Microsoft hated by banks everywhere?

[phrozenghost]

I was looking at a few threads and saw people mentioning it. Experienced it as well, and my bank (Bank of America) can't answer why it happens. When I pre-ordered the Type Cover 2 couldn't place my order at the Microsoft store and got a call from my bank saying my card was put on hold for suspicious activity. Okay... so I tell them I was the one making the purchase and they tell me they'll approve it if it comes through again. Placed the order and it went through. Bought my TV from Best Buy and a few more stuff totalling $1,600+ no issue there(wasn't considered suspicious by my bank, neither was my Xbox One pre-order). Purchased Office 365 today and it didn't go through again. Got a call from my bank again saying they put a hold on my account for suspicious activity, told them it was a purchase I was making and they again told me they'd let it go through when I tried again. Worked fine after that, asked the bank why they keep doing this for Microsoft Store purchases and they told me Microsoft has an issue on their side and that's why it's been happening with a lot of banks not just Bank of America. Never had any issues before, even buying a lot of stuff through my Xbox 360. Anyone else have similar issues? I know some people posted on the surface 2 pre-order threads that they actually lost their release date slot because their bank cards were locked up after they deemed the Microsoft purchase suspicious.

 

[BIGPADDY]

That very odd I know that happen a few time with myself in the UK not with MS products, I got a phone call and that was it never had issues since.

 

[Indistinguishable]

I've actually heard many instances of this happening in the past. I had forgotten about them. But it seems it is still a problem. I wonder what the root of it is. It's not like Microsoft isn't a reputable company. Maybe Microsoft's retain arm hasn't fully established itself yet.

 

[jmshub]

Online services are often used by people who steal credit cards because there is no physical product to track. The office 365 is just that, and depending on how the cover was billed, it could look like it was an online service from Microsoft.

 

[marcomura]

Sometimes I don't understand banks at all. They offer you a service (a credit card), they gain money by its usage and then they prevent you to use it as much as you prefer.
I went in USA for 3 months and I told my bank to allow EVERY payment I was going to do with my card... nothing, they rejected almost them all. And no way to make them to be authorized with the second or further attempts.

Btw, in my country (Italy) I never had issue using my credit card anywhere (phisically or online). About online MS services... I used it for xbox (gold & points) and for WP and I never saw a rejected payment.

 

[jmshub]

True, banks make money when you use a credit card, but they don't make money when they have to refund hundreds of dollars due to fraudulent charges. While not perfect, most banks employ pretty sophisticated behavior management tools to prevent fraud. Unfortunately, your behavior when traveling looked suspicious to the automated systems.

 

[JamesDax]

smh at thread title.

btw, in answer to said title my guess would be no.

 

[gsquared]

Same thing just happened to me with XB1 pre-order. They probably get a lot of chargebacks with MSFT.

OP: Way to blow topic way out of proportion with subject line. Your employer will be proud.

 

[berty6294]

I've had this issue with my bank since I purchased my ZuneHD on release date. Nothing new, they block everything Microsoft. I always have to call them before I make a purchase with Microsoft!

 

[martinmc78]

Yeah HSBC do the same here in the UK.

Blocked my Surface payment when they launched here then blocked it for a 2nd Surface I was purchasing as a gift which meant it didn't arrive in time. Funny thing was with the 2nd one my sister had tried purchasing it and it got blocked by her bank NatWest so she transferred the exact amount to my account with the note "Surface for Mark's present" Was an interesting phone call with HSBC Customer services on how their fraud software works when funds get transferred into my account then 5 minutes later I try to make a purchase for the exact amount when there's a note on the transferred funds for the transaction I was making and the reason for it.

They also blocked my Office 365 payment and my copy of Windows 8 - odd thing with that was I just put through ?1500 of PC hardware on my card without an issue ?160 of software got flagged as suspicious.

Its not just Microsoft though HSBC seem to block the most ridiculous things - I went to buy an app for my daughters leap pad that cost .99p and they blocked that as well.

 

[TheJoester09]

Same thing happened to me when I ordered my Surface RT last year, and at the time I was with a very small local credit union. Strange.

 

[MDboyz]

Not the issue with CapitalOne here. Bought so many stuffs from Microsoft, and they all went through w/o any issue.
Bought the Surface 2 yesterday. The payment was charged, and the tablet is on the way.