Card Blocked And Abroad

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  • Grainsalt's Avatar
    Eagle eye
    “You do not need to tell us if you are going abroad”

    well for the first time in I don’t know how many years of never having a blocked card it’s blocked because I’m abroad I assume .. only it was with half my family on one side of the subway turnstile in New York and half on the other so thanks for that experience ..

    anyway, how do I unblock my card without being able to phone the support line and burning through hundreds of pounds to do so. I am on a Holafly sim whilst abroad anyway. Is there any way to unblock my card and enjoy my holiday without doing so?
  • 3 Replies

  • Verified Answer

    CarolineD's Avatar
    Employee
    Verified Answer
    Hey @Grainsalt, thanks for getting in touch 🙂

    I'm sorry to hear your card has been blocked whilst overseas. Usually, when a card has been blocked, we would attempt to contact you by telephone or by text.

    If your card has been blocked for security reasons, then I am afraid you would need to call our Customer Protection team at +441268 508 027 (Mon - Fri: 8am to 9pm, Sat - Sun: 8am - 6pm), one of my colleagues will be able to help you further. We can also accept calls made via Skype or Viber.

    I know this will be frustrating given the circumstances, but we only take these measures to protect your account.
    Last edited by AmyM; 19-06-24 at 10:17.
  • Grainsalt's Avatar
    Eagle eye
    @CarolineD thanks for the reply… ok so as I got no messages it looks like I was blocked for trying to use my card on the subway which is annoying, I should probably invest in another credit card next time as backup if I’m going to get blocked for that by Tesco.

    I'll see if I can get Skype set up but I suspect I’m going to have to rely on what cash I have left for another day due to the time difference and the opening hours or cancel our plans today to try and get through.
  • AmyM's Avatar
    Your Community Manager
    Hey @Grainsalt

    Did you manage to get through to us via Skype?

    Were you using the contactless feature on your card at the turnstiles in the subway? This has happened to me on more occasions than not when travelling (with a few different card providers!).

    One explanation I got recently, was that cards are apparently designed to only be used by one passenger when using 'tap on, tap off' travel methods. For example if my partner and I are travelling together, we should be using separate cards to tap on and off with, as opposed to one of us using one card for us both. They recommended that if I was using just one card for travel then to buy tickets from a machine instead 😊