Send in the heavies
Part of my job involves travelling across Europe for a week at a time to meet with various dev studios.

As you can imagine this can get quite expensive - especially when the company you work for won't ever pay expenses in advance because you 'claim them back' at the end of each week after they have studied your expenses form in minute detail...

Anyway, this means that you need to be sure of having the money to cover flights, hotel, food, (booze), etc ahead of time. Essentially it means you live off half your wages each month in case you get sent on a trip at the last moment.

About 3 weeks ago I was on such a trip to Romania for a week and had spent about £500 all told. At 4am I emerge bleary eyed to check out as my flight leaves in a couple of hours and I am anal about being late.

I go to the desk and hand over my card - the guy looks down then says "Transaction Declined - do not honour". Half asleep I just replied "meh?". He repeated the phrase and then showed me the printout.

Rapidly waking up now, I said "Impossible, I have over £1k in my account!" So he tries again. same result.

By this time it hadn't gone un-noticed that I was sneakily now being approached by two burly men. They asked what the problem was. He told them something in Romanian and they looked sternly at me. "You must pay".

I don't keep any credit cards (as I don't trust myself anymore...) so I replied simply that I couldn't but would "Pay them back" when I got to England. Quite obviously that was never going to be acceptable and I was about to be buried somewhere in a Romanian field, never to be heard from again.

Luckily, I have a good friend as well as colleague in Romania who came to my rescue in time to save my neck, but the second I landed back in UK I called my bank. They had cancelled my card as they thought it was stolen.

V helpful. Natwest - it's 2009 - people travel in big things called planes now all over the World! you have my number (Hint: it's the one you call me on repeatedly to sell me shit) - why not give me a buzz and see where I am first?)

Apologies for length - it shrinks when I'm scared.
(Galahad is out of his gourd on yellow bentines, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 7:18, 12 replies)

Actually
I understand their panic.

Card theft is very popular in Romania as the government has some other crap to attend but prevent it.
(randomset, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 7:43, closed)

Don't get me wrong...
I would appreciate it if someone had stolen my card and they had cancelled it in time - however, can't they just call FIRST? :)
(Galahad is out of his gourd on yellow bentines, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 7:44, closed)

Yezbut
...having some money stolen is a bit annoying, whereas *not being able to actually spend any money on anything* is potentially life-threatening.
(stalinism, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 9:10, closed)

I used to work for Natwest doing some card security stuff
If you'd had a credit card they would have a; tried to phone you and b; put a security check on your card. Which would have instructed the retailer to phone them before letting you pay but wouldn't in principle have stopped you from paying.

Debit cards were another matter because they used different, more arcane software (and were dealt with by different people in different places). But I never heard of cards being cancelled just because someone had gone abroad. Maybe that's new, or maybe someone just had a spaz out?
(Bernard Bernoulli, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 9:50, closed)

It was a lowly Debit card...
I'd already had to spend money while there for food - which I don't think is unreasonable...
(Galahad is out of his gourd on yellow bentines, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 11:46, closed)

It happened to me.
I went to India, tried to get money out, card was declined. Had to spend 20 quid calling them to get it unlocked. That was a debit card.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Mon 20 Jul 2009, 11:02, closed)

Been there done that
Get a credit card, keep it with your passport, and only ever use it next time you're abroad and your bank fucks about with your debit card's validity. Because they will...
(stalinism, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 9:09, closed)

Phone the bank before you leave.
I always do - they put a marker on the account to explain why it's being used in random places.
(FunOnABun Smears lard on you!, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 13:20, closed)

Thanks -
Good advice and will do from now on.

Just GRRRRRRRR. etc
(Galahad is out of his gourd on yellow bentines, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 14:59, closed)

they only put the marker on
if you get the one half decent staff member in the pack of utter fucking mongs.
(magic the cat will someone please think of the kittens, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 16:38, closed)

yep
That's what I do. Both credit and debit card and the online banking people wanted to know too. I also do the credit card with the passport thing. I have the self-control to not use it unless desperate and I figure if I lose my passport I'm screwed enough anyway...

It was suggested to me by the bank when my card got stopped before I left for my trip. Apparently booking flights with Air Asia was a problem for them - I had transactions in Australia, Mayalasia and somewhere else (possibility Thailand?) in the space of about half an hour and I didn't answer my home phone (because I was at work).
(xanthine, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 20:46, closed)

My wife's card was skimmed
We were holidaying in Thailand and a friendly waitress helpfully skimmed my wife's card when she foolishly used it out in a restaurant. Next thing the bank is ringing about expensive purchases being made in Korea and Hong Kong on the thing.

I fundamentally distrust giving my card anywhere where it can be taken away to be swiped and I pay with cash. I told my wife not to pay with a card but I'm only her husband so its not like she listens to me anyway. Next year it happened again and finally the penny dropped.
(MagicMoose, Sun 19 Jul 2009, 10:21, closed)