lechat

my debit card # was recently stolen after buying a pair of rx shades from an u.k. etailer. now i'm receiving daily shipments of snake oil in the mail.

bo00on

so...is it still safe to buy stuff from PBK?

mocella

I think the overall theme with this thread isn't to trash the actual merchants, but rather to make others aware that many of us have had issues with our cards soon after ordering from the popular UK shops and maybe offer some advice on ways they can protected their cards and not have the same thing happen.

As someone that had this happen, I never blamed PBK or Wiggle directly since I had ordered from them on several previous occasions, but who really knows. Personally, I'll probably get a card that offers virtual numbers (Citi, CapOne, etc) when I order anything online in the future.

Peter.J

My card just got jacked (I've only shopped at PBK)...my bank is looking into it. They're usuallly pretty good with reimbursements. Make sure you keep an eye on your account online so you can find the fraudulent purchases right away.

RichinPeoria

Yes, you'll need a one time use card specfic to the purchase to PBK for a specific amount (see Bank of America Shop Safe card etc.) Call your credit card company and ask them about it.

czecher

I just had two cards with fraudulent charges after PBK purchases, wish I would have seen this thread first....

bo00on

dang...so PBK is still no go then. The banks here in New Zealand do not appear to offer one time use cards/numbers at the moment.

scirocco

Well, I've probably just jinxed myself, but I have been buying from PBK and Wiggle during Jan-Mar this year and I haven't seen any fraudulent activity yet.

screamtone

I got this same charge on a card I only used at Nashbar and Musicians Friend.

dsellinger

Just got a notice and a new card from my bank. The card was reported as having been part of a an information leak of a third party database. Anyway... it's just a credit card, getting a new one is kinda nice. (I wear em out quick)

Rascale

I just placed an order with PBK yesterday and BoA instantly disabled my credit card and sent me a fraud alert. I think I'll keep a close watch off activity on this CC.

dsellinger

They just do that because it's overseas. after 3 orders on my BOA card they quit flagging them as "Irregular Credit Card Activity"
Also, if they have your email they will email you about it and you can authorize the purchase that way. They also called my house.
I just wish PBK took amex

c50jim

A friend just sent me a link to this post. Count me in among those who's had a problem. I bought once from PBK last summer with no problem, once from Wiggle in the fall with no problems and three times from Ribble. I found service from all three to be good - goods arrived in the mail in a week. I can't get service like that from the US.

However, I was checking my account on line about a week after my last order from Ribble and noticed some charges from Spain. I think the total was about $700 spread among about 10 transactions. I wondered if Ribble (or Wiggle since PBK had been more than six months prior to the problem) was the problem, or perhaps a restaurant in Tucson since I'd just returned from there.

So, despite the great prices and quick service, I guess I'll swear off the UK bike parts providers for a while.
It's too bad because it was so easy and cheap.

dno

Sorry, but that is complete crap. Any server can be insecure or poorly secured. Also in this case it more than likely has nothing to web server compromises - more likely in an internal breach at a payment processor, who is a behind the scene service that settles and clears transactions.

Vinci

It seems that situations like this are perfect for "virtual account numbers". Citi has a function for this on their site, and I imagine other credit card companies do as well. I just generated a new CC number with a limit of $5 over my purchase total and a time limit of 2 months. If that number gets stolen, the worst that I would have to fight for is that extra $5. That seems like an awful lot less work than clearing up fraudulent charges after the fact with your actual account number.

kimconyc

So just got a call from my CC company saying that there are 2 pending charges in the amount of around $100 each to Snapfish and Kaboodle (never shopped at either of these)?

I ordered from PBK, Wiggle, and Total Cycling about 1-2 months ago so not sure which of the three or combination was the culprit. I'm just glad the card had a relatively low limit and my CC company caught these SOB's trying to engage in this fraudulent activity.

It might be a good idea to go with prepaid cards for these UK sites. Well, I'm a bit irked so I'm going riding. Later all...

roadie138

The way this thread is going. Can't point a finger on who's really at fault.But Kimconyc you have it right go with prepaid cards for these UK sites.I ordered from Ribble over a month ago so far so good.

Val23708

Just ordered 3 times from PBK in the past 10 days. Used my visa (with verified by visa). No problems yet. Have had about 5 orders since January.

kimconyc

Wooooh; feel good after that ride! I don't think it's the actual sites but the payment/clearing systems they use. That's my guess.

Can anyone recommend a good prepaid CC (easy to use or fill up, no headaches like bogus charges, etc.)? Thanks in advance.

roadie138

Well guys I have to eat my words was at the bank and checked on my card today 2 days ago my card was charged $1 from Itunes.Why $1 they said a lot of places charge $1 to see if the card is good.Now I have to wait to see how much was actually charged on it.And then I have to dispute it.And they did close my account.No more Uk sites unless I can find a fool proof way of making the transaction?

ExPhys

Another fraudulent charge here. Only ordered from PBK, about two weeks later (during downtime between two races), Bank of America calls me to verify some strange card activity.

Two $80 charges to Tim Hortons, plus two pending charges to iTunes, and two pending charges to pizza pizza.

Closed the credit card and already received the fraud adjustment. I have literally ordered $1000s worth of stuff from PBK and will think twice in the future.

Cyclist0383

How the hell do you spend $80 at Tim Hortons?

TCR

Got a call this morning from Wamu asking if I authorized a $1640 transaction from British Airways in Johannesburg, Africa. I said no of course and they proceeded to close the card and issue me a new one. WTF?!? That's two different cards in the past two months! How are these people doing it? BTW, haven't bought anything from PBK or any other UK site with this card #.

kimconyc

https://www.baltimoresun.com/business...,1616827.story

This is really making me upset. There should be HUGE penalties if tried and convicted IMO, like chopping off the hands.

TCR

Yep, I'd just read that one. Also found an article stating that credit card number theft is so prevalant now that the numbers are being sold on the black market for as little as a few pennies each. The thieves will accumulate thousands and thousands of numbers and then sell a lot of 5000 for pennies each. And since the numbers have been taken over a period of time and not used immediately it's very difficult to track where they were originally stolen from.