MBNA Credit Card full payment by DD - is it problem free?

System

I have to agree with chattychappy.

I use generally use future dated FPs so that I can pick and choose when and for how much.

Should there be a DD problem, it can affect both the bank account and card account.

chattychappy wrote: »

But the point is that you are away and won't necessarily know it's happened until much later on - by which time other payments could have failed, bills gone unpaid. Or you find your debit card doesn't work because you no longer have cleared funds.

It is also debateable whether the DD would have been wrongly taken in the event of a statement being generated showing the balance due, you're notified that the DD will be taken, and it is taken. Only later you dispute the transactions as being fraudulent. Whether or not the so-called DD guarantee would help here, it certainly wouldn't help you with the knock-on stuff and the hassle involved.

Herbalus

I see the sense in what chattychappy says, but my preferences are different. I have direct debits set up so I never miss a payment, and I check my statements online each week so I'd know if fraud were to happen. I'm also alerted by email when statements are ready, so I can check them.

You might say there's not much difference between making a FP after checking a statement online and leaving it to the DD after checking the statement, but I prefer it that way.

It would make sense that if there is no internet to check statements prior to a DD, there'd be no internet to make a FP either. You can make your own mind up as to which set of circumstances you'd prefer - the (rare?) chance of fraud wiping you current account, or missing a payment.

pete-20-11

I just have a look via the app or online when the statement email arrives.

I'm sure you could cancel the direct debit in good time, as there's probably 2-3 weeks between the statement being printed and the DD date.

Roy1234

chattychappy wrote: »

It is problem free until you have a problem!

You wrote:


I like not having a DD because it acts as a "firebreak" in the case of fraud. Case in point. Whilst I was away, I had £6800 of fraudulent transactions go through on a dormant account. Had I had a DD setup, this would have cleaned out my current account. This would have had knock-on effects - I wouldn't have been able to pay bills and the CCs I was using might have been suspended because of late payments to them. I wouldn't have been able to obtain cash on a debit card (though overseas I use CCs for that).

chattychappy - you have a point. I hadn't thought of runaway CC fraud causing bank account chaos. I'd like to think the CC company would intervene in response to a massive debit, but I suppose that can't be taken for granted.

As regards what I meant about 'safe' WiFi connection, safe may have been the wrong word. In some quieter (but still packaged) Greek holiday destinations I have been unable to find any open WiFi connection. Everyone in a week or more of looking was locked. And foreign data charges are of course horrendous. Hence my query.

I'm going to have to have a think about the balance of risks here....!

No_6

DD's for me, for all my years for monthly payments,
may have had one or two prob's but never lost out money wise.
been banking for 47 years...so YES DD's are OK
either for min or full payments for CC's
I run 6 to 8 different cards between OH and myself, always pay min or full
by direct debit.
6

chattychappy

Roy1234 wrote: »

chattychappy - you have a point. I hadn't thought of runaway CC fraud causing bank account chaos. I'd like to think the CC company would intervene in response to a massive debit, but I suppose that can't be taken for granted.

I can only say they didn't in my case. The £6800 of fraud was spread over three transactions over 2 or 3 days. Something like £20, £30, £6750. The limit was £7500. All went through as Paypals and were differently described. It was Nationwide Visa. As soon as I queried it on my return they accepted it was fraud. Initially they refused to refund the interest and late charges saying that they were my fault for not disputing the transactions earlier. But they didn't put up much of a fight! As I say, there was no DD in place.

If you like the DD idea, but want to avoid the situation I mentioned, you could do the DD for the minimum payment. This would keep the CC "compliant". You'd then face some interest. However depending on your interest rate, you might consider this worth it for the peace of mind. Eg if you were away for a month and spent £500 evenly throughout your trip and used a Halifax Clarity card, then interest would be about £2.50*. This assumes you clear the balance before you leave (including unstatemented transactions) and clear it again as soon as you return.

Of course even better if you get a 0% on purchases card, though the last time I looked you couldn't get this on a card that doesn't load foreign transactions.

(* if you're on their standard monthly rate of 1.02%/APR 12.94%.)

NiftyDigits

Roy1234 wrote: »

chattychappy - you have a point. I hadn't thought of runaway CC fraud causing bank account chaos. I'd like to think the CC company would intervene in response to a massive debit, but I suppose that can't be taken for granted.

As regards what I meant about 'safe' WiFi connection, safe may have been the wrong word. In some quieter (but still packaged) Greek holiday destinations I have been unable to find any open WiFi connection. Everyone in a week or more of looking was locked. And foreign data charges are of course horrendous. Hence my query.

I'm going to have to have a think about the balance of risks here....!

There is no risk. First of all, you are unlikely to be away for long enough for fraud to take place, statement production and DD payment taken.
Even if you are, you can simply check your balance via txt msg.

Requesting information

Providing we have your mobile number on record, simply text* one of the following terms to 83838:

BAL - to get details of your balance, available credit and credit limit
TRANS - to get a list of your most recent transactions
BILL - to find out how much your next payment is and when it's due
REWARDS - to find out your Rewards Points balance (where applicable)

Important - all details provided by text message will be based on available account information from the previous day and may not include transactions which have been authorised, but not yet applied to your account.

To request information by text message while you're abroad, use our international number: +447860010010.

DD all the way. No drama.

Oh...get yourself a Greek data SIM and unlock your Smartphone or get an inexpensive MiFi unit. Never depend on free WiFi, regardless of how others bang on about it.

chattychappy

NiftyDigits wrote: »

Never depend on free WiFi, regardless of how others bang on about it.

There is no risk. Wifi (on your own device) all the way. No drama.

Never depend on DD, regardless of how others bang on about it.

:D:D

Roy1234

Well there's certainly a difference of opinion here.

Regarding free (unpassworded) WiFi, what I do know from reading a serious book on the subject is that even if you can find it, it's not secure. Any form of banking that way is a gamble, hoping there's no-one techny & dishonest enough nearby to catch you out. Even the passworded vareity (when password is openely available, as say some coffee shops) can be duplicated to capture WiFi traffic.

Re the Greek SIM card idea, yes I do have a MiFi device, last time I looked at doing this the difficulty of obtaining (and registering) a SIM in a Country where ordering food & beers is my language limit, put me off.

To save me some trawling of your link etc, is there a data only SIM I can get without registration, or even one obtainable whilst in the UK?

chattychappy

With all the banking/CC websites I use, none of the traffic would really be of much use to anyone. Stuff like expiry dates/CVV stuff doesn't get typed in or appear on the screen and I need a card/card reader to send money to a new recipient. I'm not concerned about the "spoofing" thing, but even if you are, bear in mind that most websites require you to only enter particular characters from a password - so that if this information was captured it wouldn't be enough to log in again. A higher risk would be typing in CC info into a website whilst making an online purchase. Of course the risk, such as it exists, is with the CC in the event of fraud though of course it's always a hassle.

Don't forget good 'ole fashioned methods. Eg should you be in a cafe, getting your tablet snatched or your wallet lifted whilst bent over a laptop. I've seen someone lose a laptop whilst buying a second coffee...