It's coming from your bank, not us!

[Food Lady]

A woman came to me at the service desk to complain about her card being declined. The way our system works is that the pin pad will just say the transaction is complete, no matter what, but if it's declined there's a message on my screen. I know if it says the card is not accepted, that is a decline from the bank. She had tried to buy a game system and had run her card several times (well, manager had run it on computer, too--not just pin pad.) It wouldn't go, she said. I started asking questions. I wanted to know what message came up for manager, if she knew. (If it wasn't that, maybe it was a technical problem?) I was trying to figure out if I could help. I offered to run it myself to see what was happening, as I didn't know if it was a newer employee in electronics. (I didn't know who it was until later). Well, she didn't want me to run it. She didn't like me saying if the message we got was such-and-such, that was from her bank. In short, she didn't like that I couldn't magically make it work, so it was our system's fault. "I'll just go to [competition]." I wonder how mad she got when it was declined there. Oh, yeah--I forgot the statement "There's $6,000 in that account!"

[smfrazier]

I use to get that kinda thing when I worked at the convenience store. Back then, the cashier had to run the card themselves at the register. One time I ran a card several times and it kept getting declined. The man was convinced I wasn't doing it right and wanted another cashier to do it. Needless to say the other cashier couldn't "magically" get it to work either.

[Heksubah]

I used to work credit card customer service. It could be that the item flagged as potential fraud (people frequently steal cards to buy gaming systems) and they just wanted her to validate that she was the one making the purchase. Sucks for her, sucks for the person on the register getting a snarky customer as a result, but it's ultimately for their protection. If she knew she had the funds available then a quick call to her card company (number should be on the back) could clear it up in seconds. Literally.

[raudf]

She could very well have had the money in the bank, but if she'd already spent X amount before this, well, her card could be declining for potential fraud. Just call the number on the card or the issuing bank, request a 24 hr limit increase to the amount you need and go on your merry little shopping spree.

Or she'd already spent the amount she claimed she had... then the card declines that way. Could also be the bank's system is down and cards are being declined because of that.

Doesn't matter, gotta call the bank to fix it! If it's on our end, we get a whole different error message!

At MW, we even had stupid rules on OUR end, like cards used for $500 at the store couldn't be used at the repair center. Or if you wrote a check at the repair center, you couldn't write a check at the store. There was a 1-800 number that one could call and yes, I'd gladly let them use one of our lines, just press 9 before dialing. (Gee, with policies like that, I wonder why MW went belly up...>.<)

[barainga]

Could be the deposit hadnt gone through. Could have been daily limit. Could have been lying her ass off.

My bank is pretty awesome. Certain transactions I myself have attempted were declined because they had a high rate of fraud from a couple places. I dont complain, just thank them for their vigilance. A few out of state places will get declined because they are out of state.

[EyeAgree]

I've NEVER seen a declined card have anything to do with the merchant running, but it does seem that most customers ask you to "just try it one more time..."
That said, it seems to me that it used to be rare to have a declined card, but for the last year or two it happens more often (though still not that much).
Does anyone else see an increase in the percentage of cards that get declined? I work for a custom trade show display manufacturer so all the transactions are business-to-business for companies preparing for trade shows. I could understand an increase if we were in the consumer side selling to individuals, but I'm surprised to see more companies having issues with their cards?

[RealUnimportant]

I always get people asking to "try it again" when it comes back declined... I've given up arguing that it'll happen again, and just let them see for themselves; usually our system is so on-the-ball that it won't even ask for a PIN the second time before spitting their plastic back at them with a grimace!

[DGoddessChardonnay]

My bank is pretty awesome. Certain transactions I myself have attempted were declined because they had a high rate of fraud from a couple places. I dont complain, just thank them for their vigilance. A few out of state places will get declined because they are out of state.

I've had a transaction declined by my bank b/c it was an overseas vendor that I was making a purchase from. After barely understanding the phone call from the vendor (the rep who called I could barely understand and the connection was not the greatest) I called the bank to find out what was going on.

Took several hours and 3 phone calls to the bank (and a phone call and email to the vendor) before the flag would come off (bank's computer was a bit slow that day.)

But yeah, I never got upset over it . . . in fact I thanked the fraud specialist for their diligence.

[Teskeria]

It's also possible it isn't even hitting her bank. I've noticed a lot of times we haven't even rcvd a req from a company that is saying it was declined. Often it is their mag stripe (can try wrapping it hard in a plastic bag and swiping. That can work if there is only a little missing on the strip. Then tell them their stripe is going and to call the bank if it works in a bag) not being read.

[Lindsey]

I got a decline message right before the magnetic strip on my card died, so it could be that she needs a new card. In that case, she's out of luck heading to the competitor, it won't make any difference. Then again, it's rarely ever a problem with the card reader, so it wouldn't have made a difference anyway.

[PepperElf]

yeah the "i have $$$$ on the account" line doesn't matter if the card isn't being accepted. even if it IS true, there's no magic "i-believe" button to make a payment go through.

[fireheart]

It's also possible it isn't even hitting her bank. I've noticed a lot of times we haven't even rcvd a req from a company that is saying it was declined. Often it is their mag stripe (can try wrapping it hard in a plastic bag and swiping. That can work if there is only a little missing on the strip. Then tell them their stripe is going and to call the bank if it works in a bag) not being read.

I got a decline message right before the magnetic strip on my card died, so it could be that she needs a new card. In that case, she's out of luck heading to the competitor, it won't make any difference. Then again, it's rarely ever a problem with the card reader, so it wouldn't have made a difference anyway.

Down here at least, the magnetic strip issue just results in the card not scanning full stop. The usual "Declined" messages occur AFTER they've selected their account and popped their PIN in.

[Pharm Girl]

If the strip won't scan you can always type in the account number, usually the computer makes you retype it, then the expiration date and the 3 digit code on the back of the card. If this does not work then the problem is definitely the account.

[Food Lady]

^ I believe the manager tried that, too.

[manybellsdown]

I've NEVER seen a declined card have anything to do with the merchant running, but it does seem that most customers ask you to "just try it one more time..."
That said, it seems to me that it used to be rare to have a declined card, but for the last year or two it happens more often (though still not that much).
Does anyone else see an increase in the percentage of cards that get declined?

I was having this problem in the local drugstore the other day. When I ran my debit card, it came up as "declined, contact card issuer." Running it as credit worked fine. My daughter immediately behind me had the same problem. The card itself was brand-new, so it wasn't a worn strip. Just the merchant was having some issue with connecting to validate the debit.