Random Visa Card
I received an automated call last week from TD Visa letting me know that my card had been deactivated due to fraud. Of course, there were no unauthorized transactions that I could tell on my VISA, nor has there been any previously when this has happened.
In the past few years, I’d say this has probably happened three of four times. Each time it does, I have to head down to the bank and pick up my new card about a week later. It’s nice that they are trying to reduce fraud, but not so nice that it causes an inconvenience, first because it takes my main VISA card out of commission, and second because I have to make time to go down to the bank and sort it out.
The thing is, I’ve never been able to have anyone tell me which particular transaction on my VISA card threw up the red flags. At this point I honestly don’t even really think it’s a real issue, just one that’s invented.
Now why would they do that? Simple.
During the activation process, the agent on the other end of the phone spends a few minutes trying to sell you insurance products meant to protect your balance in the event you are unable to pay them or work. If the cost of replacing a VISA card is less than the money they make on those insurance products, then it’s in VISA’s best financial interest to periodically replace cards and make their sales pitch. What bothers me the most is that the card I have is one of TD’s most privileged cards, and yet this card replacement routine seems to happen way more than it has on any other card I’ve owned.
If you’ve ever experienced one of these sales pitches, they are fairly laughable. The operator at the other end of the phone claims that the activation process will take a bit of time, but while waiting, “why don’t we discuss a few products that you are uniquely eligible for.” Given that I can send email around the planet in less than a second, I don’t buy into the assertion that activating a VISA takes more than a few seconds.
I have no proof that this is what they are doing for sure, but it seems more reasonable to me than shutting VISA cards down for unknown reasons. Several of my friends have reported similar experiences dealing with TD Visa as well, so I suspect something is going on.
Anything similar ever happen to you?
I’m not sure I’ve ever talked to an agent during an activation process. usually I call, punch in some digits into a computer on the other end, then hang up. No humans required. Maybe this is a TD-only thing?
My VanCity Visa has been compromised 4 times in the last 18 months. They’ve never tried to sell me anything, yet they did say that it wasn’t any transactions on my card that caused the issue. They’ve always stated (with some prodding by me) that Visa Canada have sent them a range of credit card numbers that could have been potentially compromised due to a security breach. I ended up getting them to give me a bunch of points on this Visa as I explained it’s a major inconvenience for me to have to replace my card each time.
I recently received a Royal Bank Visa that required me to call in and activate. I got almost the exact script from a man with a ver strong accent (most likely a call centre in India). 10 words into his pitch, I firmly stated “Okay, I’ll stop you right there. I’m not interested” He sounded mildly offended and asked “Why wouldn’t you be interested?” to which I responded “I’m NOT interested” in a firm and obviously annoyed tone. After 5 seconds of silence, he said “Thank you sir. The card is now activated.”
Possibly. Usually I get an agent at the other end of the phone that “confirms a few details”, then does their sales pitch while waiting for the Commodore 64 that runs the VISA software to activate your card.
I had this happen to me to as well, but with TD they actually told me which location caused them to flag my card. It usually involves one machine and if that machine was affected and one fraud case proven there, they shut down all cards that have come from that store, etc.
My fear as always is that it will happen when I’m traveling and I won’t be able to get to a bank to rectify it. Crossing my fingers for next month here that it won’t happen.
I had that happen semi-regularly with my debit card (rather than a credit card).
The bank wouldn’t tell me which transaction or location flagged it, but always told me I had until my next statement to verify that all my transactions were mine, and that another card was in the mail.
Like Gus’s situation, it was usually because a location had been flagged as having card data compromised, and every card transaction from that location in a certain date range was terminated with new cards issued.
And it did happen to me while traveling, twice (transactions at home ended up flagged during my trip). Which means I now make it a point to carry two credit cards in addition to my debit card and ensure I can always get cash off of them if need be.
That’s one of my fears too. I have three credit cards, but as I’m traveling I’m not sure how (or if) I’d get a new one while being in another country.
Hi Duane,
We thought we’d jump in and join the discussion, and help clarify a few things. We also wanted to say sorry for the inconvenience – we’d be happy to get your feedback at customer.service@td.com
Thought we’d give you a bit of insight on the process. From time to time and through analysis, TD Canada Trust becomes aware of possible ‘compromised’ TD Credit and Debit cards. In some cases, we proactively contact the cardholder to replace their card(s) with a new card number as a precautionary measure, which sounds like what happened with your TD Visa Card. What we’re trying to do is replace the card before there are any attempts to use the card data fraudulently.
Our activation process is established to ensure that TD Credit cards are received by the intended user and that it has not been intercepted in the postal system. And although, TD sometimes offers customers balance protection insurance at the time of activation, it is completely optional and in NO way tied to your ability to activate and use your card (We appreciate your feedback on how this comes across!)
We’re making every effort to help our customers protect themselves from fraud, so if you or your readers need any more info, you can visit our site http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/tdvisa/protecting.jsp
Thanks!
Hi Erin,
Thanks for dropping by. My main complaint isn’t that you are trying to protect against fraud, it’s that the process is extremely inconvenient. The TD card in question costs me around $120/year, and there have been roughly 3 times now where the card has had to be replaced, which means for each time I’m not only without a card for at least a week, but I have to also take time out of the day to go to my main TD branch and get another one when it comes in (and in fact, I’ve never had a call saying it’s arrived there – I’ve had to call or go down on my own).
In the old days some VISA companies used to get you a new card within 24 hours. That’s what I would expect, especially since the compromise isn’t related to anything that I’ve done, and the card has an annual fee attached to it. I’m also concerned with what happens when the card replacement needs to occur when I’m out of a country. I suspect I’m simply not going to obtain a card since I won’t be able to head back to my branch in Canada.
In addition, the automated call that informed me that my VISA was compromised told me to call the card replacement line for more information. When I called that line, there was a 30 minute queue to even talk to someone to find out more.
I like the card, and have switched all my banking to TD, but I think there is room for improvement in the entire process from your side, specifically with the time it takes for someone to obtain their new card. But I appreciate you dropping by, and I hope you can use some of my feedback. As it stands, I still haven’t received my new card yet.
Thanks Duane – appreciate your feedback and will make sure the Fraud Prevention team receives your insights. I agree, we could do better on this, and I know the team is working on faster turnaround.
Erin
Hi Duane,
Found this post after Googling `credit card compromised inconvenience`- as I had a similar experience to yours, just yesterday, in fact – but with RBC (the card featured in your post, actually)
There were no charges on my card that weren’t attributed to me, but I suspect they froze my card after making a couple purchases that fit a certain pattern (or outside of my regular charge patterns). And now I have to wait a week or so for a new card. A real pain in the ass.
For $170 (w/ additional card) per year, I expect a new card couriered to me the next day.
*sigh*
Anyway, misery loves company and all that. Thanks for the post,
Derek
I’d like to make a quick comment…
I have a couple of TD Visa cards that are connected to my Company — ergo, they are Corporate Visa cards issued by TD bank here in Toronto.
Last week I got an urgent call from the TD VISA fraud department asking me to call them right away. An actual human answered the phone on the second ring. After some requisite questions to verify my identity the girl informed me that my card had been flagged. She read some of the latest ‘purchases’ and they were indeed bogus!!!
She was EXTREMELY helpful!!! And, very polite too. She advised me that the card had already been deactivated and that the fraudulent charges would be deleted. I was SO relieved!
Here’s the interesting part… Today (less than a week from when my first card was compromised) the OTHER one was flagged!!! Again, they took care of the problem right away.
I am SOOOO glad that TD has those fantastic algorithms that somehow catch these bastards that ‘hack’ our credit cards and stop them from doing too much damage.
I’d pay good money to anyone that could actually catch the person that did it to me!
That being said, TD did a really fantastic job of protecting my company from this fraud and, although we pay pretty significant fees to them, I’m a loyal customer of TD and will continue to be one.
P.S. – The girl on the phone said that she could tell from my purchasing habits that “You look like you’re a really busy guy…” to which I replied in the affirmative. She actually had a brand new card sent to my branch THE NEXT DAY for me to pick up – which I did and I didn’t miss a beat!
That’s service!
Thank you TD!