FairFx - a salutary tale
Discussion
On Friday evening I decided to join the 21st century despite Ma Groat's luddite howls, and topped up my FairFx card with £750 from my Cashplus account. (Ma Groat, I should mention, is strictly oldskool and travels abroad only with hard currency).
So I do the deed and up pops a message telling me my dough will be loaded on my FairFx card 'within a few hours'.
Saturday morning I notice no top up has been loaded, so I email FairFx to query. And they reply to say they haven't received the funds. So I phone (yes, yes, you CAN actually phone) Cashplus to query. And Cashplus tell me it's noted as a "pending" transaction and FairFx haven't "claimed the funds".
So I email (no phoning available till Tuesday) FairFx and ask them to please "claim the funds".
Sunday morning, I notice the Cashplus account showing the transaction no longer "pending" although for some reason the 'transaction details' page referring to the transaction is blank. And so I go on to the FairFx account and guess what? No top up has been loaded.
So I email FairFx to query, and THIS is what I get back:
Dear ........,
Im so sorry to hear this has happened. After looking at your account i can see that the reason why your payment was unsuccessful is because the billing address on your payment card did not match the delivery address on your FairFX account.
As a result the order failed but the payment may have been authorised by your bank for us to take. We can confirm that we have not and will not bank the payment. The funds will return to your bank's available balance once your bank releases the hold, in our experience this can take up to 7 working days.
To speed this process up we can submit a cancellation request to your bank which we can do by emailing or faxing them. Please can you obtain the fax number or email address from your bank and we will contact them.
Unfortunately as this is the bank holiday weekend the bank would be unable to process the fax until Tuesday however please be rest assured we will treat this with the utmost urgency
If you are using a saved payment card please check your main online account to see what billing address is saved against your payment card. The billing address will not update automatically after changing your address on your online account, you will need to re save the card. You can remove a saved payment card within your online account by selecting the dustbin icon.
If you believe that the addresses should be matching and your saved payment card is correct then we would advise that you contact your bank because it is likely that there is an error on a back system which you cannot see or have access to.
Please feel free to contact me if you require any further assistance.
Kind regards,
Customer Services
So I email FairFx to explain that a) it is the SAME payment card that was used to top up the FairFx card only a few weeks previously. and b) I don't really fully understand all the terms of the reply and c) even if I had cashplus' email address (which I don't) or fax number (bless!) I'm not really interested in getting a job solving problems at FairFx so could they please ask (named person who I know at Fairfx and who has half a brain) to phone me ASAP!
Hopefully he will phone me - albeit on Tuesday given you English dodgers have decided that Monday is another tedious and meaningless holiday - and all will be rectified. Otherwise this poor old severely disabled pensioner is going to have to "run" around on Tuesday getting some extra holiday dosh, or have yet another holiday-on-the-credit/debit cards which is of course fraught with charges and ripoffs and other nightmarish pitfalls including its meaningless rejection because some halfwit in a "back office" decides someone paying for dinner in a european holiday resort is too suspicious a transaction to allow.
My f
kin' nut is nippin' and I am, of course, the House Clown and for some time will have to put up with Ma Groat's sneering and jeering and 'told you so' -ing. Next time, apparently, if I insist on using a pre-loaded card for holiday spending she'll get one at the Post Office. They work. Her friend told her.
TLDR?? : Never ever use FairFx. They would give a paracetemol tablet a migraine.
So I do the deed and up pops a message telling me my dough will be loaded on my FairFx card 'within a few hours'.
Saturday morning I notice no top up has been loaded, so I email FairFx to query. And they reply to say they haven't received the funds. So I phone (yes, yes, you CAN actually phone) Cashplus to query. And Cashplus tell me it's noted as a "pending" transaction and FairFx haven't "claimed the funds".
So I email (no phoning available till Tuesday) FairFx and ask them to please "claim the funds".
Sunday morning, I notice the Cashplus account showing the transaction no longer "pending" although for some reason the 'transaction details' page referring to the transaction is blank. And so I go on to the FairFx account and guess what? No top up has been loaded.
So I email FairFx to query, and THIS is what I get back:
Dear ........,
Im so sorry to hear this has happened. After looking at your account i can see that the reason why your payment was unsuccessful is because the billing address on your payment card did not match the delivery address on your FairFX account.
As a result the order failed but the payment may have been authorised by your bank for us to take. We can confirm that we have not and will not bank the payment. The funds will return to your bank's available balance once your bank releases the hold, in our experience this can take up to 7 working days.
To speed this process up we can submit a cancellation request to your bank which we can do by emailing or faxing them. Please can you obtain the fax number or email address from your bank and we will contact them.
Unfortunately as this is the bank holiday weekend the bank would be unable to process the fax until Tuesday however please be rest assured we will treat this with the utmost urgency
If you are using a saved payment card please check your main online account to see what billing address is saved against your payment card. The billing address will not update automatically after changing your address on your online account, you will need to re save the card. You can remove a saved payment card within your online account by selecting the dustbin icon.
If you believe that the addresses should be matching and your saved payment card is correct then we would advise that you contact your bank because it is likely that there is an error on a back system which you cannot see or have access to.
Please feel free to contact me if you require any further assistance.
Kind regards,
Customer Services
So I email FairFx to explain that a) it is the SAME payment card that was used to top up the FairFx card only a few weeks previously. and b) I don't really fully understand all the terms of the reply and c) even if I had cashplus' email address (which I don't) or fax number (bless!) I'm not really interested in getting a job solving problems at FairFx so could they please ask (named person who I know at Fairfx and who has half a brain) to phone me ASAP!
Hopefully he will phone me - albeit on Tuesday given you English dodgers have decided that Monday is another tedious and meaningless holiday - and all will be rectified. Otherwise this poor old severely disabled pensioner is going to have to "run" around on Tuesday getting some extra holiday dosh, or have yet another holiday-on-the-credit/debit cards which is of course fraught with charges and ripoffs and other nightmarish pitfalls including its meaningless rejection because some halfwit in a "back office" decides someone paying for dinner in a european holiday resort is too suspicious a transaction to allow.
My f
kin' nut is nippin' and I am, of course, the House Clown and for some time will have to put up with Ma Groat's sneering and jeering and 'told you so' -ing. Next time, apparently, if I insist on using a pre-loaded card for holiday spending she'll get one at the Post Office. They work. Her friend told her.TLDR?? : Never ever use FairFx. They would give a paracetemol tablet a migraine.
I must admit I like currency cards & I carry both FairFX & Caxton in case one of them goes wrong when I'm away. It's probably no use to you now but the Halifax Clarity credit card is widely recommended for travel use as there are no charges on foreign transactions:
https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card...
Monzo is OK if you use it as a credit card but there's a £200 a month cash limit before they start charging fees. I'd always carry a backup card though (which you should anyway).
https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card...
Monzo is OK if you use it as a credit card but there's a £200 a month cash limit before they start charging fees. I'd always carry a backup card though (which you should anyway).
Well assuming this can't be sorted (50/50) I'm just gonna depend on Ma Groat's cash stash and 5 cards from 3 different banks. What could go wrong, eh?
The future? Probably back to cash, plus a d/c and c/c card or two in reserve for those odd weirdos who don't take cash.
And as a long stop if all 5 cards fail there's always a mate back home plus Western Union.
The future? Probably back to cash, plus a d/c and c/c card or two in reserve for those odd weirdos who don't take cash.
And as a long stop if all 5 cards fail there's always a mate back home plus Western Union.
Think you are being a bit unfair on FairFX.
To help reduce the risk of online fraud, most companies accepting a payment online insist that the address you declare as your billing address matches the card billing address registered with the bank.
In your case, your bank approved the funds to leave your account, but FairFX refused the payment due to the addresses not matching. They could in theory force it through using something called an 'authorisation code', but many companies don't want to do this as it opens up other potential loopholes.
As to why you were able to use your card previously, there are a few possibilities. Maybe you used the card to pay with them over the phone - in that case the company might apply different rules. or they chose to manually override their address check rules. Maybe the registered addresses changed since you last paid with the card, or maybe they have just tightened up their online payment rules to match what most companies already do.
If you adjust the address of your account with FairFX to match the card's billing address and make the payment again, you will most likely find it is processed straight away. The existing failed transaction will just resolve itself automatically later in the week when your bank see it didn't complete properly.
To help reduce the risk of online fraud, most companies accepting a payment online insist that the address you declare as your billing address matches the card billing address registered with the bank.
In your case, your bank approved the funds to leave your account, but FairFX refused the payment due to the addresses not matching. They could in theory force it through using something called an 'authorisation code', but many companies don't want to do this as it opens up other potential loopholes.
As to why you were able to use your card previously, there are a few possibilities. Maybe you used the card to pay with them over the phone - in that case the company might apply different rules. or they chose to manually override their address check rules. Maybe the registered addresses changed since you last paid with the card, or maybe they have just tightened up their online payment rules to match what most companies already do.
If you adjust the address of your account with FairFX to match the card's billing address and make the payment again, you will most likely find it is processed straight away. The existing failed transaction will just resolve itself automatically later in the week when your bank see it didn't complete properly.
EddieSteadyGo said:
Think you are being a bit unfair on FairFX.
To help reduce the risk of online fraud, most companies accepting a payment online insist that the address you declare as your billing address matches the card billing address registered with the bank.
In your case, your bank approved the funds to leave your account, but FairFX refused the payment due to the addresses not matching. They could in theory force it through using something called an 'authorisation code', but many companies don't want to do this as it opens up other potential loopholes.
As to why you were able to use your card previously, there are a few possibilities. Maybe you used the card to pay with them over the phone - in that case the company might apply different rules. or they chose to manually override their address check rules. Maybe the registered addresses changed since you last paid with the card, or maybe they have just tightened up their online payment rules to match what most companies already do.
If you adjust the address of your account with FairFX to match the card's billing address and make the payment again, you will most likely find it is processed straight away. The existing failed transaction will just resolve itself automatically later in the week when your bank see it didn't complete properly.
Mate, I'm a simple sort of guy at heart. I try to top up the fairfx card using a payment card. As it happens I use a card whose details they've got stored in their system because it's only a few weeks since I used it. It's billing details are exactly the same as they were, and are also exactly the same as the fairfx account details. To help reduce the risk of online fraud, most companies accepting a payment online insist that the address you declare as your billing address matches the card billing address registered with the bank.
In your case, your bank approved the funds to leave your account, but FairFX refused the payment due to the addresses not matching. They could in theory force it through using something called an 'authorisation code', but many companies don't want to do this as it opens up other potential loopholes.
As to why you were able to use your card previously, there are a few possibilities. Maybe you used the card to pay with them over the phone - in that case the company might apply different rules. or they chose to manually override their address check rules. Maybe the registered addresses changed since you last paid with the card, or maybe they have just tightened up their online payment rules to match what most companies already do.
If you adjust the address of your account with FairFX to match the card's billing address and make the payment again, you will most likely find it is processed straight away. The existing failed transaction will just resolve itself automatically later in the week when your bank see it didn't complete properly.
Oh well, that's not strictly true. My address on FairFx starts '7-1'. On Cashplus it starts '7 1'. Cashplus doesn't do hyphens and neither of them do what we used to call obliques (what the uneducated call 'forward slashes') because in reality everyone else in the world calls the place '7/1'. Maybe that's it, eh?
It's some comfort to hear that human intervention can override this lunacy. Hopefully early Tuesday my chap at FairFx will apply the microscopic bit of common sense needed to accept that '7 1' and '7-1' are in fact one and the same.
Funnily enough there actually IS another lunatic financial institution, that doesn't do hyphens OR obliques, who wanted to insist we live at 71! That one ended up being called "7th floor door 1".
All of this confuses f
k out of the retards who deliver the mail when they can be bothered. Because in reality the gaff doesn't have a door number at all! Because the floor doesn't have another door, apart from to the stairs and into the lift. Delivery men, postmen and all kinds of callers often find this very confusing. Apparently FairFx do too. (not that it'll matter for much longer).
ETA: Pointless arguing with frontline persons in call centres who are barely trained and work from scripts is a modern commonplace.
Last week it was the one at Vodafone insisting and insisting and insisting and insisting and insisting that you cannot use 1 PAC code to move 2 different numbers. Yes you can! Yet the manager I EVENTUALLY got put through to continued to insist that you can't. It took screaming and shouting to get him to put me through to the very senior person at Vodafone whose name I was told to quote before it was finally agreed that you CAN use 1 PAC to port 2 numbers. It's a commonplace when porting BUSINESS numbers. I suggested to the senior one that he tell the junior one to tell ALL the callcentre staff that when someone is porting multiple numbers using only 1 PAC code they should ask if these are BUSINESS numbers......
Oy f
kin' vey!!Edited by Groat on Sunday 25th August 15:25
Groat said:
<snip>
It's some comfort to hear that human intervention can override this lunacy. Hopefully early Tuesday my chap at FairFx will apply the microscopic bit of common sense needed to accept that '7 1' and '7-1' are in fact one and the same.
Just to mention, the company receiving the payment don't get to know which part of your address didn't match. They just get told by your bank that the address match failed. It's some comfort to hear that human intervention can override this lunacy. Hopefully early Tuesday my chap at FairFx will apply the microscopic bit of common sense needed to accept that '7 1' and '7-1' are in fact one and the same.
This is to the extent that, if you entered every line of address incorrectly, the resulting fail would look to them pretty much the same.
Having said that, they should know that many addresses in Scotland follow a slightly different naming convention to that in England which can result in the digits being transposed, depending upon how the address is recorded in their system. Pretty sure this will be the issue, but it should be easily resolved on Tuesday.
Groat said:
Mate, I'm a simple sort of guy at heart. I try to top up the fairfx card using a payment card. As it happens I use a card whose details they've got stored in their system because it's only a few weeks since I used it. It's billing details are exactly the same as they were, and are also exactly the same as the fairfx account details.
Oh well, that's not strictly true. My address on FairFx starts '7-1'. On Cashplus it starts '7 1'. Cashplus doesn't do hyphens and neither of them do what we used to call obliques (what the uneducated call 'forward slashes') because in reality everyone else in the world calls the place '7/1'. Maybe that's it, eh?
I don't *think* the address format matters, I believe the address checking is as far as comparing the numbers in your address, eg. if it's 7-1 Bloggs House, Sometown, ST1 2AB then the numbers checked would be "7112". Strange it was rejected though, maybe they check more these days, or it was just a random system failure.Oh well, that's not strictly true. My address on FairFx starts '7-1'. On Cashplus it starts '7 1'. Cashplus doesn't do hyphens and neither of them do what we used to call obliques (what the uneducated call 'forward slashes') because in reality everyone else in the world calls the place '7/1'. Maybe that's it, eh?
Mr Pointy said:
I must admit I like currency cards & I carry both FairFX & Caxton in case one of them goes wrong when I'm away. It's probably no use to you now but the Halifax Clarity credit card is widely recommended for travel use as there are no charges on foreign transactions:
https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card...
Monzo is OK if you use it as a credit card but there's a £200 a month cash limit before they start charging fees. I'd always carry a backup card though (which you should anyway).
I do read good things about the Clarity card, but never used FairFX or Caxton. Are their ‘no charge’ foreign withdrawals all free regardless of amount? Any fees?https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card...
Monzo is OK if you use it as a credit card but there's a £200 a month cash limit before they start charging fees. I'd always carry a backup card though (which you should anyway).
I have used Monzo since beta, and also have Starling for backup. Works okay for us, but as you say, limited no-charge cash withdrawals.
I get this at work 1-2 times a week, sometimes daily.
Despite our website making it 100% clear that your billing address MUST match exactly what is held by you bank people still submit the wrong details.
There are a few reasons for this and I listed some below.
1. Genuine mistake, they keyed in the wrong address by mistake.
2. They deliberately put in the wrong address because they don't want us to know their home address.
3. They are a company and the person sending the order does not know where the card address is.
4. Recently moved but not told the bank
5. As above but moved a long time ago and paperless means they never catch their error
6. Fraud.
I would say they 1-5 happen most often. 6 is quite rare for us.
The problem is the bank often pre-authorise the transaction in case of another attempt. This means the funds often show going out of the account. But in reality the funds are still there. The bank keep the funds to one side for 3 days, which often makes the situation worse.
We then get customers calling us saying that we have their money and we did not deliver etc etc etc. Matters are often made worse when we say you need to put that transaction through again and the customer says they cant because we have their money.
Most people finally get the idea of what has happened but I can tell you ever year we get 2 or 3 people who keep putting the wrong address and end up in a loop. I spoke to one guy on the phone a couple of months ago over the course of about a week and he eventually figured out his business card was registered to his old, old address.
The really amusing part is he has since ordered again and has he changed the address... nope. We have the same problem with CNP over the phone. The machine requires the house number and post code... at least 10% of all our transactions fail because of this. A few smart people just give us the house number and post code numbers.... see No2 above!
Despite our website making it 100% clear that your billing address MUST match exactly what is held by you bank people still submit the wrong details.
There are a few reasons for this and I listed some below.
1. Genuine mistake, they keyed in the wrong address by mistake.
2. They deliberately put in the wrong address because they don't want us to know their home address.
3. They are a company and the person sending the order does not know where the card address is.
4. Recently moved but not told the bank
5. As above but moved a long time ago and paperless means they never catch their error
6. Fraud.
I would say they 1-5 happen most often. 6 is quite rare for us.
The problem is the bank often pre-authorise the transaction in case of another attempt. This means the funds often show going out of the account. But in reality the funds are still there. The bank keep the funds to one side for 3 days, which often makes the situation worse.
We then get customers calling us saying that we have their money and we did not deliver etc etc etc. Matters are often made worse when we say you need to put that transaction through again and the customer says they cant because we have their money.
Most people finally get the idea of what has happened but I can tell you ever year we get 2 or 3 people who keep putting the wrong address and end up in a loop. I spoke to one guy on the phone a couple of months ago over the course of about a week and he eventually figured out his business card was registered to his old, old address.
The really amusing part is he has since ordered again and has he changed the address... nope. We have the same problem with CNP over the phone. The machine requires the house number and post code... at least 10% of all our transactions fail because of this. A few smart people just give us the house number and post code numbers.... see No2 above!
Groat - the 7-1 is your problem. The system does not know what to do with - or / or b,c,d etc.
Its numeric only.
With 11b for example you can normally just but 11 and it will take that.
Special chars are a no no. This is going to cause you more problems down the line.
Is there a way you can get it changed i.e
7 Main Street
Flat 1
Then it takes the 7 and all happy.
Its numeric only.
With 11b for example you can normally just but 11 and it will take that.
Special chars are a no no. This is going to cause you more problems down the line.
Is there a way you can get it changed i.e
7 Main Street
Flat 1
Then it takes the 7 and all happy.
red_slr said:
Groat - the 7-1 is your problem. The system does not know what to do with - or / or b,c,d etc.
Its numeric only.
With 11b for example you can normally just but 11 and it will take that.
Special chars are a no no. This is going to cause you more problems down the line.
Is there a way you can get it changed i.e
7 Main Street
Flat 1
Then it takes the 7 and all happy.
just go back and read that- because reality and the "system" don't match, its Groats fault for having the wrong reality?Its numeric only.
With 11b for example you can normally just but 11 and it will take that.
Special chars are a no no. This is going to cause you more problems down the line.
Is there a way you can get it changed i.e
7 Main Street
Flat 1
Then it takes the 7 and all happy.
NO, its the systems fault for being badly designed and no coping with a variety of inputs.
The good thing is now he knows.
I think he can ask his bank to "ignore address numeric".
Some addresses automatically get this treatment such as Unit 10 or house names etc. The system automatically picks that up. Others have to request it.
Although some banks do strange things, such as turn unit 10 into just 10. It really is trial and error but once the card holder knows how their data is presented it gets rid of the problem.
I think he can ask his bank to "ignore address numeric".
Some addresses automatically get this treatment such as Unit 10 or house names etc. The system automatically picks that up. Others have to request it.
Although some banks do strange things, such as turn unit 10 into just 10. It really is trial and error but once the card holder knows how their data is presented it gets rid of the problem.
..........and, finally.......after a world championship length rally of email ping-pong......50 between us AT LEAST at a guess.......this:
Dear (victim),
I have raised this to our team and the funds will be credited to your account tomorrow. I sincerely apologise for the inconvenience.
Kind regards,
The Robot Overseer.
Now, can I be bothered phoning FairFx tomorrow to drill down into exactly what happened here??
Doubt it. (unless the funds DON'T appear, in which case it's back to the time-honoured method of getting messes rectified ie climbing the 'customer services' management ladder whilst simultaneously screaming and shouting louder at every rung).
And any way it plays out, no more currency cards ever ever again. Cold hard cash from here on in.
Dear (victim),
I have raised this to our team and the funds will be credited to your account tomorrow. I sincerely apologise for the inconvenience.
Kind regards,
The Robot Overseer.
Now, can I be bothered phoning FairFx tomorrow to drill down into exactly what happened here??
Doubt it. (unless the funds DON'T appear, in which case it's back to the time-honoured method of getting messes rectified ie climbing the 'customer services' management ladder whilst simultaneously screaming and shouting louder at every rung).
And any way it plays out, no more currency cards ever ever again. Cold hard cash from here on in.
And just as a PS, and my final words on this salutary tale......
No funds appeared by 11am. So I phoned them. And guess what? The email explaining the address issue was a load of nonsense.
There never was an address issue. Today's robot was at a loss to explain why the "address issue email" had been sent in the first place.
The ACTUAL issue was a glitch in their system. And because it was a weekend and then a bank holiday, the IT department required to remedy this was not available. They were today, though. And at 2 minutes past 1 an email came to tell me the funds had now been loaded on the card. Which they had!!
At around 2, the person with whom I'd played the lengthy game of email ping pong and who was the author of "the address email" phoned me. To grovel and wheedle and seek my forgiveness. Which I told him was entirely unnecessary and that he'd be best to consign the entire episode to the dustbin of fate.
Soon the euros will be spent (assuming the damn thing actually works). And when they are spent the card will also go into Room 101 along with all memories of FairFx Ltd.
Thus ends the salutary tale of a poor old guy's foray into the new fangled notion of "currency cards" which will never be repeated other than via the Post Office's card which Ma Groat's buddy says definitely works.
pps: Does anyone know the Portuguese for "What the hell do you mean the card's been rejected"!!!!
No funds appeared by 11am. So I phoned them. And guess what? The email explaining the address issue was a load of nonsense.
There never was an address issue. Today's robot was at a loss to explain why the "address issue email" had been sent in the first place.
The ACTUAL issue was a glitch in their system. And because it was a weekend and then a bank holiday, the IT department required to remedy this was not available. They were today, though. And at 2 minutes past 1 an email came to tell me the funds had now been loaded on the card. Which they had!!
At around 2, the person with whom I'd played the lengthy game of email ping pong and who was the author of "the address email" phoned me. To grovel and wheedle and seek my forgiveness. Which I told him was entirely unnecessary and that he'd be best to consign the entire episode to the dustbin of fate.
Soon the euros will be spent (assuming the damn thing actually works). And when they are spent the card will also go into Room 101 along with all memories of FairFx Ltd.
Thus ends the salutary tale of a poor old guy's foray into the new fangled notion of "currency cards" which will never be repeated other than via the Post Office's card which Ma Groat's buddy says definitely works.
pps: Does anyone know the Portuguese for "What the hell do you mean the card's been rejected"!!!!
Edited by Groat on Tuesday 27th August 15:12
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