Automated fraud prevention calls

adt100

Hi,
I have a Barclaycard Visa credit card which I use mostly online and pay off in full every month. The problem I have is that every couple of months when I make several transactions in a day (say £300 worth) or if I buy any mobile phone top ups I get an 'Automated fraud prevention call' Most of the time this is just an annoyance but sometimes the alerts cause the card to be declined and I have to contact the retailer (not always easy with online only companies) to confirm or repeat the order. The companies that trigger the alerts are not overseas, the last were Gameplay and Amazon both of which I have shopped with before.

Is this now normal practice for credit card companies? Is there another card with one of the main UK banks I could switch to that does not have this problem?

Thanks
Andrew

tapeworm

it happens with debit cards as well. in the past three months my card has been blocked for suspected fraud three times by my bank hsbc. every time i have had to ring up the bank to confirm my transactions and confirm that i have made them.

greenmantle

HSBC have been very trigger-happy with debit card fraud calls in the last eighteen months - I've received the call from India almost instantaneously with trying to put through an international (bus ticket) purchase online on my debit card.

Weirdly though, they're easier going with credit cards. I think you'd find other providers who would be less jittery than this.

ThinkingOfLinking

The worst time was when my card got blocked over a bank holiday; I had no cash for 3 days and had no food and had to walk to and from work. My Natwest bank debit card has been blocked a few times.

INT1

I find it hard to believe you had no cash or food for 3 days?!

Banks are obliged to operate a 24 hours service service for either you or the merchant at where your trying to use the card can call and get the transaction authorised.

The block may remain on the card but the merchant should be able to call their acquiring bank and get the transactions authorised.

Mobile top ups are a bug bear for all card companies. unfortunately they all generally adopt the same sort of practice with regards to flagging up higher risk transactions.

eslick

move to nationwide, booked tickets for a US zoo online and the payment system "failed" and asked me to go back and pay again. It also managed to make 15 attempts to collect the money from my card, all 15 went through some only 10 seconds apart and nationwides fraud protection didnt even pick it up. In the end the zoo helped with refunds as Nationwide were hopeless.

Mozette

Egg are always doing this to me. I've found that Nationwide don't seem to give a monkey's where or what I spend!

I always carry a couple of cards though - just in case!

Paul_Varjak

A transaction of mine was blocked by nationwide on the third order in three weeks of mobile phones from Carphone Warehouse. All the transactions were mine. They even, mistakenly, gave me a refund on one! The transactions were for about £15 each, all were in my name and with my address.

A few weeks later, a transaction on the same card went through for about £550 even though the person did not use my name or address! It turned out the website was bogus!

philatio

A bump for this.

I have a few USA based subscriptions with regular monthly payments.

I used to use my Egg card but started getting their automated fraud call thing every month.. even though the payments were identical every month. Was a pain in the butt.
I called Egg and asked if they could stop them - as it was obviously genuine as it was the same amount every month. They said they couldn't.

So.. I take out a Nationwide card instead. Switch all my subscriptions.

Couple of weeks later I get a call from a (real) woman at Nationwide Fraud prevention.. going through my payments.
I explain they're genuine and told her about the trouble I had with Egg. She said that a note would be added to my account that these are regular payments and they wouldn't be queried again.

Today. 1 month later. Got an email from the company in the USA. Nationwide have declined the transaction. For $10 !!!
No phone calls.. they just declined it.

I am livid. Just sent a e-message expressing my "disappointment" as their phone lines are closed.

Can anyone recommend a CC company with a bit of common sense that will let me do these regular foreign transactions without any hassle?

INT1

It's not about having common sense, all the fraud strategies used by the Card companies are pretty much the same, unless your a VIP, they will not turn fraud strategy rules off your card.