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This happened to me a few years ago, and it taught me a few things.
I was at the grocery store and went to pay with my regular credit card. (At the time, I had two cards, both attached to my bank accounts, one attached to the account I used for my expenses, the other attached to my savings account that I didn't use as often.) It was declined, which was weird, as the purchase was only about $37, and I had well over $100 in my account at the time. I tried again, as at work I'd seen cards declined once than accept the second time for some reason. My card was declined again. Not having enough cash on me, I paid with my secondary card, the one attached to my savings account, which went through without a hitch. Got home, called Visa, basically asking, "What up?" Very politely, Visa asked if they could get back to me the next day, which was fine with me, other than the annoyance of not knowing what was going on.
Next day they called, and said my account had been frozen for some "suspicious activity." What?
THEM: "Mr. Dude, did you recently make a $220 purchase at a Wal-Mart in Lutz, Florida?"
ME: "Where the hell is Lutz, Florida?!?"
As it turns out, Lutz (which I later found out is actually pronounced "loots") is about an hour north of Tampa, or 8 hours from where I live in the Keys. I told them that the last time I had been in a Wal-Mart was 2 years prior, and the last time I'd been anywhere near Tampa was over 10 years prior. So then we went through every charge they showed on my account for the last month, all of which were mine, other than the Lutz one.
And then Visa impressed the hell out of me. They told me that the card attached to that account would stay frozen, that neither I nor whoever used it in Lutz would be able to use it, but they'd issue me a new card with new numbers, the money would be returned to my account as if it had never happened, I would not get any penalties or fees, this being fraud, and that I could use my account freely, just not the now frozen card attached to it. And damn if they didn't get me that new card in less than two weeks.
First thing I learned was that Visa was ON IT.
Second thing I learned was that it was really good to have two accounts, as I was able to easily shuffle money from one account to the other (they are both with the same bank) and use the secondary account's card for the things I needed to purchase with a card during the time I was without the primary card. I now have actual credit cards in addition, but I will in the future always have a minimum of two accounts, because being without any credit card can be a really inconvenient pain in the ass.
Third thing I learned from this, combined with seeing many tourists get their cards declined even though they had "plenty in that account, was it's a really good idea to notify your bank when you are traveling. I always notify the bank AND the credit card company, just to be covered.
I've never had my card frozen on vacation, and every now and then, Visa still checks up on me if they see something they think is suspicious. So far, though, it's just been me making an uncharacteristic (by their computer's thinking) purchase.
I was at the grocery store and went to pay with my regular credit card. (At the time, I had two cards, both attached to my bank accounts, one attached to the account I used for my expenses, the other attached to my savings account that I didn't use as often.) It was declined, which was weird, as the purchase was only about $37, and I had well over $100 in my account at the time. I tried again, as at work I'd seen cards declined once than accept the second time for some reason. My card was declined again. Not having enough cash on me, I paid with my secondary card, the one attached to my savings account, which went through without a hitch. Got home, called Visa, basically asking, "What up?" Very politely, Visa asked if they could get back to me the next day, which was fine with me, other than the annoyance of not knowing what was going on.
Next day they called, and said my account had been frozen for some "suspicious activity." What?
THEM: "Mr. Dude, did you recently make a $220 purchase at a Wal-Mart in Lutz, Florida?"
ME: "Where the hell is Lutz, Florida?!?"
As it turns out, Lutz (which I later found out is actually pronounced "loots") is about an hour north of Tampa, or 8 hours from where I live in the Keys. I told them that the last time I had been in a Wal-Mart was 2 years prior, and the last time I'd been anywhere near Tampa was over 10 years prior. So then we went through every charge they showed on my account for the last month, all of which were mine, other than the Lutz one.
And then Visa impressed the hell out of me. They told me that the card attached to that account would stay frozen, that neither I nor whoever used it in Lutz would be able to use it, but they'd issue me a new card with new numbers, the money would be returned to my account as if it had never happened, I would not get any penalties or fees, this being fraud, and that I could use my account freely, just not the now frozen card attached to it. And damn if they didn't get me that new card in less than two weeks.
First thing I learned was that Visa was ON IT.
Second thing I learned was that it was really good to have two accounts, as I was able to easily shuffle money from one account to the other (they are both with the same bank) and use the secondary account's card for the things I needed to purchase with a card during the time I was without the primary card. I now have actual credit cards in addition, but I will in the future always have a minimum of two accounts, because being without any credit card can be a really inconvenient pain in the ass.
Third thing I learned from this, combined with seeing many tourists get their cards declined even though they had "plenty in that account, was it's a really good idea to notify your bank when you are traveling. I always notify the bank AND the credit card company, just to be covered.
I've never had my card frozen on vacation, and every now and then, Visa still checks up on me if they see something they think is suspicious. So far, though, it's just been me making an uncharacteristic (by their computer's thinking) purchase.
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