Buying Postal Orders - not a vent, just confused

darwin-rover

fedupconsumer wrote: »

was it a switch or maestro card you tried to use?

Same thing . Switch became Maestro . My debit card says Maestro but I still call it a Switch card .

hard_working_mum_3

They don't accept cards for buying currency either unless you take ID along with you. They did say that I could draw out cash with them and pay with that. Doesn't make much sense if it's to prevent fraud

stugib

hard_working_mum wrote: »

They did say that I could draw out cash with them and pay with that. Doesn't make much sense if it's to prevent fraud

It could be protection against money-laundering. Let's try and think this one through (I'm guessing here, so don't quote me):

Scenario 1. You pay POCL by debit card. POCL is then the merchant in the transaction with your bank. POCL give you substitute cash in the form of a P/O. Your bank then identifies the money is stolen but you've long since cashed the P/O and disappeared. The bank goes back to POCL and tries to claim back off them (theoretically, no idea if they're legally liable).

Scenario 2. You withdraw cash via POCL. The transaction is between you and the bank (POCL could be a cash machine for all they know) and they have no idea what you're going to use the cash for. You use it to buy P/O...bank finds stolen..etc...no claim back to POCL as they can't prove what you used the cash for.

myrnahaz

It's the same for buying electricity tokens - my sister was in dire straits and had run out of electricity, so I went along to buy some tokens for her and was told they wouldn't take my debit card - cash only, so I had to trek to the cashpoint. Same reasons, I suppose, but very frustrating.

golddustmedia

Should have used the switch card to withdraw cash at the counter then hand it back to her

If they say "you can't take cash out on that card" then what I do is buy something, like a book of stamps, then pay with switch and ask for cashback. Only place that's failed for me was where the sub post office/local shop had one of those rip off independent cash machines.