Can I escalate this? (Bus/card issue)

photome

i suspect you need to use your card with a pin somewhere and then it will be ok to use on the bus, contactless readers are notorious for declining cards .

first are just guessing at the reason it was declined

also ,open another account it’s never a good idea to rely on one card

sheramber

photome said:

i suspect you need to use your card with a pin somewhere and then it will be ok to use on the bus, contactless readers are notorious for declining cards .

first are just guessing at the reason it was declined

also ,open another account it’s never a good idea to rely on one card

for that last month I've been using another bus company and having to walk 15 mins extra each way, not looking forward to that when it's snowing!

Using the same card?

tightauldgit

At the end of the day First Bus are a private company and can decline your business for whatever reason they see fit (provided they aren't breaking discrimination law) so there's nothing you can do to force them to accept your payment method. You can certainly escalate it within First Bus to see if they will help but it might well just be one of those more hassle than its worth to resolve issues. 

The solution would seem to be to use your Googlepay or get another card to use. 

la531983

sheramber said:

photome said:

i suspect you need to use your card with a pin somewhere and then it will be ok to use on the bus, contactless readers are notorious for declining cards .

first are just guessing at the reason it was declined

also ,open another account it’s never a good idea to rely on one card

for that last month I've been using another bus company and having to walk 15 mins extra each way, not looking forward to that when it's snowing!

Given the solution has been posted numerous times now, this is just cutting his or her nose off to spite their face.

Jenni_D

RefluentBeans said:

Yeah agree with comments about using GooglePay. 

Contactless cards commonly decline when used frequently. You can escalate the complaint internally as far as you like, but they’re likely to just not be that bothered. 

In my case it is contactless via my phone that stops after a certain number of transactions, but switching to my contactless card works fine. (However the caveat is if there are a number of transactions in the same day - e.g. if I'm out with the gang having drinkies; at some point the machine will reject my phone as a payment mechanism, but will accept my card that is linked to the same account* - that's not the same as the OP's situation where they'll be using their card on the bus probably twice per day).

* I think this may be because the phone payment using a generated secondary card number linked to the same account. So as far as the till is concerned it's a different "card" being presented.

MattMattMattUK

Jenni_D said:

RefluentBeans said:

Yeah agree with comments about using GooglePay. 

Contactless cards commonly decline when used frequently. You can escalate the complaint internally as far as you like, but they’re likely to just not be that bothered. 

In my case it is contactless via my phone that stops after a certain number of transactions, but switching to my contactless card works fine. (However the caveat is if there are a number of transactions in the same day - e.g. if I'm out with the gang having drinkies; at some point the machine will reject my phone as a payment mechanism, but will accept my card that is linked to the same account).

That is somewhat odd as Google Pay and Apple Pay transactions are not actually classed as contactless, but as "user device verified", hence why you can pay an unlimited amount (up to the card limit/authorisation) via Google Pay or Apple Pay, not capped by the contactless limit. 

born_again

prettyandfluffy said:

I would ask for a replacement card and in the meantime, use Googlepay.

So long as it is reported as lost or Stolen which will generate a new card number unlike a simple replacement.

Clearly the issue is with Firsts system. As to back up @eskbanker there is no decline list of cards. As all contactless got for authorisation. So any card that is reported lost etc, is a auto decline @ bank end.

My guess is the staff you are speaking to @ First do not have a clue about the banking side of things, just making it up as they go along & palming the blame onto your bank. Rather than spend time looking at their systems to find out the issue.

Jenni_D

MattMattMattUK said:

Jenni_D said:

RefluentBeans said:

Yeah agree with comments about using GooglePay. 

Contactless cards commonly decline when used frequently. You can escalate the complaint internally as far as you like, but they’re likely to just not be that bothered. 

In my case it is contactless via my phone that stops after a certain number of transactions, but switching to my contactless card works fine. (However the caveat is if there are a number of transactions in the same day - e.g. if I'm out with the gang having drinkies; at some point the machine will reject my phone as a payment mechanism, but will accept my card that is linked to the same account).

That is somewhat odd as Google Pay and Apple Pay transactions are not actually classed as contactless, but as "user device verified", hence why you can pay an unlimited amount (up to the card limit/authorisation) via Google Pay or Apple Pay, not capped by the contactless limit. 

In my case it's not the amount, at least not insofar as each transaction is concerned, and I doubt it's a total value limit (<£100 total), so I think it's a frequency of usage thing (in my case, as it is typically in an area that is not my usual locale - perhaps it's an anti-fraud thing).

womble100

jemmawrites said:

I had been using the first bus tap on/off with my bank card with no issues for months when all of a sudden my card was declined, I used my googlepay (same bank account as the card) and that worked fine. There was money in the account and I had been able to use it both contactless and chip n pin elsewhere.
I contacted first and was told my card is on the decline list as a payment had been declined and my bank had covered it and when my bank recovers the £1.40 they would unblock my card.
I spoke to my bank who confirmed this wasnt the case,no payment had been declined and I had never gone into my overdraft nor was I owe them any money.
I went back to first with the screenshots as proof and they again replied with there's nothing we can do it's you bank who have to fix this.
Again I reached out to tsb who provided written proof there's no problem with the card and I am not owe anyone anything the bank has no control over their block list and there's no reason my card should be declined.
This was 4 weeks ago and I'm now being ignored by first,I sent the proof again and asked for my card to be unblocked and if it wasn't I'd take my complaint higher. They have not replied at all. I need to get the bus to and from work for that last month I've been using another bus company and having to walk 15 mins extra each way, not looking forward to that when it's snowing!
Im annoyed that I'm being ignored. 
My question is,can I take this further and if so how? Who would I contact about it?
Any advice greatly appreciated 👍

Hello poster 
I used to work in transport. There is a flaw in the tapping system which will not allow your card to work if you incorrectly tap your first tap like it missed collecting your card data. When you go to second tap it recognises some of your card details and rejects your card. If done correctly when tapped it sends your data to the bus company instantly and then wipes your card details when another passenger taps in. If you were to tap in now I'm sure your card will work fine. I know this because it happens in London regularly.