Nationwide Visa Card & LeClerc

[passepartout]

Hi, my husband has a Nationwide Visa card, and uses it in the UK all the time, BUT when it comes to LeClerc, we are the people that cause folks to huff and puff whilst waiting to check out, we use the card primarily as we do not get charged any commission on purchases. But at any of the LeClercs that we have shopped in we have a problem, the cashier comes back with, it is not valid, not accepted, will not register when swiped, you name it... So we use our Barclaycard, LeClerc say it is not there problem and Nationwide say that LeClerc could accept it if they rang for an authorisation number.

Has anyone else had these problems with their Nationwide card at LeClerc or any where else?

[cooperlola]

I have problems occasionally, mainly I think because some places are still using the old style chip and pin system which is incompatible with the new one (much as some fuel pumps won't take UK cards, whilst some now will.)  Then they have to "swipe and sign" and some places need to see id - hence, I think the staff get a bit sniffy about it!  I tend to just go to a cash machine (LeClerc tend to have them in their foyers) first and do it that way to save any potential hassle.

[passepartout]

Hi, well yes, but when you are buying white goods, and furniture and stuff, we prefer to use plastic, and save on commission. When we returned last year after a big spending spree, we again wrote to NW and had a very good response, AND they kindly agreed to refund us the commsiion we had to pay on our other card which mounted to a few hundred pounds, what also happens is if the card gets swiped several times and you enter your pin number each time, you can invalidate the card, and can only get it revalidated at a NW atm, back in UK. So, always have a spare c/card , just in case.

[BJSLIV]

Your Nationwide card doesn't need to be swiped it should be put into the card reader slot like any other French card.

If they try to swipe it it will be rejected because it expects you to use chip and pin.

 

[passepartout]

OOPs, I meant chip and pin

[Wendy]

Hi,

it sounds very much as though Nationwide have put a security tag on your card - you need to call them and sort this out. Been there and done that believe me. All our cards (UK issued) are chip and pin yet we get so many checkout chicks here attempting to swipe them first, suspicious of anything non-french; this in itself can cause a card to get blocked. Try telling these girls though that the card has a 'puce'!

 

[andyh4]

UK freinds had a similar problem with a UK card at Auchan.  It turns out that they were not asking for authorisation and hence the card bounced  (they had a freephone number to the bank and rang immediately the card bounced).  Next visit they went to the information counter as they entered, who then got prior authorisation by actually phoning rather than relying on the technology, so that by the time they went through the tills the card went through without problems

[Baz]

Having had similar problems in the past with UK cards, I tried to investigate what causes refusals.

There would be appear to be two main reasons, the card providers have built in security systems on their computers to recognise fraud. As an example if you are outside the UK and sign for a purchase and then make a further purchase a little later by the PIN number the computer may well block your card. The only way to correct this is a phone call to your card provider, even giving prior warning that you are going to use your card abroad does not over ride the computers in built security systems.

The second reason and most likely to happen is that the card amount does not get authorised and is consequently refused. Then all you have to do is insist that the retailer phones for authorisation, they know the telephone number as they are fully aware that this is the procedure laid down for the use of cards. Often retailers try not to telephone and ask you for another card because it save them time, but stand your ground and insist as it is their obligation to get a phone authorisation.

Baz

[suein56]

[quote user="andyh4"] Next visit they went to the information counter as they entered, who then got prior authorisation by actually phoning rather than relying on the technology, so that by the time they went through the tills the card went through without problems[/quote]

Although we live in France and use a French card we do very occasionally use a UK credit card for certain purchases here. So if we intend spending a large amount I email the cc company concerned beforehand and advise them of the approximate amount we will be spending so that the card will not be blocked - this has worked everytime (up til now!).

Sue

[Lesley1952]

we had the same problem at our local auchan until they changed their tills last year so we would just withdraw the dosh from the cash machine before we went shopping !!

[Graham & Brenda]

My Nationwide credit card works everywhere, using chip and pin (excluding some petrol stations perhaps) - except Lidl in Jarnac, where they have to swipe it. I have no idea why this is but as it is accepted there's no problem but I do wonder why as it is an almost new store and I would have thought they'd have up to date technology.

[Graham & Brenda]

Just as an update, Lidl Jarnac are now asking for a pièce d'idenité to go with our "swiped" card. Ho hum......

[Chancer]

Been using a Nationwide for 4 years with only one problem which I will describe, if the OP was buying expensive electrical goods on the card then the advice re authentication etc may instead apply.

The problem only shows up when the shop staff take the card and put it in the terminal themselves, whereas if you have the keypad,  you recognise the "choisir langue" command, press English or French and away you go.

These staff usually guard the keypad as if you would run away with it until they get the message to "enter PIN" on their terminal   the choose language message either does not show up on their terminal or perhaps is in English and they do not understand it (I have never managed to get behind the counter to find out).

If the language is not selected (which can only be done on the PINpad) during the time the other customrs are huffing and puffing the system times out and displays a card not accepted message on their terminal.

It is very very hard to convince someone that they should give you the keypad without intimating that it is them making the error, I have managed to enlighten even the most stubborn and disbelieving of local commerciants who have all since admitted that beforehand  they had lost lots of English business through "card refused" which further fuelled their paranoia that we are all fraudsters using dodgy cards[:D]

[Llantony]

i've been using my Nationwide credit and debit cards for 4 and a half years (on average 4 visits to France a year) and so far no problem.  We often go to Leclerc and other supermarkets.  I hope my luck doesn't change.

[chessfou]

J.R.

Yes, a fairly common problem (I eventually figured that one out for myself) and it caused no end of frustration (all round: customer-me, staff and other customers-waiting) in our local bookshop (although that was not the only place where this has happened - misc. restaurants and supermarchés, inc. Leclerc once or twice). Anyway, bookshop staff now trained which has eliminated about half the problems.

What I now find annoying is the occasional random failure (reason unknown) which seem to occur entirely at random, including several shops/supermarchés that we regularly use.

All above relates to the Nationwide CC which I use as standard (since almost all our income originates as £, I keep my French CCs in reserve in case of accident or needing fuel on Sunday or whatever).