Card declined - no warning

Brightmerchant · 9 May 2019 at 11:00AM

When my wife was supermarket shopping yesterday her Mastercard was declined.

She phoned the card issuer who told her that she'd used the card on a site that has been compromised, so the card had been "stopped".

Why do banks not warn their customers that their card has ceased to be valid? Don't they care that the customer might be in a situation where there's no other means of paying? The same thing happened to me a while back and only with some luck did I manage to pay to exit a car park.

Willing2Learn · 9 May 2019 at 11:06AM

If your card has been compromised, then I would be happy that the card provider had cancelled the card. In the time it would take to write to a customer to warn them of the situation, a number of fraudulent transactions could take place. Much better just to cancel the card with immediate effect.

I always recommend that cardholders have more than one credit card account, just in case a card stops working for any reason.

Brightmerchant · 9 May 2019 at 11:14AM

Totally agree with the safety-first approach; but it would be really helpful if the problem could be given publicity. In my wife's case, the bank didn't identify the site she'd be using that had been compromised. A friend had a similar experience and discovered the card had been blocked because it had been used on a ticket-booking site that had been hacked.

[Deleted User] · 9 May 2019 at 11:14AM

The bank have done the right thing.

It's always best to travel with more than one card

MABLE · 9 May 2019 at 11:17AM

Willing2Learn wrote: »

I always recommend that cardholders have more than one credit card account, just in case a card stops working for any reason.

Or always take a friend with them who has a card that works.

etienneg · 9 May 2019 at 11:29AM

I normally carry at least three cards: two credit, and one debit (usually only used for cash withdrawals). This also means I have access to both Visa and Mastercard networks in case one is down (as Visa was a few months ago). I have extra ones in a separate wallet if I'm away from home for a while (holidays, etc.). Call me paranoid if you like ...

Whilst I agree that the card issuer should cancel a potentially compromised card immediately, I also see no reason why they can't warn the cardholder at the same time. They could send a text message asking you to phone the card company using the phone number on the card. Or they could phone you (although I would want to phone them back using the phone number on the card). This would be better customer service than just leaving you to find out when the card is declined, without compromising security.

Willing2Learn · 9 May 2019 at 11:33AM

etienneg wrote: »

Whilst I agree that the card issuer should cancel a potentially compromised card immediately, I also see no reason why they can't warn the cardholder at the same time. They could send a text message asking you to phone the card company using the phone number on the card. Or they could phone you (although I would want to phone them back using the phone number on the card).

I agree that it would be a good idea to send the customer a text message advising them that the compromised card had been cancelled with immediate effect.

GibbsRule_No3 · 9 May 2019 at 11:36AM

Not all people have more than one card though.

eDicky · 9 May 2019 at 11:40AM

Willing2Learn wrote: »

In the time it would take to write to a customer to warn them of the situation, a number of fraudulent transactions could take place. Much better just to cancel the card with immediate effect.

But having already cancelled the card, why not inform the holder by a simple text or email? The knowledge that an alternative means of payment is needed could prevent embarrassment or serious inconvenience.

However, I wouldn't expect a warning to be sent in advance, involving any delay in the cancellation, as the poll question seems to suggest.

eco_warrior · 9 May 2019 at 12:55PM

Brightmerchant wrote: »

When my wife was supermarket shopping yesterday her Mastercard was declined.

She phoned the card issuer who told her that she'd used the card on a site that has been compromised, so the card had been "stopped".

Why do banks not warn their customers that their card has ceased to be valid? Don't they care that the customer might be in a situation where there's no other means of paying? The same thing happened to me a while back and only with some luck did I manage to pay to exit a car park.

Not all banks work this way. Some banks will allow the card to be continued to be used for secure transactions (Chip and Pin only for example) while a new card is sent. Other forms of transactions (online for example) would be blocked. This way the customer isn't stranded without cash.

eco_warrior · 9 May 2019 at 12:56PM

etienneg wrote: »

I normally carry at least three cards: two credit, and one debit (usually only used for cash withdrawals). This also means I have access to both Visa and Mastercard networks in case one is down (as Visa was a few months ago). I have extra ones in a separate wallet if I'm away from home for a while (holidays, etc.). Call me paranoid if you like ...

Whilst I agree that the card issuer should cancel a potentially compromised card immediately, I also see no reason why they can't warn the cardholder at the same time. They could send a text message asking you to phone the card company using the phone number on the card. Or they could phone you (although I would want to phone them back using the phone number on the card). This would be better customer service than just leaving you to find out when the card is declined, without compromising security.

Again some banks to pro-actively contact customers in this situation, rather than just block cards.

It can involve 1000s of accounts at a time though so you need to consider that its not always easy.

Card declined - no warning

Should banks warn you that a card is about to be declined where you're not at fault? 50 votes

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