Require alternative to Cahoot credit card - info please!

Well, I've not heard anything. Plenty of stories of the public falling foul of fraudsters though, posing as banks.

You should read the news more.

Google is your friend, but not withstanding here is just one news article (the first one in my search) for your benifit.

How does that work?

To register for it: Log on to their Internet Banking service, (assuming you are registered for it) select My Accounts, your credit card account and on the left hand sidebar there is an option for MasterCard SecureCode. Click on the link provided and when asked, enter your card number and the code given from your Internet Banking window.

SecureCode itself works very similarly to Verified by Visa - it works for online shopping only. You are asked to make up a password and a personalised phrase. Each time you checkout using a SecureCode enabled shop, the site will show your personalised phrase and prompt you to enter your password. If the password matches, the transaction is approved, otherwise it is not.

See

That's not a fraud story... though it could have been!

I've been a victim of online credit card fraud *twice*.

First instance a large and supposedly reputable CD vendor in the USA was hacked and details hundreds of credit card via a number of Russian sites, including mine. The issuer informed me of the problem and issued replacement cards.

Second was a seemingly honest vendor my wife had purchased through doing random "accidental" repeat charges which, again, was dealt with by the credit card issuer.

On both occasions the problem was dealt with quickly and efficiently, at no cost and little inconvenience to myself.

All the ones I've dealt with in the UK *do* behave like this and have obligations under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which makes issuers equally liable as the retailer for purchases made on credit cards. Indeed, I've had several such dealing and in each case the response was been identical to your experience with the US issuer.

I each case the card issuer immediately sent a form asking for details (although the last one I filled in was nowhere near the two pages you were required to provide!). After the form was returned they quickly refunded the full amount with the caveat that it may be re-charged if the vendor made a good case for the charge and the issuer determined neither they nor the vendor was at fault. In each I can only assume the vendor in question either didn't to respond or failed to convince the card issuer that I owed them any money.

I too have had similar experiences of fraud and double charging. Each time it was fixed with a couple of phone calls and letters.

I am a user of the Cahoot webcard. With this, these kind of problems are prevented from happening, and then there is no need to do anything to fix the such problems.

I have used the webcard for all sorts of Internet transactions. I know I will not be overcharged. I know that I will not be repeat charged. I know that I will not have to spend any time at all chasing these problems.

The only problem I have had was when a web vendor did screw up their procedures and presented the card twice. They were refused and the order was cancelled. I reordered and I got the goods 3 days later than I otherwise would have done.

To the best of my knowledge all credit card issuers here do, encouraged mainly by their legal obligations.

Nor were all mine. I've had a couple of causes to escalate complaints of shoddy service or "questionable" charging (not fraudulent) and got full refunds in both cases.

I don't know about International policy (although all the major credit card companies are backed by clearing companies of US origin) but this holds true of all UK cards. Some vendors still try it on because many consumers just won't go to the effort to complain.

With the might of the credit card companies and their paranoia over the joint-liability clause in The Consumer Credit Act, plus the multitude of other consumer protection laws (Sale Of Goods Act, Trade Descriptions Act, Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations etc) the balance is definitely in favour of the consumer but many either don't know or choose not to exercise their rights.

Not so for a friend's CC when it was (most likely) fraudulently copied at a Chinese restaurant and later used fraudulently for about 500. My friend had to file a police report and he had to interview with Scotland yard and his CC company will not refund the chargers until he could present a copy of the police report. The whole affair took about 6 months to resolve with interest pilling on each month as he paid off every thing except the disputed chargers. I think he got all the interest refunded in the end, but after a nerve wrecking 6 months.

I've even used it with offline transactions... as long as I know it's not going to be processed after the expiry date! It also comes in useful for those online trial subscriptions like Radio Free Virgin (online radio) or AOL, etc, so you can set a limit below the cost of the subscription in case they decide to ignore your cancellation.