HSBC declining my card?
Discussion
Tried to use my HSBC plus card in Cairo yesterday and picked current account for the ATM and the thing was declined... no probs might have picked the wrong one.
Tried this morning in a different machine and great it works and I can get 200 EGP (20 GBP), so off I wnader to try out the pyraminds and tombs in Giza and after a long day stop off at a 5* hotel to get a drink and my car is declined for 148 EGP and so is the OH's Egyptian HSBC Card, so think it was the reader there and think nothing of it.
Went back to the ATM I used this morning and the thing will not let me have any money out at all and claims that HSBC have declined to let me.
Now what the hell is the point of having a HSBC Plus account to use in different HSBC ATMs in different countries if HSBC themselves are going to decline the card.
So far I have spent 208 EGP and withdrawn 200 EGP so circa 40GBP, I know there is more on the card as I transfered over 800 GBP just before flying.
Issue is I cant ring 08457 404404 as Egypt is shut down for the weekend and nowhere is open that I can get a PAYG card to have enough to do an overseas call, same goes for HSBC in Egypt and the local telephone banking is a different system (non 40-XX-XX for sort code, etc)...
So how can I get in contact with HSBC and find out what is going on?
Is it possible to use the local number and let the OH talk to them using her details and get an internal transfer to my telephone banking dept in UK without paying loads of money?
And no I wont send a f
king email!!
Tried this morning in a different machine and great it works and I can get 200 EGP (20 GBP), so off I wnader to try out the pyraminds and tombs in Giza and after a long day stop off at a 5* hotel to get a drink and my car is declined for 148 EGP and so is the OH's Egyptian HSBC Card, so think it was the reader there and think nothing of it.
Went back to the ATM I used this morning and the thing will not let me have any money out at all and claims that HSBC have declined to let me.
Now what the hell is the point of having a HSBC Plus account to use in different HSBC ATMs in different countries if HSBC themselves are going to decline the card.
So far I have spent 208 EGP and withdrawn 200 EGP so circa 40GBP, I know there is more on the card as I transfered over 800 GBP just before flying.
Issue is I cant ring 08457 404404 as Egypt is shut down for the weekend and nowhere is open that I can get a PAYG card to have enough to do an overseas call, same goes for HSBC in Egypt and the local telephone banking is a different system (non 40-XX-XX for sort code, etc)...
So how can I get in contact with HSBC and find out what is going on?
Is it possible to use the local number and let the OH talk to them using her details and get an internal transfer to my telephone banking dept in UK without paying loads of money?
And no I wont send a f
king email!!Im not in a hotel but to be honest the amount is only the equivilent of 40GBP so far and was trying for another 20GBP.
60GBP is not really fraud level that they would notice, plus 20 of that was at a local clothing store.
Im in the OH's apartment in zamalek hence the issue with phone contact and no PAYG extension so was wondering if Egypt can transfer to UK banking internally... Have no way to get round that little issue at the moment.
They shouldnt have a limit as her flatmate just took out 1000 EGP and he had no problems.
60GBP is not really fraud level that they would notice, plus 20 of that was at a local clothing store.
Im in the OH's apartment in zamalek hence the issue with phone contact and no PAYG extension so was wondering if Egypt can transfer to UK banking internally... Have no way to get round that little issue at the moment.
They shouldnt have a limit as her flatmate just took out 1000 EGP and he had no problems.
Dupont666 said:
Im not in a hotel but to be honest the amount is only the equivilent of 40GBP so far and was trying for another 20GBP.
60GBP is not really fraud level that they would notice, plus 20 of that was at a local clothing store.
Im in the OH's apartment in zamalek hence the issue with phone contact and no PAYG extension so was wondering if Egypt can transfer to UK banking internally... Have no way to get round that little issue at the moment.
They shouldnt have a limit as her flatmate just took out 1000 EGP and he had no problems.
HSBC stopped my card because I bought a 36p stamp online and then tried to by a laptop and then petrol at a pay by card pump in Tesco, it's nothing to do with amounts it's often more related to unusual usage.60GBP is not really fraud level that they would notice, plus 20 of that was at a local clothing store.
Im in the OH's apartment in zamalek hence the issue with phone contact and no PAYG extension so was wondering if Egypt can transfer to UK banking internally... Have no way to get round that little issue at the moment.
They shouldnt have a limit as her flatmate just took out 1000 EGP and he had no problems.
Edited by jagracer on Saturday 11th September 17:15
jagracer said:
it's nothing to do with amounts it's often more related to unusual usage.
Definitely, apparently it's common practice for scammers to try a few small transactions first to check the card details they have pinched are valid, before ramping up the amounts (or it used to be). Hence small value foreign transactions can often set alarm bells ringing!I rarely use my card abroad, every time I spend a few dollars on something on the internet I end up having the card declined in a shop in the next few days, normally have to spend 10 minutes on the phone going through security checks to get it working again.
Try 00441226347012, its the 'emergency' international number I use so I can speak to someone in the UK. They are happy for me to reverse the charges too.
ETA: It is common for a card to be declined when making a charity donation online for instance, most fraudsters did this as it looked innocent and showed them the card worked.
ETA: It is common for a card to be declined when making a charity donation online for instance, most fraudsters did this as it looked innocent and showed them the card worked.
Edited by Tommy Winchester on Saturday 11th September 17:52
Its defo that you didnt tell them you were going (or they forgot to update the computer system).
Seems I forget everytime I go to the states and the ATM declines me for the $200 I ask for, but then lets me have $60, but only once.
When I call them they "unflag" the card and all is OK. When I ask why it let me have the $60, they says its so I have at least some money in case its an emergency.
Call the bank from the hotel.
Seems I forget everytime I go to the states and the ATM declines me for the $200 I ask for, but then lets me have $60, but only once.
When I call them they "unflag" the card and all is OK. When I ask why it let me have the $60, they says its so I have at least some money in case its an emergency.
Call the bank from the hotel.
Ry_B said:
Regardless of if you tell your bank or not, your card may/can/will still get stopped due to their security systems being automatic.
Do you really think a person sits there going through every transaction checking if it is abroad or not?
It's an automatic system.
The reason you tell your bank (and why they ask you to list the countries you are going to) is so they can tell the system not to auto-flag all transactions abroad - certain 'slacker' criteria are put in place so you can use it. Do you really think a person sits there going through every transaction checking if it is abroad or not?
It's an automatic system.
Essentially allowing a similar spending pattern as in the UK.
ETA: Yes it's a system, but a very very advanced one.
Edited by Tommy Winchester on Saturday 11th September 20:17
Tommy Winchester said:
Ry_B said:
Regardless of if you tell your bank or not, your card may/can/will still get stopped due to their security systems being automatic.
Do you really think a person sits there going through every transaction checking if it is abroad or not?
It's an automatic system.
The reason you tell your bank (and why they ask you to list the countries you are going to) is so they can tell the system not to auto-flag all transactions abroad - certain 'slacker' criteria are put in place so you can use it. Do you really think a person sits there going through every transaction checking if it is abroad or not?
It's an automatic system.
Essentially allowing a similar spending pattern as in the UK.
ETA: Yes it's a system, but a very very advanced one.
Edited by Tommy Winchester on Saturday 11th September 20:17
We informed Our bank and CC cards that we were travelling to Australia - land in Sydney and get Taxi to booked hotel, its horrible so we find another taxi and ask them to take us to a a nice hotel.
Anyway find one, book rooms etc and asked to pay - all 6 cards denied, too late to ring them - luckily the receptionist took our passports as deposit until the next day when we could get it sorted.
Rang the call centre first thing and cards were 'live' within a few hours.
2 weeks later we move onto Melbourne - all good go shopping and wife has a huge bundle of things, go to pay and the Natwest cards were all denied. Luckily a spare CC worked.
So another phone call and all was sorted.
Over our 6 week holiday we had to ring 5 times
Anyway find one, book rooms etc and asked to pay - all 6 cards denied, too late to ring them - luckily the receptionist took our passports as deposit until the next day when we could get it sorted.
Rang the call centre first thing and cards were 'live' within a few hours.
2 weeks later we move onto Melbourne - all good go shopping and wife has a huge bundle of things, go to pay and the Natwest cards were all denied. Luckily a spare CC worked.
So another phone call and all was sorted.
Over our 6 week holiday we had to ring 5 times
Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff