Banks & paypal!

[Arietna]

ARRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH

My bank debit card got eaten by a cash machine a little over a week ago. For some reason, the cash machine decided to reboot itself when I asked for money (there was loads in there, I've just been paid). It rebooted into "not in service" and kept my card.

I got on to the bank 40 minutes later, cancelled the card, and got them to issue me a new one. PIN code arrived 3 days later, and today the replacement card arrived. Great. I sign it, and get on to the telephone number to activate it. Can't activate due to "no security questions"?? They put me through to "customer services", who after a 20 minute queue, cut me off. I phone again. Get through (after another 10 minutes) to a customer service advisor who assures me he has now activated my card. OK, I think, that's nice and straightforward. I'll now link my card to my PayPal account, and my BigFishGames account as they are the only ones linked to that card.

Both refuse it, saying the bank has declined it. Frustrated, I put the details in to PayPal another 5 or 6 times, checking details thoroughly every time. I phone the bank again. Clearly they haven't activated it. They assure me they have, and they haven't declined anything at all since the card was activated. Oddly, however, they find 5 or 6 transactions (apparently timed about 2 o'clock this afternoon, before I even GOT the card) all for £1 (the standard paypal activation amount) which they refused. No reason given. I try again, while they're on the phone, to prove that it clearly is the paypal account requesting it, and that they are definitely refusing it. NO transactions arrive to be authorised/declined while I'm on the phone. BY the way, including waiting on the phone system trying to get to speak to someone (and it directing me to a new system, and a phone PIN that doesn't work any more), I've been on the phone nearly 2 hours. My 3 year old and 4 year old are running riot in the front room.

NO, they say, everything is fine, we're not refusing anything. They guarantee my card will work in a cash machine (like that is going to help me buy anything online!!).

I get on to PayPal. The american-accented girl says that my bank is refusing the card. The bank say they're not. OH, and PayPal have cancelled my Horizons subs (coinciding with me trying to put new card details in - coincidence, I think not). PayPal blame Virtrium for this. I;m sorry, HELLO!!! Virtrium had six months x 2 subs earlier in September, there's no payment due for another 5 months, I don't think it's them. It's clearly PayPal. "no" says the girl, Paypal don't cancel subscriptions, they get no access for that. I suspect it's because I tried to add a new "default" card, so cancelled the old one and it cancelled anything linked to that.

SO, currently I have a new bank card. Can't use it online. MIGHT be able to use it in a cash machine, but i haven't tried that as I can't leave the **** house while my husband is still at work and my kids are awake. Chances are if it's refused by the cash point, the bank will be closed when I get back home to give them an earful again. I've already been a week without access to my account, which is pretty well off as I got paid a day after my card got eaten. All my bank do? Offer to cancel the new card and issue another one. NOOOO don't do this to me!!!

ARRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!

All I can do is try the card *again* tomorrow presumably when PayPal's info MIGHT match up to the bank's info.

If it doesn't work, I'm switching banks. Alliance & Leicester USED to be quite good but after 2 hours on the phone (NOT a freephone number) and telephone systems cutting me off (3 times) I am not a fan. I'll go to First Direct I think, they at least have people answering the phone (I do have an account with them for most bill paying).

ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH I HATE BANKS!

[LOVWYRM]

I feel with you deeply, Arietna.
Good luck.

"customer service" is one of the the most missused terms nowadays.
And most of the time it`s not the fault of the person(IF it`s a person^^not a comp)
you`re communicating with.
It`s the fault of the system.

[GalemThawn]

"no" says the girl, Paypal don't cancel subscriptions, they get no access for that.

Which is completely false, since Paypal cancelled my account when I was using them. Now I don't use Paypal for Istaria subscription. The money is taken directly from my bank account.

[Arietna]

and the cash machine refused it too.

onto the bank again.

Apparently despite their "representative" absolutely 100% guaranteeing my card was activated, it wasn't activated until 10 minutes after I tried it in the cash machine (nearly an hour and a half AFTER I had been told it was!). And PayPal are STILL saying my bank is rejecting it, my bank are saying there's been no requests (apart from the 5 or 6 apparent requests timed between 7am and 2pm - the latest being an hour BEFORE I even opened the envelope with the card in).

I am about to go out and try the cash machine again. *sigh*

(and Galem, I'd already decided due to the issues I've read with other people's Istaria subs and PayPal not to reactivate with paypal. WHEN my subs are due again, I'll go direct to Virtrium - but that wasn't available when I first did it - Virtrium seem to be a darn sight more competent than PayPal).

[Sigi]

A Kafkaesque nightmare scenario, good luck, I hope it all works out all right.

[Arietna]

and the cash machine, again, refuses to give me any money.

A call to the bank reveals that their "fraud" department has now "restricted" my card, due to the repeated attempts (at their suggestion) to activate things.

And the fraud department aren't open until tomorrow morning now.

Apparently I can still access my account online, and will do so tonight, transferring most (if I can) of my cash to an account where I CAN access it.

[Arietna]

and the next step in the saga. Apparently the fraud dept did not restrict my card. The idiot who took the initial report about the cash machine being hungry and eating my card not only stopped the CARD but also stopped ALL transactions on the account.

It's allegedly been cleared, but PayPal STILL won't accept my card. I'm waiting for a call from a senior manager in the bank. I'll be pointing out to them that there's obviously an error in their system somewhere because the final attempt to link my PayPal account was at 9.58 this morning (our time) and appeared 5 minutes after I'd done it, on their system, timestamped 1.58 . I suspect it's taking the PayPal timestamp???

[Arietna]

and the final final post.. thankfully good news. the failure at 10 o'clock was due to the fact it took just over an hour to update everything. I HAVE now successfully 1) got cash out of a machine 2) linked my paypal account (although I suspect I'll be using it less!).

I've also started thinking about WHICH bank I will change to (as soon as I have the £50 back that the cash machine didn't give to me, and agreed on a compensation figure to cover the phone calls and 2 trips out in the car to test cashpoint machines when the card had not had the flag lifted).

[Kryu]

This is the first I've heard of a bank not having a free number. Small town bank?

[Arietna]

England.

We have loads of "types" of telephone numbers.. Free, Local, National, Non-Geographic, and mobile primarily. "Local" numbers are within a certain dialling code and are cheaper than calling "national" numbers which are outside the area.

Most of the banks have what's called "non geographic" telephone numbers which means it is the same price, no matter where in the country you're calling from. Unfortunately this generally means it's HIGHER than a local call, but lower than a national one.

And no, the bank in question is the Alliance & Leicester, quite a large bank here.