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

[MovinginCircless]

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??

She’s had 2 loans and paid them off though so she will have credit.

Open another bank account with someone else then transfer the money over and buy it.
Then slowly move away from NatWest altogether.
im with NatWest and thinking of changing to Metro.

Takes look at money saving expert regarding improving your credit score, like others have suggested you need a variety of factors not just not being in debt.

Also do you only have the1 bank card, this is risky if you hav3 a problem with the bank. Open another account pronto!

You need a current credit card with a balance of unused credit to have good credit, even when paid off fully. If you close a card your score goes down.

I had this when we moved and we were trying to buy a fridge and a washing machine. It took a week to get it sorted! I was getting so frustrated because IT’S MY MONEY and sometimes you need to make big purchases. Try credit card?

They said that when a card gets stolen that it’s very likely to be used to purchase high end goods and sell on at full price
This I understand but you have clarified that the card is not stolen "I said that’s fine and I’d understand the block initially BUT I’m telling you that it’s me buying it."

They said it didn’t matter and it’s in their t&cs that they don’t have to let me purchase something.
This is utterly ridiculous. I would be all over Twitter with this asking them how this is helping or supporting their customers particularly when you have clarified that a) it's you and b) there's no coercion.

This sort of idiotic nonsense would make me move banks pronto.

Lots of good advice on previous posts.
I'm a financial nerd- I make from a few hundred to several hundred pounds a year by both changing bank accounts and complaining to banks (sounds sad I'll admit.) You really need to:

1. get a credit card. Not only do you get points/cashback/bonuses etc but even better than that, you get valuable Section 75 protection which protects you as a consumer. Debit cards and cash don't offer this. Indeed, you really should be buying a £600 Dior bag on credit card to protect yourself.

2. You build up and improve your credit score. Want a mortgage- well a bank will want to see you can pay off a bill. Some people think credit cards are for those who can't handle their finances- in fact it's the opposite.

3. Complain, and complain, and complain again. Do it formally. Ask for a reference number. The way you've been treated is not acceptable. Threaten to take to FCA. I'd love this to happen to me- I'd earn at least £75 and probably £100 from my complaint about this.

4. Change bank accounts- and get the bonus. Can be up to £200. It's really easy- and automatic.

All of the above is on Money Saving Expert. Do it! You'll make money and gain valuable protection.

Good Luck!

You really do not need a credit card to have a good credit score. Its one option, not the only one!

There was. It's £100 now but then you could make £30 purchases up to the value of £99 and then you had to put your pin in.

So they’ve profiled you somehow and decided you can’t buy dior ???!!!!

You shouldn’t have to think about using a cc or different debit card - you have a right to spend your money as you wish ! This is ridiculous!
Do you have Twitter ? Try there as they won’t like negative feedback.

OP I'm assuming that they are blocking the purchase now because you've attempted it so many times - as that will show as suspected fraud even though they've removed the purchase block.

I'd open an account elsewhere. Lloyds do an online account that's really easy to set up.

@MovinginCircless when the bank first blocked the transaction they did not know the item you were trying to buy. They knew very few things about the transaction, the most important being:

• who you are (your account details)
• who you were trying to pay (their account details)
• the amount you were trying to pay

Which of these do you think triggered the warning flag?

They perhaps cannot tell you the specifics, but they're dropping a bloody big hint. This is not an account that they want (or are possibly allowed) to transfer money to.

Think about it for a minute, it's not about you.

This would enrage me. Connect paypal to the account and pay via paypal. Then compain in writing, wait fo rthe compensation. Then close your account and move to a better bank. I would literally make it my life's work to do this.

I haven't read all the responses but our Ukrainian guest had similar problems with RBS which is now part of same group as NatWest, interestingly.

She had been living with us for five months, then tried to pay deposit and rent to landlord. RBS wanted copies of her tenancy agreement, which she supplied, and then still kept blocking it. If the landlord wasn't exceptionally sympathetic, she would have lost the flat - trying to rent a flat here is mental. We'd been looking with her ages and she wasn't even getting viewings.

I wrote a stroppy complaint email which she sent. She'd already told them on the phone that renting here was very difficult with her kids in a very good local school. Within a day they'd released the money, apologised and given her £100 which I'd asked for as compensation, plus something for phone calls.

It's your money. Write a complaint email, and if you don't get a speedy appropriate response, with some monetary compensation for this nonsense, raise it with the FOS.

You don’t need a credit card, such get a card such as Revolut, which is the one I have. You load the card from the app or your own bank account’s app with your funds and then go to it. I got mine so that I don’t need to take my whole wallet on holiday with me. I can leave my bank account card at home, and use either the bank or Revolut apps to add funds. It takes sbout 20 seconds to make a transaction and the funds are usually available within a few minutes.

You don't complain to FCA. You complain to FOS

Yes to the poster who told you to complain. The financial ombudsman is there for a reason, and the bank WILL mind if they are reported to them or the FCA.

Banks are total CF. My stories - I occasionally lend friends money to purchase musical instruments. Students at the beginning of their career, people like that. They pay me back when they can, no interest of course.

It's incredibly difficult to send them the money - I have the third degree about how long I have known the person etc etc. Even more hysterically, one of my friends had real problems paying me back. OK, I had changed bank account in the mean time, but still - the bank could see that they had received the money from me originally and acknowledged this, so it did seem reasonable to me that they should be allowed to send me the money back!!!!! (I did get the money eventually, but it was a PITA for us both).

I almost cried tbh, not to be dramatic but the amount of people I’ve spoken to, been passed to, even had the phone put down on me. Being told to contact the retailer.

The last time I called I spoke to the fraud team twice, where I confirmed it was genuine, still declined, called back, told to wait half an hour, still declined. I then called back and the person literally said that doesn’t sound like fraud so I won’t be speaking to you further and put the phone down.

I even had one person say it’s not fraud so just keep trying, I said won’t that actually get my card blocked though and they said yes but you can just call back …

Get a Monzo or Revolut card if you are 100% sure that you're buying from a genuine website.

Otherwise get a credit card (Tesco or a cash back one so you benefit from it) as you'll be protected for large purchases.

Then change banks to one offering you money to switch (like First Direct).

It certainly puts me off having an account with NatWest - thanks for sharing your story.

I would transfer the money to another bank account and use that to buy what you want to buy.

OP,
It looks like NaTwest pushing you away and they dont want your custom.

Screw them. Switch your bank for one that wont put blanket ban on Dior.

Plus open pay pal and apply for credit card (do research first though) as CC or Paypal is safer to use online than debit cards.

Probably should get a credit card, I'd never buy anything online with a debit card, also I'd change banks, couldn't be arsed with having to deal with stuff like that, ludicrous.

NatWest why does this not surprise me, my phone got stolen and I went online and ordered a new phone. NatWest refused every transaction and said I had to authorise it on my mobile phone app.

I contacted customer services three times every time they said sorry we cannot help I need to authorise it ony phone app. I explained I could not as my phone had been stolen, so I need to buy a new phone.

They were zero fucking help, in the end they said borrow a phone install the app and authorise payment that way. I borrowed my dp phone but could not install the app with out authorisation from my old phone.

In the end I filed a formal complaint and get £100 compensation from them. I hate NatWest.

The worst I had was buying my daughter a 21st birthday present, my card was declined (apparently my card company thought it was an unusual payment, nothing to do with how much credit I had) and by the time I got clearance it had been sold to someone else. The good news was I found the same thing I wanted cheaper somewhere else. But that was sheer luck! Still fuming years later.