Life lesson - In case you're not aware

[Tinstar]

I'll relate my recent experience for those of you that are unaware of some "new" policy with credit cards.

We made a recent trip from our home in the Dallas area to Carlsbad N.M. These transactions were on our MasterCard. On the way, I fueled up once without a problem. We got to the campground and paid for a couple of nights, went out to eat that night, paid our admission to the caverns and all is good so far. Later the next day, I had to buy a couple of tires due to a blowout on the way out there. When I went to pay the bill, my card was rejected. I had them run it again because I had a $10K credit limit and hardly anything on the card. Rejected again so I end up paying for the tires with a Visa and immediately called MasterCard. The customer service said it was rejected because I was out of my home area and the purchase was over $100,,,,, but I could now use my card to pay for the tires. Well, I had already paid for them with the Visa so that wasn't much help. Next day, I head back to Texas to continue my vacation. I get to a Travel Center and try to fuel up. My card is rejected, I go inside and try the card at the register,,, rejected. I fuel up using the Visa BUT before I got back in my m/h to leave I receive an automated message from Visa wanting to verify my identity. I go through all the prompts that I was me and I was the one making the purchase for fuel. When I get to my destination, we go out to eat and not only can I not pay using my MasterCard, now my Visa has been shut down.:M I go to my third card (another Visa) pay for our meal without a problem.

Next morning, I call MasterCard. I have to put in my information before I can talk to anyone. That triggered the call to be directed to their fraud department. I talk to a very nice gentleman that explained the whole thing. He said the Customer Service agent with whom I spoke with when in Carlsbad is not authorized to lift the fraud alert from my card and could only authorize a one time purchase. My account was flagged since I was out of my home area. They didn't call me to straighten it out because I had never given them permission to call me.:h Needless to say, I gave them permission and the flag was lifted. He said I need to go on-line or call them when I'm going to be out of my home area in the future so my account won't be flagged. That's not a problem for me and I appreciate them watching out for fraud but it would have been nice if I had known that in advance. Maybe they sent something in a bill and I just missed it,,, who knows? For the next week, I had no more problems with my MasterCard.

I now call Visa. Same story, they shut down my card because I was away from my home area. They authorized the one charge for fuel then shut the card down. I need to fill out the form with them when I'm going to be away.

OK, now I know. Just wish I knew before I left. I thought I was going to have to spend a few days at the tire shop changing tires (or washing dishes) for them to pay for the tires. For me, it certainly paid to have more than one or two cards. I actually carry 5 with me but normally never use anything other than the MasterCard.

Bottom line, if you use cards you might want to check with them and make sure you don't get flagged and shut down when you're away from home.

[Effy]

2oldman wrote:

Effy wrote:
Why? Your bank takes measures to protect you and for that you cancel them?

It's a gas credit card. I didn't know they even existed anymore.

Yeah they exist. Technically they are affinity cards. The gas company has very little to do with it. It's actually serviced by a larger bank (sometimes you can see who the servicer is on the back of the card). ABC gas company pays a premium to the bank for a credit card but the gas company is not the issuer or the servicer. There are thousands of types of affinity cards. One bank may have thousands of portfolios everything from Lowes to Home depot to BP to Amazon. But they are all serviced by one bank. The only difference between a bank card and an affinity card aside from a logo are terms and perks. It's still owned and serviced by a bank.

[2oldman]

Effy wrote:
Why? Your bank takes measures to protect you and for that you cancel them?

It's a gas credit card. I didn't know they even existed anymore.

[Effy]

Jesse_C wrote:
The last time we were headed out of state, my wife tried to call one of our gas credit card companies. Even though we each have a card in our own names, they refused to accept her notification without speaking directly to me. We had been doing business with this company for over 20 years and felt this was pushing the limit for reasonability. After some further discussion with their company representative we cancelled the card.

Why? Your bank takes measures to protect you and for that you cancel them? Is there a reason you couldn't or wouldn't talk to them? Odds are you are the primary and she is an authorized user. Authorized user does not "own" the account and cannot make changes without the owner (primary cardholder) , an authorized user is only allowed to use it. Often it's policy that the bank is required to speak to the primary. It's a security measure to protect you. If you knew how many times an estranged spouse, child or someone that stole the card called in to change some info to steal from the primary cardholder perhaps you would take a different position. What if someone stole your card and claimed to be your wife and they let them make changes without notifying you. Then you'd be blaming the bank for not protecting you. Length of relationship has nothing to do with measures put in place to protect you. Unless your neighbor owns the bank I think it's a bit absurd to expect a customer service rep to "know" you and your wife.

[Jesse_C]

The last time we were headed out of state, my wife tried to call one of our gas credit card companies. Even though we each have a card in our own names, they refused to accept her notification without speaking directly to me. We had been doing business with this company for over 20 years and felt this was pushing the limit for reasonability. After some further discussion with their company representative we cancelled the card.

[2oldman]

Does this only happen to Class A owners?

[Harvard]

KJINTF wrote:
Got a notification from my bank many years ago
They are simply trying to protect you plus their responsibility
I always call them before leaving the area / country
They call me when ever they think the charges might be bogus

X2

[xctraveler]

I carry a variety of credit cards - NO Debit cards! We travel throughout the US and Canada all year long. All of my cards are noted that we are always on the move and furthermore $300 to $400 charge at a fuel stop is normal - have to feed the diesel piggy.

Every so often one of the cards will throw a fraud alert and stop working. I use another card and check in with the carrier. 9 time out 10 it is the vendor that chose not to accept the card, especially fuel stations and usually for gas not for diesel. Go Figure.

When we travel overseas I do notify the cc companies as it can be difficult or just expensive to reach them to set things straight. We traveled through 14 countries over a three month period last year and never had a problem with a card. Oh I seem to remember one card was cancelled because the account had been compromised, they got a new card to my hotel the next day.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

It may not be the case in Canada, but I've had my card shut down when traveling to the USA and also to B.C. I've been told by CIBC visa that I need to call before I travel.

It used to be that I could do one transaction "out of the usual territory". That is no longer true.

super_camper wrote:
That is not the case here in Canada. The so called sophisticated fraud protection systems you're referring to are not all that sophisticated and they are available to issuers both big and small. This is a numbers game, card suspensions are used to manage risk, its really no more complicated than that.

[AllegroD]

I bank with PenFed and have had this (out of area) protection for years now. It seems like a hassle but it is for my protection, in case the card or number is stolen.

I can go on line (or call) and list the states I am traveling through and for what period, so PenFed knows that the card is probably being used by me in a predesignated area/trip. I forgot once and had to call and verify for a transaction to be approved.

I am happy to have this hassle.

[Effy]

super_camper wrote:

Effy wrote:

coolmom42 wrote:
Card policies on this seem to be highly variable. It is a good idea to check when you get the card, often the info is on their web site.

In my experience, the smaller the issuing institution is, the less sophisticated their fraud protection is, and the more they rely on blanket restrictions. I prefer to stick with cards issued by large banks with sophisticated security and the common sense to understand that NORMAL PEOPLE USE CARDS WHEN THEY TRAVEL.

.

This is spot on. Most larger banks with larger populations of customers are held to a higher standard by the OCC and FED due to the larger risk. Smaller banks have smaller populations and lower risk thus don't have the resources or the pressure to support complex risk models. WalMart just got a banking charter. This could be interesting. I expect a LOT of high risk account openings because their target market is people who can't get accounts anywhere else. I can't believe the charter was approved. Talk about opening the door for fraud. I can't even fathom they have the resources or experience to build a decent risk model. Being in the industry this scares me. An organization with known ties to high risk foreign countries offering accounts with money transfer abilities and no fees catering to consumers who can't even meet the criteria to get a checking account from a real bank. Someone's palms got greased on that deal. This also rekindles painful memories of sub-prime lending. Because this is sub-prime banking. No fees and their target population has a built in percentage of losses. How is WalMart securitizing the losses? Insurance no doubt because they won't eat it. You and I will, all over again and we are still chewing on the last sub-prime implosion.

That is not the case here in Canada. The so called sophisticated fraud protection systems you're referring to are not all that sophisticated and they are available to issuers both big and small. This is a numbers game, card suspensions are used to manage risk, its really no more complicated than that.

I wouldn't know the first thing about a Canadian bank. I know a lot about US banks and their risk models. They are complex and getting a lot more so. There are projects going on as we speak with all banks with international charters to build new risk scoring models as mandated by the OCC. I know because I am working on them. If Canadian banks aren't stepping up to more sophisticated models, that's not good. Because the thieves are.

[super_camper]

Effy wrote:

coolmom42 wrote:
Card policies on this seem to be highly variable. It is a good idea to check when you get the card, often the info is on their web site.

In my experience, the smaller the issuing institution is, the less sophisticated their fraud protection is, and the more they rely on blanket restrictions. I prefer to stick with cards issued by large banks with sophisticated security and the common sense to understand that NORMAL PEOPLE USE CARDS WHEN THEY TRAVEL.

.

This is spot on. Most larger banks with larger populations of customers are held to a higher standard by the OCC and FED due to the larger risk. Smaller banks have smaller populations and lower risk thus don't have the resources or the pressure to support complex risk models. WalMart just got a banking charter. This could be interesting. I expect a LOT of high risk account openings because their target market is people who can't get accounts anywhere else. I can't believe the charter was approved. Talk about opening the door for fraud. I can't even fathom they have the resources or experience to build a decent risk model. Being in the industry this scares me. An organization with known ties to high risk foreign countries offering accounts with money transfer abilities and no fees catering to consumers who can't even meet the criteria to get a checking account from a real bank. Someone's palms got greased on that deal. This also rekindles painful memories of sub-prime lending. Because this is sub-prime banking. No fees and their target population has a built in percentage of losses. How is WalMart securitizing the losses? Insurance no doubt because they won't eat it. You and I will, all over again and we are still chewing on the last sub-prime implosion.

That is not the case here in Canada. The so called sophisticated fraud protection systems you're referring to are not all that sophisticated and they are available to issuers both big and small. This is a numbers game, card suspensions are used to manage risk, its really no more complicated than that.

[Effy]

coolmom42 wrote:
Card policies on this seem to be highly variable. It is a good idea to check when you get the card, often the info is on their web site.

In my experience, the smaller the issuing institution is, the less sophisticated their fraud protection is, and the more they rely on blanket restrictions. I prefer to stick with cards issued by large banks with sophisticated security and the common sense to understand that NORMAL PEOPLE USE CARDS WHEN THEY TRAVEL.

.

This is spot on. Most larger banks with larger populations of customers are held to a higher standard by the OCC and FED due to the larger risk. Smaller banks have smaller populations and lower risk thus don't have the resources or the pressure to support complex risk models. WalMart just got a banking charter. This could be interesting. I expect a LOT of high risk account openings because their target market is people who can't get accounts anywhere else. I can't believe the charter was approved. Talk about opening the door for fraud. I can't even fathom they have the resources or experience to build a decent risk model. Being in the industry this scares me. An organization with known ties to high risk foreign countries offering accounts with money transfer abilities and no fees catering to consumers who can't even meet the criteria to get a checking account from a real bank. Someone's palms got greased on that deal. This also rekindles painful memories of sub-prime lending. Because this is sub-prime banking. No fees and their target population has a built in percentage of losses. How is WalMart securitizing the losses? Insurance no doubt because they won't eat it. You and I will, all over again and we are still chewing on the last sub-prime implosion.

[super_camper]

As some have said cards are suspended based on automated systems flagging non-routine behavior, it could be the result of traveling or even local use that is unusual. Try your credit card at a gas pump for a few cents, it almost always throws a flag.

The US is finally moving to chipped cards and the rules companies use regarding suspending cards will change once the chipped cards are out there. If I recall they predicted about 75% of credit cards to be chipped by end of 2015.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

We also had that happen. Now, before we leave on a trip we now contact the CC company and give them a list of the states we plan on visiting. We also tell them the type of things we will be purchasing like fuel, campgrounds, restaurants. Since we've been doing that, no problems.

[chris3403]

Had my card shut down in Miami Fl at a Walmart 2009 called and they restored it.
Had my card shut down at a Walmart in Corpus Christi TX 2010 called and they restored it.
Had my card shut down right after using it at a Walmart in Fargo ND in 2013 called and they said the card was shut down for good.
All 3 times it was at a Walmart or right after using it at a Walmart.