This one, less so. They’d almost certainly blow off a simple request for payment.
With enough money to hire an army of lawyers, I’d still give you fairly slim chances of prevailing and getting them to pay you directly for your costs, but … your army of lawyers could force them to hire an army of lawyers, which wastes a bunch of their money, even if it all goes to enriching lawyers and you never see a dime of it. That could provide you some measure of satisfaction / revenge.
For most of us, we don’t have that much money to blow and the juice ain’t worth the squeeze. YMMV.
ETA: I’d recommend either carrying enough cash for emergencies, or perhaps having a second / third / fourth credit card / bank account you can access in case of emergencies. Personally, I’ve got my money spread across several different financial institutions. If one were to freeze my account, I’d shrug and pull out a different card.
You don’t have to go stupid on them, but do tell it to the right person. There’s no reason not to. The OP has been wronged. The bank will explain their fraud protection and no money will be forthcoming, but still. I would move my account in a heartbeat, I wouldn’t tell it allover Facebook cause I don’t do Facebook. It sounds like a good idea though.
This. The only place I use my debit card is when I’m withdrawing cash from my bank’s ATM.
Also, it’s weird to me that the OP’s ability to do business hinges on a single financial instrument (i.e. the debit card) whose main feature is
Is there a compelling reason not to have a couple of credit cards in your wallet along with that debit card? Some reason that justifies the risk that inherent in depending on a single debit card for all of your business expenses?
A few years ago we were returning from St Martin after a two week stay. I used a credit card to purchase our flights, rent our wreck, pay for meals, etc.
At the airport I paid for our checked bags and the card was declined! I knew I hadn’t maxed it out, and it had worked fine for two weeks. My app buzzed, asking if it was a legit use. I clicked “YES” and handed my card back to the nice lady.
And your bank did not prevent you from using available funds. They shut down your debit card according to rules that you apparently knew in advance. The only reason that the only option was a debit card is because you failed to plan for that contingency. It’s no different than had you misplaced the card on a bank holiday. If nothing else, keep the card number and CVV written down somewhere safe so you can give the card info over the phone.
It was rejected; at this point you’re not sure why. It could be a new location but they usually give you some proximate distance before they cut you off as being ‘away’. It could be that your acct didn’t have sufficient funds; maybe it was already compromised / drained by some other person. It’s also possible that there was some issue with that gas station; did you try the card anywhere else? Are you sure it was shut down?
Even if it was the first one, did you not have cash/another credit card to be able to purchase gas?
I’m sure it was probably a legitimate reason; printed in the bank’s disclosures to you; therefore, I’d highly doubt you’d be able to get compensation for what you couldn’t do based upon not being able to get gas. I’m not doubting you, but everyone would try that ‘scam’; “I couldn’t get gas & therefore lost hundreds/thousands of dollars. No, I don’t have the receipts from what I didn’t buy to back up my claims. You just need to trust me.”
Also, before you change banks, ask them what the daily limit is on a corporate debit card. Most banks won’t let you get that much out on a personal account; corporate acct might be higher because even if there was no problem & you had bought gas, they may very well have denied the $13,000 purchase as being over the limit.
I know a guy who does a similar thing. This spring he mentioned that he’d just purchased a truckload of dog/cat kibble. He asked if I wanted any. I explained how careful I am with my dogs, but thanked him anyway. He asked about our fish (koi and goldfish in our pond).
He gave me 200 pounds of assorted dog and cat food. The fish have been eating well.
My bank has an emergency number that is active 24/7, including even Columbus Day (that’s Canadian Thanksgiving, in fact). If not, I would change banks. My cards are all chip and PIN and if they steal the card but don’t know the PIN, they are SOL.
Second card also declined, strip demagnetized/chip deeply scratched, the previously mentioned merchant power outage or other equipment failure. OPs livelihood depends on certain payments being made and having a cash backup is literally free insurance.
My very first experience with a debit card, I went to the gas station 1 mile from my home, filled tank. Card was declined at the grocery store not 15 minutes later.
Called the number on the back and was told I would have to wait for the next business day for my card to be reactivated.
Two weeks without the card, I had gone back to checks, they sent me a new card with new numbers. Spent that first year getting a new card every 1-2 months.
Then they had the audacity to tell me that I would be held responsible for $300 worth of gas purchased in Utah. Can you tell this was when the debit cards were first starting to become normal?
No, they didn’t charge me for the Utah gas purchase. Only had to go into the main branch, Sign like I was getting a Mortgage, and PROMISE that I never went to Utah to buy gas with the intent to not pay for it. Oh, and keep and eye out for your new card in the mail. should be within two weeks.
They shut my card off that day and I had to wait.
Yeah, I agree. Navy Federal is good. All you have to do is be related to a member or be a current or former member of the military. Some groups have credit unions. They have different deposit insurance. I’ve also used Key Bank for years. I go away from home infrequently and use my debit card for groceries, gas, hotels and have never had a problem even though it’s unusual for me. When I used to travel overseas I would let Key know ahead of time and it worked well. They are really good about any problems, such as a couple of time my number was stolen. I got a new card overnight. Need to be sure you balance your checkbook at least once a month in case they don’t catch it within the reporting period.
Somehow, you agreed to this. Either by clicking something or not clicking something. Or by accepting a “change in policy” notice in your email. when they change something you have an opportunity to close the account. It’s a bad idea of course. I’ve see ads on TV where you can shut down the card yourself instantly if you left it somewhere or lost it. A friend has his stolen in Malaga, Spain recently and he was able to shut it down right away. but then he had to get a new one. So much theft out there these days. So,if you do switch banks make sure you check their procedures carefully. I think its irresponsible for the bank to shut it down given that we now rely on debit cards so much. I rarely use cash myself and I’m 75 and don’t get out much. I pay my regular bills online with a debit card and get the points. I also use my Visa to pay bills and get lots of points that way. And they can be transmitted to Amazon instantly to offset an order charge if you want to.
why dont you use credit card instead? if you swipe your debit card at a gas station and it gets hacked, the burglar has direct access to your money compared to bank’s money when using a credit card. I had similar exp where they stole 3k in 3 days from my credit card in a different state. But it wasn’t my money and the bank sucked up the lose. I get notification from my bank on out of town transactions and I even call my bank the day prior, let them know my travel plans so they dont block it.
