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Verified by Visa, and a credit card that begins with B
UpAgainstABrickWall
Posts: 5 Forumite
Hi guys - newbie here so please be kind. I'll try not to drone on too much.
Quick background. I am a very private person and do not divulge what I consider to be unnecessary information about me. I am registered with the telephone preference service, the junk mail one and I regard online security as a high priority. I do not speak to cold callers.
A few months ago I paid online, in full, a credit card bill with my bank debit card. I do this every month and only use this credit card in a particular supermarket. When I was taken to the Verified by Visa page it was different to the ones I had seen before (asking for 1st, 3rd and 5th letters of passcode, or whatever). This one had 3 drop down boxes: the first gave asked me which of the following 5 addresses had I previously lived at (fair enough for my bank to have that information); the second asked me within which age range a particular person I know is (how did they know that?); and the third asked me who out of the following 5 people do I know (what? how would they know that? what's that got to do with my banking history?). Without completing this, my transaction would not have gone through. It was a https site, so I didn't doubt the authenticity, just wanted to know how they knew that about me...
(By the way, the last 2 times I have paid this bill, it has gone back to the previous security questions. I took a screen saver picture of the unfamiliar one.)
Therefore, I rang my debit card provider to query this. I have held this particular bank account for about 35 years. Because I did not answer one of their security questions correctly, they cancelled my debit card! In retrospect, the security question I failed was in fact related to my other, main credit card, so they must have known I was genuine if they had both cards linked. (The question, I thought, was a bit unfair: which airline have you made an online transaction with? Months earlier I booked 3 flights for later in the year with 3 different bucket airlines, and off the top of my head I couldn't remember if it was EasyJet, or Thomson, or Ryannair or whoever.)
So, forwarding on. That question about how VbV know those details and my complaint about them cancelling my debit card without notice has not yet been resolved, but it has made me very wary of answering any more wretched security questions. Last month I was away on the aforementioned holiday and forgot to pay my credit card bill, which I always normally pay in full. It was for about £200. I realised when I got my latest statement, noticed I'd been charged the 12 quid for late payment, and have set up an online transaction to pay all by the due date towards the end of the month. However, for the past week or so, I have been receiving up to 3 telephone calls a day from this credit card company that begins with a B, and with whom I have had this credit card for about 25 years. When I answer, they ask me to answer a security question to verify who I am, but they are ringing me! I have repeatedly said I will answer their security question when they have answered mine, mainly what is the number of the card they are calling about, as I need to verify they are indeed who they say. Of course, they won't. I feel the question is impertinent: they want to know the year I was born. I will tell them the day and month, but not the year. I wouldn't tell a stranger in the street the year I was born if they came up and asked me. They tell me to ring them back, which I won't, in case I fail their security questions. They tell me to call in to my local bank, but why should I? They're ringing me! I ask them to write to me, but they say they won't until I answer their security question. Last night, I asked to speak to a supervisor, and still got absolutely nowhere, and he hung up on me.
Today, I went to purchase something, and my credit card has a block on it.
I am almost in tears with rage and frustration. They rang me again this afternoon and I asked to speak to a supervisor. They wouldn't answer my security question and I wouldn't answer hers. I spoke to her for over half an hour, and told her I knew why they were ringing (about last month's non payment). She said she would ask me a different security question: what is my email address? Well, I have a few email addresses. I gave her 2. The first one is my more formal one that I tend to do business with, the second they have as registered to me. Because I said the correct one second, she said I'd failed their security questions. I spoke to her for a long time, almost in tears, and she knew that she was speaking to the genuine person, which is more than I did. I asked her to point me to where it says in their terms and conditions they can put a block on my card when I have not gone over my credit limit and am nowhere near it, and never have been. She said she couldn't, because I hadn't passed their security. They've made money out of me for paying late, for crying out loud. I feel I am being harassed by the constant telephone calls, and bullied into divulging information, and if I don't do so they have the power to cancel my card without informing me. I know I am being obstinate, but I am fed up with people assuming they can ask impertinent questions and hold all sorts of personal information about me, and have this power to inconvenience and embarrass me when I don't comply with them.
Sorry for the rant. Yes, I am a grumpy old lady.
What can I do next? I am awaiting their (email, no more 'phone calls for a week, she said) response to my complaint within 24 hours. I have no credit card.
Quick background. I am a very private person and do not divulge what I consider to be unnecessary information about me. I am registered with the telephone preference service, the junk mail one and I regard online security as a high priority. I do not speak to cold callers.
A few months ago I paid online, in full, a credit card bill with my bank debit card. I do this every month and only use this credit card in a particular supermarket. When I was taken to the Verified by Visa page it was different to the ones I had seen before (asking for 1st, 3rd and 5th letters of passcode, or whatever). This one had 3 drop down boxes: the first gave asked me which of the following 5 addresses had I previously lived at (fair enough for my bank to have that information); the second asked me within which age range a particular person I know is (how did they know that?); and the third asked me who out of the following 5 people do I know (what? how would they know that? what's that got to do with my banking history?). Without completing this, my transaction would not have gone through. It was a https site, so I didn't doubt the authenticity, just wanted to know how they knew that about me...
(By the way, the last 2 times I have paid this bill, it has gone back to the previous security questions. I took a screen saver picture of the unfamiliar one.)
Therefore, I rang my debit card provider to query this. I have held this particular bank account for about 35 years. Because I did not answer one of their security questions correctly, they cancelled my debit card! In retrospect, the security question I failed was in fact related to my other, main credit card, so they must have known I was genuine if they had both cards linked. (The question, I thought, was a bit unfair: which airline have you made an online transaction with? Months earlier I booked 3 flights for later in the year with 3 different bucket airlines, and off the top of my head I couldn't remember if it was EasyJet, or Thomson, or Ryannair or whoever.)
So, forwarding on. That question about how VbV know those details and my complaint about them cancelling my debit card without notice has not yet been resolved, but it has made me very wary of answering any more wretched security questions. Last month I was away on the aforementioned holiday and forgot to pay my credit card bill, which I always normally pay in full. It was for about £200. I realised when I got my latest statement, noticed I'd been charged the 12 quid for late payment, and have set up an online transaction to pay all by the due date towards the end of the month. However, for the past week or so, I have been receiving up to 3 telephone calls a day from this credit card company that begins with a B, and with whom I have had this credit card for about 25 years. When I answer, they ask me to answer a security question to verify who I am, but they are ringing me! I have repeatedly said I will answer their security question when they have answered mine, mainly what is the number of the card they are calling about, as I need to verify they are indeed who they say. Of course, they won't. I feel the question is impertinent: they want to know the year I was born. I will tell them the day and month, but not the year. I wouldn't tell a stranger in the street the year I was born if they came up and asked me. They tell me to ring them back, which I won't, in case I fail their security questions. They tell me to call in to my local bank, but why should I? They're ringing me! I ask them to write to me, but they say they won't until I answer their security question. Last night, I asked to speak to a supervisor, and still got absolutely nowhere, and he hung up on me.
Today, I went to purchase something, and my credit card has a block on it.
I am almost in tears with rage and frustration. They rang me again this afternoon and I asked to speak to a supervisor. They wouldn't answer my security question and I wouldn't answer hers. I spoke to her for over half an hour, and told her I knew why they were ringing (about last month's non payment). She said she would ask me a different security question: what is my email address? Well, I have a few email addresses. I gave her 2. The first one is my more formal one that I tend to do business with, the second they have as registered to me. Because I said the correct one second, she said I'd failed their security questions. I spoke to her for a long time, almost in tears, and she knew that she was speaking to the genuine person, which is more than I did. I asked her to point me to where it says in their terms and conditions they can put a block on my card when I have not gone over my credit limit and am nowhere near it, and never have been. She said she couldn't, because I hadn't passed their security. They've made money out of me for paying late, for crying out loud. I feel I am being harassed by the constant telephone calls, and bullied into divulging information, and if I don't do so they have the power to cancel my card without informing me. I know I am being obstinate, but I am fed up with people assuming they can ask impertinent questions and hold all sorts of personal information about me, and have this power to inconvenience and embarrass me when I don't comply with them.
Sorry for the rant. Yes, I am a grumpy old lady.
What can I do next? I am awaiting their (email, no more 'phone calls for a week, she said) response to my complaint within 24 hours. I have no credit card.
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Comments
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UpAgainstABrickWall wrote: »I'll try not to drone on too much.
OH ! What happened to that promise ?0 -
Right the reason they have blocked your card is because the bill is unpaid. And you have ignored ALL the attempted contact by them to resolve the issue.
Why did you not pay the amount owed, straight away ?
To get your card active. Pay the amount owed. Going into a branch might help with some proof of ID and get it sorted on the phone from the branch.
Security is there for a reason. All to often people try to get through as someone else.
As someone who makes outbaound calls. While we are ringing the number held. You will be surprised the number of people who never update these details and also it could be anyone picking up the phone, that YOU don't want to know you have that B card.
So if you don't want to go through outbound security then simply say I will call you back on the number on the reverse of your card.
Perhaps you should fully reset your security with them to something you can remember. As you only get a couple of trys to get through before being failed. Again doing this in branch with proof of id will help.
As to why they cancelled your debit card. That is very odd. Unless you said something to them that made them worried. If you said something about that VbV page then I can see why. Although a temporary block till they could contact you and resolve the issue.Never ASSUME anything its makes a>>> A55 of U & ME <<<0 -
Tldr...........0
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OP, ignore the spiteful comments and cheap shots- unfortunately this forum has more than its fair share of these wonderful keyboard warriors who can't wait to make spiteful and unhelpful remarks hidden behind the anonymity of their computer.
Basically, I agree that it is ridiculous that some unknown bank numpty can call you and demand your personal details without any means of your verifying that they are indeed legitimate - I always refuse to enter into any discussion with them as they could be con artists. You can then phone them back yourself to a number yoou have verified as being from the bank, as someone said, use the number on the card.
Unfortunately, it seems that you have fallen foul of their "security" procedures and will inevitably have to make a trip to a branch to sort this out with someone from customer "services" (hahaha). Take a recent utility bill and photo ID with you as you do not want to make a wasted and frustrating trip to the bank branch - you never know what they will demand! Then reset your security questions with the adviser so your cards can be reactivated - I guess your credit card is blocked due to late payment - you need to pay this right away, you can do it at the bank counter. If its a first time issue, the customer services person can reverse the penalty charge, but it may still show as a late payment on your credit report.
Barclays is quite quick to block debit cards I have noted, probably not at the right place or time, but it is to prevent fraud and mitigate loss - a great nuisance, but a visit to the branch should sort that out.
You may want to register for telephone banking and internet banking - telephone banking has a PIN associated with the account rather than the "security" random questions and the internet banking uses a little device which looks like a calculator for you to be able to get a login code each time - much better than trying to speak to some obstructive klutz in a call centre.
Please try to calm down - you won't beat the system, pathetic though it may be - that is best left to the fraudsters and scamsters, who beat it much of the time - and obvious as it may be that you are the account owner. You do NOT have to accept the bullying and hounding to give out personal information to some unknown who phones you though, and doing it via internet or telephone banking will reduce that sort of contact.
On this occasion though, you need to go in to a branch to get it sorted out. Stay calm and reasonable.
And ignore the sexist / ageist remarks on here, there are some real nasty people around.0 -
Far too longwinded. From what i gather (and i only skim read it) you're making things worse for yourself. And it's perfectly ok to say Barclaycard.
All you have to do is answer their security question. What do you think is going to happen ?0 -
I joined Barclaycard when all I hgad to declare was that I was 'Over 21'. Refusing their letters (over the years) to provide them with a DoB 'for security purposes' I told them I refused to do so, for those self-same reasons. When online access arrived - I was blocked, as they required a DoB to verify - one they had no idea what it was.
I closed the account shortly thereafter!0 -
SierraBravo21 wrote: »OP such a paranoid freak!
So you signed up to be personally insulting and offensive to someone making a first post? Reported as being such.0 -
When I had the same scenario (I forgot to pay CC & had LOADS of calls from MBNA where I refused to give info to them) - I called THEM & sorted it out that way. Easy!:mad: :j:D:beer::eek::A:p:rotfl::cool::):(:T0
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OP
Firstly, I don't understand why you didn't just pay the debt as soon as you realised what had happened. This is why they are hounding you day and night! Just pay them and get it over and done with.
Secondly, I had this exact same problem with both Barclaycard and HSBC - I don't know who these people are when they call and I will NOT give them personal information over the phone....they could be anyone!
Go to your on-line accounts and delete your phone numbers, ensuring that you tick the "contact by mail" box. If anyone does call you, then tell them that they must write to you because you don't know who they are.
But if you do this, be aware that it may cost you in extra charges or interest if you delay payment.
But do pay that Barclaycard bill......they will keep calling you until you do!....Practically Perfect in Every Way......:grinheart0 -
Thanks guys, at least the helpful ones. Actually, I have two great big dogs and I am not ancient. I appreciate my post was long and boring, but there are bigger issues here, one of them being the amount of information they hold on you, where they obtained it from, and the relevance it is to any banking issue. The fact my card is blocked for not making a payment is ridiculous, in my opinion. They demand that you verify your identity, but they will not do the same. They must know that in the donkey's years I have used their card I have only ever missed a couple of payments, and pay the whole thing off in full the next month. I was away on holiday this time when the bill arrived. I've already set up the online payment to get to them before the due date next week. They make money out of people not making payments on time or not paying off their credit card bill in full. But I appreciate the time people have taken to read this: thanks.0
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