To Think That This Is Ridiculous (Fraud Block On My Card) & That Lloyds Fraud Dept Could Have Done More ??

[RockinHippy]

I'm away from home, in a town I visit very often as my DF lives here, my DM too before she died several years ago. Today, twice my card was declined in 2 different shops, both purchases under £15.

I panicked after the second one, as you do, as I know there is plenty of money in the account. So rang the bank for help - 20 minutes to get through, the usual ream of security questions, to be told there is a "fraud block" on my card & I will need to speak to that department - further 20 minutes on hold whilst they pass me through

Turns out they have blocked my account for 2 reasons, 1, I made 2 transactions with Vodaphone on the same day - something I do EVERY month, as I'm topping up mine & DDs mobile phones. 2. I have made several transactions in Liverpool, which I was told is a high risk area for cloned cards - turns out to be Merseyside as I am not in Liverpool, but Southport, "several transactions was actually 3, all under £20

. I asked why my account history wasn't checked before blocking my card, as it would show that I have been visiting & using this card here & in Liverpool itself every 2-3 months for some 20 plus years. It would also show that the double Vodaphone transaction happens every month.

They guy could not give me an answer, other than "its all automated" Nor could he help me by unblocking my card. Not even when I told him they have ruined my stay here as I have no other cards with me & that I was meant to be treating DD to a clothes shopping spree & DF to a meal out tonight.

Despite my telling them a whole load of details of comings & goings into the account, they insist it can still only be unblocked with a pin number, they say they have left on my answer machine - at home, where I am not & DH is away too. Otherwise I have to go into the local branch tomorrow with photo ID - as I don't drive & don't need a F""ing passport to travel to Southport, I have none, so 1,1/4 hours of hanging on my mobile phone later, getting nowhere & I am still shafted

Basically its ruined our stay, we have no money to do any of the things planned & means we have to go home early.

DH isn't at home, doesn't have our joint & main account card with him, but thankfully he had the idea to transfer the bit if cash he could access into DDs bank account, which will at least mean we can get home comfortably

AIBU to think this is one big F"" up on Lloyds part & they should have been able to do more to help

We paid £4K into our daughters student account for her rent. She then tried to pay with her card online to the management company which was declined. She then received a text from her bank asking her if this was her transaction - she replied with yes. Waited til the following morning and tried again and it all went through okay

I bank with Santander, they block transactions occasionally but always ring or text straight away and just ask for confirmation that it's my transaction then unblock it.

Although I see from PP that this isn't always the case!

This has happened to me recently, I am with Nationwide. It was also blocked for "unusual activity". I asked them what that was, to which they replied "£7 at wilkos and £20 at aldi", both places I visit regularly. I had a bit of a rant buy the only answer I got was "it's automated". It's embarrassing though when your card is declined and it causes unnecessary panic.

Lloyd's computer systems are shocking.

And jizz, all blocks CAN be removed by staff. Just because you (or your team leader) didn't necessarily have access does NOT change that!

ny20005 if the op had failed security then she wouldn't have been told anything about her account.

jizz do agree with a lot of what you sAy. It's very hard when a person sady they want a manager and there are non, or they just won't come to the phone!
Or when people say that something is so simple, yet there is nothing you can actually do.
It's really annoying having a block you your card also though!
Have been there.
Bloody m&s
I only got the text alert an hour later when i was on the phone to them.

I had my card blocked when I went to Canada, but got it unblocked as soon as I phoned. That sounds totally reasonable until I say that we live an hour away from Canada and have been known to go over the border to see a show for the evening.

Banks are silly. Despite having hearing problems and needed help to call up my fraud department I still have to convince the woman in the bank I don't have audible and never will. She told me 3 times that I signed up for the trial because she has it.

I need to sit firmly on the fence on this one. I'll remove the splitters from my arse later!

My card was blocked for several years running on holiday in France as it was"unusual". Fair enough. Except we own a holiday home in France and spend weeks in the same place at the same times every year. I even shop in the same supermarket and probably stop at the same service stations (to cater for the needs of a small child at first and now an elderly dog). So the activity is not that unusual- but the card blocking and resulting phone calls- on a mobile in rural France- are bloody annoying. It always gave me the rage.

Then one Christmas I got a phone call from Barclays to ask if I was in Calfornia. Had to point out that since I had answered my home phone it was unlikely. My card had been cloned and was currently being used to buying Christmas gifts there. It had been blocked and they had contacted me to check- as a result only £900 has been stolen (their emphasis, I'd nearly fainted at the amount) rather than the hundreds more which had been attempted.

As DH shares the account and DS was 7 the bank agreed that it wasn't anyone in the house cloning the card. Fraud report filled in over the phone and money back in the account with 24 hours. It had to be reported to the police etc. Many people in the local area had similar problems- it was tracked to an ATM which had been tampered with.

After that I have complained much less about the fraud security. It's embarrassing and bloody annoying, but I just think how awful having the money stolen was and how much worse it would have been if the unusual spending hadn't triggered a block.

OP can you try going into a branch of Lloyds? I assume you've already checked and don't have photo ID on you but you might have enough material to identify yourself that they'll give you cash so your shopping trip isn't ruined.

Crownofstars - I had a similar experience to you about 4 years ago. Family Shopping trip in local town on 21 Dec, DH and I split off with a DC each, to get each other presents, both using joint Tesco card. Arrived home exhausted, builders had just left after a stressful 4 months on an extension, we de-camped to local pub for tea, came to pay, card had been stopped!! When I phoned Tesco from pub, they said it had unusual activity that day - nothing unusual, just Christmas shopping as its 4 days to xmas - "but the computer doesn't know that its nearly Christmas does it" was the reply - FFS!!!

Also had it stopped a couple of times when buying computer equipment online, always a reputable seller, but always stopped. Last time, I knew as soon as my mobile rang what the problem was. I had just left DH and DS at home buying his 6th form computer - grrrr.

But ...like Queenoflouisiana - I did have the card used fraudulently last summer, tiny amounts (Guess trial use by fraudsters?) and just after a trip to London so must have been cloned. First I knew was the text from Tesco about certain transactions, and whilst stopping the card was a pain, at least we didn't lose any money.

We purposely have 2 cards each, 1 joint then a single one each, so we are never stuck without one. Plus usually have bank cards with us anyway.

Lloyds have been known to block my card when it is used in Belgium. They tell me it is unusual spending. I suggest they look at my address and remove the block, as I live in Bgium, and they know this as that's where they send my statements!!

Kali - they didn't give her details & didn't unblock her card so sounds very much like she failed security

ny20005 if she'd failed security they wouldn't have told her ANYTHING about her account.
If you fail security banks can't tell you anything About your account/cards etc.

Whatever you do, don't switch to Natwest! I had my card blocked in US, message left on my home phone in UK to tell me what to do. Ended up getting through to the bank to be asked a series of "security" questions about my account that I couldn't answer, eg when and where was the account opened. Best I had was early-mid 90s in a particular city, but only the specific branch name and year would do. Left me stuck unable to check out of a hotel which thankfully knew my employer and billed the local office which I then had to sort out with payroll.

When I got home I called them and was given the "automatic" line. OK, I accept that but why the extra security questions? "Automatic". WTF!

I now travel with 2 different credit cards and bank with HSBC.

I once had a credit card that, when they detected overseas spending would ring you up and then ask you if you had made the transaction. Fair enough. Then they would try to flog you travel insurance/medical insurance/car protection insurance etc!

Kali, I work for Lloyds .......

A quick phone call to the bank should have sorted this out! What were they playing at? I've had my card blocked several times and once, the woman at the end of the phone unblocked it whilst I did a transaction on the Internet. She had to get permission from Her supervisor but could see on her screen the transaction being placed as I did it.

You shouldn't have had this amount of trouble OP.

ny20005, do you work in the card security section?

They gave OP chapter and verse about why they had blocked her card. I find it impossible to believe that any bank would have done that if she'd failed the security check. That would entail giving out confidential information to someone who might well be a fraudster.

I agree, you have to pass security questions! The woman on the phone called out to stop me because I started to ask DH ( joint acc holder) to remind me how much a particular direct debit was. I guessed myself in the end, it wasn't far off but not completely accurate by any means.There are lots of questions they an ask on the phone so I'd be surprised if people fail to get through often.

Nationwide did the same to dh's two weeks running. Firstly because he used contactless to pay for Mcd's drive thru in our local town which admittedly was a rare occurrence but it was £7 on one day and the card wasn't used further.
The second time was because we were away and he'd filled up with petrol thankfully each time it only took a phone call though to unblock the cards which were able to be used again within 20 minutes though.

Raton I was surprised to read your post, we've always had positive and reassuring service from Natwest. When they have suspicions regarding our spending it has been either the shop being directed to call and I have to answer security questions such as DM's maiden name, direct debit questions or they have called mobile (have mobile number as default) and asked me to confirm last 6 transactions.

The one time we were defrauded it was Natwest that picked it up and called me. They refunded the money within 24 hours

I hate the type of security questions when they ask stuff like the amount and timing of direct debits which you can't realistically answer unless you've got a statement with you. I had one recently with a company where they asked questions which they'd got me to set up years ago when I set up the account and which I must admit I'd totally forgotten about doing. They were a whole set of questions which were mildly obscure but which I would know the answer to off the top of my head, like the name of the first road I lived in (I gave the first one I could remember), the name of my first primary school and my favourite book as a child. That seems to me much more sensible.

Kali - there are different levels of security for fraud. OP probably answered enough questions to be given basic information but not enough to have card unblocked

They left the pin on the answer phone? I hope that's wrong because that is a serious error there.