First Direct fraud block abroad, is this really a reasonable process?

Amh2026

Interested in people's views on this, particularly anyone who's experienced First Direct's fraud process.

I was abroad with my two young children. I'd informed First Direct before travelling and my card worked normally for several days before they suddenly blocked it following an ATM transaction.

I wasn't told it had been blocked. No call, SMS or app notification. I discovered the problem the following day when I couldn't pay a restaurant bill and then couldn't withdraw money from three ATMs. I was effectively stranded without access to my funds.
First Direct has since confirmed that its system decided "human intervention" was required, so the normal SMS verification wasn't available. Instead, I was put in a queue for their Fraud Detection Team to call me
More than 24 hours after blocking my card, they still hadn't called.
When I contacted Live Chat and explained I was stranded with two young children, they couldn't remove the block or arrange a callback. I had to find a way to telephone First Direct myself. Once I did, they removed the block.

What surprises me is First Direct's explanation. They say that where no SMS is sent, the card declining is effectively the prompt for the customer to contact them, while you remain in a queue for the fraud team to call.

The complaint handler also told me that this is a regular area of complaint, including customers experiencing problems while abroad. Despite that, First Direct's final position is that no error occurred and its systems worked as intended.

They've offered me £50 as a gesture of goodwill. Given the circumstances, I don't think £50 adequately reflects what happened.

I'm considering taking it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, not because I dispute their right to block a suspicious transaction, but because of what happened afterwards.

What do people think? Is this a reasonable process for a bank? Would you consider £50 reasonable in these circumstances, and would you take it to FOS?

I'd also be interested in experiences with other banks. If your card has been fraud-blocked, particularly abroad, did your bank contact you and how quickly?

Woodstok2000

I've had a couple of cards blocked when I've been abroad. No idea how long it would take for the Bank to phone me as I have always called them straight away. Never had an issue unblocking the card or using it after that.

First one was nationwide (Thailand), second was Halifax (Philippines).

grumpy_codger

I don't think that the procedure is reasonable, but I'd take £50 and move on.

Generally, you have to be prepared to such problems, especially when traveling abroad. It is reasonable to have several cards, debit and credit, and some cash for emergencies.

born_again

When you informed FD, you should have been told that this will not stop security checks.

EssexExile

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82099394#Comment_82099394

Yes, I've been told several times that informing your bank that you will be in certain countries at certain times has no effect on whether your card will be blocked.

MEM62

What do people think?

I think that when you travel you should have have more than one card with you for cases such as this. The £50 is reasonable. Take it, draw a line and move on. (And take a second card with you next time)

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82099470#Comment_82099470

It's an anachronism from a bygone era when fraud detection algorithms were considerably less sophisticated and real-time authorisation less widespread, but most banks (including First Direct) now clarify that it's unnecessary, albeit without expressly spelling out that it's a complete waste of time:

Do I need to tell my bank before I travel?

No, there's no need for you to let first direct know that you're travelling and planning to use your debit card abroad.

https://www.firstdirect.com/banking/card-or-cash-abroad/

HillStreetBlues

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82099645#Comment_82099645

They could add a sentence, "we might block the card anyway".

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82099670#Comment_82099670

It certainly wouldn't do any harm for banks to emphasise that their algorithms are largely location-agnostic, as there are plenty who seem to be under the impression that notifying travel grants some sort of immunity from checks!

HillStreetBlues

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82099674#Comment_82099674

I do feel banks should be more honest and let their customers know what could happen.
Some people still trust their bank to get it right, and if they don't very quickly sort it, but we know that doesn't always happen.

It shouldn't be down to sites like this to tell people to have a back up card or method to get their own money.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82099726#Comment_82099726

It's never going to be front and centre of bank communications, but they'll all have references to fraud protection activities on their sites, both in terms of what they do and what they expect customers to do - naturally there's a limit to how much can be disclosed about their security measures though, so such information will rarely be very specific.

Directing people towards their competitors isn't a particularly likely prospect in any industry!