topic Re: Thanks Cap 1! in Credit Cards

Thanks Cap 1!

LS2982 — Sun, 15 May 2011 12:39:01 GMT

Had plenty of money on my CC and went to buy groceries last night and........................DECLINED!!!!!!!!!!!

I paid 450 in bills with the card earlier in the day, so they flagged my acct for possible fraud!! **bleep**?!?!?! If i lost my card or someone stole it dont you think id be on the phone with you cancelling it??? Now i gotta look like an idiot with 10 ppl in line behind me

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

minimock — Sun, 15 May 2011 14:18:04 GMT

I know that is something that leaves you in a pants down moment, and Ive been there done that and bought the tee shirt.

While it REALLY is a pain, you kinda start thinking, well if someone did swipe my card, it would be ok then LOL

A guess its a two edged sword.

I definitely understand your frustration..

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

JayRizzo — Sun, 15 May 2011 14:29:57 GMT

Yep, that's the Zero Fraud Tolerance that kicked in. Sometimes, people don't realize their card is missing until much later or whenever they reach for the card again. Another thing they were looking at is if your number was stolen, but you still have the card (means, you would not have to call in because you're not aware of any charges) -- if you start with a small bill, then a couple days later add the next, then next... Ultimately, you can combine them all into one lump because Cap-1 now knows your transactions and pattern.

Sorry this happened, but I'm sure you had another card or cash to handle the situation, but we need to NOT worry about what the 10 people in line think of us -- they don't pay our bills, so who cares.

The only reason I'm saying that is because ccc's try to play on our emotions and fear by encouraging consumers to agree to approve "Overlimit Spending" which will incur sooooo many fees, that you can get yourself into a real financial jam. Their literature says, "You don't want to be embarrassed by a decline while standing in line, do you? Then check this box to allow the purchase to be approved* (notice the asterisk???)

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

trumpet-205 — Sun, 15 May 2011 14:51:08 GMT

Hey, on the up side, this practice makes yourselve safer. What if someone picked up your card and attempted to rack up debt?

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

Noctilum — Sun, 15 May 2011 15:26:52 GMT

@trumpet-205 wrote:
Hey, on the up side, this practice makes yourselve safer. What if someone picked up your card and attempted to rack up debt?

Hopefully your card provider has a good policy of reversing the charges. I just got a call from Chase a couple of days ago and they said my card was used in Mexico to buy flights and hotels in China. They charged $3,700 and all of it was reversed.

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

Anonymous — Sun, 15 May 2011 15:43:28 GMT

@JayRizzo wrote:

Sorry this happened, but I'm sure you had another card or cash to handle the situation, but we need to NOT worry about what the 10 people in line think of us -- they don't pay our bills, so who cares.

JayRizzo, I think I love you.

Well said!

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

LS2982 — Sun, 15 May 2011 15:47:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@JayRizzo wrote:
Sorry this happened, but I'm sure you had another card or cash to handle the situation, but we need to NOT worry about what the 10 people in line think of us -- they don't pay our bills, so who cares.
JayRizzo, I think I love you.

Well said!

In all honesty i really dont care how they feel about me I was more upset with Cap 1 and didnt wanna blow my stack in front of all of them Yea I had cash to handle it but that was planned on paying off my other CC. ugh.

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

Anonymous — Sun, 15 May 2011 16:33:50 GMT

My card was declined at a grocery store on Thursday and locked the account. I called the next day and they needed to verify a purchase of $750 to someone I had not bought from before. They immediately unlocked it.

Although a nusance, I think fraud protection is important.

Another example of why 1 major CC is not enough.

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

joestay — Sun, 15 May 2011 17:12:01 GMT

Must be embarrassing. Glad it never happened to me before. You should carry another card just in case.

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

Anonymous — Sun, 15 May 2011 19:16:56 GMT

Cap 1 was one of my first credit cards and Amex the last. But I use Cap 1 to backup Amex in case Amex is declined. It is important to always have an "Oh! Shoot! plan."

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

Anonymous — Mon, 16 May 2011 02:24:26 GMT

@LS2982 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@JayRizzo wrote:
Sorry this happened, but I'm sure you had another card or cash to handle the situation, but we need to NOT worry about what the 10 people in line think of us -- they don't pay our bills, so who cares.
JayRizzo, I think I love you.

Well said!
In all honesty i really dont care how they feel about me I was more upset with Cap 1 and didnt wanna blow my stack in front of all of them Yea I had cash to handle it but that was planned on paying off my other CC. ugh.

Keeping your cool is very cool, and that's an attribute I still need to work on.

I'm proud of you.

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

meka1984 — Mon, 16 May 2011 07:37:56 GMT

This happened to me last yr and I had only had the card for one day and only had charged may $20.

It was totally embarrassing when my card declined because I was trying to get gas for a relative. I had to send in my DL,Marriage License (yes indeed), and pay stubs. It took about 3 days to reactivate.

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

bichonmom — Mon, 16 May 2011 17:06:50 GMT

How incredibly frustrating!

I have never heard of this before, though I'm just rebuilding my credit and have 2 new Cap One CCs (with really LOW limits, I might add). I'm wondering is this just a Cap One thing or do all CCs do this? Is this something we can opt in or out of (one of the posts mentioned something about "zero fraud"... not sure what this is)?

Thanks!

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

IrishPM — Mon, 16 May 2011 20:01:56 GMT

I understand your frustration. Didn't happen to me with Capital One but Citi pulled a good one on me a few years ago. I landed in the Bahamas for vacation, took a taxi to the hotel, went to check in and my Citi AAdvantage Amex was "declined". The hotel said I could use their phone to call Citi and find out what the deal is. Apparently, while I was on my flight, the CSR explained that charges were made in the Phillippines on my card and Citi shut down my account for "unusual activity". No kidding. I told them that I did not authorize the charges. They could care less and wouldn't budge on giving me a "temporary credit line increase" on my account so I could check into the hotel. A Citi customer for over 15 years, never late, never over the credit limit, never once had so much as an argument with them and this is the way they reward all of that "good behavior". Go figure.

I will never be caught in a circumstance like that, ever, again. I bought into the online "traveler's advice" about only carrying one credit card to avoid the temptation of overspending while on vacation or possible "theft" if you carry too many cards in your wallet...what they fail to mention is if you're only carrying one card and it gets declined, you're SOL. My SOP these days is to carry the equivalent cost of the vacation I charged on my card, in cash, strapped to my leg or in my shoe, along with a "spare" credit card that is free and clear of any balance.

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

JonStur — Tue, 17 May 2011 15:11:51 GMT

Always have a plan B..everyone remember the massive power failure that struck the Midwest a few years back? If all your money was in the bank or you just had credit cards you were in trouble..ATMs down, credit cards terminals non-functioning, people without cash couldn't buy food or water..probably the same for flood or tornado ravaged communities...

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

JayRizzo — Tue, 17 May 2011 20:00:56 GMT

I was in it... downtown Detroit, MI during that blackout. And get this... my job is Disaster Recovery to ensure the business continues in the event of an outage -- finally executed all of those years of planning. Failed over our systems to the West Coast before auxillary power died. Sweeeeeeeeeeet!!! But inconvenient without much cash on-hand, but I had a few cookie jars stashed away that kept me good during the outage.

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

Anonymous — Wed, 18 May 2011 02:36:46 GMT

Some banks do it, some don't. Some say they do and do...some say they do and don't.

Hooters, for example, doesn't do that. I can charge the whole amount and I'll never hear a peep from them. It's one of the reasons they're a favorite of me.

HSBC has NO hesitations doing it even for stupid stuff.

I HATE the fraud prevention service because the algorithms used are ignorant IMO. Spending "patterns" are not accurate when you're someone who doesn't use credit except for major purchases. In the case of HSBC, they flagged my card because I bought stuff from McDonalds and whatnot. I mean come on. I think they also flagged me because I bought some MP3s from Amazon. Really?

My thinking is this: My cards are ALWAYS with me except two of them. I know where they all are at any given time. If they're ever not in my position, it's a matter of a phone call or going on the website to report it lost or stolen within minutes, or from a phone app if I'm really in a pinch. I can have cards shut off nearly immediately. My wallet is bulky on purpose and it's impossible to miss. SO I would rather be on the hook for calling and reporting a card lost or stolen than to have some "complimentary" service given that I can't disable. It got to the point I had to yell at a few supervisors at Citibank to get them to note my account that, unless the purchase is (A) some ungodly amount and/or (B) from a store that I have NEVER shopped at, they are not to flag my card for any reason unless they get a call from me requesting it with proper verification. It's just too much of a headache to go through the verification; I work during the day, I don't have time for all that.

If card companies make the verification/unlock process an online app, then I'll be more for it.

Re: Thanks Cap 1!

AndySoCal — Wed, 18 May 2011 05:20:54 GMT

This is not the first time I have heard Cap 1 doing this. It is a sign of Cap 1 trying to prevent fraud on the account. Yes it can be a pain when it does happen. I recently had a $600 fruadlent charge posted on a credit card a non CAP 1. The charge was posted no questions asked. The charge was for a company I have done business with and an amount well above what usually put on my charge card.