BANKS, HOLIDAYS AND CREDIT CARDS - A WARNING IF YOU INTEND BOOKING

stilladdicted

Cautionary tale for anyone planning to book their own holidays directly. Basically, found hotel and flights to Dubrovnik for one week. Booked BA flights, credit card payment. No probs. booked hotel, credit card payment. Confirmed booking no probs. 10 days later we checked our website account for the hotel to check out car transfers for airport, found that our credit card had been refused and booking cancelled. Card then refused by Waterstones. Contacted Nationwide. It had considered the hotel booking to be suspicious (despite the fact that it had accepted payment for us to fly there!) thus Nationwide cancelled hotel booking and placed restrictions on our card. (When we went to the States, Nationwide had refused to take the information about our holiday as it did not require it. )
We only found out by chance. Nationwide did not contact us plus its internet banking site was down for 48 hours.
We could have arrived at our hotel only to find there was no booking and we would have not been able to use our credit card.
Nationwide has explained that it will make decision based on likely levels of fraud within different countries, and that it does this to protect its customers. It clearly does it to protect itself and seems not to care one jot whether or not its customers get stranded abroad with no hotel and no money. 'Sorry, someone should have contacted you' is all Nationwide can say.

Miserableoldgit

Thanks for the warning, we'll put the Nationwide on "the list" with Lloyds TSB.

Mortimerician

To be fair they do do it to protect customers. They were wrong to not contact you to check before declining the payment and they should put that right without question, but you're over-reacting. With so many transactions there's not a room full of drones triple checking each one, it's done by computer so nobody will actually look at it and go "ooh mr Addicted booked a flight there, too." If they didn't do this we'd all be hit with a terrifying amount of credit card fraud and generally you'd be liable.

RedZed333

Similar thing happened to me with my EGG card, never used it since...

stilladdicted

It is purely by chance that we found out that the hotel booking had been cancelled. Over-reacting? I don't think so, we could have arrived at our hotel near Dubrovnik to find there was no hotel booking and that we had no access to money as the credit card had a block on it. Would you have taken that quite so calmly? Understand that there is a need for protection, but banks themselves are not using the technology already available to improve that protection as it would cost them too much money. I do not buy into this 'protecting the customer' bit anymore.

RedZed333

EGG told me that before I go away on holiday I should ring them up and tell them so they can expect 'unusual' transactions and be prepared for them...!!!

I told them I was going to use my Barclaycard from now on and they should be prepared to lose another disatisfied customer...

Miserableoldgit

[cite]Posted By: stilladdicted[/cite]It is purelyby chancethat we found out that the hotel booking had been cancelled. Over-reacting? I don't think so, we could have arrived at our hotel near Dubrovnik to find there was no hotel booking and that we had no access to money as the credit card had a block on it. Would you have taken that quite so calmly? Understand that there is a need for protection, but banks themselves are not using the technology already available to improve that protection as it would cost them too much money. I do not buy into this 'protecting the customer' bit anymore.

Isn't the customer always right except when it comes to Banks obviously.....

jimmymelrose

Here's a story for you:

I received a letter from the bank last month telling me that our debit/credit cards were 'blocked' and a second letter saying that this was because we did not have sufficient funds for a cheque to be honoured.

I subsequently found that this cheque was for 40 euros and was written in 2006 from an account that we no longer have.

We were then fined 25 euros per cheque for all cheques written whilst on holiday (6 cheques = 150 euros).

There are 3 banks involved. Our old bank (for the account we no longer have), our current bank (who have fined us), the bank who accepted the cheque 3 years late (whoever they are) and the lovely 'Banque de France' who made the 3 other banks carry out their actions. Of course none of the 3 banks accept much responsibility and blame the rules of La Banque de France.

This is what living in France can be like.

This morning I found that I have a parking fine for parking in the wrong direction from our friendly gendarme who lives opposite me (I kid you not).

jimmymelrose

[cite]Posted By: Miserableold-ish git[/cite]

[cite]Posted By: stilladdicted[/cite]It is purelyby chancet

Isn'tthe customer always rightexcept when it comes to Banks obviously.....

In France this rule does not exist. The customer is treated like shit until he pisses off someone else more than he himself is pissed off

nth_london_addick

Nationwide acted superbly when my credit card had been used to the tune of 8K in the space of 72 hrs in thailand, russia, iran, London and Newyork addmittedly it was blooming obvious i couldnt be in all those places, but they called me asked if i was on hols when i told them no unfortunatly i am at work they informed me of all the items that had been purchased and where and had i done any of them, some thieving stripey ponse had used it at the norwood junction to buy an annual season ticket as well to rub salt in the flipping wounds, the poor bloke who phoned was a stripey and pressumed i was too the sadness in his voice when i told him i was charlton was hillarious, got all funds back though without a hitch

2 weeks before xmas so i am very wary of where i use my card


10 out of 10 for nationwide from me