Halfiax email - You've not used your debit card

miller

Received an email today saying that I'd not used my debit card in a while. Last used for an online purchase at the end of last year. So, it has been used just over a month ago and I received a refund in January. Obviously not frequent enough for them.

eskbanker

Are you sure the email was genuinely from Halifax?

Brie

Possibly too if it is from Halifax they might have taken a cut of their information a few days or weeks before your last purchase and they didn't clean the info before sending out a mass of messages.  Like any marketing campaign there can be a surprising gap between compiling their mailing list and actually using it.

flaneurs_lobster

Weird, mine gets used exactly once a month to shift £500 for the reward payment, haven't hassled me.

Was it a friendly enquiry or a threat of sanctions unless you up your usage frequency?

miller

There was a list of 3 links for various scenarios (Lost/stolen, Damaged, Forgotten PIN). I wont be clicking on any of them because they don't apply (and from a security standpoint). They have supplied the last part of my postcode as per LBG comms, but again, that counts for little. My view is it is probably genuine, but I wont be doing anything as a result.

flaneurs_lobster

eskbanker said:

Are you sure the email was genuinely from Halifax?

Good point, "we just wanted to check or records. Please supply your full number, name and address........".

Genuine Halifax emails have the last bit of your postcode in the first line or so and address you by name.

miller

flaneurs_lobster said:

Was it a friendly enquiry or a threat of sanctions unless you up your usage frequency?

Nothing mentioned. I know if you don't use it in ~ 6 months before expiry they'll contact you to ask if you want a replacement.

flaneurs_lobster

miller said:

There was a list of 3 links for various scenarios (Lost/stolen, Damaged, Forgotten PIN). I wont be clicking on any of them because they don't apply (and from a security standpoint). They have supplied the last part of my postcode as per LBG comms, but again, that counts for little. My view is it is probably genuine, but I wont be doing anything as a result.

Suppose they deserve kudos for being proactive but does seem a bit full-on. If my card had been lost/stolen etc think I'd be contacting them not waiting for a reminder.

Rob5342

I'd always be suspicious of any email. I haven't used my Halifax debit card for three months and they have never said anything. It's just a spare account with an overdraft facility that I use once in a while to keep it alive. 

lr1277

I am surprised debit card usage is a measurable metric,
Say you run the current account in such a way that money comes in and the only money that goes out are through SO’s and DD’s. This is because you do all your spending on a credit card not from your bank. No cash required.
Like I said a surprising metric.

Olinda99

I had the same thing from Lloyds a while back

I used the account in the way you suggested ie money in and only direct debits out and after about a year they sent me an email saying do I still want my debit card anymore