The Cheek Of It
Any establishment that displays a sign like this one on the Olympic Park, doesn’t get my custom.
The Cheek Of It
It didn’t!
A Verified-By-Visa Scam
Moneywise is reporting a scam on that stupid so-called security system, Verified-by-Visa. I’ve never liked it.
I also only ever use my Visa card on the Internet, when I have no choice. But as the Olympics will be over soon, I shall probably be sticking my Visa card somewhere, where I’m not tempted to use it on-line.
How To Not Lose A Wallet
I should say that I keep one credit card, my rail passes and my Freedom Pass in a little folder that I keep in my pocket, so I can just pull it out to touch the various Oyster readers on buses, trains and tubes.
On Saturday, I managed to lose the folder on a bus, as my nose was running so much, that I must have dragged it out with a tissue, which I was using every minute or so.
I’d just cancelled the credit card and reported the Freedom Pass as lost, when the bus driver phoned to say, he’d got the folder and would take it to the depot at the end of his shift at 19:00. He had got the number from a card I keep in the folder containing my e-mail address and mobile number.
So I went to the garage at Leyton at the time he said and after a few minutes he turned up and gave me the folder. So job done! Stagecoach didn’t even have a charity box for a reward, but I rectified that on-line to one of the charities I support.
By Monday, my Freedom Pass was reactivated and then yesterday, I got a new AMEX card.
So we may complain about service, but I can’t fault anybody here.
Verified By Visa Revisited
I have moaned about this crap before.
I have been fighting it for a couple of hours and in the end I managed to buy two extra Olympic tickets. Can the reason that so many people find buying these tickets difficult is you must use a Visa card and you can’t fight your way through this awful system?
I have just written to my credit card company, saying that after the Olympics, they can put their Visa card in a place where it will hurt.
Today I was adding a new password all the time and then when I tried it the next it was rejected, so I had to start again. Surely entering a new password every time you use the card is the most insecure way to use a credit card on line.
It might well be that the US version of this system works because everybody uses the last four digits of their Social Security Number. In the UK no-one knows theirs and anyway it ends in a letter. So perhaps the problem is that the system has not been properly rewritten for the UK.
Anyway it’s crap!
The Return of NatWorst
Some years ago, I used to do the programming and processing for a company called PressWatch, that rated the coverage of major companies in the UK printed media.
Some time before I programmed the system, NatWest had a string of bottom places and were labelled NatWorst by some financial journalists.
It would appear from its current computer problems, that along with other banks in the RBS Group, it is attempting to claim the bottom place again. Read about it here.
The article says it is a computer glitch. I would describe it as a computer disaster.
A computer glitch is what I’ve just suffered from Nationwide. They said my credit card statement would be ready online on Wednesday. It didn’t arrive until today. But at least, it didn’t cost me any money, although I did worry, that there might have been some illegal transactions, they were sorting out. Especially, as it’s the VISA card, I use for Olympic tickets. But all is now fine.
Mastercard at the Olympics
Not on VISA’s nelly, as they’ve removed the cash machines that accept them, as is reported here.
I have all three of VISA, Mastercard and AMEX, and generally have them all with me, but for most transactions I use Mastercard, as it helps me keep track of my expenses. AMEX I use for holidays and travel, so that the insurance kicks in and VISA generally takes up space in my wallet.
But no sponsor, is going to tell me which card to use!
I assume they use those credit cards with Lizzie’s picture on them.
Anyway what would I be able to buy at venues, as there might not be any gluten-free food, in which case, I’ll have to take my own.
Paying by Phone
They are discussing this on BBC Breakfast this morning.
It won’t work for me, as I use a 12 year old Nokia 6310i. In fact, I’m now going the other way, taking just one credit card, my camera and my Freedom Pass with me, when I go travelling or shopping in London. I sometimes leave the phone at home anyway, as when I’m in the Underground, there is no signal.
Paying Credit Cards
I have two credit cards; one with my bank and one with John Lewis. Today I paid the bills and transferred some money to each from my on-line account.
I used the bank’s faster payments system for the John Lewis account and it disappeared from my account immediately, but on past form it’ll take a few days to get to my account there.
The internal transfer hasn’t left my account yet and it hasn’t been credited to the other account, which I suppose is fair.
As I’m in all day. I’ll be updating this post during the day.
Tracing an IKEA Refund
In mid-September, I ordered some things using their web site from IKEA. Because they couldn’t deliver at a time convenient to me, I cancelled the order. I’ve done this in the past and usually, I get an e-mail within a few days.
But this time I haven’t, so whilst I was waiting for the football to start, I gave them a call. I did have to wait quite a time for it to get answered, but I’ve had worse delays.
They told me that the refund was on its way and would I check with my bank.
It was on my John Lewis Partnership card and I couldn’t find it. But have you ever tried to find a trabsaction on the Partnership Card website. Compared to something like Nationwide or PayPal and I suspect many others, it’s a load of old cobblers.
- Recent transactions doesn’t seem to include any payments you have made.
- You can’t look at a specific time period, like the last three months, as you can on many credit card web sites.
- You can’t select just payments in. This meant a couple of months ago, I paid the bill twice.
At least though, I’d accessed the web site recently. I think if you don’t in 60 days, you need to get a new password, through the post.
I wouldn’t keep the card, but I think it gives me extra benefits when I shop in John Lewis or Waitrose. One of those extra benefits was that I could use the QuickCheck method of shopping, but no stores near me have it and I prefer to use the delivery option. So the reasons for keeping it are quickly getting reduced to the one that I like to have both a Visa and a Mastercard. Especially as my Visa is useless on-line, as it has that awful Verified by Visa security system.
Payment Protection Insurance and Credit Cards
I got a letter yesterday from Aviva saying that the terms of my payment protection insurance were being changed. It indicated that the insurance was with HSBC. Now HSBC may be a reputable bank, but I’ve never dealt with them. It then turned out that the insurance related to a credit card that I have that is managed by the bank.
When C died, I had a problem with household expenses and needed a second card to keep them separate from my business expenses, so I got one quickly. It would appear that in the form, you needed to check the box to say you didn’t want the insurance, rather than say you wanted it. So I was fooled and have been paying for something I didn’t want for three years.
I wonder how many others have unnecessary insurance they don’t want.
I hadn’t spotted it, as every month I just paid off the value at the bottom of the account. Others may even do this by a direct debit to save money.
I wonder if C was paying this form of insurance on any of her cards! I shall be finding out, as her method of paying cards was to write a cheque for the full amount and then put the bill through the shredder.
You may think that I can’t claim as she died three years ago. Oh! Yes I can! Sometimes the bereaved get very angry. You may have a target out there, who will give you enough money for a small celebration.
It’s not difficult to claim. Just go to this page in Money Saving Expert. It might be a profitable way to spend a wet Sunday afternoon, and as Martin Lewis says it’ll only cost you some paper and a couple of stamps.
The Anonymous Widower 