Nationwide blocked online transactions, consistently

killerkeeley

I have been with nationwide for over a decade now and in the past 2 years I have had my card blocked from online/remote transactions on 3 occasions.
On the first two times I contacted them shortly after discovering the block, asked why it was blocked and they informed me that a retailer has reported a hack and my card details were at risk. They informed me that they're unable to disclose the retailer due to business interests, this seem highly dubious to me especially when on both occasions they reactivated my card and did not need to send a new one out. I also asked why they did not inform me by text message, they just said it is their policy to just send a letter.

Anyway, on this 3rd occasion I found out my card was blocked a day before Black Friday. Most inconvenient but I do have work arounds in place. So I waited for the letter which took 6 days to arrive, it told me to call them to unblock my card.
Again Nationwide said they had been informed that my card was compromised, could not tell me by who and that they blocked my card after a certain transaction with a reputable retailer (which appeared to me to be successful) to protect me (themselves).

This raises some questions, why, if they were informed of a hack, did they wait until I made a transaction to inform me that it was blocked? Why did my transaction say approved online but then turn out to be declined? Why on this occasion do I need to receive a new card contrary to previous experience? And finally, why can they not tell me who, where and when my card was blocked? I feel this last point is against data protection laws as I believe I have a right to know when companies are talking about my details!

Anyway, this has majorly inconvenienced me as I now have had my hello fresh, beer52, netflix and other regular transactions declined leaving me with no meals, beer or tv to watch next week! I am also disappointed with Nationwide's response and attitude to this, I feel they messed up here and did not act as they should as such I will be leaving them in the new year. Has anyone else experienced these issues with other banks? Is it normal process not to inform me in a timely manner that they have restricted access to my money?

Thanks!

TBagpuss

Well, it is normal to restrict the card first , to protect you and your money. Presumably there is nothing to stop you calling them as soon as you have a declined payment, rather than waiting for a letter. I'm with Nationwide, and on the odd occasion when I have had a payment declined I've always called them and they have been able to sort it pretty much striaght away - again, it's beendown to something triggering their systems to suggest that there has been suspicious activity.

I am not sure whether it would be covered by the data protection regs but there is nothin to stop you making a subject access request if you want. I am not sure whether the information about what specifcally triggered them flagging soemthign up as suspicious would be availabel to the call centre staff, or whether it is all automated.

raghav.tarique

The card is Nationwide’s and not yours. They also state in their Ta&Cs that payments can be declined at any time and they accept no liability for loss.

PSR rules also state that card provider must do all that’s reasonably possible to prevent fraud. Getting credible information that the card is compromised is pretty darn credible.

It’s up to the retailer with issues to disclose to you any relevant data breach.

You could move you spending to a card provider who doesn’t do this kind of diligence.

LobsterMemory

While one shouldn't complain about Nationwide trying to protect you, it did get annoying about a year ago when my account was getting blocked every month, seemingly from a subscription priced in dollars that had been in place for two years.

I did ask them if they could "whitelist" the payee but that wasn't possible.

Switched that subscription to Starling, no more problems and no more FX charge either

born_again

Just to give you a idea of the issue banks face.
We get several notifications from Visa, Mastercard, Other banks & police re compromised cards every week.
It is then a balancing act on what to do. To simply say that all cards are replaced is a lengthy and expensive option, just staff wise. Been there & done that. If you are lucky you will contact 1 in 10 customers.
So the usual option is the cards get a marker which means they are more likely to have a security check.

"reputable retailer" is a phrase I hear on a regular basis. Sadly fraudsters use such retailers. Think any retailer that sells easily moved on goods and they are a target.

Last time John Lewis posted record Christmas figures was the year fraud to them over the Christmas period was massive....

Where they slipped up is not stopping your card. But I often hear "You can't do that it's Holidays, Christmas Or It's my only card".
So we have to say in these cases. Well call back to stop it when it's convenient for you.
I'll let you guess how many ever callback....
So they keep getting security checks.