topic Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC) in Credit Cards

Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 23:25:26 GMT

I know its really not THAT big of a deal, but I was on vacation and had my new Sam's Club Mastercard declined. What irritated me most was the fact that there was no communication about this fraud prevention until afterwards.

Went to the same merchant 3 days in a row, charges were less than $50 each, not identical. I had to call in, get verified with some text message code, and mentally recall some of my recent charges to proceed (no biggie since I was logged in anyway but still). Keep in mind that there were charges far above and beyond $50 being made daily prior to this with no issues.

Then the day after the phone call to get the card unfreezed I get an email affidavit PDF:

"We are contacting you regarding the Sam's Club® MasterCard® account referenced above. This letter is in regard to your Sam's Club MasterCard account which is serviced by SYNCHRONY BANK. We are conducting a review to verify recent transactions processed on your Sam's Club MasterCard account. To protect against unauthorized use, we have placed a restriction on your credit card account until we can confirm that there is no fraud occurring. If we have not discussed this matter please call our office at 1.888.345.0518. The best time to reach us is Monday through Sunday 10 A.M. - 8 P.M. (EST). If we have already spoken to you please disregard this letter. We apologize if you should experience any inconvenience but want to assure that your account is used in accordance with your wishes."

As much as I disliked citibank's fraud prevention, at least they emailed and called me right after the charge and with one click let me unlock the card.

I of course only brought my Sams Club MC, my Citi DC, my PRG and my debit card just to kepe things simple.

I know with Citi I can notify them of travel but only if its out of state. Synchrony doesnt' have anything like that as far as I can tell.

What suggestions do you guys have so I can avoid the embarassment of being declined? I feel like I have worked so hard on my lineup, to be at this point, and get declined over something so petty, its just weird.

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

tcbofade — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 23:31:33 GMT

Unfortunately, the only practical option you have is to leave that card at home, and take another in its place.

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

kdm31091 — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 23:47:25 GMT

There's no way to really avoid the situation other than just using a different card. It's embarrassing to have a card declined sure but take heart that it's very unlikely any cashier gives it a second thought or cares

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 23:52:19 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
There's no way to really avoid the situation other than just using a different card. It's embarrassing to have a card declined sure but take heart that it's very unlikely any cashier gives it a second thought or cares

Right, there are relatively few situations were it is really bad, because most people understand that these things happen and don't indicate anything bad. Now, if your second, third and fourth cards are also declined, that's something else!

View declines (and fraud) as part of the price of using credit and getting all the rewards..

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

UncleB — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 00:23:28 GMT

I'm sorry to hear this happened, especially with your Sam's Club MasterCard... I say 'especially' since that's the card I use the most, and almost every swipe is outside my billing address state.

So far, they've never given me any trouble, and I almost always have a single $900+ charge for a hotel (out of state) most months that I put on the Sam's Club card, and it always has gone right through with no issues. I admit those first few months I held my breath, but now I think of it as being as reliable as my Capital One cards. It could be that I've just been lucky, though.

With many of my charges being out of state (and over 100 miles from my billing address) the only time I've had a security issue was with USAA when the account was brand new, and I was making large purchases at the middle of the night, which is understandable. It's a bit ironic that I'm always holding my breath for the exact same scenario that you describe, yet it's never happened; on the other hand you didn't expect it, and got flagged.

Again, I'm sorry this happened, but perhaps now that they 'ripped off the bandaid' and checked you out you'll be clear to charge wherever and whenever with no further issues.

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

CatOfSpades — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 01:10:30 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
There's no way to really avoid the situation other than just using a different card. It's embarrassing to have a card declined sure but take heart that it's very unlikely any cashier gives it a second thought or cares

There's no need to be embarassed. Retail workers see a LOT of freaking people a day. They forget about most people as soon as they leave. And really, who cares if they judge you for a minute, you're probably not going to see them again anyway, and even if you did, they probably don't remember you. I had a customer give me a very enthusiastic thank you for my help on something once, and I really honestly felt like I had never seen that woman in my life. That actually happens a lot - not recognizing people. Just last month I remember a lady handing me no less than five different cards and asking me to split the payment over each them because none of them had enough credit them for the $20 purchase. I wouldn't be able to pick her out of lineup for nothing. I don't even remember what color hair she has. It was very sad though. However, in your case, I usually tell people not to worry about it. It happens to all of us. Sometimes for no reason.

I actually think it's good they shut the card down on suspected fraud. Yes, it's frustrating and seems unwarranted, but they were looking out for you. You had other cards with you, so it's okay. Things like this make me wonder if I should always carry two cards around with me though. I quite often leave the house with only one card on me.

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 01:24:54 GMT

I had similar happen to me with elan.

I like the way capital one does it with texting me to confirm a charge was me. If something comes in they will block it and then text me saying the card may have been compromised. With elan I didnt know until my card didnt work when I tried to use it. Amex seems pretty good with fraud also.

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 01:35:07 GMT

Just pull out your Amex plat after that happens and any woes of awkwardness shall pass.

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 02:49:20 GMT

This is what people don't understand about us people with several cards from different banks. If we just got through eating and the bill is $75 and we have no cash on us, one of our 10 cards is gonna get approved. I live in a tourist area and credit cards get declined alot because people are on vacation. I wear a knock off Breitling watch and have an American Express Centurion replica. Just think if my Chase Freedom card got declined at Olive Garden after me flashing those two things.

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

Imperfectfuture — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 03:01:16 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
This is what people don't understand about us people with several cards from different banks. If we just got through eating and the bill is $75 and we have no cash on us, one of our 10 cards is gonna get approved. I live in a tourist area and credit cards get declined alot because people are on vacation. I wear a knock off Breitling watch and have an American Express Centurion replica. Just think if my Chase Freedom card got declined at Olive Garden after me flashing those two things.

^^^LOL, pretty much this. I had a bunch of cards not like the area of Renton I was in (who knew), just pulled out Freedom. Called them all later, discover was the toughest (you bought something in Kent, well yes I did, but, you bought something in Kent, sigh).

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 07:29:27 GMT

There's not much you can do aside from letting the CCC know you're going on vacay. Some don't even do that. And if that's not possible just hope you're set enough to have a back-up (or two).

I took a one-way to Nashville back when the Discover and Freedom were my only cards. Visiting the Country Music Capitol; of course I wasn't leaving without a new pair of boots. Discover - declined! Freedom it is then. I don't think it occurred to me that I should be embarrassed. Actually, I was mostly freaking out cause I was going to be driving back... now with only 1 card. Called Discover immediately after arriving at the hotel and was able to get the card unlocked. By the time I got home though there was a new card waiting; the defunct one relegated to ice scraper duty lol.

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 07:59:55 GMT

Actually, I'm going out of town this Independence Day and your thread got me thinking. So I poked around in my Synchrony accounts and sure enough there is no notification of travel button to be found. Surely, it's possible to just send a SM? Also, I'm assuming you filled out your account alert settings since you actually got an email? Cause mine's blankety-blank... suppose I should get on that . Sadly though, it says it can take up to 2 days for alerts to come through

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 18:11:07 GMT

I feel like Amex and chase are way ahead of game when it comes to fraud prevention. Recently I booked flight tickets using my amex delta for an out of state trip. After few days I got an email from amex stating as below:

Based on recent transactions, it appears that you will be traveling soon. We've made a notation on your account(s), so you don't need to contact us to advise us of your travel plans.

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

injustifiiable — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 15:24:31 GMT

I had my Chevron Visa declined after getting gas at a Chevron station in Vegas and again in Barstow, CA (I was driving to San Diego)

Luckily, they called me right after the transaction declined and had me verify the charges through the automated system - all was well again.

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 17:01:49 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Just pull out your Amex plat after that happens and any woes of awkwardness shall pass.

I don't really think the place I was at would have cared. I didn't bring it with me. And approval criteria for all amex charge cards are the same anyway so...

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

RonM21 — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 20:36:42 GMT

@Imperfectfuture wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
This is what people don't understand about us people with several cards from different banks. If we just got through eating and the bill is $75 and we have no cash on us, one of our 10 cards is gonna get approved. I live in a tourist area and credit cards get declined alot because people are on vacation. I wear a knock off Breitling watch and have an American Express Centurion replica. Just think if my Chase Freedom card got declined at Olive Garden after me flashing those two things.
^^^LOL, pretty much this. I had a bunch of cards not like the area of Renton I was in (who knew), just pulled out Freedom. Called them all later, discover was the toughest (you bought something in Kent, well yes I did, but, you bought something in Kent, sigh).

This is true when you think about it. At any time something can go wrong, or not as expected, and this make it more convenient in that instance.

Re: Disappointed with Synchrony Bank Fraud Team ( Sams Club MC)

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 20:44:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Just pull out your Amex plat after that happens and any woes of awkwardness shall pass.
I don't really think the place I was at would have cared. I didn't bring it with me. And approval criteria for all amex charge cards are the same anyway so...

It was a joke...

Though, outside of this forum, most people haven't the slightest clue about approval criteria.