Yes, that's what I thought so too. But apparently HSBC has different unique 'procedure'. They can't block that particular transaction. Their advice is either to cancel the credit card (and wait for 7 days for a new issue) or wait for to see if the amount is charged to my card. If the amount is charged, I have to make a dispute and wait for another 60 days for a refund.

It took a while for me to understand the situation.
The moment you were to receive an SMS, it means that a merchant has charged a transaction to your card but the transaction have yet to be posted to your account. A transaction will be completed once it has been posted to your account. Do note that not necessarily a transaction will be posted to your account as sometimes certain transactions occur due to other reasons such as "Pre-Authorization - Hotels charging your card as deposit". The actual (final) transactions that has been firmed and claimed by the merchant will appear in your statement and this is called posted transactions.

The purpose of the SMS is to act as an early warning system in the event the cardholder notice a transaction which is not made by the cardholder. The cardholder can then call the bank to proceed with a block. And later you may proceed with a transaction dispute if necessarily.

Banks (and I'm talking about about and MC & VISA issuing banks from anywhere in the world) will not block a transaction once it has been successfully approved by the system and this is the procedure as set by the governing body MC and VISA. Banks is able to "block" a transaction by denying the approval of the transaction - this is normally executed via a system that monitors such patterns. Example would be certain banks not allowing you to use your credit card for petrol for 3 swipes in a day. The 4th swipe is blocked from being approved.

The SMS system is not a confirmation that a transaction has been posted and confirmed to your card. It serve as a notification / early warning for transactions both authorized and unauthorized. Please take your time to understand the difference between transaction date and posted date. You will see HSBC is not unique ... all banks in Malaysia will have the same system and procedure. Go to a bank in Singapore, Thailand, Japan and the same procedure applies. Card cancellation in such scenario is a standard security measure - as the card number is permanently "blacklisted".

I think you do not understand how the whole system works thus your question above. How long have you been using a credit card? Don't confuse yourself unnecessarily and ask from the right person for the right answers. A trusted friend who does not work in the specific industry will not understand how the system works.

This post has been edited by hye: Feb 20 2012, 11:50 AM

As per hye's post, as long you are sure the transaction was not done by you, for safety reasons just request a new issue (new number) as your credit card details may have been compromised.

Note: knowing how HSBC works, I forsee if indeed that transaction posts, you will still have to do a dispute regardless.

This post has been edited by zenquix: Feb 20 2012, 11:48 AM

Thanks for your explanation. I was told by the bank that they can't do anything about the transaction. Their advice is to cancel the card (which seems logical enough). Their next advice is to wait and see if the transaction goes through. If it does, I have to file a dispute case which is time consuming. That's my main concern. My purpose of calling them in advance is to request a cancellation of the transaction before it's being charged to my card as I do not want to waste any time on the dispute case.

This post has been edited by goliath: Feb 20 2012, 11:53 AM

As I mentioned in my post, banks cannot cancel your transactions for whatever reasons unless it has gone through the lengthy process of transaction dispute. If you truly did not perform the transaction then nothing to be worried about as eventually the amount will be deleted from your account. I have to correct and reply to your statement otherwise we'll see many readers "thinking" they have the right to cancel the transaction just by calling in and use the term "request".

I'll prefer to use the word "apply" as it is still the bank's prerogative to execute or decline in the scenario that you have stated.

You may think it is a hassle and time consuming but what if RM30K (or any super large amount) is charged without authorization to your account ? Then you'll think dispute is your friend and not say what you just said. Please have the correct mindset necessary to hold and safeguard your credit card or otherwise use cash.

This post has been edited by hye: Feb 20 2012, 02:45 PM

would like to check if UOB preffered platinum still eligible to enter KLIA/LCCT lounge?

mine is without privillege banking...

http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1791878/+460 read MGM's posts



This post has been edited by Gen-X: Feb 21 2012, 01:52 PM

Today I published the prelude to my Series of articles Introducing Credit Cards to Newbies.

Click here to read my article Life - Pay Now with Credit Card Earn Later OR Save Now with FD For Retirement. As usual lah, me blah blah blah making the post long.

In the coming weeks, FREE tuition for newbies to credit card (and since it is free, don't expect high quality education, hahaha):

CC 101 - Introduction to Credit Card 2012 (Coming Soon)
CC 244 - Credit Card Interest Rates
CC 318 - Benefits of Credit Cards and How to Earn Pocket Money

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Feb 21 2012, 01:53 PM

@Gen-X, I like the "course code".

haha, Isee you into numbers too.

To ALL:
Click here to read my short article at wordpress on Association Banks of Malaysia Annoucement on Credit Card Credit Limit

Edited**

Click here to AmBank Credit Card Promotion March 2012

This post has been edited by Gen-X: Feb 23 2012, 04:46 PM

i have cancelled one of my credit card, submitted the form to the customer service on the spot and the card was cut off in front of me. Thereafter, I did not receive any letter saying that it is cancel. I still see the old credit card appearing on the online account (Maybank), how do I know if it is really cancelled? I don't want to get into the hassle of having to pay for the RM50 service tax, if it is charged to me......do i need to get a letter from the bank saying that it is cancelled?

in my experiece, maybank never removes cancelled cards from M2U. You have to go to your branch and do an update to M2U. There you can also check whether the credit card has been closed.

for my case, i asked thru email and get a confirmation that it has been cancelled. i also requested to have the card details removed from M2U, and it was done within 3 days.

Mine even better.. I cancelled my card like 2 weeks ago at 1U card centre..
Ytday got maybank ppl called me to collect my card.. I paused and told her i cancelled my card then she say then nvm.

I think its becoz my card expiry is April 2012 so they issued new card to replace mine and i cancelled it after card issued.

thanks

just called the customer service, they say it is cancelled, then i asked if they will send a formal letter to inform me about the cancellation - so that i can hab a record, which they said no.....

then i asked them about the linkage to maybank2u, they say it will take time for it to remove, and then send a request for me - to speed up the removal.....

I can confirm that no formal letter on the cancellation will be sent out.

U can either call cardcenter or email them and ask them remove the link

did u hv the photocopy of that form? just keep it for record

In my experience, I did receive official letter regarding card cancellation from DirectAccess and HLB.

On the other hand, Citibank, HSBC and SCB did not send me any letter after cancelled their cards.

Anyway, things may change. I'm just speaking from my experience.

My uncle have this situation :

1) around 1998 he bought Proton car, financed it with EON Bank. So EON bank offer him credit card with RM3k credit limit.

2) around year 2005 he stopped working due to medical problem and now on Socso's "Pencen Ilat". Monthly pencen around RM1k

3) last balance during that time is around RM1.5k

4) then he called in to inform the bank he doesn't want to use the card anymore & to "KIV" the balance because he can't afford to make payment to the bank.

5) EON Bank did send the statement but not on regular basis. Sometimes got statement, sometimes no.

6) end last year, since Hong Leong Bank took over EON Bank, the statement arrived every month.

7) the last Jan 2012 statement showed he owe Hong Leong Bank RM17,366.18 !!!!

In his current situation there is NO way he can repay that amount. Somemore with pencen around RM1k he can barely survive in this current economy situation. He can't get another job because he is on Socso's pencen.

If the bank keep charging interest + late payment charges every month, the amount will keep growing.

If he appeal to the bank, asking them to write off his debt on condition that he's now not able to work, will the bank accept ?

What should he do in this situation?

This post has been edited by Sim On: Feb 24 2012, 08:12 PM