DaveK Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I mentioned just over a week ago that I'd been the victim of credit card fraud. And this evening, the "Tonight" program was also discussing this - and it really does seem far too common. There are some areas of my life where I cannot live without a credit card - for example, when I travel on business (and I guess pleasure) my hotel is guaranteed with it. However - I am worried about it happening again, and losing far more money. Is it really practical to pay for most things with cash - and does anybody do it? I guess it would be possible in shops / petrol stations etc. as long as you kept a standard balance of a few hundred £s in your wallet, and money could be withdrawn for bigger purchases (as long as they were planned). It would mean internet ordering would pretty much stop though (no Itunes, no downloads for the PS3, probably no Ebay - at least not via Paypal, no discount TVs etc.). I am going to give some thought to cutting down how much I use my card. I'm not sure I will completely stop - I do need hotel reservations, and I don't think I want to stop using Itunes and PS3 Store. However - I may start only using it when I have to. Or am I just being paranoid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I use a simple workaround - keep you credit card just short of your limit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Class One Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I think cash at somepoint in our lives, will become a thing of the past, with all financial transactions being done electronically. If only the financial institutions got their house and their security in order then the consumer may feel more comfortable with technology. However, it's a good idea to feel wary, avoids complacency on your part etc etc. If I buy anything online it's always with my CC, so if anything goes wrong I get the money back. At the end of the day, it's then banks that are losers in all this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I don't think it's practical no. I hate it when I have small change and you'd accumulate it over the week. And of course there's that £300 a day limit or something so you'd have to cut back on your spends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted April 2, 2007 Author Share Posted April 2, 2007 I use a simple workaround - keep you credit card just short of your limit Actually - I did wonder if it's more sensible to have a credit card with a much smaller limit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilly Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 If your gonna start carrying loads of cash around i might start following you!! Did they get hold of your credit card details through your rubbish? Apparently this quite common. £10 for a shredder from tescos. I dont think you could live without using it. having protection through your bank will cover any fraud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I pay for most things by cash or cheque. I think that I am pretty paranoid too tbh. I cut up my two credit cards last year as 1) I never ran up a balance and paid them off, used it as a short term loan type thingy and 2) was thinking that the more cards I have, the more likely I am to be a victim of fraud, either by use of the card or by somebody getting their hands on a statement. You are right though. Cash is not always practical. H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabs Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I use a simple workaround - keep you credit card just short of your limit I'm going to use that theory with the missus when i come to buy the Supra..... - It's my only hope LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted April 2, 2007 Author Share Posted April 2, 2007 At the end of the day, it's then banks that are losers in all this. I'm still waiting for mine to contact me and tell me I can have the money back. And of course there's that £300 a day limit or something so you'd have to cut back on your spends. You're clearly richer than me - I'm sure my limit is £250 a day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted April 2, 2007 Author Share Posted April 2, 2007 Did they get hold of your credit card details through your rubbish? Apparently this quite common. £10 for a shredder from tescos. Nope. I shred everything already. Don't know where / how they did it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Class One Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I'm still waiting for mine to contact me and tell me I can have the money back. Chase them up then! It's your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted April 2, 2007 Author Share Posted April 2, 2007 Chase them up then! It's your money. I had a letter at the end of last week telling me it was "officially being handled by their fraud department" and I would hear from them within 10 days. It would be nice if they were quick - then they wouldn't take the extra £600 on the 5th April. But that's clearly too much to ask for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 you could get an online (Egg?) credit card and make a point of checking this every couple of days/weekly.........not ideal but you can monitor your spending almost daily rather than stumbling across it on a monthly statement............thats assuming other credit cards don't already offer an online monitoring service?......its been a while since i've had a monthly 'paper' statement type credit card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONKEYmark Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 some places wont take cash.its a lot easier with a card and to do online banking.i dont know pin numbers on my cards so dont use them.not had a problem using cards online.suppose you could get dishonest people who work in shops. let bank sort it out for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toyotasuprauk Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 It’s a shame this happened to you and I hate the scum that do it but I don’t think you should stop using your cards. I hate cash and wish I could pay for absolutely everything by card. You'll get all your money back from the bank as you are fully protected and you just can’t beat the convenience of a credit/debit card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham S Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 Could you not open an account and only transfer whatever it is you need to pay for online etc, that way there is never any money in that account? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBDJ Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 After my ex having about £3k (was mine as well!!) taken from her account after the bank sent replacement card etc... to the wrong address and the bank taking the best part of 2 months to refund it I tend to transfer funds out of my current account keeping it relatively empty Only recently some fool managed to get my card details and tried a fraudulent £2k transaction. I never leave that much in my current account these days. I also try to use a credit card with a lower available limit for most purchases, so there's only a limited amount they can run off with, or to transfer funds around to make a purchase if needed. That way I still get protection too Unfortunately I don't think it's practical to use cash everywhere - I regularly fill up at Tescos after I finish DJ'ing and am heading home - no choice but to use a card at that time... I'm still suprised there is no verification on those pay-at-pump systems at all...!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Haggas Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 I must be really old fashioned,I dont own a credit card.I never have.Why do people need credit cards? Does it mean that people live beyond their means? I had a guy knock on my door a while back,bothering me about some free draw sort of bol*ocks.He asked me if I owned a car,house etc.He then asked what credit cards I had.When I told him I dont have any,he looked at me as though I had just crapped there and then on my own floor! He then said that I wasnt eligable so left! Please help me as I really dont understand all this. If I cant afford anything,I go without. Am I normal????????????????????????????????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted April 3, 2007 Author Share Posted April 3, 2007 I must be really old fashioned,I dont own a credit card.I never have.Why do people need credit cards? Does it mean that people live beyond their means? I had a guy knock on my door a while back,bothering me about some free draw sort of bol*ocks.He asked me if I owned a car,house etc.He then asked what credit cards I had.When I told him I dont have any,he looked at me as though I had just crapped there and then on my own floor! He then said that I wasnt eligable so left! Please help me as I really dont understand all this. If I cant afford anything,I go without. Am I normal????????????????????????????????????? I use a credit card for convenience. I don't live beyond my means at all - I pay the full balance every month. I assume you own debit cards? I use my credit card the same way you use your debit card - but there is some additional consumer protection for products that cost more than £100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 I'm going the other way. Less cash, more cards. You must have got your money back on those transactions? You are fully covered as long as you haven't broken any terms and conditions? Cash is too much hassle. Easier to get stolen, you end up with millions of pences in your wallet/pocket/whatever. You have to think about if you have enough cash on you before doing anything, the daily limit on cash machines is too low (but not if someone was robbing you of course!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colsoop Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 I don't own a credit card just debit cards. I hgave always had the philsophy that if the real money isn't there then you can't spend it. I tend to pay for most things with cash, i also use that as a bartering point for larger value items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toyotasuprauk Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 I use my credit card just for the protection is offers as Dave said. I pay the balance in full every month. I was going to get scammed I'd rather it came out my credit card account than if I used my debit card and came out of my own cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 I hate cash. Can't track where it's gone, and it seems to go more easily. Cheques are being dropped by most places now or in the near future. Expensive to process. It's only really your debit card you need to worry about. I don't use mine online. I have one Egg c/card which I use for Inet and clear down every month. Easy to track. If any fraud happens I'll cancel my DD so they can't take any cash off me and they can sort it out themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted April 3, 2007 Author Share Posted April 3, 2007 I have one Egg c/card which I use for Inet and clear down every month. Easy to track. If any fraud happens I'll cancel my DD so they can't take any cash off me and they can sort it out themselves. Hmm - maybe I should have done that (my card is Egg). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Hmm - maybe I should have done that (my card is Egg). One of the things with Egg is that being primarily just an Internet company, they really encourage your use of it online. I know when someone ordered plane tickets and stuff on mine, I never even saw it on my statement. They just dealt with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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