unkinected

So I've been hitting my central FL WD for RLits and VGCs lately - two different stores that are convenient for me. Both have been working fine until this week.

At the first store a manager told me on Tuesday evening that they no longer accept CCs for variable load cards when I tried to purchase VGCs. Said it was company-wide. I went back Wednesday morning (hoping for a new manager) and a (different) CS lady told me the same thing.

Second store I managed to buy some VGCs on Tuesday after manager approval. I went back on Wednesday afternoon. The same lady who sold them to me on Tuesday was willing to ring me up, but a (manager?) lady was standing by and said they don't allow CCs for VGCs anymore. I thought, uh oh, this could be the end. There was a bit of a disagreement between the two clerks (since the first one sold them to me before) so they called big manager.

He comes out and says that, to combat fraud, they need to wait until their bank has received the funds from the Tuesday purchase, and told me that takes a week.

I specifically asked, "So I can come back in a week and buy more?" He said yes.

So this is a new one for me... I'm wondering if, after the first week when they know my purchases will clear, that I won't have the one-week wait restriction? But I've bought VGCs and RLits from this location in the past, so I'm not sure why now? Also, the above two scenarios were only with VGCs...I didn't try RLits.

So I'll go back next week and see what happens. Haven't completely given up on store 1 either.

Basically some rumblings going on at WD and I'm wondering if anyone has been given the "wait till funds clear" line. Any other WD-ers out there?

hamhead

Not sure about the whole week thing - as far as I know most merchants get funds from CC sales in about 48 hours. Don't know how that combats fraud either other than giving a person with a stolen CC time to dispute a charge.

vinhboy

Sounds like they just made up some bs to keep you away. Time to move on...

nmp0

I did very little MS in June but did note that sometime at the end of May they started an override on as little as $500. Previously I had been doing multiple $2k transactions a week without an override.

A couple weeks ago I went to a less frequented store but they know me and I got the "cash only" speech. I am easing back in to MS this month and I will see what my regular store says Monday morning.

tuphat

FWIW -- Would be useful to know whether supposed restriction is hard-coded to register system, or not. One way to test would be to purchase a modestly denominated VGC, e.g. load $100 or so, maybe throw in a couple of low denom restaurant GCs for cover, and try to pay for whole thing with CC.

unkinected

I don't think it's hard-coded. On my Wednesday attempt at store two, we managed to get almost through the whole process. I had actually already swiped my credit card and we were on the manager approval screen when the second lady chimed in and said it can't be done. Based on all the convos I had with the store peeps, it sounded like it was just a store policy as opposed to a register block.

Aleriem

Happy

All 3 WDs within 5 miles radius from me, went cash or debit only sometime in May but the register is not hard-coded.

In April I was able to buy $2500 to $3000 using 3 cards without anyone batting an eyelid after DL is verified. We then went on a trip the whole May.
Came back in June and when I tried to buy $1K, my usual trusted card did not go thru the first swipe (not a decline but just not going thru - this same thing happened at CVS a day later and a second swipe went thru), the clerk panicked despite he had sold me multiples in April. He called the store manager who came out to tell me now it is debit or cash only.

Went to 2 other locations and did not even get a chance to try.

Fast forward to late June, went to the first store to buy spare ribs on sale and threw in one card in the purchase. Clerk just rang it up, the CSM was helping the bags but she did not say a word. Transaction went smoothly so the register was not hard-coded.

Went on Jul 1st to same store and did similar transaction. Clerk panicked and went to check - then the Loss Prevention lady came and told me it was cash only. I said I just bought one 3 days ago right here. Could we just try it? She said, you know that if you have any problem with the gift card, we would not be responsible. I said I understand. I would deal with the issuer should there be any issue. I gave her my DL before she started to ask for it. She agreed to let the clerk go ahead and the transaction went thru.

The Loss Prevention lady then said they had so many issues with CC purchases lately that they stopped taking CC for those GCs any more. My guess is, they are hit by stolen CCs used to buy those, and the stolen CCs were not reported on time, so the initial transactions went thru. However later the transactions were reversed, so they were leaving a mess to sort thru if they did not want to eat the losses.

Lnelson4

My Pcola WD have gotten much more stringent over the past couple of months. One particular store hasn't let me buy a single VGC as of late, saying that "A message came down from corporate yesterday, and all of these are cash only now". This was on 06/18, and given the confirmation from a couple of cashiers and a money center employee, I'm inclined to believe that they were actually telling the truth. Another now usually requires manager approval for any VGC purchase, even <$500.00, although they still go through. All of the stores in the area no longer accept non-personalized GCs for MOs on at least some of their shifts now.

This is in contrast to my Alachua county WD, all of which have remained smooth sailing both at the register and for buying MO.

WD may be slowly dying as corporate continues to slowly get the word out over the next couple of months, if that is what's actually occurring here.

Lappie

I just bought 2k worth a Central FL location. I didnt need an override, but my information was logged to a sheet, including my DL number.

Looks like they are clamping down a little. I dont care about the info taking, as I have that happen at CVS as well. I just hope the purchases dont get stopped.

gooch69509

Went to WD last week in Northern FL.

For the first time, they questioned me about buying a $500 GD card.
Said there had been a lot of fraud lately.

Needed a manager to review. She said debit or cash only.
Then asked for my payment card. Why not try it?
so I gave her my Amex CC. She just checked to make sure the name matched my DL and told the cashier to ring it up.

Not sure what to take away from that one!

nuugatman

I got some over the weekend no questions asked in central Alabama WD's.

Lappie

Just bought another 2k this AM. I needed an override this time, but no DL on a form. The manager was close by and just gave the girl the override #.

unkinected

So I went back to my favorite WD and tried to purchase $1k RLit. Same cashier lady and manager. This time went through fairly easily, though they took 5-10 minutes just looking for the log sheet to note my driver's license. The manager this time didn't seem to have any hang up about selling me these (though they never recorded my info before), so hopefully we're passed the nonsense. Tried to be engaging with them so they know me and know I'm not trying to defraud them. Hopefully next time will go even more easily now that they seem to have established a process.

I will try RLits at my 2nd WD this evening.