Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2011

Spursman180

March

duchy wrote: »

Flipping banks !!!! And Blinkin' card cloners !! Ratbags the lot of 'em

I am so glad my plans changed and I'm not out in Vegas this week .
Last week strange transactions started popping up on my bank statement -Harley Davidson Cafe (twice), PH hotel and a few others all on Strip locations. Looks like my card got cloned when I was out there in May. NatWest fraud department is staffed by muppets -different story every time you talk to them. I am sooooooo angry. Ironically I rarely use my card in Vegas as I'm aware of the risks but Nat West were so slow sending me a new pin in May I ended up having to charge almost everything as it hadn't arrived by the time I left so I couldn't draw cash <sigh>

I can't even imagine how hard this would have been to sort out if I was actually away at the moment-especially in the place the dodgy charges are coming from !!!

<rant end>

Back on topic............

If anyone is in Vegas this weekend Donny Osmond has a flash mob event going on in the Forum Shops at Midnight -looks like fun !!

Not nice, I had a problem with the Halifax a few years ago, where somebody put a deposit on a property whilst I was paying for a hotel some 500 miles apart. The very nice! people at Halifax accused me of lying and it ended up getting legal (work supported me) as it would have cost me my job because of various responsibilities I had.

It only smoothed out when I got a personal call from the MD of Halifax, my only request was to speak with the ar*****e who accused me on the phone. Which didn't happen but I did get a letter and a big hamper which the girls in the office enjoyed.

So good luck and I can imagine the pain if it had happened whilst you were out there.

Indout96

September

Just booked for end of September, had been trying to get to Atlantic City but flight prices are through the roof then sat at work this morning got an e-mail from KLM and 20 mins later its all booked to Vegas :j
Now to find a hotel, the last few times we have hired houses but there are only 2 of us this time so Hotel it is.

duchy

May

ferf1223 wrote: »

I've always wanted to be part of a flash mob...or see one happening...now I am sad I am missing this one.

Less than 2 months for us now...cannot come quickly enough...after the disappointment of not winning Euromillions and all we're very much looking forward to some Vegas time.

Lots of my friends are in Vegas at the moment as Donny has a weekend of events running (if I was there I'd just be about to head out to the Hoover Dam with him as tourguide) but things kept happening and I decided when I was out there in may that I simply wasn't supposed to be going back in July-I guess now I know it was definitely the right decision !! The flashmob is I think going onto youtube-I'll let you have the link Ferf . At least I got out of the dance class for it by not going-it's really too hot in Vegas at the moment for that kind of exertion !!

As for NatWest -every trip they block my card -and a few times when I've bought US air tickets from American carriers by phone or net in the UK they've done it too. Once the charges hit my account they are refunding promptly but it's the wait from the authorization to it hitting my account when the funds are on hold that is killing me . I'd be quite happy with a "normal" euro win at the moment

As for Halifax -I'm still wary of banks who used to be building societies as they seem to react badly when the unusual happens-Santander still seems to think like the Abbey BS for example. Good for you for taking it all the way and getting an apology Spursman.

joaniemerc

duchy wrote: »

Looks like my card got cloned when I was out there in May.

Sorry to hear this, painful.

Just out of interest, would you say this happened when the card was taken out of your sight or did you keep an eye on it at all times and it still got cloned?

duchy

May

joaniemerc wrote: »

Sorry to hear this, painful.

Just out of interest, would you say this happened when the card was taken out of your sight or did you keep an eye on it at all times and it still got cloned?

I'm pretty careful but I'd guess someone had one of those palm scanners. I only spent three nights in Vegas in total that trip -one night before I went off to Idaho and three nights afterwards but one was staying at a friend's house . First night was at CP the other two at the Orleans -of the two I'm leaning towards the CP or out and about on the Strip as I've stayed many times at the Orleans as have many of my friends and none of us have had any problems like this but I guess it can take just one dishonest person anywhere <shrug>

I've visited Vegas more than ten times so I guess statisically it was bound to happen sooner or later.

ferf1223

March

I'm sure many of you got this email too...but may be interesting for some.

http://www.groupon.com/now

Be the first to try Groupon Now! in Las Vegas – it's a new way to find great deals nearby to use right now.
Hungry or bored right now? Check out Groupon Now! to find real-time deals to buy and use the same day. With more than 450 deals available in Las Vegas today, you'll find deals on great eats and fun stuff to do right now.

pebblesmax

November / December

It sounds OK actually. It appears that you get a full refund if you don't use the Groupon on that day.

stoneman

October

ferf1223 wrote: »

I'm sure many of you got this email too...but may be interesting for some.

http://www.groupon.com/now

Be the first to try Groupon Now! in Las Vegas – it's a new way to find great deals nearby to use right now.
Hungry or bored right now? Check out Groupon Now! to find real-time deals to buy and use the same day. With more than 450 deals available in Las Vegas today, you'll find deals on great eats and fun stuff to do right now.

All of the deals at the moment seem a bit lame, with only $5-$20 off, not enough to tempt me. But knowing Groupon this might grow into something worth keeping an eye on.

pebblesmax

November / December

stoneman wrote: »

All of the deals at the moment seem a bit lame, with only $5-$20 off, not enough to tempt me. But knowing Groupon this might grow into something worth keeping an eye on.

The instant refunding won me over to be honest. You can get the Groupon, but if it's not used by a certain time, you get a refund. Good for changing plans and stuff, a thing we do more often than we probably should.

ogs20

August

Just about to buy some resteraunt.com certificates and it wants a zip code for my billing address, as im in the UK i dont have one so will this not afect the verification of my card??