Reply to: Cater Allen going downhill fast

[SueEllen]

I had a nightmare with Santander once. Rang them before I went to say I was going to USa for two weeks - gave them the dates.

Card worked fine for 7 days then it got declined. So I phoned them, they admitted they knew dates and promised it was ok now. Worked for 3 days then same again. Same phone call. And again. Was not pleased.

Found it strange then that 3 months later someone managed to book a flight from Mumbai to somewhere else in India. They didnt block that one and I had to phone them to tell them about that one - it was £500 or something as well.

So, $20 spent in DisneyWorld when I told them I was going to be there obviously looks more suspicious on their system, than £500 for an internal flight in India where I've never been!

Internal use of the card by someone at the bank.

I've been told by a couple of banks over the years that I must get a new card due to a "security" issue at there end i.e. someone has stolen card details internally.

[psychocandy]

I had a nightmare with Santander once. Rang them before I went to say I was going to USa for two weeks - gave them the dates.

Card worked fine for 7 days then it got declined. So I phoned them, they admitted they knew dates and promised it was ok now. Worked for 3 days then same again. Same phone call. And again. Was not pleased.

Found it strange then that 3 months later someone managed to book a flight from Mumbai to somewhere else in India. They didnt block that one and I had to phone them to tell them about that one - it was £500 or something as well.

So, $20 spent in DisneyWorld when I told them I was going to be there obviously looks more suspicious on their system, than £500 for an internal flight in India where I've never been!

[CloudWalker]

I rarely us my Cater Allen credit card as I can use my American Express card and claim back through the company and then keep the Nectar Points

[TheFaQQer]

The one time my card was actually used fraudulently was some random in Norway trying to buy small phone credits, presumably testing it before a large transaction. Barclaycard were great about it though, and just sent me a list of transactions which I had to tick if they were mine.

Mine was a car park in Bruges for a couple of Euros, which got through. The €3500 on TVs and pre-paid mobiles got rejected pretty sharpish though.

[Clare@InTouch]

Having contracted at Barclaycard a few years ago, I remember they recommend cardholders to contact them before they travel and tell them which countries you plan to visit, this should prevent the card from being blocked whilst abroad

I told Barclaycard when I went away last year and they said that they don't need to be told any more. I've since travelled to a few places and it's always been fine when I've been away. It was blocked when I tried to book a flight online though, probably because it was the second flight I'd booked that day.

The one time my card was actually used fraudulently was some random in Norway trying to buy small phone credits, presumably testing it before a large transaction. Barclaycard were great about it though, and just sent me a list of transactions which I had to tick if they were mine.

[northernladuk]

Having contracted at Barclaycard a few years ago, I remember they recommend cardholders to contact them before they travel and tell them which countries you plan to visit, this should prevent the card from being blocked whilst abroad

I used to do this every time I travelled but then did a lot of travelling on one gig for 18 months or so. Your profile automatically updates over time so I don't need to contact them about Europe/American travel now. I did have it declined when I first went to the Middle East though. It can be frustrating as TF says but they do seem pretty clever. The Sweden pizza flagged as the rest of the transactions I had during and after were in the UK even though I didn't need to tell them about travel.

[Eirikur]

Having contracted at Barclaycard a few years ago, I remember they recommend cardholders to contact them before they travel and tell them which countries you plan to visit, this should prevent the card from being blocked whilst abroad

[TheFaQQer]

My credit card provider does this to me from time to time as well and I am more than happy with it. Much rather they were checking than not. Got a call from them once about a pizza I apparently ordered in Sweden.. WTF?!? Apparently fraudsters who have the details make a small payment to see if it is working before selling it on so was very thankful for the call in that case.

It's frustrating when they just block the card. I was in America and had three transactions at the same Wallmart in the space of a day, so Halifax blocked my card (which was £400 in credit at the time, and I'd already spent another £400 during the trip), but didn't let me know what had happened.

Card just kept being rejected, and stored in America didn't know what to do - even though the machines said "call provider" they didn't know how to handle it, because they use credit cards slightly differently in terms of looking for stolen cards.

It was only when we got back home and I rang them that they explained what had happened - either block it at the start of the overseas transactions, or don't block it!!

[northernladuk]

Me too, I frequently get blocked (ok, 2 or 3 times a year maybe) on my Tesco Mastercard. Seems if I try an but anything out the ordinary it raises a suspicious transaction flag. On the other hand, nice to know they're looking out for anything dodgy.

My credit card provider does this to me from time to time as well and I am more than happy with it. Much rather they were checking than not. Got a call from them once about a pizza I apparently ordered in Sweden.. WTF?!? Apparently fraudsters who have the details make a small payment to see if it is working before selling it on so was very thankful for the call in that case.

[lilelvis2000]

Tesco are pretty good at looking for unexpected transactions - and they get in touch pretty sharpish to make sure it's genuine or not. I was buying flights one year and the card was rejected. I told the airline to hold on a second as my mobile was ringing and it was Tesco to clear the transaction.

Yeah - CA also asked about the regular transactions as well - like my broadband which I've been paying for six years. And there was one transaction for £1 as well. Makes them look really stupid I think.

Anyway, decided to switch - it doesn't take much to piss me off.

[borderreiver]

Anyone else find it ironic that at the same time this thread is moaning because Cater Allen are checking dodgy transactions, there is another one today moaning that Cater Allen security is rubbish?

Aye, I had noticed that

[TheFaQQer]

Anyone else find it ironic that at the same time this thread is moaning because Cater Allen are checking dodgy transactions, there is another one today moaning that Cater Allen security is rubbish?

[TheFaQQer]

Me too, I frequently get blocked (ok, 2 or 3 times a year maybe) on my Tesco Mastercard. Seems if I try an but anything out the ordinary it raises a suspicious transaction flag. On the other hand, nice to know they're looking out for anything dodgy.

Tesco are pretty good at looking for unexpected transactions - and they get in touch pretty sharpish to make sure it's genuine or not. I was buying flights one year and the card was rejected. I told the airline to hold on a second as my mobile was ringing and it was Tesco to clear the transaction.

[lilelvis2000]

I found it annoying that after they ring me up and after they have confirmation, the transaction gets declined. That I find annoying.

I'm not complaining too much about the phone call - makes sense as I do almost all my card transactions online.

A mate told me that they probably forgot to remove the block on that transaction. Apparently it needs to be done manually per individual transaction.

Suppose I might stay with them for a while - I always liked the ability to go to a branch and actually talk to someone like when I was with RBS. I only moved from RBS as they were charging £10/mnth plus £35/yr for a card. I think RBS now has a debit card included and have reduced their month cost.

[Project Monkey]

Is it just Cater Allen? I've had the same happen with Barclaycard twice in the past couple of months.

Me too, I frequently get blocked (ok, 2 or 3 times a year maybe) on my Tesco Mastercard. Seems if I try an but anything out the ordinary it raises a suspicious transaction flag. On the other hand, nice to know they're looking out for anything dodgy.