Problem with Santander debit card

ega95jch

My card has been declined at two different supermarkets (contactless, then message saying PIN blocked when tried to use manually). However, it's worked OK with buying bus and rail tickets contactlessly.

It's impossible to get through to Santander on the phone, and as another poster has remarked, the secure message service is no longer working (although the website doesn't tell you this.) Happily, I can use a credit card in the meantime, but what is someone supposed to do if their card has been lost or stolen? The 'chat' facility is useless, just robotic stock answers exhorting you to use facilites that are not currently working.

colsten

ega95jch said:

My card has been declined at two different supermarkets (contactless, then message saying PIN blocked when tried to use manually). However, it's worked OK with buying bus and rail tickets contactlessly.

It's impossible to get through to Santander on the phone, and as another poster has remarked, the secure message service is no longer working (although the website doesn't tell you this.) Happily, I can use a credit card in the meantime, but what is someone supposed to do if their card has been lost or stolen? The 'chat' facility is useless, just robotic stock answers exhorting you to use facilites that are not currently working.

Another brilliant example for why you should never rely on a single source of funds. Well done for having a credit card, which hopefully will be paid off automatically in full when payment becomes due. This should give you some 30 days from now to sort out the blockage on your debit card.

You might want to take this experience as a prompter for getting yourself a second credit credit card, as it is always a good idea to have both, a VISA and a Mastercard, in case one of the systems goes down. As the ultimate backstop, keep a small amount of cash on you.

ega95jch

colsten said:

Another brilliant example for why you should never rely on a single source of funds. Well done for having a credit card, which hopefully will be paid off automatically in full when payment becomes due. This should give you some 30 days from now to sort out the blockage on your debit card.

You might want to take this experience as a prompter for getting yourself a second credit credit card, as it is always a good idea to have both, a VISA and a Mastercard, in case one of the systems goes down. As the ultimate backstop, keep a small amount of cash on you.

Thanks, we're on the same page. I do actually have a VISA card and a Mastercard, and I always keep a small amount of cash available.

My concern and alarm is for people who perhaps aren't eligible for a credit card, and whose card may have been lost or stolen. Presumably they just have to just let their account get plundered while Santander sorts out its sorry act?

colsten

No bank will guarantee 100% faultless operation. The recommendation to have more than one source of funds applies to anyone. Whether and how they achieve it is down to themselves.

Can you explain how your account got plundered? How was your card lost or stolen - -  I thought the problem was that your card was declined - i.e. you are still in possession of your card? How were you prevented from reporting your card lost or stolen , on the dedicated lost or stolen helpline?

eskbanker

ega95jch said:

My concern and alarm is for people who perhaps aren't eligible for a credit card, and whose card may have been lost or stolen. Presumably they just have to just let their account get plundered while Santander sorts out its sorry act?

Is there any evidence that Santander's phone service to report lost/stolen cards is as busy as the general banking one?  I believe they all share the same initial number but don't know the ins and outs of their phone system in terms of exactly where callers spend time queueing, but would expect that lost/stolen card calls should be prioritised....

ega95jch

eskbanker said:

Is there any evidence that Santander's phone service to report lost/stolen cards is as busy as the general banking one?  I believe they all share the same initial number but don't know the ins and outs of their phone system in terms of exactly where callers spend time queueing, but would expect that lost/stolen card calls should be prioritised....

You'd think so, wouldn't you? For my own curiosity I called three times. The third time I was just cut off and they said they couldn't deal with the call. The first time it asked me to state why I was calling - I said "damaged debit card". The second time I said "stolen debit card". I waited 20 minutes on each of those two calls before giving up.

ega95jch

colsten said:

No bank will guarantee 100% faultless operation. The recommendation to have more than one source of funds applies to anyone. Whether and how they achieve it is down to themselves.

Can you explain how your account got plundered? How was your card lost or stolen - -  I thought the problem was that your card was declined - i.e. you are still in possession of your card? How were you prevented from reporting your card lost or stolen , on the dedicated lost or stolen helpline?

You've completely misunderstood what I said. Please re-read it.

colsten

ega95jch said:

You'd think so, wouldn't you? For my own curiosity I called three times. The third time I was just cut off and they said they couldn't deal with the call. The first time it asked me to state why I was calling - I said "damaged debit card". The second time I said "stolen debit card". I waited 20 minutes on each of those two calls before giving up.

So what was/is your problem? Was your card stolen, or did it just not work for some transactions? 

eskbanker

ega95jch said:

eskbanker said:

Is there any evidence that Santander's phone service to report lost/stolen cards is as busy as the general banking one?  I believe they all share the same initial number but don't know the ins and outs of their phone system in terms of exactly where callers spend time queueing, but would expect that lost/stolen card calls should be prioritised....

You'd think so, wouldn't you? For my own curiosity I called three times. The third time I was just cut off and they said they couldn't deal with the call. The first time it asked me to state why I was calling - I said "damaged debit card". The second time I said "stolen debit card". I waited 20 minutes on each of those two calls before giving up.

Hypothetical I suppose but I think if I lost a Santander card and phoned to notify them, I'd assert that the time I dialled was the time after which they should accept responsibility for any losses, rather than the time they actually answered (if applicable), although strictly they're liable for them all anyway unless they can demonstrate any cardholder culpability.  However, I doubt they'd accept loss/theft notification other than by phone anyway, so this point is diverging from the main thrust of the thread about the unavailability or inadequacies of messaging and chat....

ega95jch

colsten said:

So what was/is your problem? Was your card stolen, or did it just not work for some transactions? 

Please read the post that started the thread. I don't think I can put it any more clearly or succinctly.

ega95jch

eskbanker said:

Hypothetical I suppose but I think if I lost a Santander card and phoned to notify them, I'd assert that the time I dialled was the time after which they should accept responsibility for any losses, rather than the time they actually answered (if applicable), although strictly they're liable for them all anyway unless they can demonstrate any cardholder culpability.  However, I doubt they'd accept loss/theft notification other than by phone anyway, so this point is diverging from the main thrust of the thread about the unavailability or inadequacies of messaging and chat....

Quite so. My concern is for vulnerable people who may not be able to assert themselves in the way you or I would.

Very concerning I think.