Apple Pay Hassle
Mick Burrell On Monday, I tried to pay for two tyres on the car and the payment was declined. I tried again with the same result so in great embarrassment I put the card into the machine and used my PIN which worked perfectly and proved to the smug young lady I wasn't out of funds. I later tried in two different shops with purchases under £10 and both declined.
When I got home, I phoned my card issuer (John Lewis) in a strop and checked my facts about Apple Pay. I was quite right BUT, their system thought it was an unusual purchase (because I didn't spend over £400 on tyres at that outlet every week!) so blocked the use of my phone. The lady I spoke to suggested if I wanted to spend a large, unusual amount, that I contact them first to pre-authorise it. Now, OK, I'm all for fraud protection but as it took me a good ten minutes of typing this and that into the phone before I could speak to anyone I suggested this would not be an option. I suggested a better work round - use one of my other cards instead of John Lewis! I'd probably get the same issue but it made me feel better.