But there are many reasons for a card to be declined that have nothing at all to do with your money management.
Maybe you made a large purchase recently and your card’s been flagged. Maybe your bank’s server hiccuped. Maybe it expired and you didn’t notice. Maybe the retailer’s network is acting up.
And no, the two times it’s happened to me, I’ve not been embarrassed. Moreover, a declined credit card is so far down on the list of noteworthy customer behavior that I doubt the cashier has even cared. When it happens to one of my customers, I only notice if/when they start throwing a fit about it. No one else would even have noticed their card was declined had they not started a tantrum about it.
Now that I know I have plenty of credit limit and cash, it’s not embarassing, just an annoying blip.
When I was younger and broker, it was supremely embarrassing because a declined card usually meant I was over limit and I had no other way to pay for anything.
I’d be willing to wager that it’s still the most likely, though.
One thing I’ve noticed is this. . .my wife is an artist (jeweler) who travels to different art fairs. It seems that credit cards will be denied if someone purchases something from a merchant from, say, Chicago, and then tries to purchase something from a merchant from Baltimore 5 minutes later.
However, it’s still usually easy to tell the difference between the kind of person that is happening to, and the kind of person who has maxed it out.
I’d be stunned. I’ve never been in a situation where I would be close to having it happen. I could only assume that my identity had been compromised.
Actually, I just remembered one incident. I was on a business trip out of town and tried to buy a lap top computer. Buying an expensive item far from home tripped a flag and my card was declined. I was shocked. The salesman said told me not to worry and that this happens all the time. He had me call the card company, maybe it was Otto on the other end of the line, and they asked me a few security questions and then approved the sale.
Yep, I used to take calls like **Otto ** said when I worked in a call center. I never said it, but I always figured their embarrassment was the consequence of mismanaging their account. Those who truly were victims (and I’ve been in that situation) usually aren’t so much embarrassed as they are confused and even a little scared.
People whose cards are cancelled for their own safety have no reason to be embarrassed. Do they automatically think that any time someone else’s card is denied, that they must have done something wrong? If so, they’re wa-a-a-y too judgemental. And awfully narrow-minded.
I’m a bit embarrassed. I’m generally more puzzled and annoyed, though. I have a high credit limit and pay the card off every month, so I shouldn’t be anywhere near the limit. I’m annoyed that this is something that is going to require, at minimum, a call to the credit-card company and 47 minutes on hold to sort out.
I would be utterly mortified if this happened to me.
It’s happened to me maybe 3 times over 30 years and it is very embarrassing. I think that it suggests I’m a deadbeat, though I am not sure how exclusively correct that statement is. I’m still embarrassed if it’s a total stranger, but the fact that I’m trying to use the card with some local business certainly doesn’t mean the other person is a stranger, does it? There are several local businesses where the employees and I recognize one another, and where I am inclined to trust them and would guess they’d be at least somewhat inclined to trust me. So, it could be an important and longstanding relationship that the decline is influencing.
Embarrassment isn’t having a card be declined. It happens for reasons besides you’re maxed out. Having a second card declined should be an embarrassment. because you likely have multiple maxed out cards, and the world now knows this.
If the merchant’s terminals are transmitting those transactions as being from their home cities then the decline is most likely because the CC’s loss prevention or risk management people are flagging the account as possible fraud or counterfeit card. There’s no geographical way that the same piece of plastic could be used in Chicago and Baltimore within five minutes so that sends up the red flag.
I have to say I’m still surprised, even after the explanations here, that people get embarrassed about this. If I know my account is in good standing and it declines, I can’t bring myself to worry about what the person thinks about me. I wouldn’t care (I don’t think) about what people would think of me either if I messed my pants in public, because I’d be a lot more worried about what caused this sudden loss of bowel control.
I WISH my debit card would get declined. Instead, my bank will “cover” for me and charge $66 for this honor. I have told them not to, but they know that fees are their main source of income.
Why was I over? In this case the gas company billed two days early because of a holiday, while my pay was delayed the same amount because of the same holiday.
Much rather have to pull out a couple of bucks unexpectedly than have to pay $66 extra for my cup of coffee.
If I had a card declined on me it would likely occur with several people in line behind me. Since I am a highly self-conscious person this would make me feel like I am wearing a shirt that says DEADBEAT on the front of it.
I actually wouldn’t care, I guess not knowing that you hit your limit is careless but it doesn’t mean you’re a rolling-in-debt loser. You could very well have the money in a savings account ready to pay the card off, you just haven’t done so since the last bill was due. I guess that’s not the most likely scenario, but if I know that’s the case then I wouldn’t worry about what the cashier thinks.
If I had no other means of paying, then I would be embarrassed. But it would be the same if my bill was $12.24 and all I had in my wallet was a $10.
I had my debit card declined because they’d flagged a transaction as suspected fraud. I was in my office’s cafeteria with co-workers, so it was rather embarrassing. I didn’t have my credit cards with me, and didn’t have enough cash.
I still don’t know why they didn’t call or email or something DH or me to let us know that it was happening. DH had just left on a trip - that could have been a disaster if I hadn’t been able to reach him before he tried to use his card.
Hell, I have a card that just doesn’t seem to want to work at some places (the grocery being one.) I’m pretty sure it’s just the magnet getting all goobered up, but it’s pretty embarrassing (to me) every time it happens. But now you have me wondering why. In fact, I always seem to loudly announce to the cashier and the people in line that it’s the magnet–not the limit on the card. Dear lord, now I’m embarrassed thinking about the fact that I need to clarify.
I used to get this a lot when I was travelling a lot on business. One that happened a lot was that my cell would be out of juice and I’d use my corporate card to make a few phone calls. That would frequently trigger the credit card people’s Suspicious Shit-O-Meter, and they’d suspend the card until I called them and told them everything was okay. Happened three or four times. They always tried to call… but of course if my cell was dead, they weren’t gonna get me, were they?
I never minded. I have more than one card, so I can always use the other one.
More concerned than embarrassed, although I might be embarrassed if I were holding up a line of people.
The only time it happened to me was when I buying a wedding ring for my wife; my account had been paid in full and I certainly wasn’t maxing anything out, but the transaction was rejected twice. We ended up having to use my wife’s card instead. When I called the card company to find out what happened, all I got was a confused shrug: my account was fine. Maybe the problem was on the merchant’s end, and maybe it was on the card company’s end, but I was the one who had to bum money from his wife for her own wedding ring.