Nationwide blocked card when abroad...again

Archergirl

Has anyone else had a problem with Nationwide blocking either Debit or Credit cards when they are abroad even though they have notified the bank that they will be away and have registered the dates with the bank?
This has happened to us twice now, just wondered if anyone else has this problem.

agrinnall

No, never.

grumbler

Once I had both HX Clarity and Nationwide debit cards rejected by ATM in Seychelles and had to use Lloyds' debit "card from Hell" instead. I blame the ATM provider.

Archergirl

This was in a restaurant for less than $20

WorkingTowardsDebtFree

I had it with Nattiest about 6 or 7 years ago whilst I was in the US and I'd notified them of my trip dates but I was still declined after a few transactions and the card was blocked until I phoned them.

The card was then blocked again a day or two later overnight (not at the point of a transaction). Some automated process decided to block the card and phone me using an automated system at about 1am local time (7pm UK). As I was asleep, it woke me and being a withheld number I sent the call to answerphone. When I woke up the following morning I had an answerphone message which was an automated service trying to verify previous transactions and asking me to press numbers to confirm them. Phoning up the bank again resolved the issue, but it was a bit of a nightmare.

When I queried them because I had notified them of my trip, I was told that why banks suggest you do tell them, it's not the only factor the consider when blocking cards with anti-fraud measures and there's a lot of automation involved to make a decision.

On the plus side it's good to know they have precautions in place to protect our accounts - on the negative it can catch you out abroad and involve expensive calls and hassle.

Yorkshire_Pud

Do you mean permanently blocked and had to arrange a new card or this one transaction was declined?

Archergirl

It happened twice and I had to phone them to unblock it from the USA, very stressful answering questions when away knowing one wrong answer and they won't even speak to you anymore.

colsten

I seem to remember someone else reported problems with Nationwide when using the card in the US.

Nationwide recommend that you advise them before going abroad: http://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/travel/useful-travel-information

It's really important to tell us your travel plans, as doing so will reduce the possibility of your cards being restricted while you're away.......

If you're registered for our Internet Bank, the easiest way to tell us is to log in to the 'travel notifications' page and follow the on-screen instructions.

WorkingTowardsDebtFree

colsten wrote: »

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/travel/useful-travel-information

Yup, pretty much the same as when I had issues with Natwest - it helps reduce the possibility, but doesn't guarantee to stop it; they use other criteria to help make the decisions - but notifying them helps.

badger09

I've used my Nationwide debit cards all over the world in the past, when they were competitive. Never informed Nationwide of my travel plans and never had any problems.

Archergirl

Yep, I informed them I was going.