Topaz - cannot use bank card for lottery tickets

pippip

Hi all,

Went to buy petrol and lotto tickets last night and was told you can no longer purchase lottery tickets or scratch cards with a bank card. Had to use their atm instead.

I emailed the exact station last night and Topaz themselves but go two different responses.

Station said since they became CircleK the new system splits the transaction so they can do it but you need to use your card twice i.e. two transactions. Which I'd say would be great fun with long queues.

Topaz themselves replied saying the new system uses Swedebank and they do not permit lottery items on bank cards. They are trying to get them to lift the restriction as they are the first instance of it in Ireland. They also claim in the future no bank in the EU will accept lottery purchases but for the moment its only Swedebank.

Just thought I'd post this to save some of you the inconvenience.

Pippip

EdgeCase

Circle K seem to be doing a lot of things to inconvenience customers. I stopped off at their station on the M8 and all the very convenient pay at pump terminals have been removed.

I’ll be avoiding that place like the plague in future.

Have you tried contacting the National Lottery? I’m sure they’d like to be aware of things that are making ticket sales difficult.

Also that statement about “in the future the EU ...” is nonsense. There’s no such directive and nothing on the horizon like that. That’s just the old “blame the EU” default position that many UK companies also use when they’ve implemented something ridiculous and customer unfriendly.

The Real B-man

EdgeCase wrote: »

Circle K seem to be doing a lot of things to inconvenience customers. I stopped off at their station on the M8 and all the very convenient pay at pump terminals have been removed.

I’ll be avoiding that place like the plague in future.

Have you tried contacting the National Lottery? I’m sure they’d like to be aware of things that are making ticket sales difficult.

Also that statement about “in the future the EU ...” is nonsense. There’s no such directive and nothing on the horizon like that. That’s just the old “blame the EU” default position that many UK companies also use when they’ve implemented something ridiculous and customer unfriendly.

Yeah it really seems they want to get you instore and lure you with jambons and inconvenient lottery payment systems

biko

Stop wasting money on lottery tickets.
Problem solved.

sbsquarepants

Is that not the case everywhere? I've had to use cash to do the lotto before in a couple of shops, I assumed it was just some quirk of the gambling laws or something along those lines.

EdgeCase

The issue is that the OP is entitled to waste their money on anything that they like. It's not up to a garage or some bank in Sweden, that they've no relationship with and have never heard of, to be making moral judgements about their shopping and forcing them through loops.

What's next?

"Sorry our bank doesn't allow you to buy that bottle of wine? It's against alcohol. Sorry; you'll have to pay for that sandwich in cash, our card machine won't let you buy anything with full fat mayonnaise."

pippip

biko wrote: »

Stop wasting money on lottery tickets.
Problem solved.

In fairness I used to say the same until my uncle won 500k.

They're really "moment of hope" tickets.

PS I see it has been moved, which I have no problem with, but my thinking was this mainly effects motorists?

Wheeliebin30

EdgeCase wrote: »

The issue is that the OP is entitled to waste their money on anything that they like. It's not up to a garage or some bank in Sweden, that they've no relationship with and have never heard of, to be making moral judgements about their shopping and forcing them through loops.

What's next?

"Sorry our bank doesn't allow you to buy that bottle of wine? It's against alcohol. Sorry; you'll have to pay for that sandwich in cash, our card machine won't let you buy anything with full fat mayonnaise."

What’s next? I know.

I never thought that I'd see the like. What next? Somebody will be murdered, and then where are we? Drive by shootings in the night, it'll be like Boys in the Hood. And then they'll have hoes selling their wares in the middle of the street and the pimps will be using crack cocaine to keep the whores under control-

biko

pippip wrote: »

PS I see it has been moved, which I have no problem with, but my thinking was this mainly effects motorists?

It is not motors related per se so AH is probably best for it.
AH loves the lotto, and some of them can even drive

Dial Hard

biko wrote: »

It is not motors related per se so AH is probably best for it.
AH loves the lotto, and some of them can even drive

I would have thought Consumer Issues, no?

EdgeCase

Wheeliebin30 wrote: »

What’s next? I know.

I never thought that I'd see the like. What next? Somebody will be murdered, and then where are we? Drive by shootings in the night, it'll be like Boys in the Hood. And then they'll have hoes selling their wares in the middle of the street and the pimps will be using crack cocaine to keep the whores under control-

Eh, no. However, someone is making a moral judgement on lottery tickets. It's not a long jump from there to alcohol purchase etc etc

Capt'n Midnight

Do they do cashback ?

odyssey06

I didn't realise that the card payment processing system was aware of the category of item the transaction related to... surprised face.

EdgeCase

I wonder should it know.

If we are having our data processed to facilitate payment, and the data processor is instead using it to block types of transactions it doesn't like, in this case we assume this is because they're gambling and they have some moral stance on that, is that GDPR compliant?

Did the cardholder actually give the data processor permission to do that? It's possible that it is technically processing information for reasons other than agreed.

The rules get a lot stricter when GDPR becomes enforcible later this month on 25 May.

It's just a question one would have to ask as the legsialtuon is about to change quite dramatically.

freshpopcorn

I was in CircleK a few weeks ago and saw somebody having trouble buy phone credit with a card.
In my local Topaz they've being issues with payment since they got new machines!

Kuva

biko wrote: »

Stop wasting money on lottery tickets.
Problem solved.

Ah jaysus, their be no hope of getting outta the grind at all then.

ED E

EdgeCase wrote: »

Circle K seem to be doing a lot of things to inconvenience customers. I stopped off at their station on the M8 and all the very convenient pay at pump terminals have been removed.

Our local just got the rebadge, all the pumps were physically pulled and replaced not just relivered. I wondered why, now I know.

That really is a load of ar$e.

endacl

Buford T. Justice XIX

Mod note: I'm closing this and moving to Consumer Issues as it seems a better fit for the issue. Please note different forum rules apply.

TIA,

Buford T. Justice

dudara

Thread reopened. Please note that the Consumer Issues charter now applies.

dudara

Guy:Incognito

biko wrote: »

Stop wasting money on lottery tickets.
Problem solved.

Yeah. Buy alcohol and cigarettes instead.......

JohnC.

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Is that not the case everywhere? I've had to use cash to do the lotto before in a couple of shops, I assumed it was just some quirk of the gambling laws or something along those lines.

Surely not, as you use a card to play lotto online on their own website/app.

Del2005

EdgeCase wrote: »

I wonder should it know.

If we are having our data processed to facilitate payment, and the data processor is instead using it to block types of transactions it doesn't like, in this case we assume this is because they're gambling and they have some moral stance on that, is that GDPR compliant?

Did the cardholder actually give the data processor permission to do that? It's possible that it is technically processing information for reasons other than agreed.

The rules get a lot stricter when GDPR becomes enforcible later this month on 25 May.

It's just a question one would have to ask as the legsialtuon is about to change quite dramatically.

You'll find that most stores have CCTV on the tills and as each item is scanned it'll pop onto the CCTV, this is to stop the shop staff scanning expensive items as cheaper. The same with alcohol or tobacco, when it's scanned it asks for the age of the person purchasing it.

It's most likely a store policy to not let people purchase lottery tickets on a card not the issuer, as I've bought lottery tickets on their site with my CC.

What's the difference with a shop having no alcohol tills and allowing people with religious issues refuse to serve people with products their religion doesn't like and a store refusing to sell you an item because you are using a card? Both are BS reasons yet the precedent has been set by the religious issues.

JohnC.

Having worked in a shop, that's the first I've heard about No Alcohol tills having anything to do with religious issues. It's for staff under 18, who can't legally sell alcohol.

EdgeCase

I have to say I am not warming to the branding. I know it's only a petrol station, but Topaz looked an awful lot nicer. This looks like one of those old brash US brands that has no style to it.

I much preferred the old branding and look. I mean, what's the point in launching a brand here that has no traction anyway? At least Topaz was recognisable, but meh. Who cares. It's just a petrol station, they're not meant to look pretty.

freshpopcorn

EdgeCase wrote: »

I have to say I am not warming to the branding. I know it's only a petrol station, but Topaz looked an awful lot nicer. This looks like one of those old brash US brands that has no style to it.

I much preferred the old branding and look. I mean, what's the point in launching a brand here that has no traction anyway? At least Topaz was recognisable, but meh. Who cares. It's just a petrol station, they're not meant to look pretty.

To me it looks like the Lidl/Aldi brand of Special K!

Guffy

You can use card, its just a pain in the arse.

You have to pay for the lotto first and then pay for the goods. Annoying altogethet.

EdgeCase

It's not like people aren't already slow enough typing in their pin. That's just going to make the queues longer if the shop's busy.

Bizarre policy.

Del2005

EdgeCase wrote: »

It's not like people aren't already slow enough typing in their pin. That's just going to make the queues longer if the shop's busy.

Bizarre policy.

Longer queues = more dwell time in store = more chance of an impulse purchase = bigger profits for company. Companies aren't stupid.

Guffy

EdgeCase wrote: »

It's not like people aren't already slow enough typing in their pin. That's just going to make the queues longer if the shop's busy.

Bizarre policy.

From what i recall, dunnes had the same policy for years. They had a seperate till for the lotto