Credit card security blockage abroad - due diligence failures - have you been caught out?

DOCCOX

Halifax clarity credit card is promoted as the "bees knees" when traveling abroad - it can be a disastrous failure On a cruise this line this year Halifax blocked the card when the cruise line attempted to set up  payments for onboard incidentals using a $1 deduction. Halifax knew we were abroad by the trail of card usage Hilton T4 LHR, Marriott Hotel Sydney and a taxi to the port - all paid on the  card and show on the resultant  statement. Halifax proceeded to continue to block the card despite our signature confirmations onboard. Even using the ships telephone at sea they failed to respond to the phone. Much embarassment and limitations of enjoyment as we do not carry that amount of cash for all expenses. I have complained and been brushed off by Halifax who cited a third attempt to use the card for £250 yet a new unactivated  RBS card used later in the cruise worked on the same ship. Halifax will not apologize, give accurate details of the reason for the blockage  or compensate for their failures and this has gone finally to the Ombudsman. When i phoned Halifax on returning home the girl confirmed that even where they know where you are this could happen again. Fair enough for dodgy websites but for  $1 on a cruise ship??

eskbanker

Any credit card transaction can be declined if it triggers anti-fraud algorithms, so, as they correctly said, the fact that your location may have been known to them doesn't guarantee that all transactions will go through.  Carrying multiple cards, as you appear to have done, is the best mitigation....

born_again

DOCCOX said:

Halifax clarity credit card is promoted as the "bees knees" when traveling abroad - it can be a disastrous failure On a cruise this line this year Halifax blocked the card when the cruise line attempted to set up  payments for onboard incidentals using a $1 deduction. Halifax knew we were abroad by the trail of card usage Hilton T4 LHR, Marriott Hotel Sydney and a taxi to the port - all paid on the  card and show on the resultant  statement. Halifax proceeded to continue to block the card despite our signature confirmations onboard. Even using the ships telephone at sea they failed to respond to the phone. Much embarassment and limitations of enjoyment as we do not carry that amount of cash for all expenses. I have complained and been brushed off by Halifax who cited a third attempt to use the card for £250 yet a new unactivated  RBS card used later in the cruise worked on the same ship. Halifax will not apologize, give accurate details of the reason for the blockage  or compensate for their failures and this has gone finally to the Ombudsman. When i phoned Halifax on returning home the girl confirmed that even where they know where you are this could happen again. Fair enough for dodgy websites but for  $1 on a cruise ship??

Who spends $1 on a cruise ship?
That alone is a alarm to security systems. Perhaps better to complain to cruise ship & make them aware that using $1 auth is flagging security & perhaps they would be better putting a higher amount as a auth. Say $1000 holding deposit.

Fact they know you are aboard does not mean that you could not have lost your card & someone else was using it.
How can Halifax see signature confirmations?
In these days of satellite communications (StarLink) & WiFi on cruise ships. There is no need for a check on card, they could simply take each payment as you spend money.

Nasqueron

Going to the FOS is probably unlikely to get you anything - what losses have you actually incurred given you had an alternative card? Embarrassment or limitations of things when you had a backup is not quantifiable. 

Halifax will never give you reasons for the blockage, nor will the FOS make them. This is logical as it's about security and protecting accounts and telling people why would help fraudsters try and circumvent the processes.

There's a fairly hefty case at the FOS where a bank blocked a card for suspected fraud and the person wanted compensation but the FOS agreed it was within the bank terms and conditions to block cards for suspected fraud and rejected the complaint

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-4641026.pdf

There was a vaguely similar FOS case where a bank blocked a card due to a misunderstanding between customer and bank about stopping cards but the person only got £40 due to the misunderstanding despite claiming over £600 for various reasons

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-4511355.pdf

lisyloo

Did you inform them in advance of where you were going.
I believe this can be done on-line.
It's not a guarantee but it should reduce the chances.
Did you do this?

Did you not have any alternative cards?

DOCCOX

Thank you for your comments which are all valid - nice if you are not on the receiving end on a holiday of a lifetime - Some observations

Most , if not all cruise ships use this $1 technique for approving cards onboard. i would prefer a chip and pin system which seems to work with all hotels I have visited.) WHY then does a cruise ship swipe  work with other cards?

NO cruise ship, to my knowledge operates a Pay as you spend onboard policy. 

Strange that RBS on the same ship eventually worked with an unactivated card (ie one that had not made at least one chip and pin transaction) when in desperation we tried it using the same data available to Halifax.

The advice to carry two cards is good but still begs the question that NO card company is reliable and if using AI technology should not take an attitude as the Post office did that software is perfect. I have no real expectations from the Ombudsman ( they are no better than most Quangos) but it is important not to promote certain cards as perfect -for travelling  they definitely are not. . IMHO - fraud departments of banks, whilst they may do good work - it is always in THEIR favour - not ours and they should be forced to show due diligence.Interesting that this is the first time out of many travelling on such ships over twenty years  that a card company decides to play god. Should they be allowed to sweep their errors under the carpet unchallenged??

eskbanker

DOCCOX said:

it is important not to promote certain cards as perfect -for travelling  they definitely are not.

Where has this (or any other card) been promoted as "perfect" in terms of likelihood of transaction declines (as opposed to exchange rates/fees)?

DOCCOX said:

The advice to carry two cards is good but still begs the question that NO card company is reliable and if using AI technology should not take an attitude as the Post office did that software is perfect.

[...]

Should they be allowed to sweep their errors under the carpet unchallenged??

Are you contending that any transaction that's declined is an "error"?

born_again

In terms of security checks, banks will see different fraud trends, so no 2 will be the same, just as fraud on debit & credit cards is different. 

As you are borrowing a card from the bank, as per their T/C you agree to security checks. 
Frustrating as they are, they are limited to the number that can be made & if above a certain % are made on genuine transactions. They can & do face sanctions form regulator.

Most will run at like 0.1% that are genuine & blocked.

TBH, Clarity is promoted as We don't charge you for using your card abroad, including purchases and cash withdrawals.

hugheskevi

DOCCOX said:

The advice to carry two cards is good but still begs the question that NO card company is reliable and if using AI technology should not take an attitude as the Post office did that software is perfect. I have no real expectations from the Ombudsman ( they are no better than most Quangos) but it is important not to promote certain cards as perfect -for travelling  they definitely are not. .

Two cards is the absolute bare minimum you should carry. If one is blocked or lost then you are instantly down to a single point of failure.

My wife and I used 2 credit cards with additional cardholder (including Clarity), 2 joint bank accounts and 2 single bank accounts all well suited for travel for a recent trip lasting 16 months through 18 countries (mostly low income and some middle-income countries so particularly suspicious) and not a single card was flagged for fraud at any point. No provider wanted prior notification of travel, and many cards were used at times when there was no travel trail - although I did use all of them in the UK at the airport before leaving to try to minimise issues, many went unused for weeks or even months but were all fine.

When I returned to the UK a new Barclaycard was flagged for fraud when I was buying an annual membership at a running track.

Being flagged for fraud isn't embarrassing, it is just a known risk. Use another card and sort it out on return and it is a non-event.

NoodleDoodleMan

lisyloo said:

Did you inform them in advance of where you were going.
I believe this can be done on-line.
It's not a guarantee but it should reduce the chances.
Did you do this?

Did you not have any alternative cards?

I don't think many banks still offer that website facility ?

Santander do as part of Card Services, however when I called them the other day to confirm that my wife's card was  flagged up for forthcoming travel abroad the young lady advised that notification was not strictly required.

Confusing !!!

I like to err on the side of caution and insert details online before departure.

CliveOfIndia

NoodleDoodleMan said:

lisyloo said:

Did you inform them in advance of where you were going.
I believe this can be done on-line.
It's not a guarantee but it should reduce the chances.
Did you do this?

Did you not have any alternative cards?

I don't think many banks still offer that website facility ?

Santander do as part of Card Services, however when I called them the other day to confirm that my wife's card was  flagged up for forthcoming travel abroad the young lady advised that notification was not strictly required.

Confusing !!!

I like to err on the side of caution and insert details online before departure.

Halifax Clarity always used to do this, many moons ago.  Go online, specify the country you're going to and the dates.  The last few times I've been abroad, when I went online it said "You no longer need to tell us you're going abroad".

No idea why - it always seemed an eminently sensible feature to me.  Reduces the chances of your card being blocked when you are on holiday, and increases the chances of them flagging up any suspicious transactions that happen abroad outside of the dates you specified.