Santander. What should i do

iamone

Hi

i travelled recently to spain, i informed the bank been here for about 12 days my card working fine online etc. 

suddenly, two days ago i made two transfers in the morning worked fine. Then about a hour later i tried to purchase subway for £10 my card declined. 

I called santander they said everything would be fine, after about hour and half on hold i was told a statement - ‘Santander can not process any transactions’ and have not expressed any time period for resolution. 

I called again the next day and the rudeness of the colleague was shocking. I recorded him constanly repeating the same statement the previous employee said but to every question i asked. 

What should i do. I informed the bank im traveling and they can see that its my main source of spending money. Currently im barely surviving i have only booked a one way ticket and my hotel runs out tomorrow…

soulsaver

Santander processed my card transactions half an hour ago. 

born_again

iamone said:

Hi

i travelled recently to spain, i informed the bank been here for about 12 days my card working fine online etc. 

suddenly, two days ago i made two transfers in the morning worked fine. Then about a hour later i tried to purchase subway for £10 my card declined. 

I called santander they said everything would be fine, after about hour and half on hold i was told a statement - ‘Santander can not process any transactions’ and have not expressed any time period for resolution. 

I called again the next day and the rudeness of the colleague was shocking. I recorded him constanly repeating the same statement the previous employee said but to every question i asked. 

What should i do. I informed the bank im traveling and they can see that its my main source of spending money. Currently im barely surviving i have only booked a one way ticket and my hotel runs out tomorrow…

So which was it?

Sounds like they are concerned about the management of the account. Could relate to the 2 transfers, given you are in Spain. Or anything else.
Sadly until they contact you. What the rep's are saying is all you will get.

fenwick458

iamone said:

Santander. What should i do

don't know a solution to your current problem, you'll just have to keep calling them.
to prevent this happening again, in the future, have a few current accounts spread across the different banking groups that use different types of cards (visa/MC)

MEM62

iamone said:

What should i do. I informed the bank im traveling and they can see that its my main source of spending money. Currently im barely surviving i have only booked a one way ticket and my hotel runs out tomorrow…

Use the backup card that you should have for such emergencies.  

iamone

I informed Santander i was traveling. Been using my account normally. The two transfer i made are to payees I've had setup for months, both their accounts working fine. 

I don’t understand why there was a sudden halt on my account and theres no time period for resolution. And the rudeness i received from the last representative i spoke to was shocking. Im more disappointed in the customer service then the sudden halt on my account. The way he spoke to me and my friends was appalling, no respect or integrity. I have a recording 

Daliah

iamone said:

 The way he spoke to me and my friends was appalling, no respect or integrity. 

Can you elaborate please - why are Santander talking to your friends / why are your friends talking to Santander about your account? How many friends are involved in the talks?

iamone

Daliah said:

iamone said:

 The way he spoke to me and my friends was appalling, no respect or integrity. 

Can you elaborate please - why are Santander talking to your friends / why are your friends talking to Santander about your account? How many friends are involved in the talks?

Ive called santander twice. The first time i was with one friend the representative was very respectful and professional. However the second representative was shocking honestly. As soon as he come off hold, he stated a statement -“ Santander cant process any transactions at this time…” and continuously repeated himself to me, so i decided to put him on loudspeaker to my friends and he continued. He only changed his statement when we asked for his name or to speak to a supervisor. But when i asked politely how long it will take, is there a usual time period etc, i was met with shocking customer service. 

phillw

iamone said:

I don’t understand why there was a sudden halt on my account and theres no time period for resolution.

Most banks will do this if their AI computer system suspects fraudulent activity.

Customer services will usually be unhelpful. You have to get through to the fraud department.

Daliah

phillw said:

iamone said:

I don’t understand why there was a sudden halt on my account and theres no time period for resolution.

Most banks will do this if their AI computer system suspects fraudulent activity.

Customer services will usually be unhelpful. You have to get through to the fraud department.

The fraud department, if it was possible to speak to them, would be equally evasive whilst an investigation takes place. They are legally not permitted to tell people why they are being investigated, or even whether they are being investigated (though this appears obvious when an account is blocked). Not that bank staff would even know the status of an investigation, anyway, if  investigations involve crime agencies.

The only option OP has is to wait for the investigations to conclude. If not already done, they may also want to raise a formal complaint, which may or may not help with the speed of the investigation. It doesn't sound as if they are now stranded without any support, but if they are, this link should help: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-assistance-abroad/financial-assistance-abroad

A lesson for everybody who isn't aware: don't ever rely on a single method of payment, particularly when you are not sure how you would get home. But even if you don't leave your house, one or two alternative payment methods make sense as something can always go wrong with any bank.

Thrugelmir

iamone said:

I informed Santander i was traveling. 

What did you inform them of and when. Travelling for 12 days is less than many people take an annual holiday for.