I'M IN TROUBLE NOW...!

[mmmbelows]

I got so sick of having transactions denied while traveling that I finally wrote the cc company a letter and followed up with a phone call, explaining that I travel all over the world and cannot always advise them before embarking. I said I expect my card to work everywhere--I rely on it--and if I am left without a means to pay in an emergency I would hold them responsible. (yeah, a lot of bluster, but anyway) They said they put a note on my account. I have not had any problems since then.

I tried that too a long time ago with a CC I no longer have, I was pissed at them keeping freezing my card all the time, I basically threatened to cut up the card if they wouldn't stop, they basically said you might as well cut it up because it's our right to prevent fraud on our cards however we see fit and they couldn't promise anything would change as it was their computer algorithms doing their thing.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I tried that too a long time ago with a CC I no longer have, I was pissed at them keeping freezing my card all the time, I basically threatened to cut up the card if they wouldn't stop, they basically said you might as well cut it up because it's our right to prevent fraud on our cards however we see fit and they couldn't promise anything would change as it was their computer algorithms doing their thing.

At least Capital One was not so rude. They were very understanding on the phone, though they stopped short of a "promise" that it wouldn't happen again. As I mentioned, all they said they did was place a "note" on my account, whatever that means. I will never know for sure whether it was this "note" that did the trick, or whether they coincidentally improved their computer algorithms around the same time, or a combination of both. For what it's worth, Amex has never denied me a transaction.

 

[mmmbelows]

I didn't consider it rude. It's their product, their liability at risk, their choice how to run their company.

 

[DandyDon]

One more reason to have the Schwab debit card, you just go online and type in your travel destination, it takes about 1 minute and you don't have to talk to anyone.

My bank (Wells Fargo) has that. But they have 24 hour phone service so I usually just call them on the way to the airport at 4am or whatever. I just forgot this time.

 

[Prop Joe]

Is that the bank across from Wet Wendy's?
If it is go back during normal business hours and talk to a banker (not teller). I had the machine eat my card there a couple of years ago. I went back the next day and the banker had a stack of about 50 cards rubber banded together. Bring Passport for ID.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I didn't consider it rude. It's their product, their liability at risk, their choice how to run their company.

Sure, but "our right to prevent fraud" just sounds so in-your-face. A better customer relations spiel would balance the company's rights with what the customer perceives as their rights. Maybe "we understand your concerns and frustration, but I'm afraid there is nothing more we can do" might help retain customers better than them emphasizing their "right" to do something that clearly annoys the customer. Anyway, I think you said you no longer have that card. Good riddance.

 

[cvchief]

On the other hand, they charge 25% interest because they have to cover the billions in false charges. I really like fraud protection. If I get ding, I get an email, push a button on my phone and all is well.
Try a MX debit card that doesn't have fraud protection laws and you just lose the money.

 

[Lorenzoid]

On the other hand, they charge 25% interest because they have to cover the billions in false charges. I really like fraud protection. If I get ding, I get an email, push a button on my phone and all is well.

I don't carry a balance, so the interest rate is irrelevant to me. Fraud protection is just an annoyance with a US card, since the law protects us against unauthorized charges.

I do not like the idea of requiring me to have phone service everywhere I go, to have a charged battery, etc., in order for me to continue to rely on being able to use my card. I may make a charge in some city, and then be out in the sticks or on the sea or up in the air, or otherwise off the grid, or out of battery, by the time the credit card company sends me an email and I have an opportunity to respond to it. If I have to rely on a phone or Internet connection to maintain use of my credit card when I'm traveling, I might as well use one of those apps that pays directly from my phone's "mobile wallet" (assuming that's an available option). A major reason why a plastic card still appeals to me as a means of paying for things in the age of constant connectivity is that it doesn't require me to be constantly connected.

 

[gopbroek]

My Schwab card does not seem to mind if I am traveling.

 

[cvchief]

I don't carry a balance either, but lots of people do.

And we are pretty entitled with our fraud protection laws. We have very limited liability, hence people do not care how much their bank loses on them. Let all the charges go through and eat my losses please. And please bill those expenses to someone else.

Maybe it is old fashioned, but I welcome the chance to prevent thieves from using my account to steal. Of course I mostly travel to Coz and always am connected should I have an issue. I haven't yet because I do notify them and all. Usually I stick and extra day or so on for emergencies. That caught me once paying for long term parking. I hit a button, no worries.