credit card fraud

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

peanut

Guest
I am meticulous about shredding every bit of personal info that I throw away. I always cover the keypad with my hand when keying in my credit card details . I do buy things online with my credit card like most people and I use it to pay for petrol and top up my fone card etc .

So i was rather concerned to see a £30.00 debit from my bank by 02 (UK Ltd )prepaid.
My pay as you go fone number having been transferred to Vodafone 6 months ago !;)

Phoned 02 connected to Trinidad ? spoke to someone whom English is definitely their third language. They had no records , no help, no understand :biggrin:. gave up.

Phoned bank cancelled credit card.

Credit cards simply are not a safe way of paying for anything. Every time we give someone our credit card details we effectively give them permission to debit our bank account for as much as they like whenever they like for as long as you have a bank account. :biggrin:

Even cancelling your credit card will not prevent them from debiting your bank account in the future .! Even your bank cannot cancel any transactions on your behalf once you have given your credit card details to someone.

The only thing you can do is query the debit with your credit card company .Once they have made enquiries and established it is a fraudulant transaction they should credit you back with the money and get the money back from whoever took the payment . Thats the theory anyway but there is no guarantee you'll get your money back.

In the mean time 02 are perfectly able to keep debiting my bank account and there is nothing anyone can do about it

Its only £30.00 but the violation of my trust and personal security has made me feel quite sick this morning. I feel anxious confused and totally out of control of my own affairs.
 

Bigtwin

New Member
Relax - there's nothing you can do about it beyond what you already are.

Had similar issue about 6 months ago with Nat West CC. Refunded the money eventually, but had not the slightest interest in what had happened. To say the fraud dept was a "quiet backwater grazing ground for the inept" would be a gross understatement.

I know we end up paying for it in the end, but fact is they treat it as a trading expense at point of happening.
 

yello

Guest
peanut said:
Credit cards simply are not a safe way of paying for anything. Every time we give someone our credit card details we effectively give them permission to debit our bank account for as much as they like whenever they like for as long as you have a bank account.

Pretty much.

It's the way the system works. The massive majority of cc transactions go through courtesy of automated systems of one form or another. We want it that way. In fact, you'd probably be pretty pissed off if they didn't such is the way we've come to expect our 'shopping experience'.

Not defending it mind.

So periodically the automated systems fouls up. Or someone pushes the wrong 'Ok' or 'Accept' button. It's the price we pay for the convenience we get most of the time. It's annoying, damned annoying, to have to spend hours/days on the phone getting such things sorted but, again, it's the flipside of the same coin. You've just got to jump through the hoops.

Banks and credit card companies have a huge budget for credit card fraud. They don't care, not hugely. They earn enough elsewhere to write it off.
 

ChrisKH

Guru
Location
Essex
I wouldn't mind but you always get treated like a colluding criminal by the card companies when you report these things.
 

bonj2

Guest
You can request a chargeback. They might not want to do it, but if you insist, they have to do it. Basically where a transaction didn't have your authorisation.
They should refund you, and then re-debit it if they manage to prove it was actually you that did it, i.e. the burden of proof is on them.
I once did one, and they DID prove that it was me, it just came up on the statement as a trading name of a shop that i didn't recognise that was different from the name of the actual shop. Fair enough.
More recently I had two charges for parking fines in barking and dagenham. I've never been to barking and dagenham. Got them refunded.
 

yello

Guest
ChrisKH said:
I wouldn't mind but you always get treated like a colluding criminal by the card companies when you report these things.

Really? I've always had the same response that peanut and bigtwin alluded to... that is, they don't really give a shoot and just go through the motions, send out the reclaim letters etc.

The worst culprits, ime, are mobile and ISPs!
 

ChrisKH

Guru
Location
Essex
yello said:
Really? I've always had the same response that peanut and bigtwin alluded to... that is, they don't really give a shoot and just go through the motions, send out the reclaim letters etc.

The worst culprits, ime, are mobile and ISPs!

Maybe I shouldn't be so critical then. My card company were at least trying to pin the blame on someone. :blush:
 

lazyfatgit

Guest
Location
Lawrence, NSW
Has happened to me a few times.

Once cards were intercepted in the post. I called to point out the one I had was expired (i was trying to buy carpets with it - a bit embarassing). It seems the new one had already run up a bill, which i never saw - just new cards sent out a day or two later.

Worst was when Mrs LFG chinned me on my several hundred pound spend on some "Escort Services" in Las Vegas! Again, new card received next day.

It's really important to keep on top of the statemnets. You never know what could be slipped in there.
 

bonj2

Guest
peanut - if chargeback fails you could try suing them (O2 that is). I had written a long reply but firefox went and binned it off. I do know a bit about suing companies having done it twice, both successfully, so if you want any advice on going down this route feel free to pm me.
 

upandover

Guru
Location
Liverpool
Apparently it's quite common when you've had dealings with phone companies. You can top-up £30 upto 3 times a month, and it's not traceable. I had it recently after swapping networks. I got the money back about a month later.

Steve
 

Slim

Über Member
Location
Plough Lane
I just checked my account to make sure my monthly bills have been paid and spotted another transaction to O2 Prepay. Looks like there may be a pattern. Anyway, Santander have said they'll pass it on to their counter-fraud dept. As much as this is annoying, to be fair, the banks have always been really good about dealing with the instances.

Not sure where the card details would have crept out. Can't even blame Wiggle:rolleyes: as my last transactions with them have been via Paypal.
 

Slim

Über Member
Location
Plough Lane
I've just had a call from Santander - the bastards topped their phones up 5 more times this morning. The card has been stopped and full refunds are on the way.

It'll be another 10 days before I get a replacement card. The wife will be pleased that online shopping is off the menu for a while.:biggrin:
 

Mayniac

New Member
Location
Nottingham
I tried to use my Tesco Visa in Tesco's on Monday to be informed that it had been blocked. This has happened before, usually as a result of a transaction they weren't too sure about. e.g. if I order something from abroad. Fair do's, I had other means of payment.

In this case it was due to some scumbag trying to top their O2 PAYG phone up, which was blocked. Although previous blocks in the card may have been an inconvenience, their caution certainly paid off this time :biggrin:. New card on its way.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Some fugger has tried to transfer £1000 onto my credit card today - fortunately I received a text alert from the card company, replied NO and the Fraud team has been on. My account now has to be completely cancelled, and a new one set up, including re-registering on line and everything....little oiks....
 
Top Bottom