First of all, the good news.
I got back on the horse, so to speak, and tried my TCF check card at Lund's last Thursday. Worked like a charm.
Now for the rest of the story.
About two years ago, I had a few errands to run. Three errands in fact. A trip to the gas station on the way to Southdale where I purchased a wedding present at Crate & Barrel (if you have ever received a wedding present from us you will know what I purchased...a picnic basket...much to my dismay C & B no longer carries their classic Picnic Basket, but I have digressed...), and a $20 purchase at the Gap next door. Three charges on the Visa Check card.
When I arrived home about 5:15, Mr. D. smiled, gave me a peculiar look, and said, "You must have been having a fun afternoon."
I said, "Huh?"
Mr. D. said, the TCF check card fraud people called about some unusual purchases on your account and they wanted me to call them back. I told him about my three not so unusual purchases and called the Visa people.
They said that using a card at a gas station followed by a trip to a Mall kicks out a fraud alert. Apparently, people use the card at a gas station to see if it will work before they head to C & B to buy picnic baskets and The Gap to buy socks. I asked them why they just didn't have the Gap people ask for an ID and they had no idea. Instead, they let me use the card and called home to see if I was there and alert my husband that I was making purchases!
A few months later, I had made my annual trip to Papyrus at The Galleria for their day after Christmas deals. I purchased $100 in useless stuff that collects in the garage. When I arrived home, my TCF Visa check card friends called to ask about my $1000 purchase at Papyrus. I said, "What?"
Sure enough, the girl had keyed in an extra zero and MUCH TO MY DISMAY, I HAD SIGNED THE PAPER WITHOUT LOOKING CLOSELY!
The manager had caught the error and corrected it. However, instead of voiding the transaction and putting through the correct charge, she had put through the correct charge and treated the wrong one as a return. When you do that, the money comes out of your account that day (so we were out $1,100) for a few days. Then, they refund the $1000 a week or so later. Seems like a scam to me and fortunately, there was enough in the account to cover the error, but the bottom line is to look at the amount when you sign (that's the obvious, but when I am in a hurry, I forget).
Then there's the story of the potato ricer at Williams Sonoma...I'll give you the brief version. Don't use your Visa at the airport trying to make a long distance call (this was before cell phones) to Appleton to someone who is on the phone. Every time you swipe your card, the Visa people know it even if the call doesn't go through, so if you try 10 times, it looks fishy. But, they just asked me if I had swiped the card at the airport and believed my story and I went home with a lovely potato ricer and can now make creamy mashed potatoes.
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Haha. It's really creepy how the banks watch check cards. When I worked at the credit union we would monitor everything - down to the last penny that was spent 10 seconds earlier. One time I had to confront a customer about his card usage (possible fraud). The only thing was, the charges had been going to an online carrier - and there was no fraud going on - he was simply spending hundreds at e-Harmony. Ooh. Awkward.
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