Dangers of the halifax clarity!

buswell

Hi all,

Just thought I would make this forum post as the halifax clarity is so highly recommended by Martin but I thought I would point some of the pitfalls and why you should really take another card with you!

Have been backpacking crossing across the USA and now in Nicaragua so can share my experience as I'll be abroad for possibly another 12 months so I'm genuinely at the mercy of the banks.

PROBLEMS
1. It's Mastercard. I can't speak for other countries but in Nicaragua there's sometimes one ATM in a town that supports Mastercard and lots that support Visa. I've been having to use my other cards a few times as there either are no Mastercard machines or they aren't 24 hours.

2. They block my card all the time
I've had my card blocked 3 times in the last 3 months. Once in Chicago for paying for a hostel about £100 and then straight away trying to withdraw about £100 in cash. Then I had the card blocked two months later upon arrival in Nicaragua. I told them I was coming here but I don't mind this so much (tried to withdraw a £100 approx). But now 2 weeks later I've had my card blocked again for trying to withdraw about £100 FROM THE SAME ATM I'VE USED IN GRANADA LOTS OF TIMES! I know they don't want to lose money but I'm unsure how their fraud prevention works. I do have to enter a PIN to use the card and £100 isn't exactly maxing the card out. But this is a serious nightmare because:

3. EVERYTHING HAS TO BE DONE OVER THE PHONE!
I hadn't quite realised how absolutely awful this is until being abroad for a long term. This is really the sticking point with this card. As a web designer I just can't help but think why why why why why if you're going to have a card specifically aimed for spending abroad do you have to call them for everything. Right now I can't actually get through to them because the internet here is such a high latency and lossy that Skype is really unuseable. This leaves me with the only other option of going and finding a payphone on the street and taking my laptop down with me and card (they ask for "last transactions" as security checks which require you to be logged in as they pick different ones). This is clearly insane in Nicaragua where tourists get robbed on the streets all the time.

So essentially I have this really good card that seems to be blocked FOR WITHDRAWING EXACTLY THE SAME AMOUNT FROM THE SAME CASH MACHINE very regularly, and then the only way to speak to Halifax is by calling. nationwide have a great (or should I just say "a") messaging system on their online banking so you can do everything by just sending messages. Surely this would save Halifax money, time and be great customer service. To implement (as a web designer) this is a trivial task. I could just login and send an email "please unblock my card it's not stolen".

Thought I would share my thoughts with everyone else and I think Martin should add the extra recommendations
a) always travel with Mastercard AND Visa
b) don't rely on your Clarity as it will be blocked

and if anyone has any idea of how better for me to do international calls please please help me out. Even the complaint form for the Halifax Clarity only involves putting a number in so they can call you back (I won't be back in the UK for a year so I don't even have a UK number and if I did wow that would be pricey).

Luckily I have several bank accounts and (from previous MSE advice) I have the Nationwide debit card and Select credit card. which aren't as good for cash withdrawals (everywhere in Nicaragua charges 5% to use a card unlike the US so cash withdrawals are the way to go) but they're some of the best cards there.

Cheers,
Buswell

ahxcjb

Why are you not opening a bank account and transferring GBP to your local currency for the period in which you are there? That's what I would do.

thumperrabbit

Agreed, I never rely on this card. Even when I tell them I am going abroad and to where, I have lost count of the number of times I have to call them to get it unblocked.

zerog

ahxcjb wrote: »

Why are you not opening a bank account and transferring GBP to your local currency for the period in which you are there? That's what I would do.

Because he is backpacking? Not sure how many countries would allow random visitors to open bank accounts. This is why I always take cash, despite the risks

NiftyDigits

For International calls, think about a callback system.

Ring your calling card for free
Dial from anywhere in the world

Call from anywhere in the world and you won’t be charged by your operator, only our low international rates
Use any phone

Dial from one of your registered Localphone numbers and we will call you back
No internet connection required

Just dial from your normal mobile or landline phone
Perfect for pre-paid (PAYG) mobile customers

Call our Callback number for free and avoid paying your operator anything

http://www.localphone.com/services/callback

buswell

"Why are you not opening a bank account and transferring GBP to your local currency for the period in which you are there? That's what I would do."
Bizzare suggestion here. Some countries I may only be in for a few days.....

Thanks Nifty Digits I will look at your suggestion. My initial thought was if there was some way I could use my Nicaraguan SIM (or whatever SIM I have of what country I'm in) combined with an international call card to call the halifax number.
Either that or I just pay the 2.5% that my Nationwide credit card charges. Seems like a bargain right now! :^)

the main point of this post was to warn others and maybe even see if anyone from Halifax will get in touch as I have no other way to speak to them!

buswell

Just seen that the free callback service is exactly what I was looking for! will research and hopefuly try it out now :^)

opinions4u

Basic rules of being overseas and spending money:

1. Get the best value card possible and use that all the time.
2. Have a backup for when that best value card isn't working.
3. Have a backup for the backup.
4. Make sure all three cards are from different banking groups.
5. Make sure you have at least one Visa and one MasterCard.
6. Don't wait until you run out of cash to withdraw, have at least enough to cover your next meal / transport / night of accommodation.
7. Minimise reliance on cash. Use the card to purchase goods and services.
8. Make sure whoever you're travelling with follows these rules for themselves.
9. Make sure somebody back home has the numbers set up on their online banking to be able to send you cash in a crisis.
10. Make sure you are aware of the contact numbers and contact methods for all of your card issuers - don't be reluctant to reverse charges call.

EDIT: Reading it back, these rules are solid in London, Paris the Costa Packet or the wild backstreets of Nicaragua.

chattychappy

I've posted hundreds if not thousands of times on this topic. Most of my spend is foreign - usually Asia, but also Europe and occasionally US/Canada.

Your story is typical. The only solution is to take multiple cards. I don't use Clarity, but I always take:

Santander Zero: Cash, backup for purchases
Nationwide Select: Purchases
Post Office: Purchases
Barclaycard: Backup for cash

All 0% for the transactions above, except Barclaycard which is 3% but treat the foreign ATM like a purchase, so no interest and up to 56 days to pay.

I also take, but rarely need to use: Tesco, MBNA, Natwest.

Typically I have 2-3 cards in my wallet, with the rest at my foreign place and/or in a hotel safe depending where I am.

I generally have a wad of local cash - but how much depends where I am. Where I have friends/business associates I carry less. Where I'm isolated I carry more.

One card gets blocked - I use the next one. I phone to unblock once I get to somewhere with decent WiFi where I use Skype. Sometimes it's several days before I get around to it. No panic. Sometimes cards unblock themselves after a while. I check my accounts online every few days.

The problem is that these cards are "sold" as being ideal for foreign travel and being part of global networks with international acceptance. The reality, as you have found, is different. You are talking about a number of hooked up computer networks, a variety of jurisdictions/regulatory regimes, myriad merchants/banks. Then you have highly sophisticated fraudsters looking to exploit any slight chink. Frankly you have to forget the marketing and wonder how amazing it is that you can leave the sceptred isle, pitch up in some random place on the other side of the world, stick a bit of plastic in hole, within a few seconds get cash out - and that it ever works at all.

Over time you get used to the declines. There is a particular shop in Taiwan where my Post Office card always gets blocked when I go there. Other cards fine. Other shops fine. Just that combination. Then my Zero card had a problem in Saigon a year or so ago. Went through a spell of always being declined at ATMs. Other cards fine. Other locations fine. A few weeks later - no problem. You begin to notice the patterns.

Reality is that the systems are not hooked up as well as you would hope. You would think that once you've used a specific ATM and you've told them that it's ok, then it would be less likely to block on the same machine. But that's just not the way the system works. Plus as soon as an institution developed such a "rule", somebody would work out how to exploit it for fraud.

Despite all of the above, I think CCs are so much better than the alternatives. Getting foreign cash in the UK before departure is generally expensive and there is the risk of loss. Travellers Cheques can also be expensive, aren't widely accepted, and are often not as easily replaced if lost as the advertising suggests. Opening local bank accounts is often not possible unless you have residency, is hassle and the transfers can still be blocked.

Archergirl

I had a problem with a card in OZ. Even though it was a current account I had to press 'credit card' when making a purchase. I think it was Nationwide.

buswell

Great advice there thanks. I've since been using my Nationwide Select which is rated on MSE as one of the best anyway. it's 2.5% + a higher rate of interest than the Clarity for cash withdrawals, but when it gets blocked you can unblock it through their website sending emails. paradise!

@Opinons4u - great advice and I can't believe more people don't do it. the amount of people i meet who only have one card and they don't seem bothered by it. Crazy! I work in IT so it must be them having a greater trust in tech systems than I do.

@chatthappy - agreed that the fact I can even do it at all is amazing and the complexity of the system is not lost on me (although boy do banks recieve good money for the service :^)
good point on fraud rules. if there were any rules as to "do this and your card won't be blocked" then that it what people would exploit!

leaving my laptop pinging google (as i always do being a techie) I can see the internet here varying from a respectable 80ms to crazy 2000ms over the course of a few minutes. so you think you have a good line on skype but then it becomes crazy. it may take me a few times to get hold of halifax but when i do get my card unblocked i'm tempted to keep it as a spare and mainly use my nationwide one. a pint for £100 will have to do!.

cheers for the advice