Pre Loaded Cards (eg Fairfax) A problem!

[Chris and Pooh]

Hi All,

I chose to use the American Express Card (not now available) for a trip to the States a couple of years ago and found it very useful until I made a substantial purchase with it in Macy's, unfortunately a mistake was made with the pricing which was only noticed after the transaction was completed. The checkout staff refunded the amount back to my card and then re did the transaction for the correct amount. I went on my merry way and went to use the card again later that day only to find that it was declined, I was very surprised as I knew I had more than enough funds for the purchase, so I went to a ATM and it confirmed that there was only a few dollars left on it. I thought this cannot be right so I contacted American Express and they confirmed that was all I had left on the card. When I explained what had happened in Macy's it all came to light. When the incorrect transaction took place the funds were immediately debited from the card but when it was then corrected and the refund was credited back, this operation can take UP TO SEVEN DAYS before it is available on the card. This meant that for the remainder of our holiday we were effectively short of spending money because it did not reappear on the card til after we got back.

Please bear this in mind when using these cards as it can cause a major inconvenience if you do not have alternative funding

 

[orangetiggs]

thisw is not just these cards, my uk debit card can take up to 7 days for a refund as well

 

[Pegasus928]

That could be an absolute nightmare for some people - especially if they have no alternative method of getting hold of their spending money. And ll through no fault of their own

Personally we prefer to use cash for our everyday needs and general shopping and spending - although we do have a credit card for those 'unusual' or more expensive purchases.

Thanks for posting this as it will hopefully ensure no-one is stuck for spends while on their holiday.

 

[Young Pooh]

As Orangetiggs says, this is not just a problem with prepay cards. I have recently bought some clothes in Tescos with my normal debit card, the transaction was showing on my online bank account almost immediately but when I returned some items, the refund took around 4 days to show.

 

[WiganTony]

This also happened with us. When parking at the Port of Tampa, the car park cashier swiped our Fairfx card three times before it registered.

However, when we returned to Orlando and tried to use the card at Walmart, it stated insufficient funds available (I keep a record of all transactions so knew we should have had sufficient).

It was only when I logged onto the Fairfx website that I found that three payments had been taken for parking. I called the Port Authority, and they recredited the amount once I had sent proof of the mistake. However, the monies were not available for use until the final day of our holiday.

 

[scousemouse09]

Thanks for the warning! We're taking a pre-paid debit card, will probably just withdraw the cash from it rather than charge, just in case!

 

[Janine1983]

This is very worrying indeed...ive just got my fair fx card through. Have all my money on there and will take $400 in cash.

I dont know what to do now? xx

 

[orangetiggs]

thisw can happen to any card, even a proper credit card

we used ours in florida and mexico last year and will use it again this year with no problems

like I said earlier this happens here in the uk with debit cards so its nothing new

 

[steve_rob]

I know everyone's saying that this can happen with debit cards in the UK, but at least when you're at home you're typically not using a card with a pre-set limit and even if you are, chances are you have access to another source of funds while waiting for the refund to be processed.

If you're in the States and this happens, if you don't have an emergency fund of cash or a credit card, this could mean a rather frugal holiday!