Debit cards

[islandgirlejfan]

We've had our # stolen 3 times as well. Never the card, just the number. Our bank treated it exactly like a credit card and cancelled the card, immediately redeposited the $1000 that was stolen, and we never had a delay in our funds for the checking account. It may have helped in our case that they called me and said "Well, since you are answering in TN you evidently are not in Huntington Beach CA at Best Buy!" and immediately stopped the next transaction the user tried to put through.

 

The next two times I had "trolling" charges of very small amounts show up in my online banking (I check it daily). I called the bank and they told me that theives will "troll" for good credit card/debit card numbers and once they get a hit they will try to use it for higher amounts. Not sure on the specifics, but that's what we were told.

 

And that is probably true because the person used it the first time on the train for a little over 3 dollars. The shopping spree began after that. The bad part is I couldn't see the charges in real time...the bank could though...by then though it was way too late.

 

It was one Christmas I was so glad my husband was home! Card was in his pocket the whole time.

[G'ma]

As the second poster mentioned, I do not like giving anybody that much access to my personal checking account. A credit card works much better because it can not impact my mortgage, my electric bill, my daycare, etc. etc.

 

I use the credit card and pay it off as soon as I get home.

 

And yes, the cruise ship will take your debit card. Of course, if somebody hacks into your debit card between leaving the house and getting on the cruise ship, you are out of luck.

 

It's a personal choice, of course, but I'd never give anyone access to my checking account. The possibility of error is simply too great and I certainly wouldn't want to wait for a "hold" to be removed in the case of an accounting error.

 

I use cash.

[garycarla]

As the poster discussed in the long posting above, if your debit card gets hacked, stolen or whatever, there are lots of problems. I have had two different instances over the years of credit card problems. Both times they just canceled the card and sent a new one. No overdrafts. No missed payments. No bounced checks. No problems at all. I stand by my policy of not using debit cards and sticking with credit cards.

 

As to carrying cash. I have been know to carry a fairly large sum. People tell me they do not like to carry so much because they are afraid of being robbed. Your chances of getting robbed are exactly the same if you have $1 or $2000 in your pocket. Unless you are flashing your money, the bad guy has no idea how much you have in your pocket, does he?

 

(yes, if you do get robbed, you will be out that money)

[islandgirlejfan]

As the poster discussed in the long posting above, if your debit card gets hacked, stolen or whatever, there are lots of problems. I have had two different instances over the years of credit card problems. Both times they just canceled the card and sent a new one. No overdrafts. No missed payments. No bounced checks. No problems at all. I stand by my policy of not using debit cards and sticking with credit cards.

 

As to carrying cash. I have been know to carry a fairly large sum. People tell me they do not like to carry so much because they are afraid of being robbed. Your chances of getting robbed are exactly the same if you have $1 or $2000 in your pocket. Unless you are flashing your money, the bad guy has no idea how much you have in your pocket, does he?

 

(yes, if you do get robbed, you will be out that money)

 

I totally agree with using the credit card on the cruise...it's just smart and we do that ourselves. I have never used my debit on a cruise and after reading all the rules over the past few weeks, much of monitoring your usage is up to the consumer to notice and report to the bank, so definitely keep a watch and if you notice anything that seems out of the ordinary, call the bank immediately!

 

As for cash, I still have no plan to deal with anything more than small amounts of paper money or use my credit card for everyday purchases. I was just minding my own business when I was held up....but it's hard to get over the feelings when it happens to you. Now, it is actually laughable after the fact because the thief got roughly two bucks in change. Bet he was surprised!:p The serious part of it is I could have been killed over a lousy two dollars....and that part is not laughable. I am giving serious thought to just going back to writing checks for every purchase and using my gas card for gas. I may hold up the line behind me (even though Visa especially tried to give you the warm fuzzies about using your card!), but at least I will know that other than an encoding errors on the bank's part (I have had that happen) there will be a lot less worries. I used my debit card for years and never had an issue, but I have to say if you do have one, it is truly a nightmare.:eek:

[fleckle]

After reading through this thread, I still fail to understand why anyone would want to use a debit card instead of a credit card. I am trying to understand why people use them, but have not yet found an explanation that seems reasonable (other than having a bad credit rating).

 

My understanding, which may of course be wrong. is that a debit card withdraws money from your bank account. Why would anyone want to hand total strangers a card that lets them have access to the money in your bank account?

 

When using a credit card, your purchase is protected and you get the float period, so you have time to examine every purchase and make sure there is nothing wrong with it before you actually need to pay for it. You can dispute any charge that may be incorrect or unjustified, and the credit card company will support you if your reason is valid. When you use the credit card to purchase anything over the Internet or telephone, you are protected in the event that your order fails to arrive, or you receive incorrect or shoddy merchandise, or the company goes out of business.

 

There is no worry about your bank account if your credit card should be lost or stolen because the credit card does not access your bank account at all. You only need to notify the card provider, they cancel the card, issue you a new one, and you are out nothing, as Garycarla explained.

 

There is no cost to you for the convenience of using the credit card, as long as you make your full monthly payments on time. Instead, the issuing institutions pay you to use their cards, so you can choose whether you prefer to receive points, merchandise awards, airline miles or cash back. It is important to compare the terms and benefits of the different cards issued by the various institutions so that you can pick and choose the ones you prefer, such as extended warranties on purchases, insurance coverage on rental cars, travel insurance, etc. As long as you maintain a good credit rating, you can pretty well choose whichever card you want.

 

We charge almost everything we buy on a credit card these days and carry very little cash. Visa is widely accepted throughout most of the world, and many places take MasterCard. When cruising, we take along 2 or 3 different credit cards but only carry one and leave the others in the safe. That way, in case of theft or loss we can cancel the one card and still use the others.

 

So far, we have been tossing all the debit card offers that we receive directly into the shredder and will continue to do so, unless someone provides a valid reason for needing a debit card.

[DeltaOne]

My understanding, which may of course be wrong. is that a debit card withdraws money from your bank account. Why would anyone want to hand total strangers a card that lets them have access to the money in your bank account?

 

There is no worry about your bank account if your credit card should be lost or stolen because the credit card does not access your bank account at all. You only need to notify the card provider, they cancel the card, issue you a new one, and you are out nothing, as Garycarla explained.

 

I see paying by debit card no different than paying by check. I paid by check for years before I got a debit card -- paying by debit card is much easier than paying by check.

 

And my bank backs debit card purchases the same way they do credit card purchases, so there's no worries there.

[garycarla]

I see paying by debit card no different than paying by check. I paid by check for years before I got a debit card -- paying by debit card is much easier than paying by check.

 

And my bank backs debit card purchases the same way they do credit card purchases, so there's no worries there.

 

Yes, check and debit cards are almost the same. Though not impossible, it is harder for people to take your check numbers and start charging stuff around the world, like a debit card.

 

And, though your bank might stand behind it, there is a different issue at play here. If (when) your debit card gets hacked, they can deplete your checking account. Then, when the auto pay for your mortgage, or utility or daycare or car payment is denied, then the real fun starts. And, if you are out of the country and need access to those funds - tough luck. Unless of course you are smart enough to also be carrying another credit card.

 

All I can say for those that carry a debit card is to make sure you have an alternate way to take care of yourself when traveling. I have a debit card and the only thing it ever gets used for is the ATM benefit. I see no reason to use it vs a credit card.