How dare they?
I know banks are busy protecting us from fraud but..... Last week my Brother in Law - a retired professional man around 80 used his plastic to buy a computer for my sister - hers had died. Card was refused so deep embarrassment - he then tried to use it
to buy some quails eggs on the way home - again no go. Contacted his bank and they said "it was refused because we though it very unlikely that a retired ........ of your age would be buying a computer" EXCUSE ME??? Jumped up little puppies - need a better
excuse than such an ageist remark? I am grateful that they are on the alert but.....?? What do others think?
Comments
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I agree with B2, it is good to know that the banks are keeping an eye on any unusual spending patterns.
Just a pity they had to make an ageist remark though.
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That's unusual, often they flag up a request on the terminal to speak to the card owner for verification.
It certainly used to be the case. We've had that situation we were shopping in France and hadn't told them. I have to say I felt reassured
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That's unusual, often they flag up a request on the terminal to speak to the card owner for verification.
It certainly used to be the case. We've had that situation we were shopping in France and hadn't told them. I have to say I felt reassured
Conversely, I told the bank that we were soon to be going to Fance a couple of years back, & the responce was on the lines of ..... why are you telling us?
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That's unusual, often they flag up a request on the terminal to speak to the card owner for verification.
It certainly used to be the case. We've had that situation we were shopping in France and hadn't told them. I have to say I felt reassured
Conversely, I told the bank that we were soon to be going to Fance a couple of years back, & the responce was on the lines of ..... why are you telling us?
Our bank, Nationwide, has a place for you to tell them online banking requests region and dates. I do seem to remember telling them, probably not Nationwide, a few years back we were off to France and got a similar response to you.
I think they're a bit more on the ball now with cloning etc.
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He was shopping in person - so surely they could have verified him at the till - and knowing him and technology I doubt he has another card - I know what bank my sister banks with but wouldn't want to accuse them as he may be with another bank. I agree
partially that its comforting they are keeping an eye out - but that wasn't the way to do it!0 -
The opposite was the case with my bank. When we bought our current car the garage wanted payment by debit card. I transferred the requisite amount from our savings account to the current account and my daughter who is a bank manager advised me to tell our
local branch that there would be an unusually large payment going out within the next few days. The cashier was totally disinterested and said as long as there were sufficient funds the bank would just process it.0 -
Well I think that apart from the unfortunate verbal response the bank deserves a pat on the back. Many years ago I had a card "cloned" but my bank spotted the unusual spending immediately. They stopped payment first and then contacted me to check! I thought
that that efficiency had gone today but perhaps not! Well done that bank!I suspect that the original poster might have been more upset if the account had been cleared without anyone asking why!
TF
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I am not sure about that Tigerfish - cloning must be a horrible thing - and hopefully the bank shoulder the responsibility - as they do if you inform them your card is lost. It isn't as though a PC is a huge expenditure these days but the embarrassment
and annoyance at the explanation would touch my BIL I am sure - I had one refused many years ago and the shop owner was asked to destroy the card - bless him he didn't destroy it because he had known me since I was 7 years old! It was very embarrassing to
find out that way that my ex husband had not honoured the agreement for me to use the card to buy things for the children as part of the maintenance thing!0 -
Pippah, Given those circumstances I can understand your concern, but the OP and my experience was about the bank trying to ensure that unusual transactions were not as the result of a criminal act. So under those circumstances I would prefer that to happen
than someone get away with fraudulently using my stolen card!TF
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I'm with the bank, I don't care if they question me a dozen times whilst using my card. Eventually they will get some scam stopped in its tracks & I won't be scammed. The more security the better. Ageist it ain't, tight security it is
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I'm with the bank, I don't care if they question me a dozen times whilst using my card. Eventually they will get some scam stopped in its tracks & I won't be scammed. The more security the better. Ageist it ain't, tight security it is
Agree, although a friend of mine wasn't so tolerant. She went to her bank to draw out £5k. The young man behind the counter asked her what the money was for (this is policy). At the front of a long queue, she said in a loud voice 'I want new breasts and
they want cash, would you like me to show you?' . If it is your account and you have ID, why on earth do banks have the right to ask you what you want YOUR money for? She got her cash instantly.0 -
I'm with the bank, I don't care if they question me a dozen times whilst using my card. Eventually they will get some scam stopped in its tracks & I won't be scammed. The more security the better. Ageist it ain't, tight security it is
Agree, although a friend of mine wasn't so tolerant. She went to her bank to draw out £5k. The young man behind the counter asked her what the money was for (this is policy). At the front of a long queue, she said in a loud voice 'I want new breasts and
they want cash, would you like me to show you?' . If it is your account and you have ID, why on earth do banks have the right to ask you what you want YOUR money for? She got her cash instantly.I had the same when paying in a substantial sum in cash.
The cashier said "May I ask what this relates to?"
"Of course you may" I replied.
After a pause he said "What is the source of this deposit?"
"None of your business" I replied. He smiled, accepted it and credited my account.
Whenever I make a withdrawal abroad I get a text from Lloyds which asks me to contact them if I was unaware of the transaction and I'm very happy with that.
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Have to say that I always advise my Banks, Building societies when I go abroad. Saves a lot of aggro.
As regards paying in to the account, I usually say that I have just sold a car - did they want to buy it?
Overall, in todays crooked society, I am pleased that the banks do query unusual items.
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For those who asked me to name and shame the bank - I am glad to say it wasn't Lloyds that my sister and I both bank with but one that has close connections to a palace and a parliament. Humiliating customers just won't do in my book - but I do appreciate
the need to keep tabs on things. I had my account frozen because I tried to call them from France earlier this year - extremely inconvenient since I needed to transfer the cash for a property purchase - I understand why they closed my account - and am thankful
for it - but they didn't humiliate me in the process. I hadn't let them know I was in France because it was a family emergency and I hadn't got round to that detail in my rush to get out there - but this seems to be good practice.0 -
Have to say that I always advise my Banks, Building societies when I go abroad. Saves a lot of aggro.
Yes, I do all my banking online (except paying in, obviously) and advise absences through the provided website facility yet Llloyds still contact me but Nationwide don't.
In spite of the flack which banks receive about customer service I have found dealing with those two extremely easy and entirely satisfactory.
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Having just spent the last two days sorting out plastic following the theft of OH's purse, it is reassuring that this is monitored. In fact the girl in NatWest said irregular transactions would be spotted by them before we even knew about it.
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Having just spent the last two days sorting out plastic following the theft of OH's purse,...........
Wasn't it Tommy Cooper who said he didn't report that his wife's credit card had been stolen because the thief was spending less than she did?
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Pippah, Given those circumstances I can understand your concern, but the OP and my experience was about the bank trying to ensure that unusual transactions were not as the result of a criminal act. So under those circumstances I would prefer that to happen
than someone get away with fraudulently using my stolen card!TF
Write your comments here...Tigerfish I was the OP
And my concern was for the crass comment to my Brother in Law that he was too old to
be buying a computer! He is a sensitive soul and not as experienced with such hitches as having his card refused never mind the Ageist comment by way of explanation.0 -
Certainly a very poor response from the operative on the other end of the phone. I have no problem with the refusal. I have had mine refused a couple of times when trying to buy something else after buying a smart phone. Much better than someone running up a huge bill, which I would have to sort out if it was being used fraudulently. When I asked what prompted the refusal, they just said it was all done by computers running algorithms, that assessed unusual spending. Possibly a polite way of saying, we thought you were to old for a smart phone.
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Yes unfortunate response but well done the bank in some respects. A year or so ago I was paying for a car using my debit card so I warned the bank (a well known West Yorkshire town) of the large transaction (around £17k) and was told I needen't have bothered.
I did find that disconcerting, but there again I'm getting old now!0 -
My bank phoned me today to tell me they have noticed some unusall activity on my business card , some one had tried to top up their mobile phone for a total of £5.93, surely if someone is going to try and use your card they would make it worth it , so now
the bank has canncelled my card and it will be 5 days before a new one comes through
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1 ) A few years ago when in my bank for an annual "Health Check" the Lady asked if I ever bought things on line and, if so, using which card. When I produced my credit card she went a little paler, shot off & ten
mins later, re-appeared with a similar card but with a very limited top figure. I was told to use that on-line but not to take it out with my other cards in case I mixed them up.2) when I bought my latest camper I told the bank how much & when I was paying. They thanked me and said nevertheless, expect a call on your mobile within 5 mins, just to be safe..
Was I worried, offended -- NO just thankful that they cared about this old aged customer & his money
Brian
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