TD VISA called me today re recent activity on my card!

[MaryannF]

Visa Loss Prevention department called me today to ask about some recent activity on my credit card. After verifying that who I was they asked about what I had put on my card this past weekend. I laughed and said yes that was me who went wild this weekend and booked resort package, resort room only, air, and travel insurance all on my Visa card. Good to know that they are looking out for me. Had a similar experience last spring when my daughter bought a computer and we put it on our credit card as she didn't have one. Before we even got home from the store the CC company (not Visa) had called to ask if it was my husband who had authorized the transaction.

 

[ChisJo]

That is great of the CC company to do! If only they were all like that! Doesn't it make you feel secure that they are monitoring your account for fraudulent purchases?

 

[hockey mom]

On the flip side Visa would not authorize another gas purchase for us until we phoned them to tell them it was actually us using our CC to get gas all the way to Florida.

 

[Amberle3]

I like the idea that the CC company would call to see what's up BEFORE suspending the card. My DFi purchased a bunch of kind of unusual supplies for work during the summer, and his CC company decided the activity was suspicious and suspended the card before finding out the details. He was not impressed.

 

[connorsmom911]

I always call BEFORE our trips or xmas shopping and tell them where I am going and that I plan to spend an obscene amount of money. I have had it happen where they won't authorize the purchase, and usually it is when I'm in line with tons of people behind me and then the clerk has to phone and then I have to get on the phone and confirm that it's me...totally embarassing!!!

I do like it that they are looking out for me though and I do get a little kick out of calling them.

Tracey

 

[MECH8T7]

I'm not so sure that the credit card issuers are really looking out for our interests.

My understanding is that, based on your cardholder agreement, if you are the victim of CC fraud, the CC company is largely on the hook for any purchases that were made before you became aware of the problem. So, IMHO, the banks primarily have their own interests in mind. Now, granted this may be a situation where our interests as CC holders conveniently merge with the interests of the CC issuers (because, admittedly, it is a pain to deal with the "clean-up" after you are a victim of CC fraud) but I just wouldn't give them credit for wanting to help us out.

As an aside, I was told by someone in the industry a few years ago that you can technically challenge any credit card transaction (other than perhaps ones for which they asked for the 3 digit VIN code) for which the vendor does not have a signed charge slip...as a practical matter, I can't imagine that this happens much for a non-fraudulent transaction and the CC issuer would probably cancel your account if the evidence suggested that you were trying to cheat them but I was told that the foundation of the whole system is the "signed" charge slips.

 

[bunnyfoo]

I had a call like that from Diner's Club a couple of weeks ago ... they said they were just trying to verify what I had purchased recently because my card was part of a group of compromised numbers. They ended up giving me a new account number and they sent over the new card by next day courier. I was also glad they called instead of just suspending my account

 

[connorsmom911]

You know, I never thought about it that way but you're right...they are really saving their own butts more so than ours.

My family used to own a business, and again you're right that it doesn't happen very often, but people did dispute charges sometimes, and we would have to go back in our records and dig out the charge slip copy and send a copy in to the credit card companies. Never heard back if it was fraudulent or not.

Tracey

 

[MECH8T7]

Originally posted by connorsmom911
My family used to own a business, and again you're right that it doesn't happen very often, but people did dispute charges sometimes, and we would have to go back in our records and dig out the charge slip copy and send a copy in to the credit card companies. Never heard back if it was fraudulent or not.

I think its potentially a big problem for mechants (more than it is for the CC issuers). I haven't actually seen a merchant agreement but I suspect that, at least until recently, the charge slip had to have the signature of the cardholder. If that is the case, what does this mean if a purchaser challenges a charge where the credit card info was taken by the merchant over the phone? what about internet purchases? Seems to me that merchants could be left "holding the bag".

 

[Tink42]

I agree that the CC company calling can be great but recently we had an embarrassing situation for this very reason ( I didn't think to call the CC company ahead of time). We were on vacation and had been gone a few days when we met up with a group of people for dinner. After dinner we handed the waiter our CC and he came back and announced that he wasn't able to put the card through, that we would have to call the CC company but that it usually takes a very long time to get through and he didn't really want us to do that. My DH handed him a different card which was fine but left us feeling a bit embarrassed with everyone else at the table with us. We were leaving the next day and when we got home there was a message on our answering machine asking us to call the CC company to verify it was us making the charges. We didn't get the message because we were on vacation...charging things to our credit card.

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

MaryannF - I sent you a PM. I have a question for you about your telephone call.

Elaine

 

[DutchsMommy]

I second the motion to call BEFORE you travel - case in point: my Dad pretty much lives in Thailand (long story LOL) and rarely uses his credit cards - even more rarely uses the Visa when he does use a card - so anyway, he went shopping in Bangkok and put this hotel for the night on the plastic, and arranges with a tailor in the city to have a few shirts made and he will pick up the next day. Visa sees a charge in Thailand, did not even both to call (I am the contact for all his stuff) and just froze the account. So, my Dad calls me on his cell from the tailor's COMPLETELY ticked, he is totally embarassed and the tailor thinks he is trying to rip him off. At the time he only had one credit card (bad idea) and so I had to three way conference to Visa and speak to the Accts Dept to get the darn thing unfrozen - took a couple of days - Dad got a Mastercard that day. Anyway, it pays to advise them ahead of time if you plan on going away so you do not get stuck in a situation like this!!

 

[DutchsMommy]

You are right about the internet and over the phone type orders, that's why (with Mastercard anyway) it is alot harder to get set up with this type of account - your business must be alot more established and you often have to provide more info to the credit card company to get set up. NOt sure if this is still true, but a while ago these type of companies had a much lower "floor limit" meaning the level after which they would have to either call or nowadays enter into the POS terminal the details of the transaction to get an authorization number before they could take the persons CC # - theoretically to ensure the card had not been cancelled etc.

But ultimately, as long as the merchant has followed "procedure", the CC pays out on disputed claims. They pay out millions $$ every year, and that is why they are always looking to improve the fraud controls on the cards - like the microchips in the states and even some talk of fingerprint ID to make the card "active".

 

[Snowwark]

Originally posted by connorsmom911
I plan to spend an obscene amount of money. Tracey

You sound like my kind of shopper, Tracey!!

Kim

 

[Susan--Ontario]

I have two occassions when they've called. In 1997 I went to Florida with my Mom and left my DH at home. Mom and I drove over to Belz on the Monday morning. We did a LOT of shopping there. We get back to her trailer and I call my DH to see how things were going at home. He says "Did you have fun shopping in Orlando??" How in the heck did you know I was shopping. I guess the credit card company saw that he had used his debit card in London that morning at around the same time as the credit card was being used in Orlando. They called him to make sure it was okay. They didn't suspend the card that time.

Last year I was ordering from Disneystore.com and they put the transaction on hold until they could confirm that it was me ordering the stuff. My DH told them "I'm sure it's her.

On a good note a coworker of my DH went to the gym to work out over lunch one day and when he returned to his desk he had a voicemail saying that they had frozen his card until he called them because there were some unusual purchases on his card. I'd say.. someone had stolen his card out of the locker at the gym and in less than an hour had spent almost $2000 in computer and electronic equipment.

If they hadn't had those fraud processes in place who knows how long it would have been before he realized that his Visa was missing. His wallet was in a locked locker.

Always, always call and tell them if you're going on a trip and will use the card in an unusual way. I don't have to call because they know that I always spend mega bucks at WDW a few times a year. If I went anywhere else then they would be concerned.

 

[TimNDansMom]

I remember getting a call once when we returned from a vacation, years ago, to make sure it was us. I'm not sure if they tried during the trip and got no answer so called back.

Haven't had a call in years and I guess they must know by now that I frequent Walt Disney World!

 

[filet1970]

It's one thing to get your credit card frozen but when your debit card gets cancelled, you're in deep trouble!
I went to Toronto and when leaving the downtown hotel (a good one) where I'd stayed, I took some money from the interac machine situated in the gift shop! Came home on Sunday and didn't need the card until the Friday night while shopping!
Bang! card cancelled! I went to the bank machine, on the Internet...nothing then found a number for the bank services by phone ! The guy reassured me that the money was still in the account....Thank god! then proceeds to tell me that it seems I made a transaction (ie the last one!) from somewhere which was related to fraud or suspected to be.
And I ask: Why didn't they at least show me the courtesy of calling me to inform me that they were cancelling it then?(blah! blah! blah!) Now I'm stuck on a Friday night with less than 5$ on me for the weekend! but no, I was fortunate to be in Mtl where a couple of branches (so far!) were open on the Saturday morning...so I was able to get a card.
So my advice now is to never take out money at non banking cash machines (even in nice places!) and to always keep some cash around just in case. You never know when it will happen or where you'll be!