Jmaster911

I have had my card questioned by people but as soon as I show ID they are fine with it. I would have no problem in Tiger asking for further ID such as my driving license but to turn down flat a valid Credit Card just cause it is issued in a different country just makes me mad. Its like going back 20 years when people didn't travel, in this day and age people move around and Visa/Mastercard should be with the proper ID accepted.

Over and above the normal card numbers they ask for, they also shelled out to the mastercard/visa varification system which again askes for PIN numbers, etc. I entered this OK so again to turn the card down flat !!!!! - grrrr

Anyway, went to Bestbuy today and all was OK with a UK card (spent over $3000 and apart from my driving licence they never asked a thing!!!!

Bob

It's a common problem, plenty of sites have the same issue, it's a lot to do with not being able to verify the address and the ball ache of dealing with an issue if they did flog something to a dodgy geezer.

Great prices, shite return policy, but for smaller things, it's a pretty good site.

chicagojlo

Just because your UK card has a US address does not make it registered in the US. The first 4 digits of the card number denote what country it was issued in (as well as other info such as the issuing company etc). The billing address is irrelevant. I believe the problem is not only fraud but also increased processing fees since it will end up being a foreign currency transaction.
I have also had plenty of UK websites refuse foreign cards which is really a pain when you want to buy gifts for people without having to pay extortionate UPS shipping costs. Jewellery stores in particular are very strict about this.

Englishmum

A couple of weeks ago my husband had a request from his twin brother in England. His work colleague wanted to order a leather biker jacket from American Eagle but as she had a UK credit card and shipping address she could not complete the transaction online.

She wanted to know if it could be shipped to our house in NJ and then get my husband to take it across on his next business trip to London. We were fine with it.

The leather jacket arrived on Saturday morning (absolutely gorgeous....soft brown leather, original price was $199 but the online sale price was just $99 (50 quid!). Purely by co-incidence my husband was flying to London on Saturday evening so he put it in his luggage.

She must be very happy with that jacket! (I'd get one myself but I've got a black one already)

It's now gone down to $79.95!

http://www.ae.com/web/browse/product...ctId=0388_1135

daftpunk

You don't need an SSN for a bank account. I have two bank accounts and I don't have an SSN.

denzil75

Can you not open an HSBC account here aswell then you would get a US issued credit card? Before we moved to the States someone had told us to open an HSBC account in England, then they would sort out an account for us in America, which they did and I think all or part of our UK credit rating got transferred, we got told it would. We didn't seem to have much of a problem getting credit when we got here, including a mortgage - through HSBC of course!

scrubbedexpat099

Current account you can get pretty much anywhere.

Mortgages are not too bad, its the rest that is the probem.

American Express can help, HSBC no idea.

augigi

They didn't say they needed SSN for a bank account, you need it to get a credit card issued.

chicagojlo

We have accounts with HSBC UK and USA. Luckily they didn't transfer our UK credit history or we'd be screwed!