Lloyds Bank – Midnight Security Checks?



My wife is a long-term Lloyds customer with all her accounts in good order. A few months back she awoke one morning to find Morrisons had cancelled that day’s online food delivery. Chasing Morrisons and then Lloyds eventually revealed that the food order, which became closed-off late the previous night, had been debited to her Lloyds Mastercard around midnight. Lloyds then sent a message demanding she validate the transaction via her banking app. But she was asleep with phone off. So the shopping delivery slot was lost.
Complaining to Lloyds, they blamed the size of the order. £250 for a monthly shop is quite easy nowadays, as you may have noticed. Plus this was a long-term repeat pattern of the same supermarket, same address, similar amounts. Lloyds promised to ‘flag’ Morrisons as safe so this would never recur.
But today it happened again. Lloyds send a demand to validate today’s Morrisons food order just after midnight. By chance she was awake and did so, but taking 7 mins some time after midnight was too slow for Lloyds. Food delivery & slot lost, again.
Complaining to Lloyds, a not too sympathetic person said that as she’d spent 30 euros abroad a couple of weeks ago, which went through without issue, this had raised some kind of alert on the account. What, just one purchase, having used her card in the UK since?! She uses the Lloyds app which we know tracks the user’s location so can tell them wherever she is, so this makes no sense.
The gist of their response was that any bank would behave the same way. So if you order food online, the final bill being debited around midnight, you must stay up to the wee small hours lest your bank require the order validating within minutes?
I think she needs a new bank. Any similar experiences out there?
Replies
It seems to me that your wife was entitled to rely on this assurance so that the fact that the problem re-occurred is worthy of a formal written complaint and a request for compensation.
So the issue is with retailer for their processing time. Not the bank & the security system.
Usually you get a message from retailer saying payment declined & please call to make payment again.
Why hasn't this been all over the media before now, as this issue must effect 1000s who shop online with Morrisons and whose banking app needs verification (not just Lloyds?) before they authorise the payment.
Sea_Shell - I agree, and the fact it hasn't been 'all over the media' is I suspect because this is not normal behaviour for the bank; the supermarkets must all process their payments around midnight?
I'm sure that with all banks you can trigger the exact circumstances required to get yourself locked out, just by doing legitimate transactions.
You just haven't hit the specific circumstances yet.
Virgin did that to me recently, had to spend three hours on the phone to get it sorted (£75 compensation...)