Warning - New Clydesdale Bank MasterCard Debit Cards

thejaminthecity

I've just tried to use my new clydesdale bank mastercard debit card on the travelodge online site and it wouldn't accept it. Clydesdale Bank are blaming the merchants and giving no explanation of why the problems were not highlighted in the letter or why they are not delaying replacement of perfectly working maestro cards. If they don't fix it soon I'll be transferring my money elsewhere. Most online sites have a charge for using a credit card so it's not a good position we've been put in by the bank, can they get anything right?????

Travelsaver

thejaminthecity wrote: »

I've just tried to use my new clydesdale bank mastercard debit card on the travelodge online site and it wouldn't accept it. Clydesdale Bank are blaming the merchants and giving no explanation of why the problems were not highlighted in the letter or why they are not delaying replacement of perfectly working maestro cards. If they don't fix it soon I'll be transferring my money elsewhere. Most online sites have a charge for using a credit card so it's not a good position we've been put in by the bank, can they get anything right?????

FWIW, if you look at the Natwest thread on this same forum, they seem to also be having problems with the new Visa debit cards so the grass is not always greener on the other side.

I strongly suggest you write an official complaint to Clydesdale and take it from there. Equally Mastercard International needs to do their bit too and get merchants in partnership with the banks offering the card payment services to get their systems updated.

stclair

Travelsaver wrote: »

FWIW, if you look at the Natwest thread on this same forum, they seem to also be having problems with the new Visa debit cards so the grass is not always greener on the other side.

I strongly suggest you write an official complaint to Clydesdale and take it from there. Equally Mastercard International needs to do their bit too and get merchants in partnership with the banks offering the card payment services to get their systems updated.

Natwest resolved all there issues weeks ago.

Jen_31

I don't think Yorkshire bank is very good. I have been a `member` of it now for about something crazy like 16 years (i'm 27 now). I went a few month ago as my bank account was been changed to a passbook account, they wouldnt even let me change my account. I wanted a debit card. I dont even have a atm card for God sake, they said no to me!.

It's still piddled me off after all this time actually. It doesnt suprise me people are having problems with them. They seems to only care for the aussie side of the bank, i see on google news that they are buying Axa, and just concentrating on the bank in australia. I am actually thinking of getting a new account. I mean what bank doesnt give people a atm card, the silly woman asked me how i get my money out, then didnt give me a atm card?. I wanted to slap her!. Rant over with now :-D

Elley_2

I have also received one of the new Clydesdale Bank debit Mastercard and I am having major problems with it.

1) Letter stated my old maestro card would still be available for the next 8 weeks. Tried to use my old card the day after receiving this new card & the ATM machine swallowed it. Called customer services to inform them, was told my branch had put a withdrawl on my old card - puzzled!

2) Registered the new card & try to use it in a ATM - keeps coming up this card is not compatible with this ATM. Tired it in Clydesdale ATMs and other bank's ATMs - it doesn;t work in any of them.

3) I can not switch any items in shops as my card is not recognised

4) Tried to update the details of my debit card on paypal using this new card. Paypal charge £1 to your account and pay it back to you so they can prove the account it yours - I have been charged £1.50 from the Clydesdale bank for doing this - looks as though everytime I successfully 'buy' items online I will be charged £1.50 for every transaction

I have found the CB to be very, very unhelpful. They have told me I am the only person to have problems with the new card, reading this forum, that's a lie! I feel they are feeding me one lie after another. They can not tell me when my card is going to be fully working. In the meantime, everytime I need access to my cash I need to go into a branch which is very inconveinent. I am unable to switch anything and I am unable to buy anything online.

I've been with them for over 16 years. Feeling very annoyed I set up a new account on Xmas Eve with the Royall Bank of Scotland. In the next few weeks all my direct debits etc will be transferred and I will be telling the CB to beat it.

PaulW922

As a merchant I can tell you that my service provider (Barclays) wrote and told me of the new debit Mastercard over a year ago. Anyone like me who hires their kit from the bank did not have to do anything - the machines were automatically updated for debit Mastercard. For those who have their own equipment (I guess the bigger businesses) the new range of BIN numbers were again provided a year ago (I was sent them automatically).

Maestro is going to vanish soon I think - those banks not switching to debit Mastercard have already gone over to Visa debit.

Whereas there is no excuse for unhelpful service, I believe the fault here lies mainly with the merchants, not the bank (although the charges some people have had applied for UK shop purchases is clearly a bank issue)

On the 16/19 digit Maestro card issue - there have always been two types of Maestro - some had 19 digits and an issue number (Clydesdale, Natwest, HSBC, HBOS) and others had sixteen digits and a start date (RBS). When RBS took over NatWest they changed the card types to sixteen digits. HBOS, HSBC and now RBS/NatWest have now gone over to Visa leaving just Clydesdale/Yorkshire as Maestro issuers - so the change to a sixteen digit Maestro card should not be an issue. When Maestro goes it won't be an issue of course

bs7

PaulW922 wrote: »

Whereas there is no excuse for unhelpful service, I believe the fault here lies mainly with the merchants, not the bank (although the charges some people have had applied for UK shop purchases is clearly a bank issue)

I don't disagree with you, however, there were bound to be issues and advising people there would be no difficulties (and effectively forcing people to switch to the new card) was grossly misleading. I've got several other cards so i didn't have much of a problem - but others may have been relying on their debit card and effectively found themselves with a card that is useless with some merchants. Clydesdale bank ought to have acknowledged that rather than mislead/lied about it in their promotional literature.

savagej

If you google Debit Mastercard UK you will find Streamline advising its customers well over a year ago of UK issued cards.

These cards have been around for a long time overseas and if Mastercard is accepted then those issued oversea must be accepted here, so the merchants have in my opinon had plenty of time to update this software.

All it involved was adding 5xxx-5xxx as a debit cards issued by Mastercard in the UK on which cashback can be given.

flyingscotno1

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2010/01/07/customers-anger-over-clydesdale-bank-debit-cards-which-don-t-work-86908-21948561/

Bit in the press over it. Not much we don't know granted.

bs7

flyingscotno1 wrote: »

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2010/01/07/customers-anger-over-clydesdale-bank-debit-cards-which-don-t-work-86908-21948561/

Bit in the press over it. Not much we don't know granted.

A spokesman said: "There are thousands of transactions a day and fewer than two per cent are being rejected."

"fewer than two per cent" - so higher than one per cent. That's still are massive number of 'rejected' transactions given the sheer volume of transactions per day.