My latest entry to “Things That Tick Me Off” is the new policy of credit card companies to block purchases on cards when customers simply go from state to state. We now need to call credit card companies and go through the endless series of automatic options to reach an operator to say that we are going to fly to another city on a business trip or family vacation.
Recently, credit card companies have been implementing a new policy in combatting credit card fraud by freezing cards when customers use their cards in different states. For over a year, my wife and I have found our Mastercards blocked when simply going to a neighboring state. At Christmas, Mastercard blocked both of our cards when we went to Chicago — blocking our ability to buy gas in the drive at night with the kids. Fortunately, at 10 pm in Indiana in a snow storm we had enough cash for gas and food.
As someone who has had his identity stolen, I am more than supportive of efforts to combat such fraud. However, for those of us who routinely travel, it is an incredible annoyance. When I asked Mastercard why they were doing this, the operator simply told me that it was my fault for not calling in advance to tell Mastercard when I planned to travel. I barely inform my secretary, but I am now required to call Mastercard when I cross state lines? The idea of a successful anti-fraud campaign is to find a method that does not defeat the value of the card. What I find particularly annoying is that credit card companies are still sending out free cards to anyone who is old enough to open an envelope.
Recently, I had to struggle to prove to a company that an uncle was dead when they sent him a credit card from Chase. As executor of his estate, I called and told them that he did not want the card and did not ask for the card because he was very much dead. It took four calls to try to get the company to cancel the card. I had to speak with a manager twice. They insisted that I send them a death certificate or proof of death. They were completely hostile and unwilling to terminate the card. I remind you that my uncle never asked for the card. It was a free card opened in his name by Chase.
These companies could start to combat fraud by changing their proliferation of cards with people who either did not ask for cards or have little resources to support credit cards. If all of us have to call Mastercard every time we get on a plane, many will likely rediscover the cash-based society.
puzzling, no, it wasn’t the bank, it was visa as they patiently explained to me it was their policy and for my own good. I did look into other cards but I stick with visa because they do not charge me a fee for service. They just want my dignity 🙂
lottakatz,
I’m mot sure who (which bank or credit union) issued your visa, but one of my points is that the bank sets the rules for use, not Visa or Mastercard. I completely agree with your complaint. If that happened to me I would change issuers and take your business elsewhere. I see that as very different than calling on the government to intervene.
CL and puzzling, I also have visa and they have blocked a purchase and didn’t call me until the next day, which was after the seller called me and I had been on the phone with various visa people to get the purchase ‘accepted’. It was embarrassing in the extreme.
I’m with BIL on this one, I had to (felt the need to) grovel and apologize to the seller repeatedly and try to repair what I believed was damage to the good faith of our relationship- for all the seller knew I was a deadbeat that couldn’t cover the purchase.
AY, the abuse you point out is nothing new- I went to a credit card way back when I found out that various government agency’s could demand your bank records without telling you, I figured ‘well, there goes the 4th amendment, we’re —— now’ and decided to go with a credit card instead of cash and checks.
AY writes We are pleased that you decided to join us so early in the morning. I hope your Koi Pond is all better down. We have catfish farms here. Yeah baby. Bass Fishin is still the king. I think it is just another excuse to get drunk, far be it from me to know that.
the koi are fine and the water is just gushing again. they like the gush.
bass…. those are those fish that will swallow anything right? like all you have to do is put something shiny in the water and they will bite….
did I get that right? at least you admit there isn’t much skill involved.
have you ever tried fly fishing? i loved fly fishing when we lived near trout streams. kept the gear in the back of the jeep and we’d just drive up to the river any old time. the point wasn’t really to catch anything…. just to be away from cell phones and you know.
Buddha writes:
eriously, absent the racial component of that case, how can the actions of credit card companies in this instance not be potentially viewed as restraining interstate travel at least much as denying a room based on race when viewed as an issue of net aggregate impact to interstate commerce? I’m betting this is not an uncommon problem. It also raises the question of do they perform this “service” for their corporate customers or do they reserve it for the citizen’s cards?
me: I hate to blow a good paranoia rush….but credit card companies do this to minimize their losses from stolen cards. any activity on the card that seems unusual gets their attention. and yes, they do this for corporate card holders.
it may restrict commerce but I don’t think their motivation comes for anyplace except the notion that your card could be stolen.
I don’t have a problem with my cards, and I travel from time to time to other states and Europe. Regarding fraud, I’ve had two incidents on my cards. Once there was a small amount (~10.), and I called that “business” and inquired about it, and the unknown “merchant” said it was just a “mistake” and reversed it. On another occasion, I had ordered a pizza on a certain day, but there were double charges for the same day. I called my credit card, and told them to reverse one of them, and also added that I suspect dishonesty, not mistake.
The credit cards are a pain in the backside. I was using my Visa card in Ireland in 2003 and it was refused and I asked the store clerk to check with them and they said it was blocked because it was just used the same day in Illinois. Of course, I had more than one card pegged to that account number for my kids as suggested by the credit card people and my daughter was buying a prom dress that day and she was refused because I was trying to use it in Ireland! I was able to straighten it out on the phone after explaining it several times. However, how many stores overseas will allow a foreigner to deal with this issue on their phone, long distance? You gotta love the Irish!
I don’t use regular credit cards, although I keep one for reservations, car rentals, etc. I use mt bank ATM card, but in credit card mode, because you get charged when you use a pin number. The problem with credit cards is their outrageous rates,
which go up for specious reasons. They are in fact a major American scam. New its’ true with AMEX one normally pays the balance at the end of the month, but AMEX has never accepted me as a customer. Despite the fact that I’m current on bills, have had four different mortgages issued and buy a new car every two years. My attitude is if they don’t want me, I don’t want them.
My younger daughter was issued a credit card while in school and then had her rate raised to 29% because she was late on one payment, even though it was mailed on time. I had to explain to her what the deal was and we paid off the card and stopped membership. She has another now that she is working but understands the scam, so uses it wisely.
If you watch the credit card adds on TV you see how these crooked companies are subliminally selling the lifestyle, which makes it seem as if you never have to repay them. The new legislative controls due to take effect in 2010 do not go far enough as we give cachet to what is essential a scam business, with all the moral rectitude of conmen.
GWLawSchoolMom,
…. just had to check as soon as it was light outside and then decided to check the blog and so here I am. tired and without a sense of humor. thanks for helping me get it back.
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We are pleased that you decided to join us so early in the morning. I hope your Koi Pond is all better down. We have catfish farms here. Yeah baby. Bass Fishin is still the king. I think it is just another excuse to get drunk, far be it from me to know that.
Now Gyyes, is taking the perfect exam.
Buddha,
You forget you work for the Federal Reserve Notes which are backed by exactly what now?
Interstate commerce. Yeah, internecine commerce by the banks is more like it.
Visa doesn’t block out-of-state purchases. They just call you after suspicious transactions. For example, I recieved a call after buying my senior year biochemistry textbooks, “Mam, did you recently spend $730 at a bookstore?”. Yes, science textbooks are often overpriced.
That’s odd. I’ve been traveling across state lines for years, and I’ve never had a problem using my credit card. And that’s been all over the lower 48, not just the next state over.
Going abroad is another matter though. When my wife went to Taiwan earlier this year, we had neglected to call the CC company, who promptly refused charges to her Visa card. She switched to AmEx, who didn’t have a problem with her being on the other side of the world all of a sudden, and I called the bank to tell them what was up.
“As you well know, it is your duty to inform us of your whereabouts at all times. What are your travel plans, Herr . . . Turley, is it? Yes, yes, we are going to impede your ability to travel by an economic mechanism for our own corporate reasons.”
How is this not interfering with interstate commerce (and creating a commerce clause issue) like in Heart of Atlanta v U.S.? Seriously, absent the racial component of that case, how can the actions of credit card companies in this instance not be potentially viewed as restraining interstate travel at least much as denying a room based on race when viewed as an issue of net aggregate impact to interstate commerce? I’m betting this is not an uncommon problem. It also raises the question of do they perform this “service” for their corporate customers or do they reserve it for the citizen’s cards?
Ah, money changers! Is there anything they won’t do to complicate things for profit!
AY
thanks for clearing that up. yes it is early here but i’ve had problems with the pump in the koi pond and lost one of my fish yesterday. the guy came out to diagnoze/repair and got it working again but I just had to check as soon as it was light outside and then decided to check the blog and so here I am. tired and without a sense of humor. thanks for helping me get it back.
I think financial institutions set their own guidelines on how restrictive to be with credit card use, so I don’t know if the fault really lies with Visa and Mastercard.
Some, like American Express, are geared to the travel set. I’ve never had issues there. My credit union Visa card won’t block purchases, but will call within minutes of a transaction with an online retailer that I have not used previously. I have used the credit union card successfully in several countries and many states without incident. Consider a different provider if you don’t get satisfaction. This is part of the price we pay for the society we live in, and is also the result of the “zero liability” policies that Visa offers for fraudulent purchases.
Even better, cash = privacy. At least for now.
GWLawSchoolMom,
It is early in California? Yes? I was joshing ya, I believe you. I was kidding. I think the cycle before the spin is called the agitator. I was just funna ya.
I have friends that have metal in thar bodies that set off security too.
AY writes: I seriously doubt you have ever been frisked at an airport.
ROFLOL. Ok, I am just right before the spin cycle on a washing machine.
I had a hip replacement 2 years ago and the titanium sets off the metal detector causing the guard to pass a wand over my body which also is set off.a female tsa officer is then called while I stand in the glass “box”
I am then taken over to a side area and patted down. all over. every time.
while I think there must be written protocol for this somewhere each agent is allowed to proceed according to her own judgement. this means that where they touch me is up to them.
GWLawSchoolMom,
it is still better than being frisked every time I go through security.
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I seriously doubt you have ever been frisked at an airport.
ROFLOL. Ok, I am just right before the spin cycle on a washing machine.
I hate this also. It’s like you have to get permission from the card company to use your own credit card. its rather a bit like calling your dad to ask if you can have the car and stay out late. on the other hand we did get a bit of credit card fraud and Visa noticed that there were charges from Prague. on the other hand they also ruined a lovely surprise: pearls from hong kong when they called to check that the card being used was indeed being used from one of us.
we’ve never had this problem in the US and now calling Visa before we leave for foreign travel is just one of those annoying things we do.
it is still better than being frisked every time I go through security.
Oh Professor, please look at the Homeland Security Act. You will find the authorization for Financial Institutions. Each and every time you use your Debit Card/Credit Card as they are tied to the bank account it goes to the NSA via the Credit Reporting Agency.
You may have a saving account but that is limited to use at the banks and ATM’s. You may not use it as a Debit Card. Your checking account information is all fair game.
I guess what I am stating is the Government is keeping track of your each and every move. They can build a profile on you based upon your purchases and where you are likely headed.
Too Much Information I say.