Thanks Cap 1!

[Anonymous]

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@LS2982 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@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.

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JayRizzo, I think I love you.

Well said!

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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.

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

I'm proud of you.

[meka1984]

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. 

[bichonmom]

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!

[IrishPM]

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.

[JonStur]

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...

[JayRizzo]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[AndySoCal]

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.