Credit Card provider being unreasonable?

[poo at Paul's]

Bit of an odd one and sorry it’s a bit long.
I
Yesterday, I had a call from a legitimate company that I have a monthly subscription to that is charged to a Mastercard I have, been regular sub for 4 years.
They said the payment had been declined.

So I checked my c card and I am over 100 quid in credit on the card, which results from a cock up by them a couple of months ago, when I paid the balance off in full, but they failed to allocate the payment for over 10 days, (despite several calls from me asking why the issue was and them confirming receipt of the payment). This resulted in them then taking a direct debit payment on top, that they should not have as I’d paid in full, and also charging me a month’s interest, although I disputed that and they seem to have taken it off. So I am now in credit for the dd payment they took.
At the time I asked for the cash to come back to me, they claimed I would need to write to them (!) for that, and it would take 14 days. As there is a subscription of 30quid a month on it, I figured easier to spend it instead.

So about 3 weeks ago, I tried to use the card online, using all the correct passwords, authentications, second layer checking, including one time passcode to my phone, but the payment would not go through. It was not large, it was about 40 quid equivalent, but was in US dollars, but all legit from a legit site, (big chain hotel company).
I was a bit perplexed, but then I got a text from c card company fraud dept asking if the transaction was legit, it said to answer yes if so, no if not. So I replied yes, and got a reply saying thanks, please try again in 2 minutes when account updated. I left it 5 mins, tried again, no joy, another 5, again, no joy. I then went back and did the whole thing again and no joy, so in the end just used another card!
Since then, no communication to say any problem, quite the opposite, weekly text updates showing over 100 quid in credit, even an email yesterday confirming the same, no letters or other Comms,

I called credit card company yesterday to ask why the subscription was refused, and the card is apparently blocked. Again, no one has told me this, in fact quite the opposite, the fraud check was replied to and I got a reply from them acknowledging it and saying it would be unblocked in 2 mins, 3 weeks ago.

So I ask them to explain why it is blocked, and they cannot. So I ask them to just pay my money back and close the account as an unreliable card and poor service (10 days to allocate a payment resulting in more charges and payments being taken), means it’s no good to me!
I am then told in order to get the money back, they need to unblock the card, and for this, they need me to send photo ID and a utility bill to them at my home! I have lived here 20 years, c card for 10 years, and they owe me money not the other way around!

So I am thinking this is maybe some scam, again this is just from a person on a phone, no formal letter, no email asking for this, no indication of any problem until this subscription was refused.
I ask to speak to the fraud department, as I think this may be someone trying it on and trying to get info from me to commit a fraud against me, and they won’t put me through. I ask to speak to a supervisor to raise my concerns, and ‘no one is available’. So I ask to raise a formal complaint.

She takes the complaint, I ask for the reference for follow up and she says there is no reference number, one will be emailed within 5 days, and the complaint will be heard and I will be informed of the result within 40 (yes, 40) days!
I urge her to please put a note on it to deal with it quicker if possible, as I am not waiting 40 days to get my money back after their mistakes, and am told it ‘should be quicker.’

This was yesterday and of course no email about the complaint yet, but the whole thing makes me think they’re pretty incompetent at best, and that this is some sort of scam that maybe staff are up to to commit identity theft etc. The lady said it was ‘standard’ to ask for photo I’d and a gas bill etc, but it just isn’t in my experience. I asked if I need to upload this to some secure portal, take them into a branch etc, and was told no, just email them to the ‘info at’ email address! I asked how did I know it was secure and was told ‘we are not going to commit an ID fraud on you, we don’t do that’, to which I pointed out that’s exactly what an ID fraudster would say!

Has anyone had such a request before to unblock a card, I’ve had credit cards for near 40 years and never been asked for such things to even apply for a card, never mind to unblock oem to get my own money back? Am I over reacting or are my spidey senses right on the money?
tried contacting Mastercard to ask advice but they just refer you back to the card issuer.

The whole thing just feels like it’s a scam, to be honest but if I do nothing I cannot get my 100 plus quid back. I’ve checked ts and Cs and also FAQ on their website and can see nothing that says I have to provide photo ID and proof of address. And I pointed out to get my money back, they just need to pay if back to the account they took it from which I’ve had 40 years! And since I’d passed their ‘security checks’ to be speaking to them, even if I was a fraudster, all they would be doing would be paying the cardholder back money that they owe him!

It all seemed ridiculous and made me just think scam. Appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. I really don’t want to be emailing my photo ID and gas bill.

[Sarnie]

It's not a scam, especially if you called them, not the other way round, on a legit number from the back of your card or from a statement.

My experience of banks, having worked with them for 25 years, is that sometimes it's actually easier to just do what they ask than trying to fight a fight that you aren't going to win, if you want to get what you want out of them.....

[ferret50]

Would the CC be from a bank with a red logo, and shares a name with a Spanish city that also receives ferries from Portsmouth and Plymouth?

[Mr Overheads]

Call the number on the back of the card, don't rant etc, ask to be put through to fraud dept, don't mention history, just ask if account blocked, if they say yes, ask what you need to do to unblock calmly (temptation to rant huge), then just do what they say, it's not worth arguing.

Worth asking them if there is a secure way to submit photo ID and Utility Bill rather than email though or if they have an alternative method of proving ID.

Once unblocked, buy a £100 Amazon or other voucher that you'll actually use, to clear account near to zero, or even slightly overspend i.e. if balance is £98 in credit buy £100 voucher. Then after next debit takes the £2 overspend, close the account if you want to.

[poo at Paul's]

ferret50 said:

Would the CC be from a bank with a red logo, and shares a name with a Spanish city that also receives ferries from Portsmouth and Plymouth?

No it’s not, it was a hotel chain c card when I took it out about 8 years ago but got taken over by some clowns a while back.
Btw I did call them on the number on the card, but there is 2 and one is unobtainable but the other worked.

[poo at Paul's]

Sarnie said:

It's not a scam, especially if you called them, not the other way round, on a legit number from the back of your card or from a statement.

My experience of banks, having worked with them for 25 years, is that sometimes it's actually easier to just do what they ask than trying to fight a fight that you aren't going to win, if you want to get what you want out of them.....

First off, yes I know I called them, but I am just speaking to a person, and what she said didn’t make any sense. ID fraud is perpetrated by people in most instances, not institutions, hence my concern. I’m in banking too since mid 90s but more on commercial side. But alarm bells are ringing on this belt. Asked for photo ID and utility bill, exact,y what you need to take out a quick high interest loan, store purchase etc. never been asked for it for a new credit card, never mind getting access to my own flipping money thst they owe me from a card, becuase they failed to allocate the payment in full on time.
I could email this stuff, close the account , then forget about it until some new loan or card pops up in my name.
Sadly it happens and if it nearly always due to someone persuading the victim to hand over that sort of info ro someone who has earned their confidence, or who sounds plausible but uses leverage to get it, eg. You must give me this document or this password or this info right now as fraidsters are emptying the account, etc etc. ie persuading you via pressure or urgency.

I tried calling the fraud dept today and could not get out though, wanted for over 1 hour.
Tonight I tried to log in to my account online and it is blocked too.

It just feels like something untoward is going on and not sure who to speak to for reassurance or to report it.

[poo at Paul's]

We’ll sort of got soemwhere witn this, but it was a rather surreal experience on the phone to them tbh.
Called again,,asked to speak to fraud dept, ‘no you can’t’, what the issue, I go over it all, again. The guy says the notes show the ‘tried to email me’, (and they have my email ok), but finally conceded that had not, the card was frozen on 23rd two days after the security challenge that I passed! And no one actually told me. So that was something, an acknowledgement they’d fked up.
So I said I would need a formal letter or email to explain that and what I need to do. He said it is not an email, it is indeed a secure portal link, and doesn’t know why they told me otherwise. But sadly, he can’t do emails, so I explained that I could be speaking to anyone, he could be working at home and I could be speaking to the neighbour covering for him why he buys milk! He laughs and assures me thst is not the case, and if I hold, he will speak to fraud dept and ask if they can email me, so I hold..
After a few minutes, a woman’s voice answers….’hello’.. I say hi who’s that…‘it’s Cxxxxxx security admin dept’, ..oh ok, she asks for card number, and security I give it, but as I’m doing so I can hear wind noise in background and kids and adults voices shouting….just weird! So I ask, err, sorry, where are yiu, it’s very noisy…’oh sorry, I’m working at home today, and my toddlers are having a play date’…err, ok, but who’s the adult and why so windy…’oh that their friends mum, don’t worry she’s watching them, we’re in the kitchen with the doors open….’
So as I am speaking, and email pops up from this sucirtyn admin address, I open it and it’s the email I wanted asking me to supply what they need, so I stop mid sentence, and say err, actually the Mail I was after just came in…just as saying that, I am getting call waiting from the same number I was originally speaking to so figure it is the original guy, so I say to the woman, hold on, let me try grab your colleague, but I miss it…so go back the play date anti fraud woman, start speaking, to her, and say I think your colleague has done the email….and I hear this ‘ohhh, are they your cushions…? Go get me cushions ! ‘….so I’m going, ‘errr, hello, yellow, I’m still here, hello’, then she starts gabbling in some foreign language I didn’t understand, and the other lady starts peaking too, then in English, then shouting at the kids….it was bizarre!.. so the call waiting goes off, I grab it, it’s the original bloke, I need to do security but I’m pissing myself laughing at the irony of it all, bearing in mind our convo 5 mins before, he asks am I still connected, I should apparently have not even gone to her, I say yes, and he says he will message her to hang up.
I point out the irony if this person being responsible for freezing my card, and for unfreezing it, checking my copy driving licence and gas bill, all whilst she’s buggering about with her kids and her mate on a play day, all listening into the conversations, and to add that to my complaint please!
Th poor guy is really apologetic, asks if I will hold, goes off, comes back 3 mins later, and says they will refund my money now to my bank account, but that I will need to send the ID etc in to unfreeze the account.
So I let him repay my 125 quid and tell him it’s unlikely I will bother unfreezing it and will just snip it up, but said I need them to confirm they won’t charge me the 70 quid a year fee, which he says the can’t if it is frozen. So we wait to see.
It’s so unprofessional it’s ridiculous, what a bunch of clowns. My missus was is the office today working at home herself and I was playing the audio of the play date and she said in her place, they’d likely be sacked for even taking a call on such a subject with others in earshot.
The further irony is that this card is a hotel rewards club card, and the ‘suspsicious transaction’ that apparently stated the whole fk up,mess me trying to use some of my credit up by buying some hotel points to preserve some I had and allow me to take advantage of some free upgrades…of course the card issuer says ‘we didn’t know that!’
Utter clowns.

Name and shame prevents me from naming, but they do cards from a big high street electrical retailer and DiY shed, they are a proper shower, absolutely inept .

But I (hope) got my cash back (well in 2 weeks I will) and now properly realise never to deal with this lot again, unless I want to got ‘play cushions’ with the fraud department.

Surreal. I am sure looking forward to the complaint ‘final letter’ to see what they say about the play date!