To be annoyed at my bank

[redroseroo]

I made an online purchase on Sunday night that resulted in my card being blocked for suspected fraud (even though in order to approve the transaction I had to log onto my app, which can only be installed on one phone at any time, and confirm I wished to make the transaction). The issue is that the bank gave me absolutely no indication that this was the case and I have subsequently had no means of payment for the last 36 hours. Luckily I've not needed to buy anything but it is lucky that the timings were as they are as I had to buy some emergency Piriton whilst out on Sunday after my partner developed an allergic reaction and became wheezy and short of breath. If this had have occurred yesterday, I wouldn't have been able to do so.

AIBU to be annoyed at my bank for not having notified me sooner that my card had been blocked? I've only just found out from a phone call from them but said phone call, as I say, has only come about 36 hours later.

It's sort of a non issue at this point though, what is the point in being annoyed at something that didn't actually impact you as you didn't even notice? You didn't use your card for 36 hours, why get bent up over if you maybe needed to use it?

Because if that's their protocol I won't be staying with them if I risk having my card locked at random without notice.

Take this as a nudge to get a second card with a different bank and also the other to what you already have of Visa/Mastercard

Relying on only one card makes you vulnerable as you have discovered, they can be lost/stolen or there could be problems at various points in the system. Just get one of Starling/Kroo/Monzo etc or a credit card and the risk of being stuck like this again is much lower.

All banks will block your card without notice if they suspect fraudulent activity.

I've never not been notified that at the very least I need to contact my bank to discuss a recent transaction. 🤷🏼‍♀️

They weren't suspecting that I was conducting fraudulent activity, their concern was that I was the victim of fraud and that someone else was making payments with my card.

Thanks, I think I will get a credit card as back up.

As another poster said, get another bank account. I operate 4 different bank accounts to allow for the fact that at any one time you may have an issue with one.

I appreciate it's annoying and they should have contacted you sooner, but due to the prevalence of online fraud, banks have become ever more cautious, and if someone had got hold of your card details, you'd be more annoyed if they hadn't done anything. I once had someone run up £7,000 of charges in 10 minutes so I was glad my bank blocked the card (though they did text me to ask me to verify if they were my transactions after blocking)

Revolut and monzo let you have virtual card numbers that you can use for online purchases to reduce the risk of fraud. You can just create and delete them as you wish.

Make sure you always have an emergency £10 or £20

Exactly. Would you rather they just allowed countless payments to go through if you were the victim of fraud??
It’s a totally normal protocol, it’s not only your bank that does this.
The problem is got having no access to any other form of payment.

Always carry some emergency cash.

if the Banking system goes down at least you can buy what you need.

Was it Santander, they have very strict security in place which has also caught me out in similar circumstances but equally they managed to stop a fraudulent transaction which they deemed outside my usually shopping habit.

I work in this industry and I can confirm that banks do do this, and because of the prevalence of fraud they have to do so with increasing regularity.

Also it can happen that the block is applied by visa as opposed to the bank in which case the bank won’t even know until they’re contacted.

I agree re having more than one bank card. Not just for situations like this but for situations when e.g. a bank’s systems go down and you have no access to them etc.

The only thing I would say about Revolut is that they are based abroad and so are not subject to the same measures as e.g. monzo and Starling.

My bank does this but I always get an app pop up and a text message

1 They have to do this. If you'd paid it and it was a fraud or scam you'd soon be asking the bank for the money back
2 All banks do it
3 You didn't lose out and you didn't need to buy emergency anything so it's a bit of a non-issue
4 Get another card or two. (I have four like PPs)

NatWest done this to me years ago on an online purchase , from a company I'd dealt with a number of times . They classed it as fraud and stopped my card , no notification whatsoever .

Great when I'd just stuck 60 quids worth of fuel in my van at a garage I wasn't known at

For what it's worth, this is why I use Starling for my main spending account. Even if your card gets blocked (and you'll get an instant notification of it), you can set up a separate spending space with its own virtual card, and then attach that to Google or Apple Pay, and use NFC payments on your phone to continue as you were until your new card arrives.

It's worth having a second just-in-case account. We have main accounts with First Direct but also a Nationwide joint account so that we can access money if something goes wrong with one of them.

Yes get another card as a back up.

I only wish banks were as thorough about money laundering or the no doubt proceeds of corruption if allegations about some MPs are true.