Debit Card Charged Twice

[123funcruiser]

2 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

OP did not say Royal charged his credit card twice. 

 

You are Right, my bad, they said they charged their debit Card twice, which is still wrong.

[Esmerelda]

We just alert our credit union that we are traveling and where we are going.  In the last 6 cruises, no holds have ever been placed on my debit card.  It is coming from your bank, not RC.  

 

 

[SRF]

I have had a similar thing happen on a credit card.  So it CAN happen.

 

I checked into a hotel, and they placed a hold on the anticipated amount of the lodging fees, with some for additional spending.

 

It seems, that evening, the accounting department accidentally "cancelled" the hold.  So they tried to place another hold.  But that was declined.  So, over the next few days, tried placing holds for various amounts.  Some were declined, some were accepted, but the initial hold was still in place.

 

I was online, and happened to check that account and found I had $79 of available credit. When I should have had several thousand.  So I contacted the credit card company, and found out about all the holds.

 

Had a LONG talk with the hotel management, as they NEVER SAID ANYTHING TO ME.

 

Finally, it took a 4 way phone call to fix. A representative of the hotel and me, their bank, and the credit card company, to get all the extra holds removed.

[Joseph2017China]

There is no good reason ever to use a debit card on international travel.....ever. First, merchants don't trust debit cards so they lock in holds.  Holds on debit cards take longer to release.  Debit cards are easier to have fraud committed against, and harder to contest.  You can loose all you money with a debit card but your credit card is protected.  RCCL is protecting themselves, and not you. 

 

Once you accept all those items than you can enjoy your vacation trouble free.

[sammee]

6 hours ago, SRF said:

I have had a similar thing happen on a credit card.  So it CAN happen.

 

I checked into a hotel, and they placed a hold on the anticipated amount of the lodging fees, with some for additional spending.

 

It seems, that evening, the accounting department accidentally "cancelled" the hold.  So they tried to place another hold.  But that was declined.  So, over the next few days, tried placing holds for various amounts.  Some were declined, some were accepted, but the initial hold was still in place.

 

I was online, and happened to check that account and found I had $79 of available credit. When I should have had several thousand.  So I contacted the credit card company, and found out about all the holds.

 

Had a LONG talk with the hotel management, as they NEVER SAID ANYTHING TO ME.

 

Finally, it took a 4 way phone call to fix. A representative of the hotel and me, their bank, and the credit card company, to get all the extra holds removed.

Just had a hotel pull that hold crap on me last week. Problem was it was paid for in advance, there was no need for it. Incidentals available were crackers, sunscreen & tylenol, so there was no need for that either. They did straighten it out, and it cleared within 24 hours. My first cruise with Royal back in 2007, I learned the hard way with the debit card, BUT my credit union arranged a 3 way conversation with them, Royal Caribbean and I, it dropped the next day. Royal had to fax something to my bank. This was a week after we got off the ship.

[time4u2go]

5 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

There is no good reason ever to use a debit card on international travel.....ever. First, merchants don't trust debit cards so they lock in holds.  Holds on debit cards take longer to release.  Debit cards are easier to have fraud committed against, and harder to contest.  You can loose all you money with a debit card but your credit card is protected.  RCCL is protecting themselves, and not you. 

 

Once you accept all those items than you can enjoy your vacation trouble free.

Actually the part marked in yellow is not true unless you don't report it for more than 60 days.  Debit cards now are also protected.

Edited August 6, 2019 by time4u2go

[steveru621]

5 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

There is no good reason ever to use a debit card on international travel.....ever. First, merchants don't trust debit cards so they lock in holds.  Holds on debit cards take longer to release.  Debit cards are easier to have fraud committed against, and harder to contest.  You can loose all you money with a debit card but your credit card is protected.  RCCL is protecting themselves, and not you. 

 

Once you accept all those items than you can enjoy your vacation trouble free.

 

None of what you posted is true.

 

Merchants love Debit cards because the fees are much lower.

Merchants can not set the duration of the holds, only a bank can make that decision.

Fraud on Debit cards is much lower, because the targets are lower. vs a $25,000 credit card line.

Federal Reg E covers Debit cards. 

Visa and Mastercard guarantee zero liability and offer all of the same dispute processes as Credit cards.

 

[Esmerelda]

I echo what Steverue621 just posted.  My debit card was compromised in Target last spring.  I was there at 8:30pm, by 10:00pm they had rang up about $600+ worth of beer at drive throughs in a city 4 hours from where I live at.  I reported it ASAP to my credit union.  All of my money was replaced within 6 days.  I had no issue whatsoever getting my money back.  I rarely ever use my credit card for anything.  Debit cards are protected just as credit cards are. 

[mayleeman]

11 hours ago, Esmerelda said:

 Debit cards are protected just as credit cards are

So, meanwhile you were out the cash and it took 6 dsys to get it back. A credit card does not involve outlay of money while the dispute is resolved.

 

They are not protected the same (unless your own bsnk does it). Under US law, you are only responsible for $50 at most of fraudulent credit card usage, but $500 of fraudulent debit transfers. (Both of these only come into play if you delay reporting a lost or stolen card.)

[SRF]

Yeap, 6 days versus 2 minutes.

 

I call my credit card company.  I tell them what charges are not mine.  They are removed IMMEDIATELY.

 

[ryano]

On 8/3/2019 at 2:40 PM, cb at sea said:

 Credit cards don't do "holds" like a debit card .

 

Yet again, FALSE information from the resident "know it all".   

 

The VERY next post after yours shows you are clearly wrong on this issue.

[steveru621]

1 hour ago, mayleeman said:

So, meanwhile you were out the cash and it took 6 dsys to get it back. A credit card does not involve outlay of money while the dispute is resolved.

 

They are not protected the same (unless your own bsnk does it). Under US law, you are only responsible for $50 at most of fraudulent credit card usage, but $500 of fraudulent debit transfers. (Both of these only come into play if you delay reporting a lost or stolen card.)

 

Visa and MasterCard use the exact same dispute process for Debit and Credit, and zero liability.  Electronic funds transfers are ATM and PIN DEBIT transactions, neither of which apply with RCI.  PLUS, If you want to pay 17%-29% interest from minute one to get cash from an ATM using your credit card go right ahead.

 

https://usa.visa.com/partner-with-us/payment-technology/visa-chip-technology-overview.html

 

I'm not advocating using a Debit or a Credit card.  I'm also not saying you aren't out the money until you are given provisional credit, but there are millions of people that either do not want, or can't get a credit card.  If your bank is not following the rules laid out to issue a Visa or MasterCard Debit card then you need to find a new bank. 

 

A credit card bank does not have to reverse the charges immediately.  In fact, most will give you provisional credit, but it's just that, provisional.  Follow the rules and you'll be fine.  If you don't report that your credit card is lost or stolen in a timely manner the $50 you are quoting does not apply.

[time4u2go]

9 hours ago, mayleeman said:

So, meanwhile you were out the cash and it took 6 dsys to get it back. A credit card does not involve outlay of money while the dispute is resolved.

 

They are not protected the same (unless your own bsnk does it). Under US law, you are only responsible for $50 at most of fraudulent credit card usage, but $500 of fraudulent debit transfers. (Both of these only come into play if you delay reporting a lost or stolen card.)

That's what's required by law, but the major card issuers cover all of the losses.

[jagsfan]

2 hours ago, time4u2go said:

That's what's required by law, but the major card issuers cover all of the losses.

I second that. We’ve had half a dozen credit cards from three different issuers hacked in the last few years. 

We had the cards in our possession every darn time. 

Our banks notified us of the charges, we told them yes, they were fraudulent, and that was the last we heard. No charges ever appeared. 

[brillohead]

The biggest problem with fraud when using a debit card is that it can take a long time to straighten things out, and if you don't have other liquid assets that are accessible, this can cause problems on top of other problems and it snowballs.  

For example, while waiting for fraudulent charges to be refunded to your account, your house payment might "bounce"... same with your phone bill, gas bill, electric bill, water/sewer bill, and any other automatic payments that come out of your account (child support, car loan, school tuition, credit card payments, the possibilities are endless). 

Your bank will likely charge a fee for each "Non-Sufficient Funds" transaction, and each payment recipient who didn't get paid will likely charge a NSF fee PLUS a late payment fee on top of that.  While each company MAY eventually refund all the fees that were the result of the original fraudulent action, they are under no requirement to do so, and it will likely require a lot of your time making phone calls, writing letters, making copies of police reports to back up your claims, etc., to get it all straightened out.  

If your credit situation doesn't allow for you to carry a standard credit card, my recommendation is to get an ISSUED prepaid credit card.  This is one that is printed with your name on it, not just a plain generic "gift card" type that you can pick up at any store.  These issued cards are the kind you can use anywhere. You can recharge it online or with cash at certain places (like the one Walmart offers can be topped up with cash at Walmart).  If it gets hacked or charged or has holds on it, it's not going to mess up your main bank account and all the payments that come out of that account directly. 

One other comment about debit cards and fraudulent activity.  A former coworker had her family's Xbox Live account connected to her debit card, which was the account that ALL their household money went through.  Their Xbox account got hacked and had several hundred dollars charged against it, which came directly out of her checking account. 

 

She went to the bank/credit union, and they couldn't refund her money right away because her debit card wasn't hacked -- it was her Xbox account that was hacked, and that in turn charged her debit account... she had to deal with Xbox to get her money refunded.  It took her several weeks to get it all straightened out, and they lived paycheck to paycheck, so it was a huge ordeal that caused her a lot of stress and wasted a bunch of her time getting it all fixed. 

If she had set up her Xbox Live account with a prepaid credit card, and only put enough cash in that account to cover their Xbox usage every month, she wouldn't have had to scramble to try to get her bills paid and chase her refund for a whole month.  (I won't go into the fact that they live paycheck to paycheck and are spending money on gaming systems.... that's a whole 'nother rant!)

Edited August 7, 2019 by brillohead

[steveru621]

The biggest problem is "The average credit card debt per U.S. household was $8,339 in April 2019."  At double digit interest rates.

[cruisinfanatic]

On 8/5/2019 at 8:37 PM, Esmerelda said:

I echo what Steverue621 just posted.  My debit card was compromised in Target last spring.  I was there at 8:30pm, by 10:00pm they had rang up about $600+ worth of beer at drive throughs in a city 4 hours from where I live at.  I reported it ASAP to my credit union.  All of my money was replaced within 6 days.  I had no issue whatsoever getting my money back.  I rarely ever use my credit card for anything.  Debit cards are protected just as credit cards are. 

I don't think 6 days without your money is a very good thing. With a credit card, it's instant when you report it

[Esmerelda]

Cruisefanatic, there was an investigation as my card was involved in a large ring of credit card/debit card fraud/theft in Ohio.  I knew I would get my money back, I wasn’t concerned. I did have to file a police report etc. The point is,  my money was returned with no issues.  It didn’t have to be instantaneous for me to be satisfied.  

[mayleeman]

11 hours ago, steveru621 said:

The biggest problem is "The average credit card debt per U.S. household was $8,339 in April 2019."  At double digit interest rates.

 

As discussed above, charge it and go home and pay it off. No interest. And you get whatever perks you are offered by your credit card. In the past 4 years, we have collected about $5,000 in year-end "rewards" from our Sam's Club credit card and have not paid a penny of interest. Anyone with the funds available for a debit transaction can do the same thing, and it is much safer. 

 

@Esmeralda As noted above a few times, that works only if you have immediate access to other funds. For anyone living paycheck to paycheck (anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of American households, but likely much less in the cruising population) a drained checking account will result in a sequence of events as described by @brillohead above.

 

We have multiple credit unions and multiple credit cards to have backups no matter what. We do not carry them all, but having been notified of our data being hacked from various institutions, medical providers, insurance companies, organizations, and governments, we are covering the bases as best we can.

 

Google "debit vs credit card" and most financial advisors will tell you credit cards are safer for most transactions for most people. If anyone can find a contrary opinion from a reputable source, I would love to see it. 

 

 

Edited August 7, 2019 by mayleeman

[SRF]

I pay most of my bills with credit card.  Then pay the credit card off each month.  That way I earn perks.

 

I may carry a balance, but only when there are low interest deals, like 0% or 1.9%.  Those times, my money makes more than the interest. 😄

 

The ONLY time I use a credit card in an ATM is for work travel.  And then, we do not pay interest on the cash advance.  

[Donray]

Don't people realize that Hotels, Gas Stations, Car Rentals, Cruises, Resorts, etc. ALL put a hold on both credit and debit cards?

 

It seem like a lot of people don't understand credit and debit cards. 

 

 

[smplybcause]

16 hours ago, brillohead said:

If your credit situation doesn't allow for you to carry a standard credit card, my recommendation is to get an ISSUED prepaid credit card.

 

Another option is a secured credit card. You might have to search for it, but it's a credit card with a limit equal to the amount you give them in a savings account. It'll help rebuild your credit if you use it responsibly, and some even offer the ability to convert to a standard credit card after a time of responsible use. They usually don't have rewards, but come with credit card fraud protections as far as I know. 

[cured]

On 8/5/2019 at 8:45 PM, Joseph2017China said:

There is no good reason ever to use a debit card on international travel.....ever. First, merchants don't trust debit cards so they lock in holds.  Holds on debit cards take longer to release.  Debit cards are easier to have fraud committed against, and harder to contest.  You can loose all you money with a debit card but your credit card is protected.  RCCL is protecting themselves, and not you. 

 

Once you accept all those items than you can enjoy your vacation trouble free.

Love my debit card when I travel. Although lately we use credit cards, we used to use our debit card exclusively.  Our credit union does not allow holds so if a merchant such as a hotel tries to place a hold on our money, the credit union releases it within 24 hours. 

[johnjen]

Best thing we ever did to avoid these condundrums....we typically get OBC from the initial cruise booking and also the BOA/RCL card after we pay for cruise stuff. Then we just run a cash account. No hassles, any money they owe me at the end of the cruise, we settle our accounts and get whatever cash we have left over.

[ryano]

17 hours ago, cruisinfanatic said:

I don't think 6 days without your money is a very good thing. With a credit card, it's instant when you report it

 

Ive had my debit card compromised twice. My bank gives me a "provisional credit" for ALL fraudulent charges and instant refunds on any NSF charges caused by such immediately upon receipt of my signed affidavit.   It all depends on your financial institution as to how long it takes to you get your money back

Edited August 7, 2019 by ryano