First Horizon Declined Debit Card

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#1
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I bank with First Horizon. Several times now, they have declined my debit card, suspecting fraud, yet their Loss Prevention has never afforded me the courtesy of a telephone call. Last time, I bought something from Staples online, which appears as "Staples, Framingham, MA." When I called them, they wondered why someone from Raleigh, NC was making a purchase in Massachusetts.

I have, very occasionally, had calls from my credit union on my personal account. Most of the time it was ordering flowers from a florist in Scotland for my mum's birthday but they did catch a pretty big attempted fraud once. Once I told them about the flowers, they made a note and I stopped getting calls about that.

So, today, they declined another charge. Again, it was for something a tax professional would use - what used to be called Stevens Howard. I'm getting tired of this so my question is this - is it normal for business accounts to get charges declined at a higher rate than personal accounts and is it normal for Loss Prevention not to call within minutes?
 

#2
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Have you thought about using a business credit card for all eligible charges? I run everything through a Chase business credit card and nothing is ever rejected. Zero fraud liability too as long as the charge is timely reported. 2% cash back on all purchases too. I then pay the balance on the CC from business checking.
 

#3
sjrcpa  
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Do they perhaps send an email instead of calling?
I was in an Uber yesterday and my credit card company sent me an email asking if I had authorized the charge. I am an infrequent Uber user.
 

#4
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No e-mail and person I spoke to at the bank's customer service line says no record of transaction. She seemed rather too confident when she said that. All details entered correctly online.

I am not a fan of credit cards, MVT, but that may be the solution.
 

#5
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IMO, credit card fraud detection and rejection is more sophisticated than debit card. Orders of magnitude so when comparing a credit card from a megafirm like Chase to a debit card from a regional bank. Chase's AI is very good at knowing what's "normal" for the business type and what's not. I've had international transactions for software sail through no problem, because I assume they know that the software is "normal" for the business type they have on file for my LLC.
 

#6
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OK, I've just had an e-mail from the vendor. It was a very strict fraud filter on their end, put in place by their card processor. I am glad I remained civil when speaking with customer service at my bank. Otherwise I'd feel bad.

Apparently, they had a few clients this morning that had this issue. Do we have to revert to checks and cash? It would have been quicker and much better on my blood pressure.
 

#7
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I have experienced this heavily with Wells Fargo and TD Bank. It is CONSTANT. Wells Fargo used to just shut off a card because we were traveling across multiple states and they suspected fraud. Good thing we have a lot of credit cards.

I never have this issue with AMEX--their fraud detection is far superior and more reliable, IMO. We travel overseas and I do NOT need to worry about them suddenly cutting off my CC because they apparently have very intelligent and advanced algorithms to identify fraud.
 

#8
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That is worth noting, Cornerstone. TD Bank is seeking to acquire First Horizon. I am a touch concerned about that. TD acquired Commerce Bank some years ago. When I was a teller (my second job in this country) Commerce was seen as a poor employer who cut corners to give the illusion of providing great customer service. Hmm. I may have some decisions to make before tax season.
 

#9
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As a general rule, I would generally advise that a person only uses a credit card when making payments online, unless using a service like PayPal.

My credit card is through my credit union and their verification service is pretty good about this. They call me, and if I don't answer, my card is put on a temporary hold rather than being cancelled.
 

#10
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I’m 49 and I’ve never used a debit card. I know they are safer now, but I learned in Business Law 28 years ago just how horrible they were (at the time).
 

#11
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I personally use an Amex card and pay it off every month. They have great customer service. The one I have does 2% cash back on the first 50k and I think 1% after. They also let you spend past your limit, you just have to pay anything above the limit plus your minimum the next month if you don’t pay it in full, so if you have a 15k limit and your software renewal is over that you can still do it on the card.
 

#12
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Here’s the thing. I grew up in rural Scotland when credit cards were seen as the province of the rich. I was in the first generation of ATM users and a very early adopter of debit cards. Credit cards were not, when I was a young adult, necessary to build credit. So I have always embraced debit cards whilst being suspicious of credit cards. I suppose I still am. I keep a “car repairs” card and I have an Apple Card so that I can get a discount on my electronics purchases.

I do understand the differences between a credit and debit card and get a lot of what has been said above but some habits are hard to break.
 

#13
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I wasn't able to get comfortable with AmEx as some vendors do not accept it. It was a consideration when I was evaluating business credit cards and because of that dynamic I narrowed the choices down to Visa or MasterCard network only, as they seem to be accepted by everyone that accepts "card".

I do have a personal AmEx card, but I have a lot of personal credit cards so it's a nonissue on the personal side.
 


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