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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think my bank shouldn’t be able to stop me?

237 replies

MovinginCircless · 05/04/2023 18:22

I’ve been trying to make a purchase for the last two months from Dior. It’s a one off treat that costs £600ish.

Every single time I’ve gone to buy it my payment gets declined. I’ve contacted my bank numerous times to ask if there was a block. After a month they finally admitted they had been blocking the payment. Confirmed block lifted but I’m still being declined.

I’ve now been told today that they will never allow me to purchase from Dior as I could say it’s fraud and sell the item on at full price. Surely if I have the money then I can spend it how I want??

OP posts:
Coffeellama · 05/04/2023 18:50

MovinginCircless · 05/04/2023 18:41

I lost my card once and once had it stolen … in 2016 and 2017 (I think) and both times it was maxed out to the £99 contactless limit before needing a pin (which it was back then) so .. a fraud claim of £198 in total.

I withdrew £7K a year ago. Never claimed that as fraud but probably the biggest cash amount I’ve taken out in one go:

But no I’ve never made a large purchase and claimed fraud.

Show quote history

There wasn’t a £99 contactless limit back then. Clearly they just think your account is dodgy anyway, so it’s not about Dior.

pingugopoo · 05/04/2023 18:50

OP - what kind of bank account do you have with them? If it is just a basic bank account without any overdraft or other features it might be a security profile of that type of account. As those accounts have less stringent credit check requirements etc, I they will also likely have a higher proportion of customer fraud.

Maybe you just need to swap the type of account you have?

Original poster
MovinginCircless · 05/04/2023 18:51

RudsyFarmer · 05/04/2023 18:42

The fact you haven’t got a CC makes me wonder whether you’re consider risky die to your credit score. You need a record of accruing debt and paying it off for the banks to think you are a good risk. If your normal spending does not include sudden £600 purchases then that’s going to consistently flag up that transaction.

The amount of bank fraud that goes on I’m not sure I blame them.

Show quote history

That’s ridiculous. I have good credit and you’re talking like I need the credit. I have funds and I want to use my money to make a purchase, I don’t think the bank should be able to prevent anyone access to their own money when they’ve passed all identification checks and have confirmed everything is legitimate.

OP posts:
Original poster
MovinginCircless · 05/04/2023 18:52

LlynTegid · 05/04/2023 18:50

Hope you can find a way through all this. Then change bank.

Thank you, I’m currently waiting for their security fraud team to contact me. It’s a shame to leave as I’ve been a customer since my mum opened me a savings account as a child.

They also wouldn’t care if I left but yeah

OP posts:
Dibblydoodahdah · 05/04/2023 18:53

@JKTrolling there doesn’t need to be a back story. I had a problem with Barclays refusing to allow transfers from my current account with them to my current account with First Direct. I’d banked with both for years without any issues and regularly made payments from First Direct to Barclays but when I changed to making payments from Barclays to First Direct the computer said no and I had to make a number calls to the fraud prevention team to get it sorted out. They confirmed that it was their software that had flagged it up for some reason and it took a while for them to be able to resolve it. When the computer says no, the computer says no!

RudsyFarmer · 05/04/2023 18:53

But you know they DO have the power. In fact if they think you are a criminal or even deem you to be making money in a way the state declares as unsuitable, they can freeze your account completely and shut it down so you can’t access your funds at all. They do it all the time.

ErinAoife · 05/04/2023 18:57

Pay via PayPal

Quartz2208 · 05/04/2023 18:58

Why don’t you get a credit card. They are very useful even if you pay off every month for all the added protections/rewards and ability to buy things like this.

JudgeRudy · 05/04/2023 19:01

MovinginCircless · 05/04/2023 18:32

I spoke to the fraud team and went through all questions such as was I being forced to buy this, is it a legitimate website etc

I’m so angry that they’ve wasted so much of my time with them literally saying this isn’t fraud. When the entire time they had Dior on a high risk and would never have let me purchase from there.

Show quote history

This is the part I'd have the biggest problem with. I can sort of accept that they might have initially blocked the transaction as it registered as 'high risk', however to continuously fob you off then finally admit they're never going to go through is outrageous. I'd close my account for this.

CockSpadget · 05/04/2023 19:02

So yeah, there wasn’t a £99 contactless limit in 2017, back then it was £40. So you didn’t have a £198 claim.

YukoandHiro · 05/04/2023 19:02

Use a credit card. This is literally what they are for. You can go online and clear the balance the same day.

trulyunruly01 · 05/04/2023 19:02

I've made purchases from Dior and have never had a problem (also with NatWest). And a purchase from Dior is a BIG deviation from my usual purchasing habits!
However, nowadays if I were making a large purchase (usually anything over £100) I always use a credit card instead because of the extra protections, and also because if it were to be fraudulent, or say an unscrupulous staff member got hold of my card details, they are not accessing my actual 'living' money and there's time to sort it. I really limit access to my current account these days.

trulyunruly01 · 05/04/2023 19:04

As a pp said, pay off the credit card as soon as the charge appears on it. I make weekly payments to mine, not interested in the 6 sky's interest free or whatever.

MrsAvocet · 05/04/2023 19:06

I was given an interrogation by my bank (also NatWest) last week. I had an investment plan mature a few months ago and the money has been sitting around in my savings account whilst I mulled over what to do with it. But I did decide, and obviously needed to move the money. I knew it would be bound to cause problems if I tried to do it online so I actually went into the bank in person, with photographic ID thinking that would be straightforward. Only it wasn't!
To be fair to them, I think I accidentally panicked the woman I was first dealing with by mentioning that I was cutting it a bit fine and really did need the money to leave my account on the same day. This was only because I was putting some of it into a new ISA and wanted to be able to use all my allowance from the 2022/3 tax year but before I knew it I was in the manager's office being quizzed over what I was investing in, was I being pressured, where did the money I was moving come from etc etc. I suppose it is good that they check this things, but honestly I felt it was a bit excessive. I was in there over an hour, just trying to move some of my own money! And to add insult to injury it took so long that I'd got a parking ticket when I got back to my car.
Previously I have been asked a couple of questions about big transactions but it's been straightforward so I wonder if something has changed policy making them more suspicious than usual?

RichardMarxisinnocent · 05/04/2023 19:08

CockSpadget · 05/04/2023 19:02

So yeah, there wasn’t a £99 contactless limit in 2017, back then it was £40. So you didn’t have a £198 claim.

I assumed OP meant her card was used for several smaller contactless payments, but when after £99 worth of those it then asked for a PIN, the person who had it couldn't spend any more.

Morningcoffeeview · 05/04/2023 19:09

Wtf? What are their requirements for allowing someone to purchase from Dior?

Eyerollcentral · 05/04/2023 19:10

Have you got the app on your phone OP? Usually NatWest just ask you to approve on the app. Download the app and approve it on there and the fraud team won’t be involved at all

Morningcoffeeview · 05/04/2023 19:10

My DH tried to withdraw 10k once, said he was buying a car (he wasn’t but that wasn’t their business) he had to jump through absolute hoops. We had a well into 6 figure sum in there so don’t know what the issue was.

Mañanarama · 05/04/2023 19:12

I assume OP means the contactless card was used multiple times until it reached £99 worth of spends and required a PIN.

OP this sounds batshit and I’d be looking to purchase from a store like Selfridges or Harvey Nichols (where you get 10% off first orders by the way!) and then taking the bank complaint to the Ombudsman. I can only think your account still has the historic fraud markers on it and computer just says no.

Disneyblueeyes · 05/04/2023 19:14

How ridiculous.
I'm with Barclays and when I sent a payment for some therapy sessions they blocked the payment. When I phoned them about it, it only took a 5 minute conversation them asking questions about it and they were fine with it all, and the payment went out later that day.

My DH has had similar problems with Santander. Constant blocking.

Makes me appreciate how good Barclays is to be honest.

Roselilly36 · 05/04/2023 19:15

Sounds strange, do they not text your mobile a code to enter that ensures it’s you trying to make a purchase?

gogohmm · 05/04/2023 19:18

I'm wondering if it's a legitimate Dior website or they have had issues with it - they may not be able to disclose why if there's an ongoing investigation. I'm with NatWest and buy from all kinds of places without issue so I'm guessing it's quite specific why it's blocking

Regularsizedrudy · 05/04/2023 19:19

MovinginCircless · 05/04/2023 18:51

That’s ridiculous. I have good credit and you’re talking like I need the credit. I have funds and I want to use my money to make a purchase, I don’t think the bank should be able to prevent anyone access to their own money when they’ve passed all identification checks and have confirmed everything is legitimate.

Show quote history

If you’ve never had a credit card you might not have good credit. Good credit doesn’t mean “not in debt” it means “in debt and pays on time”

I’m with NatWest and have purchased from Dior several times. Are you using PayPal or just typing card details straight in? That’s more risky.

Fairyliz · 05/04/2023 19:19

Leftbutcameback · 05/04/2023 18:50

I’ve had similar issues with NatWest trying to move money to savings and them insisting I speak to the fraud team who were never available. I also find they want to validate far too many transactions on the app (like car parking payments)

Yes me too, I tried to move money into a Nationwide savings account that I had made regular payments to over the last five years.

I made 48 calls to their fraud line hanging on for about 20 minutes each time and when I finally got through they still didn’t sort it. It was urgent because it was for a house purchase.

It was finally sorted when I emailed their ceo.
Think it’s another company where everyone is wfh so they don’t learn how to do their jobs.

euthanatothrow · 05/04/2023 19:19

Open a monzo account (for free).
Bank transfer the money from NW to Monzo.
Use the Monzo account to buy the thing