pin number 'wrong'

trailingspouse

Humble apologies if this has been asked before.

I have a credit card. I use it regularly, and had already used it twice on this particular day.

I was in town, grabbing some lunch during a major shopping trip. The machine decided I had entered the incorrect PIN number. I entered it again (carefully), and it came up incorrect again. Stupidly I entered it a third time, and of course the PIN was blocked.

The screen on the card machine told me to talk to my card provider.

I continued my shopping with my debit card, and rang my card provider when I got home.

a) they refused to accept that I hadn't put the number in wrong. There's a limit to how many times you can say 'I put it in correctly.'
b) they told me it wasn't their decision, it was the 'fault' of the cafe I was in at the time
c) they refused to pay me any compensation for the cashback I've missed out on or for the credit free period that I've missed out on, or for the embarrassment and inconvenience.

I've now unblocked the card using (surprise!) the same number that I put into the card machine at the cafe.

Can anyone tell me a) why might a machine erroneously decide that you've put the wrong number in? and b) why won't anyone accept any responsibility for this?

Just to be clear, they confirmed that there were no issues with the card and the account is well run.

reclusive46

I've had this in Sainsburys twice, once at a self service machine. The first time, I literally went out to the cash machine, unblocked it and walked back in and made the transaction.

I also had this happen in a restaurant but the card (a different one) just said "PIN blocked, issuer requires signature instead" and I continued to sign for transaction with it until I unblocked the card at an ATM.

My two theories are that either something is wrong (or just a one time bug) with the terminal or one of the buttons is not working properly and its inputting another number (rather unlikely as other people would probably have had the same problem).

Gromitt

The terminal is connected to a computer, the computer can and does go wrong at times. I've had it before when it said "incorrect pin" even though I knew I entered it correctly. I removed the card, reinserted it and tried again and it worked the second time.

I prefer the shops that now say "Approved" before I've even entered my PIN. I assume this is some kind of floor limit as the transactions are typically under £10.

redcard

trailingspouse wrote: »

I've now unblocked the card using (surprise!) the same number that I put into the card machine at the cafe.

Can anyone tell me a) why might a machine erroneously decide that you've put the wrong number in? and b) why won't anyone accept any responsibility for this?

Just to be clear, they confirmed that there were no issues with the card and the account is well run.

The correct answer is almost always the most obvious one.

In this case the most obvious answer if that you got the PIN wrong, then you later remembered the correct one.

chattychappy

trailingspouse wrote: »

a) why might a machine erroneously decide that you've put the wrong number in?

Agree with the answers given. It's happened to me too. (But on one occasion, I had put the wrong card in. I didn't notice until I got home when I saw that the card that I thought I had with me was locked away. As you reset it, obviously that wasn't the case here.)

trailingspouse wrote: »

b) why won't anyone accept any responsibility for this?

Probably because nobody really knows what happened. And I think that it is linked with:

trailingspouse wrote: »

c) they refused to pay me any compensation for the cashback I've missed out on or for the credit free period that I've missed out on, or for the embarrassment and inconvenience.

You see... if they paid up for every event like this, news of the "policy" would be spread on forums like this one and people would be phoning up quoting their rights and demanding payouts. There would be no way to know if they were telling the truth.

Anyway, it's in the T+Cs you've agreed to. You accept that they won't be responsible for IT failures such as this. On the particular issue of "embarrassment", that really is down to you. Why be embarressed? As for the T+Cs, just because something is in the T+Cs doesn't mean it's "legal", but in the case I don't see a problem, as it's fair. Systems do go wrong sometimes. Besides, a transaction can always be declined - you shouldn't rely on these things working and always have an alternative means of payment or be able to back out of a transaction.

JKSandy

Why does everyone seem to be seeking compensation no matter how minor the issue?

Carlusha

JKSandy wrote: »

Why does everyone seem to be seeking compensation no matter how minor the issue?

American compensation culture spreading eastwards!

Whiner

The massively growing compensation culture is pathetic. Each time someone tries to get compensation we should try to make them feel as small and stupid as possible, then it won't be as socially acceptable, and people "might" stop trying it on.

pacontracting

trailingspouse wrote: »

c) they refused to pay me any compensation for the cashback I've missed out on or for the credit free period that I've missed out on, or for the embarrassment and inconvenience.

As other posts have said - I'm glad the bank refused to pay any compensation. I'm surprised the original poster had the gall to ask for it in the first place!

Most people try to justify this by wondering why they should lose out to big banks etc. Nothing about self-respect and decency. Oh well - it takes all sorts.

GingerFurball_2

Why would they pay you compensation for missed cashback? You didn't use your credit card for the transaction, therefore you don't qualify for any cashback.

Enterprise_1701C

It happens, sometimes machines just mess up, although I would personally be keeping a close eye on my account to make sure the number wasn't taken and the card skimmed.

As for asking for compensation, I cringe every time this happens because we all pay for it in time, whether it be banks having to charge more or councils having to add it on to council tax etc.