Ulster Bank Visa Debit Card Thread

**Timbuk2**

Beruthiel wrote: »

Ok, I received my Visa Debit Card this morning.
I don't have time to wade through this big thread to see if this has already been answered.
So can some nice person answer the below:

I've had a Visa card for donkeys years. And an ATM card.
Does this new card just do the job of both?
Can I basically just scrap my old Visa card now?

Yes, you can really. However, it's not a credit card and there are certain advantages to credit cards, e.g. emergency cash, paying for things when you don't yet have the money.

Visa Debit is accepted everywhere that Visa is (which is namely everywhere, being honest). I had one since the week after they were launched in UB and I have never had any problems whatsoever with it.

Bear in mind though you can only spend money you have in your account. I remember having about €33 euro left in the account (I'm only a mere student!) and buying €20 credit online, and then wanting to pay for something that was €13.50 online, but it wouldn't go through as I was about 30cent off. This can happen at POS as well, so make sure you know how much is left in your account at all times, to avoid an embarassing 'Transaction Declined', especially when there's a queue behind you!

But yea, unless you use a credit card for emergency cash or the like, then you could safely scrap it. With Visa Debit you are paying €5 stamp duty as opposed to €35 stamp duty on a CC, which is always nice!

dotsman

Just a few things that need to be added. A Credit Card is very handy for deposits, such as hotels/car rentals etc. A car rental place might place a €1,000 hold on your credit card. Without a credit card, you would need to leave this deposit in cash etc.

A credit card is also significantly better for disputes, especially purchasing online or ordering furniture/holidays etc. You are protected by law in these cases, and you do not have to pay for any goods/services you have not received or if goods are faulty etc. A debit card, although offers some protection, is not as extensive and not protected by law.

A debit Card and a Credit Card, although act and look similar have very different backgrounds.

A Debit card is merely an extension of your bank account. Everytime you use it, it is the equivalent of going to an ATM, withdrawing the exact amount of the purchase and handing your cash to the cashier.

A Credit Card, on the other hand, is a completely separate account, and works like a tab. You purchase what you want over the course of a month. At the end of the month, you receive a bill for the full amount, and given another month to pay it off (ie, settle your tab). If you don't settle your tab in full by the end of that month, you pay interest on the outstanding balance. Likewise, in the event of a dispute, you can dispute a charge to the card, long before you are asked to pay it, therefore, you never actually handover any of your money (with a debit card, you have already given the seller your money, and it's a case of trying to get it back)

One final thing, the Credit Card Stamp duty is only €30 (unless you meant €30 for the CC and €5 for the DC?)

Glenbhoy

I am extremely disappointed with this new card, so much so I am for the first time in 15 yrs considering changing banks.

I seem to be encountering problems with it everywhere I turn. Like another poster I was charged £3 for a withdrawal from an ATM in the north, the first time this has ever happened me - now it seems that this can be avoided by used RBS ATM's?

Can I use this for paying at the till in the UK and will this cost me anything? Doubtful that I would as I prefer to pay by credit card and take advantage of the additional time that affords me.

I also use betfair extensively and I am now being charged to make deposits, 1.5% of the deposit, as if that wasn't bad enough, I cannot withdraw to the card leaving me with the options of getting a bank transfer costing £5, or a cheque which has to be posted to me and with all the waiting around that entails.

What was the real reason for this card's introduction? Customer complaints or a revenue generating exercise?

Wats_in_a_name

Glenbhoy wrote: »

I am extremely disappointed with this new card, so much so I am for the first time in 15 yrs considering changing banks.

I seem to be encountering problems with it everywhere I turn. Like another poster I was charged £3 for a withdrawal from an ATM in the north, the first time this has ever happened me - now it seems that this can be avoided by used RBS ATM's?

Can I use this for paying at the till in the UK and will this cost me anything? Doubtful that I would as I prefer to pay by credit card and take advantage of the additional time that affords me.

I also use betfair extensively and I am now being charged to make deposits, 1.5% of the deposit, as if that wasn't bad enough, I cannot withdraw to the card leaving me with the options of getting a bank transfer costing £5, or a cheque which has to be posted to me and with all the waiting around that entails.

What was the real reason for this card's introduction? Customer complaints or a revenue generating exercise?

If you read the booklet thats in the bank, online & comes with the card you would no exactly what your are being charged for and by how much. The card is great and can be used online but does ahve some disadvantages but the advantages well outweigh them.

Glenbhoy

Wats_in_a_name wrote: »

If you read the booklet thats in the bank, online & comes with the card you would no exactly what your are being charged for and by how much. The card is great and can be used online but does ahve some disadvantages but the advantages well outweigh them.

If I had signed up for the card your point might be relevant, however, I didn't ask for nor want this card, I was perfectly happy with my laser card which did everything I needed it to do and didn't result in any additional charges.
I don't see any advantages of having the visa debit card, and can only presume there is a financial motivation for RBS in introducing same.

Wats_in_a_name

Glenbhoy wrote: »

.
I don't see any advantages of having the visa debit card, and can only presume there is a financial motivation for RBS in introducing same.

Advantages:
Some protection when buying online
Can buy online at (close to) all stores
Works international at POS (laser only works in some)

BuffyBot

Glenbhoy wrote: »

I am extremely disappointed with this new card, so much so I am for the first time in 15 yrs considering changing banks.

I seem to be encountering problems with it everywhere I turn. Like another poster I was charged £3 for a withdrawal from an ATM in the north, the first time this has ever happened me - now it seems that this can be avoided by used RBS ATM's?

Yes, any Ulster Bank/Royal Bank of Scotland/Natwest ATM in the UK allows you to withdraw free of charge. Otherwise, there are charges. However, there were the same/similar charges for using your old Laser/ATM card in non-Euro countries as well.

Can I use this for paying at the till in the UK and will this cost me anything? Doubtful that I would as I prefer to pay by credit card and take advantage of the additional time that affords me.

Yes, you can use it to pay at tills in the UK and abroad. It does cost - but keep in mind that non-Euro transactions on credit cards have fees and currency conversion charges built into the eventual cost that appears on your statement too.

I also use betfair extensively and I am now being charged to make deposits, 1.5% of the deposit, as if that wasn't bad enough, I cannot withdraw to the card leaving me with the options of getting a bank transfer costing £5, or a cheque which has to be posted to me and with all the waiting around that entails.

Well that's an issue with Betfair, not UB to be fair.

What was the real reason for this card's introduction? Customer complaints or a revenue generating exercise?

The entire RBS group worldwide switched to Visa Debit. Certainly for the most part it's a positive move. Global acceptance, ability to use online, better customer protection - it's a massive step up from Laser.

Glenbhoy

BuffyBot wrote: »

Yes, any Ulster Bank/Royal Bank of Scotland/Natwest ATM in the UK allows you to withdraw free of charge. Otherwise, there are charges. However, there were the same/similar charges for using your old Laser/ATM card in non-Euro countries as well.



Yes, you can use it to pay at tills in the UK and abroad. It does cost - but keep in mind that non-Euro transactions on credit cards have fees and currency conversion charges built into the eventual cost that appears on your statement too.



Well that's an issue with Betfair, not UB to be fair.


The entire RBS group worldwide switched to Visa Debit. Certainly for the most part it's a positive move. Global acceptance, ability to use online, better customer protection - it's a massive step up from Laser.

I have taken it up with betfair, they claim that all they're doing is passing on the charges that they incur for processing visa debit card transactions. With regards to withdrawals, visa debit cards do not allow withdrawals on to the card in excess of deposits made from the same card to that retailer, why, I don't know, but Visa credit cards allow such transactions to be conducted, as did laser cards (mastercard do not allow them).

I appreciate that for many the ability to use the card in many outlets could be considered an advantage, but i prefer to use my credit card whenever possible and then clear the balance on a monthly basis. With regards to withdrawing cash via laser, bar on a few occasions in the US i haven't problems with it. If I could go back to laser I would.

Resi12

Can anybody please reply back fast, struggling student here returned a pair of pants today. Paid through my Visa Debit so it got refunded through it, anyone know when it should be through by?

the whole year inn

They refund it instanly,think it takes 3 days to get it back into your account.Thats what happened to me anyhow.

Dubh Geannain

I rang the bank to enquire and the purchase limit on mine anyway is €1,400.

For larger purchases above this limit, I was advised to break them down into smaller payments but not each of the same value as the system might think they are duplicates of the same payment.
e.g. 2,800 would come from €1,100 , €1,300 and €400 as opposed to €1,400 and €1,400.

Random

Dubh Geannain wrote: »

I rang the bank to enquire and the purchase limit on mine anyway is €1,400.

For larger purchases above this limit, I was advised to break them down into smaller payments but not each of the same value as the system might think they are duplicates of the same payment.
e.g. 2,800 would come from €1,100 , €1,300 and €400 as opposed to €1,400 and €1,400.

did they quote anywhere in the t+c that this is stated?

Dubh Geannain

TBH Random I don't know, I never checked.

But I did have reason to make a large purchase on a recent trip to the States. The first day I tried to pay in one go. It didn't work.

So I rang them and received instructions to break the payments down to chunks less than €1,400. The next day I did that: The first payment went through. The second, which was for the same amount didn't.

Rang them again and they said that the same value twice might have been flagged as a duplicate and to use differing values.

I didn't get to try that out, as the second payment finally got sorted out in a conference call between the retailer, Visa and the bank. Phew!

Dubh Geannain

I should have added. Although I got to make my necessary purchases, I did have to unfreeze my account when I got home

Does anyone know how long it takes for a refund to be processed back onto the card? I see someone mentioned 3 days above but I got two PayPal refunds on Friday morning and there's still no sign of the money. I'm getting a little worried! Maybe it's 3 business days and the weekend didn't count?

BuffyBot

Weekends don't count

Our man in Havana

Sofiztikated wrote: »

Hi guys.

I though I would give you a heads up to an issue I have come across with Visa Debit cards.

I work in a hotel. When people check in, a credit card is requested. With this credit card, a pre authorisation is taken. Long and short of it, the hotels bank is putting money to one side, to cover the cost of the stay, and usually a certain amount against extras. The banks see this as a shadow posting. An authorisation code is given. Normally with credit cards, once the authorisation code is used on departure the shadow posting is released.

We were seeing a lot of cases where, on departure, the authorisation code was used, BUT the shadow posting was staying on the account for quite some time (up to 4 weeks in some cases, it seemed to take longer with Ulster Bank in the North than it did in the Republic for some reason), looking like the hotel had taken a second payment. This was causing some issue for some people, as the funds were on hold, they were not available to be withdrawn or used against direct debits.

The best thing for yourself to do is:

Use you Visa Debit card to pay for the accommodation there and then, and pay, if required by the hotel, a deposit for extras, which would be refunded on departure.

Give a credit card for authorisation, and then pay with the debit card on departure.

Hope this helps.

Will the issue resolve itself if you do nothing? Or do you have call UB up and fight them?

Sofiztikated

It will resolve itself, but it takes some time.

The main problem it may present to you is that you account may look overdrawn, and you may incur fees.

Our man in Havana

Ok. The same thing happened to me. Account is showing a pre auth amount equal to what the hotel charged. It would seem that doing nothing is the best option as UB certainly won't remove the pre auth.

Sofiztikated

It really is a pain in the arse. And UB are really not in any hurry to do anything about it.

The cynic in me thinks its because they do rack up charges in overdrawn accounts, return unpaid fee and the like.

Savman

As far as I can see, Hotel and Car Hire temporary authorisations are a big mess for the Visa Debit. Seems like these kind of transactions cause headaches for the Supplier, the Bank and the Cardholder.

Those 2 services aside, the card is superb.

revileandy

Anyone have problems with Ulster Bank constantly Freezing their Visa Debit account?

I've been shut down again, 3rd time in the 7 months I've been with them. And there's nothing weird going through - all normal stuff, shopping, bills etc. It's a a total nuisance.

Such a shame Halifax pulled out, they were get, never had any problems with them in the 4 years I was with them.

dr.fuzzenstein

revileandy wrote: »

Anyone have problems with Ulster Bank constantly Freezing their Visa Debit account?

I've been shut down again, 3rd time in the 7 months I've been with them. And there's nothing weird going through - all normal stuff, shopping, bills etc. It's a a total nuisance.

Such a shame Halifax pulled out, they were get, never had any problems with them in the 4 years I was with them.

They froze my credit card this Xmas, I had driven up to Dublin to fly out for the holidays and when they saw that I used it outside my usual area of operation it got frozen.
Luckily my flight was cancelled, otherwise I'd have looked a right plonker at the car hire desk in Germany.:eek:
This way I didn't even notice till after Xmas, since you don't use your card much when sitting around on the sofa at home.:D
One phone call and sorted.
Debit card works great, only inkjet.ie doesn't seem to like it.

Savman

revileandy wrote: »

Anyone have problems with Ulster Bank constantly Freezing their Visa Debit account?

I've been shut down again, 3rd time in the 7 months I've been with them. And there's nothing weird going through - all normal stuff, shopping, bills etc. It's a a total nuisance.

Such a shame Halifax pulled out, they were get, never had any problems with them in the 4 years I was with them.

Strange transactions will make them block the card at the first sign of trouble. This seems to apply to anything not verified by PIn or Verified by Visa online, just from personal experience anyway. Btw Halifax and Ulster Bank are both RBS are they not?

Our man in Havana

No. Halifax was BOSI.

nlgbbbblth

Savman wrote: »

Btw Halifax and Ulster Bank are both RBS are they not?

NOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Ulster Bank owned by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
Halifax part of the Halifax Bank of Scotland group (HBOS).

Bank of Scotland initially used the BoS name for their Irish branches. They later re-branded to Halifax because Irish people could not differentiate between Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Savman

nlgbbbblth wrote: »

NOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Ulster Bank owned by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
Halifax part of the Halifax Bank of Scotland group (HBOS).

Bank of Scotland initially used the BoS name for their Irish branches. They later re-branded to Halifax because Irish people could not differentiate between Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Riiiiight. So, stupid question ahead, you're telling me there are 2 entirely different and independent banks with more or less the same name? That's mental.

When I hear 'Bank of Scotland' I automatically presumed it is/was RBS, never knew there were 2 entities.

Our man in Havana

And in Scotland both of those banks issue their own banknotes.

Mrs Fox

Savman wrote: »

Strange transactions will make them block the card at the first sign of trouble. This seems to apply to anything not verified by PIn or Verified by Visa online, just from personal experience anyway.

On your UB Visa Debit card pamphlet guide it tells you to advise your branch on your travel plans so you won't have any problems using the card abroad.

Scartbeg

Tried to pay an Airtricity bill online today with my UB Visa Debit - if I choose Visa as the payment option they assume it's a credit card and add a €5 fee. I f I choose laser it says "not a valid laser card".