Over-zealous fraud protection declining my card!

chateau9

For years I've had a bog-standard blue Barclaycard. That probably already makes me a laughing stock on here, although I've always paid the monthly balance in full so I tend not to worry about the APR!

However, several times over the past year BC have decided my transactions represented 'potential fraudulent activity'. I'm furnishing a new house, so yeah - it might be a telly and a washing machine one month, a dining table and a sofa the next. It seems a couple of transactions over about £300 each in a short space of time triggers their sensors.

And their solution? Decline the transaction and freeze the card, until *I* phone *them* and confirm that I tried to make the payments. It's an utterly, utterly crap and unacceptable implementation of fraud protection, and after having my card frozen for the entirity of the bank holiday weekend I've decided to turn my back on over 10 years with Barclaycard and go to another card issuer. Not that anyone in their CS department seemed to give a toss.

Obviously I know fraud protection could work in my favour one day, and I understand its all in the card issuers self-interest anyway. What I'd like to know is whether its just going to be the same story everywhere else? Do they all implement the same fraud protection procedure these days?

ThankYouAndEnjoy!

LloydsTSB implement the same strategy - I know because i work for them.

It is an incredibly effective way of reducing fraud, however i do understand your frustration. The detection is based on not only the value and number of the transactions, but also your transaction history.

Your card issuer should have attempted contact to you almost instantly. With Lloyds, the transactions requiring confirmation fall into a 'Q' and are worked by telephony staff, contacting customers, sometimes within minutes, to confirm validity of transaction and remove any restriction on the card that has been imposed.

Sometimes its better to be safe than sorry, especially with fraud.

Sagaris

Abbey don't bother - I wish they did!

chateau9

Thanks for the info. I'm sure it is very effective for them - arbitarily declining anything they don't like the look of.

The contact is where they really fall down (they just don't get in touch), plus the fact that since most of my transactions are online, the various online payment gateways either accept or decline transactions automatically - i.e. there's no scope for manual authorisation.

There has to be a better way. You'd think that payments validated through Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode would be proof enough that it isn't fraudulent!

Mozette

If you know you are going shopping, you could ring and tell them that you'll be using it, or egg do ring and ask, but they've never frozen my card or declined a transaction.

paulinespens

chateau9 wrote: »

For years I've had a bog-standard blue Barclaycard. That probably already makes me a laughing stock on here, although I've always paid the monthly balance in full so I tend not to worry about the APR!

However, several times over the past year BC have decided my transactions represented 'potential fraudulent activity'. I'm furnishing a new house, so yeah - it might be a telly and a washing machine one month, a dining table and a sofa the next. It seems a couple of transactions over about £300 each in a short space of time triggers their sensors.

And their solution? Decline the transaction and freeze the card, until *I* phone *them* and confirm that I tried to make the payments. It's an utterly, utterly crap and unacceptable implementation of fraud protection, and after having my card frozen for the entirity of the bank holiday weekend I've decided to turn my back on over 10 years with Barclaycard and go to another card issuer. Not that anyone in their CS department seemed to give a toss.

Obviously I know fraud protection could work in my favour one day, and I understand its all in the card issuers self-interest anyway. What I'd like to know is whether its just going to be the same story everywhere else? Do they all implement the same fraud protection procedure these days?

Shop should of rang for authorisation thats happened to me before. Sadly not all shop staff have training to do this is. I complained to head office of shop and got vouchers.

Give credit card company a mobile number insist they call you.

All card companies do the same. There excuse is its the banks money your borrowing.

Barclaycard customer services are muppets. Did you speak to there fraud department who are open 24/7.

Paying balance means nothing cause its the banks money your borrowing so sadly in theory its there assests that they are proctecting.

And one last thing what would of happened if card has been declined cause all your limit had been spent cause of a fraudster had been shopping on your card number?

The worlds not perfect nor is life.

paulinespens

chateau9 wrote: »

Thanks for the info. I'm sure it is very effective for them - arbitarily declining anything they don't like the look of.

The contact is where they really fall down (they just don't get in touch), plus the fact that since most of my transactions are online, the various online payment gateways either accept or decline transactions automatically - i.e. there's no scope for manual authorisation.

There has to be a better way. You'd think that payments validated through Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode would be proof enough that it isn't fraudulent!

Just noticed it was an online transaction.

Online merchants do have the facility to do name and address authorisations with the banks to confirm the goods. Hence for the last 3 numbers being asked.

Also did you use the correct billing address the card company has too that is also a reason for a decline.

Cardholder not present transactions are considered high risk to online stores simply because if they send out to a fraudster then they get a chargeback from the bank.

Do these online stores have the verified by visa mastercard on them?

pettaw

I've had this happen several times, virtually every time I spend more than a couple of hundred pounds on online shopping, they decline the transaction. I think I got a phonecall once. Normally, I hear nothing at all from Barclaycard. First I hear of it is normally an e-mail from the retailer saying there's been a problem with the payment and could I call/e-mail them.

This is despite giving them all the correct billing addresses, home telephone number, security code on the back, and entering the correct password on the Verified By VISA screen popup

Yesterday I bought something from Dixons and I wondered why I hadn't got a confirmation e-mail back to say they were processing it. So I logged into their site and checked my account. It said payment authorisation in progress.......I thought 'I know what that means.' I phoned up BC and they confirmed that they had indeed declined the transaction. Now that I've spoken to them they've lifted the restriction and the payment should go through. The guy I spoke to said really they only way you can stop this happening is to phone through before you make the transaction and they should then let it through no problems.

I know that they have to be ultra safe and everything but then isn't that what all these passwords and confirmation of personal details are for?

missile

I would get another card and use this as an alternative should Barclay Card decline the transaction. Given the hassle you have had I would use a.n.other card provider in prefernce to BC.

You may think and they will certainly tell you it is for your protection, but it is really to protect them against loss.

leoetal19

somthing similar happened recently to me with my debit card. i was paying £3.75 at the post office and despite temporarily (in one account wating to pay off bills) having over £13k in my account it declined the payment-for safety reasons they said as there was so much in the account but surely if someone was going to steal my loot they wouldnt do it £3.75 at a time!!!!

lottieholder

Just before Xmas I had a faulty ATM swallow one of my cards (A&L), after saying on the phone that a new card was being issued and it would take around 10 days to arrive, it didn't although a PIN did.

I rang again and they said that they didn't issue them over the phone and I had to go to my branch with a form of ID. Morning off work, 20 miles in the wrong direction, another 10 days after that and another PIN.

About a week after the swallowing I realised that my debit card was being declined. I was able to use it to buy groceries but was doing my Xmas shopping on the internet (or trying to). Rang the bank and they said they were declining it because of "unusual transactions". They were actually right, I hadn't tried to by £1,200 of stuff from a sex shop in Bury :eek: and on the same day a £1 parking ticket in Brighton. However the other unusual transactions were my Xmas shopping. Card cancelled and replaced, Natwest are alot more efficient than A&L and I am glad they were vigilant.

Having said that, it would have been nice if they had contacted me rather than wait 'til I contacted them as it would have been sorted out in time for my grandchildren to have received their Xmas presents for Xmas. I do have a credit card also, but that had been used to book a holiday with a company that doesn't accept debit cards so was maxed out. I had to put the credit card actually considerably in credit to be able to go on holiday :rolleyes: .