Card Declined when it shouldn't

Realist_49

I have been encountering an embarrassing issue recently with a 123 Santander MasterCard in Supermarkets. At Checkouts the card as requested is inserted in the reader, Read, and the message enter pin is displayed. The Correct pin is entered and the message PIN accepted is then displayed, after a short while Card Declined is displayed. There has been no previous issue with this card and the credit limit has not been reached. The transaction then has to be completed with a 123 Santander Debit Card which is always accepted. Immediately travelling to an adjacent supermarket the credit card can be used with successful results. Is this an Issue with the Santander/ MasterCard or the Supermarket? I suspect the issue is not with the supermarket as this can occur in any of the Big 4 Retailers. The major issue is as I am paying for the Card I am been denied the Cashback facility of the service, should there be recompense and if so from who?

glentoran99

dodgy chip? wifes card does it in asda and only asda

molerat

Not had any problems with my 123MC anywhere. There can be a million reasons why it was rejected. If the retailer refers the transaction for auth and the machine cannot contact the bank it will often show as decline.

And no, you cannot get compo.

Westminster

Only Santander will give you definitive answer on this so pick up the phone.

daveyjp

Get the retailer to try the card again. IT and communication glitches happen.

chattychappy

Realist_49 wrote: »

I have been encountering an embarrassing issue

Really, you shouldn't be embarrassed!

manuel_ritz

The best thing to do is call their customer service to address the issue. Things like that shouldn't be tolerated because its very embarrasing.

Realist_49

I have spoken to the Bank regarding this issue and we are investigating 2 possible causes. Santander don't actually auto pay the credit card until the final due date which sometimes an be 8 weeks after a transaction which can overload the credit limit ( I thought I wasn't spending THAT much). The other is a Dirty Electronic chip, so it is now getting a Clean via Anti bacterial Gel to see if things improve (well it could be suffering with a BUG)

than_prutt

Realist_49 wrote: »

I have spoken to the Bank regarding this issue and we are investigating 2 possible causes. Santander don't actually auto pay the credit card until the final due date which sometimes an be 8 weeks after a transaction which can overload the credit limit ( I thought I wasn't spending THAT much). The other is a Dirty Electronic chip, so it is now getting a Clean via Anti bacterial Gel to see if things improve (well it could be suffering with a BUG)

Now you may have a faulty chip due to moisture.:D

molerat

Realist_49 wrote: »

I have spoken to the Bank regarding this issue and we are investigating 2 possible causes. Santander don't actually auto pay the credit card until the final due date which sometimes an be 8 weeks after a transaction which can overload the credit limit ( I thought I wasn't spending THAT much). The other is a Dirty Electronic chip, so it is now getting a Clean via Anti bacterial Gel to see if things improve (well it could be suffering with a BUG)

They do say some rubbish to get rid of you don't they :rotfl:

rtho782

molerat wrote: »

They do say some rubbish to get rid of you don't they :rotfl:

It's not quite rubbish.

Lets say your credit limit is £1000.

You spend £900, and on the 1st Jan your statement is generated, payment by the 23rd Jan. You clear the balance every month, so the direct debit will pay off all £900.

The Direct Debit will not come out until 23rd Jan, so you can only spend £100 between the 1st and the 23rd. Spending you made on the 2nd of December, would not be paid for until the 23rd Jan, almost 8 weeks later.

So, if you clear your balance every month via DD, it is not the case that you can spend "your limit worth" every month, as there is an overlap in the spending.

Santander would know 100% if it were the case that the OP had gone over his limit, which it sounds like he has or they would not have brought it up. The floor limit for online auth will be different in different shops, so it's entirely possible he has been declined in shop A, then managed to spend in shop B despite being overlimit.

If he has gone over limit, he will have been charged, and will be severely hurting his credit rating.