Barclay Card Protection Abroad

iceax

Hi wondering if any one can help me.

My mum is currently abroad in Benidorm this afternoon she went off to purchase some cigarettes to bring home. The total cost was £800 the store swiped her card and said it hadn’t gone through so swiped it again and said it still hadn’t gone through. They then swiped it a third time and the card was declined so they took back the cigarettes and my mum left empty handed.
She then returned to the hotel and called Barclaycard who confirmed £1600 had been charged to her account. My mum returned to the store where no one spoke English - she has now arranged to meet the store manager tomorrow morning to try and resolve it.

I was wondering (as I anticipate the store manager won’t show) if my mum has any protection with Barclaycard. I know they can do chargeback’s but I am not sure if this applies outside of the UK. If she hasnt what other options does she have?

grumbler

It is quite straightforward procedure for all CCs for transactions in UK and abroad .
She should call Barclaycard and dispute the transaction. After this they will request a proof from the retailer that she authorised the transaction. As she did not, she will get a refund.

BTW Barclaycard recommend contacting them befor using their card abroad:

In recent years some card users have had problems abroad when temporary "referrals" have been placed on cards. These referrals ask the retailer to check with the card company before the next transaction is accepted.

The referral does not block the card but some foreign retailers do not understand the difference between a referral and a blocked or declined card - so they refuse to accept the card. Add the language barrier into the equation and it gets even more difficult.

To counter this, Barclaycard has introduced a new service for customers which allows them to call us and say they're going on holiday (0870 010 0578*). That means we see overseas transactions as less unusual and the chances of a referral being put on the account are reduced.

iceax

Thanks for advice :-)