Has anybody else had this? M&S have told me to cut up my credit card because it has be compromised?!

[Niecie]

I have just had a phonecall from M&S to say my card is on a list of cards that an 'industry watchdog' has said has been compromised, whatever that means.

The woman went through a list of my transactions in the last couple of weeks to check they were all mine - they are. Then she told me I can't use my card any more and I should cut it up.

I was half expecting this as M&S have a habit of blocking my card and then phoning to see if it is me using it as apparently there have been 'unusual transactions' and I have been buying things online. But I haven't ever been told to cut it up before.

As it ever happened to anybody else or is it a masterful ploy by DH to stop me using it!?!

I actually feel a bit ranty about this so sorry this is so long.

Drat - been compromised not be!

fairly standard procedure

they'll send you a replacement

How does the woman from M&S have acess to a list of your transactions?

Its an M&S credit card.

I haven't met anybody else who has ever been told to cut up their card without actually having had a fraudulent transaction going through.

I also don't know anybody else who gets phoned up every few months to discuss their purchasing history! I feel like I am being policed for using my own card.

Replacement is 7 to 10 WDs so not until next year.

I used a NatWest debit card at a service station in Greece, and NatWest rang the next day to say it had been "compromised" - really helpful as I was in darkest rural Greece with no other form of money .

It's the better safe than sorry, belt and braces approach - like you, they checked transactions that were mine, and made me cut the card up.

Thanks Hassled - I am not the only one to face the chop then and at least I am at home and have done 99% of my Christmas shopping!

I was beginning to think it was M&S credit cards - my mum has no end of trouble with her M&S card to the extent that she missed out on a holdiay booking because they bounced her transaction for looking 'unusual'.

I'd be more suspisious if it was a man ringing, i would think it dh disguising his voice telling me to cut my m&s card up

I know what you mean jumpingbean - DH was quite chipper when I told him about it. Seemed to think it was not big deal.

He'll laughing on the other side of his face when he has to pay for everything for the next 2 weeks.

M&S ring dh all the time to check it is him spending on his card (it is).

They rang me last year to check whether it was me who had spent at tesco, as the amount ws unusual (£1.12 iirc).

I had just shpped with tesco online, but for a week's shopping, so def more than £1.12

After a lot of discussion, the M&S man saidit was prob tesco checking the card (they apparently put random amounts through immediately to test the card works, then refund, and charge the full amount when your shopping is delivered). all very well, but if he knew this, then why ask me, as I had no fecking clue this went on!

Still, this is better than the time i was in south Africa, and used my debit card to buy something (worth about £2 - just had no cash on me at the time!) and Barclays cancelled my card without warning... I lived in Africa at the time, and this was my third visit to south Africa in 2 months - they had merrily ignored all my hristmas spending the month beofre, but had deemed the £2 spend to be out of character... so were happy to leave me stranded in a foreign country with no bank card, despite me telling them ahead of time I was going to South Africa...

Yes, this has happened to me twice in the past year with M&S - both times they said that a website had informed them that my details might have been 'compromised' - the woman hinted that an unauthorised person had had access to details via a website - but they wouldn't tell me which website - or even if it was the same one each time.
I was told I could still use my card for ordinary transactions until I got my new one, just not online.

If they went through the proper security checking over the phone to make sure it's you they are talking to then I would accept it.

That is the thing though. DH has a credit card somewhere else and a few months ago, he bought several laptops for his business, not in one go but over the course of about a week and from different sellers. Nobody phoned him up to ask if he was the one doing the buying and that is far more suspicious if you ask me.

And yet M&S block my card for spending £2.50 or something silly buying our tea from Tesco's.

I actually thought yesterday that they qwew bound to block my card. They always seem to do it around the time of birthdays when I buy lots of bits and pieces with it. I wouldn't mind but I use it all the time.

I had to cut up my credit card because it had been used in America when I was in Belgium. They sent me a new one very quickly. I'm glad they noticed the unusual transactions and blocked the card.

Thats the point thought belgo - it hasn't be used. They want me to cut it up on the off chance it might be used.

There does seem to be a problem with M&S though.

I have had my card blocked but it isn't an M&S card it is a tesco credit card (I like the points) someone had gotten hold of our details and because our spending is consistent every month they spotted it immediately.

So basically I tried to buy something on-line and then the company told me that I had to contact Tesco. I was really embarrassed.

Tesco cards have an extra security facility (am sure others must too) so on lots of websites when I use my card I get an extra screen popping up that asks me to fill in certain digits of a huge code I have chosen. It makes my credit card harder to clone but obviously they can still do it!

We had to sign to say that certain transactions weren't ours. The first one was £1 at carphone warehouse on a pay as you go top up -that was them testing the card. Then they topped up £50, then they went on a shopping spree with it and luckily tesco had blocked the card.

We got a replacement card within 2 days with a new number.

I would rather know that they are monitoring my spending than someone spending up and over my limit and leaving me with no money until it was sorted!

If you are going to be spending big then ring them and tell them to stop them blocking your card.

I know I should be pleased that my card hasn't been cloned but this has not arisen because of unusual spending patterns or fraudulent payments going through, this is just them phoning up for no reason that they could give me and telling me to cut up my card.

Usually they just block it, not ask me to cut it up. I couldn't buy one of my DS's birthday presents for about £15 from Amazon a few months ago, which I use quite a lot, because they decided it was dodgy transaction.

If they could tell me where my card is being compromised it would help but they never do. They must know because without anybody actually using my card other than me, the only way they can know there is a problem is if I have used a particular site.

Dh and I have both had problems with our M&S card. I have had it rejected in Greece - and them then claiming aftewards it was just becasue there were concerns about Greek hotels and that my hotel had just been asked to call them to confirm the trnsaction (which was a lie, as I had seen the output on the PIN reader, which just said rejected). Fortunately, we were able to use our Abbey debit card instead - fortunate as well that we had sfficient funds in our bank account to cover it.

Dh then had them ring him to query a trnasaction on his card. They were right to do so, as it had been on of those "test" fraudulent small transations - but where thier service really falls down is that it takes them sooooo long to send out a new card: it was the full 10 working days before dh got his replacement card.

Amercian Express mannanged to set us up a new account and send us PINS and cards quicker than that!

That happened to me a month ago - a new card turned up within 48 hours.

It's quite common around christmas - lots of unusual spending is used by thieves to cover their tracks if your card is cloned.

My debit card gets stopped quite often. They said the reason is because we will buy something small £1.60 for milk and then buy something big. Its common fraud to 'test' the card and then buy big IYSWIM. I was trying to get £10 out of the bank once and couldn't.. bank phoned my mobile straight away and asked me if it was me trying to use it. I said yes sort it out, and the block was lifted within 10 minutes