Debit card declined when topping up.

[Lilel]

Greetings,
I'm hoping to get some help with my payg sim card.
It is currently on 321 classic tariff and I do not want to change that.
The problem I am having is that when I try to use my debit card to top it up it keeps getting declined despite having the money in my bank.
When I first got the card I used an E-topup voucher for the first payment, which was successful. Since then I have not been able to use my card to top up on the O2 app or by phone.
I have tried to topup by phone to register my card but it does not accept it.
I have contacted O2 on 4445 three times now and had no joy. One call I had said there was some commercial restriction on my sim card that she would try to remove, since I am a private customer, but that has not worked.
The most recent call I had ended with the person saying that I cannot use my debit card to top up this card on this tariff and will have to use E-topup every time.

Thanks.

[itsme]

I too am having the same issue, my card payment keeps failing and when I contact the bank they say the following: 'occasionally additional checks must be completed before a payment can be approved. This is usually either a text message or an approval via the Mobile App. On this occasion the merchant has failed to complete these checks resulting in the transaction declining. The best way forward is to contact the merchant regarding this.'  When I contact customer service they say they cannot help me with this issue.  I have resorted by topping up via voucher but would prefer to top up via card. 

[Vicksburg]

This seems to be an ongoing issue, I have been topping up with an Ulster Bank card for the past 8-10 years twice a month for mine and my wife's phone without any issues until last month. I contacted both O2 and my bank who informed me it was an O2 problem with the new SCA rules. The same thing has happened again today and I have got the issue escalated. I have received a call from Daniel who informed me that unless there are many problems of this type being reported they cannot escalate this any further.

It would appear from this thread that there are many others experiencing  the same problems with different banks, and it is just not an Ulster Bank problem. So it seems to me that this problem definitely needs looking into further. @O2Daniel  @O2Emma @O2KyleW  @O2Lisa 

[sav_1975]

I having the same issues with a Lloyds card, the app or online won’t save it in the wallet, and o2 customer services was dreadful, all they were interested in was swapping me to pay monthly. They told me if I was pay monthly they can add the card details on for me their end, but with pay as you go they can’t…..  shocking service 

[madasaf1sh]

@Vicksburg 

Ulsterbank are part of Natwest Group of Cowboys, who seem to have a lot of problems with SCA, and transactions timing out, and seem to blame merchants for their archaic IT systems...
Do you have your full name and address registered in myo2 and do they match exactly what Ulster Bank have. 

@Lilel  and @Vicksburg 

It may be worth as well speaking to o2 on 4445 and asking them to provide a transaction trace, and provide this to your bank so they can investigate further. 
A transaction trace shows all the hops and responses to the authorisation process, and if anything goes wrong.

[Vicksburg]

Hi @madasaf1sh 

Thanks for you response and you may recall I raised this issue back in May when the problem first occurred. I fully understand that Ulster Bank are part of NatWest but if they have IT system problems it does not explain how I can top up using my NatWest card with out any issues. Also I may add that o2 is the only company where I have experienced this problem, I have no issues using my card with any other merchant. I have spent hours on the phone with o2 and I did originally ask them to provide a transaction trace but I have heard no more on that subject.

With regard to this months issue I managed to get it escalated and was called back by Daniel who I believe is a manager. He informed me that there is no other avenue in o2's system to progress this any further because "as far as he is aware I am the only client with this problem". In order to take this up with the Tech Dept he would need far more people with this particular problem. I would respectfully suggest that he takes a look at this thread where it is quite clear there others with similar issues from varying Banks.

I tagged the o2 customer service personnel that were mentioned on this thread in the hope that someone would take this up but as yet the silence has been deafening.

I wonder if you could perhaps tag someone who would look at this, as there is definitely a problem here. Apart from those who have bought this up, I am sure there are others with this problem who probably can't be bothered to call o2 or post here and have just used another method to top up.  

Many thanks

[Lilel]

Heya, I had given up on this thread to be honest. I have spent proabaly about 5 hours on the phone with customer support over 4 trys. I have tried using barclaycard and santander cards, same problem. I have resorted to using the e-voucher prepaid method since it seems to be the only way I can top up and still keep my tarif. Not happy.

[Vicksburg]

Hi, @Lilel ,

Like you I have spent ages on the phone to o2 and my bank to no avail. Hopefully someone from o2 will pick this up from this thread. As I said I'm sure there are many others with the same problem who have just accepted it and not raised it with o2. As it is happening with a variety of banks, in my opinion shows that the problem lies within o2.

If o2 think that I am just going to accept this situation then they are sorely mistaken, if no action is taken from this thread, then I will be left with no alternative other than to raise a formal complaint with o2😡😡😡

Regards. 

[Vicksburg]

Update @Lilel @madasaf1sh 

I have finally got this resolved, I have registered my card on o2 and topped up successfully. My old card expired back in 2019 so that still doesn't explain how I have been toping up without an issue until May this year. 

This must be an issue with o2 as I have no problem using my card on any other site.

[viki72]

We have the same problem with a TSB card. My husband has the same SIM card for years with Big Bundle he topped up countless of times using the MyO2 app through our shared account in TSB. A few months ago he wanted to switch to his own account so he put in the new details (same bank just different card number) in the app and ever since he's unable to top up his phone. He gets the same message as it's prescribed by many here in the topic and it's not the bank's fault, we checked it, just as we checked the bank details if they are correct and he's not able to top up using our shared account anymore either. The online web top up gives the same result as the app. According to the O2 customer service the solution is to take out a contract which we don't want but that's the only thing they are pushing for.

[pgn]

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@viki72 wrote:

We have the same problem with a TSB card. My husband has the same SIM card for years with Big Bundle he topped up countless of times using the MyO2 app through our shared account in TSB. A few months ago he wanted to switch to his own account so he put in the new details (same bank just different card number) in the app and ever since he's unable to top up his phone. He gets the same message as it's prescribed by many here in the topic and it's not the bank's fault, we checked it, just as we checked the bank details if they are correct and he's not able to top up using our shared account anymore either. The online web top up gives the same result as the app. According to the O2 customer service the solution is to take out a contract which we don't want but that's the only thing they are pushing for.

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Since O2 and VM merged, the standard answer from CS has degraded in recent months to VM's old mantra "you need to be on a contract". Don't believe it. 

Here are the ways to pay as collated by a PAYG user: Guide How to Top Up (PAYG) and I have no issue topping up the PAYG phones in my house (I am on contract) with cards from M&S (Credit) or RBS (Credit) although there was a time when you could only ever top up at most TWO PAYG phones using the same card (O2 restriction).

The only caveats:

• Revolut, Monzo and similar cards are not accepted; and
• any card not registered to a UK bank and address will fail; and
• if your own details with your card provider differ from those with O2, the independent SecurePay service sometimes gets in the way (in my case, my card issuer had my birthdate wrong, this was getting in the way of all sorts of on-line transactions, and not always the same - O2 web top-up, purchasing home heating oil online, paying for the TV licence via website, etc. This was only discovered when I rang the card issuing bank and moaned at them - once they corrected the birthdate details on my card account, everything worked.

I hope some of this helps clear up the issue you have been having, @viki72.