Credit cards online

Quasar

I am really not sure which forum this should go under, so please bear with me.

I have never been keen on buying things online, what with all the credit card fraud and so on.

However, I feel I am missing on bargains and savings, as some things are definitely much cheaper if bought via the internet. So I have two questions:

1) How safe is the internet, really?

2) Would it be a good idea to contact one of my credit card provider and ask them to lower the credit limit to, say £250, and use only that particular credit card to purchase online, so I am sure I won't be hit for more that that should the worst happen?

Thanks!

grumbler

All my appliances (many worth £500+) come from the internet. So do many small items: books, contact lenses, guitar for my son (£300), all flights and railway tickets, insurances, ... I think 60%+ of all my spending is online.
Most of credit cards offer something like free internet shopping protection. If you want extra protection have a read of Free safer system for online spending article.

2) Would it be a good idea to contact one of my credit card provider and ask them to lower the credit limit to, say £250, and use only that particular credit card to purchase online, so I am sure I won't be hit for more that that should the worst happen?

This does not give full you protection you want as you (and somebody else) can go over the limit. However chances are higher that CC company will treat as suspicious and will stop the transaction that moves balance over limit.

innovate

Quasar wrote:

Would it be a good idea to contact one of my credit card provider and ask them to lower the credit limit to, say £250, and use only that particular credit card to purchase online, so I am sure I won't be hit for more that that should the worst happen?

If you want a limit on a card, go for the Cahoot webcard. It generates a new credit card number every time you want to use it, and can be used once only. You need to open a Cahoot current account to get a webcard.

Since I got mine a couple of months ago, I have used the webcard several times successfully, but on the odd occasion it didn't work (e.g. where the retailer doesn't actually debit you when you enter your card details but does a manual transaction when they ship. But that's rare).

I also kept my old current account, but now find myself increasingly using the Cahoot current because it pays quite good interest (3.9% with chequebook, 4.something without a cheque book)

Reaper

You are completely protected for any fraudulent use of your credit card online or offline regardless of any extra "internet shopping guarentees" the cards market. You will be refunded everything you lost. It's a hassle if it happens but you won't be out of pocket.

So you can shop without fear.

As for the £250 limit idea - it doesn't always work. Sometimes transactions get authorised if you go over the limits and then you get hit by a charge too.

James

You are better covered shopping on-line than you are using a PIN with a card at an ATM or in a shop.

Reasons as stated - liability for fraud lies with the on-line retailer. Disputed transactions should be easier to rectify. You won't be asked how someone got hold of your PIN. It's a lot safer from personal perspective. You can't get your card nicked or cloned and your PIN stolen.

Look at the figures from https://www.cardwatch.org.uk

CNP Fraud (Goods bought via the Internet or by phone, mail order or fax) was up about 24% last year.

On the other hand: (Fresh from the NET):

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2005-09-19T235240Z_01_FLE985868_RTRIDST_0_TECH-FINANCIAL-CREDITCARD-FRAUD-DC.XML

However fraud at ATMs rose a massive 82%.

Quasar

Thanks folks! Will consider all the above advice.

Curry_Queen

All my shopping is done online and I've never had a problem. Also, if you have a Barclaycard you can sign up to their verification process whereby before a transaction is completed they ask you to type in a password to verify it is you who's using the card and have authorised it's use.

innovate

Reaper wrote:

You are completely protected for any fraudulent use of your credit card online or offline regardless of any extra "internet shopping guarentees" the cards market.

James wrote:

You are better covered shopping on-line than you are using a PIN with a card at an ATM or in a shop.

Wasn't there something recently in the news about credit card companies cleaning their hands entirely of anything that was bought outside the UK? I seem to remember reading (Sunday Times?) that this leaves it wide open how Internet purchases would be treated, because many Internet-based businesses are not located in the UK.

Also, I thought using your credit card on sites (even UK ones) that aren't secure leaves the card owner wide open to fraud, and the card issuers don't have any obligation to protect you in such cases? happy to get corrected if I am wrong

Reaper

You are covered for fraud wherever it happens, UK or abroad.

What you are thinking of is when you order something and you end up in dispute with the suppliers (fails to turn up, broken, not what you expected etc). Under UK law both the credit card company and the merchant are equally liable, so if the merchant refuses to refund you the credit card company must instead.

The courts have decided this does not apply to purchases from foreign companies. However even then many of the card issuers have said they will voluntarily pay up even though they don't have to.

As to your final point about being liable for fraud, actually it is quite the opposite. You are covered for all credit card fraud even if you have been grossly negligent e.g. leaving a written copy of your PIN number with your card. See this article. Don't agree with it myself, but there you go.