...