Comment by bink
5 years ago
I've never owned a credit card that would allow me to "block" a merchant from charging me (not saying they don't exist). With a conventional card you can dispute the charge and perform a charge-back, but it's still up to you to ensure that the merchant does not keep charging you. I can see why the rep was confused.
Normally if a merchant is charging your card without your permission you contact them first. If it's a recurring fraudulent charge and they won't respond you contact the police, report it to the bank, and have the bank issue a new card.
Now if this is a subscription service offered through the News app I have no idea what the proper procedure would be beyond simply cancelling the subscription and requesting a refund. But even then you aren't "blocking" a merchant.
I do not miss the US banking system... with my bank in the EU, I can block merchants, approve or deny direct debits (ACH equivalent), and I’ve set my debit card with two pins: one draws from my account, and the other from my joint account.
And direct debits and transfers are free ( barring potential currency exchange )
Could you share what bank this is?
https://www.bunq.com/benefits
4 replies →
> I've never owned a credit card that would allow me to "block" a merchant from charging me
American Express will let you do it, but it can (as far as I can tell) only be done with a phone call.
Barclaycard was able to do that over the phone as well.
+1. Credit Cards are not PayPal. You can only cancel recurring transactions on PayPal because those are set up directly on PayPal.
If you find someone is charging your card, ask them to stop, and to refund you. Only if they refuse should you attempt to cancel the charge via your card. This results in a chargeback to the place that charged you, which typically comes with a hefty fee for them.
Several credit cards allow you to generate a new card number to use with a specific merchant. This allows you to shut down that number once you no longer want to be billed by them.
It's a little more work, but foolproof.
That's not limited to credit cards, Revolut( UK) and Aumax (France) fintechs offer it on regular debit cards.
I've done it with Wells Fargo and Ally Bank in the US, they just made me put an expiration on it years in the future. What banks have you been unable to do this with?