topic Re: Another card system went down in Community Chat

Another card system went down

Trailrun23 — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 01:21:07 GMT

DH went to Costco to get gas today; he was number 7 in line at one of the pumps; the other lines were longer. The attendant told him the system was down but some people wouldn't believe him so they kept inserting their cards over and over again at the gas pumps. DH just left and went to the parking lot and waited for me; I went into the warehouse to pick up a few things; the whole systerm was down....people still stood in line even when workers said the system was down and they could only take cash. I didin't have enough cash to buy anything I needed, but some people were losing their minds! It was clear they were trying to buy Christmas presents...toys, kids clothes, and holiday foods....some were yelling at the cashier, like he can fix it, and one woman was crying.....I just love this time of year! Fortunately, my shopping is done; I was just going in to pick up some protein drinks, and we can manage a few more days with the few we have left.

Re: Another card system went down

rms1954 — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 01:28:45 GMT

Wonder what will happen if they ever do all digital and they take away our ability to use cash.

Re: Another card system went down

Parischic — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 01:31:06 GMT

Oh boy, for some reason Walmart won't accept my banks debit card so I always make sure to bring cash when I go there. Sometimes you just need to be prepared

Re: Another card system went down

ValuSkr — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 01:41:57 GMT

Oh boy. that was bad news for Costco as well as its shoppers.

Re: Another card system went down

Snowpuppy — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 01:46:20 GMT

@rms1954 wrote:
Wonder what will happen if they ever do all digital and they take away our ability to use cash.

Or your purchase gets declined because the "system" doesn't like your transaction.

Re: Another card system went down

icezeus — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 01:51:05 GMT

@Parischic wrote:
Oh boy, for some reason Walmart won't accept my banks debit card so I always make sure to bring cash when I go there. Sometimes you just need to be prepared

@Parischic

Well that is super inconvenient.

Re: Another card system went down

Kachina624 — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 02:14:10 GMT

@icezeus I bet Costco thought so too. I wonder how long they were down?

Re: Another card system went down

chrystaltree — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 02:26:58 GMT

It's the craziest time of the year.

Re: Another card system went down

Trailrun23 — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 02:34:41 GMT

Costco would be one of the last places I could ever just use cash. You are buying in such large amounts it adds up fast. Vendors can't buy with only cash.

Re: Another card system went down

Trailrun23 — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 02:39:35 GMT

I am sure they got the system back up as soon as they could, but I am also sure they didn't lose much money...most. people just went to another Costco; we have several in our area; their systems are all separate. The WM is almost always messed up and says cash only; prob from all the credit card skimmers that get stuck in the machines over and over. They are notorious for it.

Re: Another card system went down

gidgetgh — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 13:12:49 GMT

I always have plenty of cash with me, but don't know if I'd be prepared for cash for Christmas presents and large amounts of food for Christmas dinner.

But it would also be unlike me to be doing all that on Dec. 23rd. I'm sorry the customers got so upset about it.

Re: Another card system went down

chrystaltree — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 03:19:11 GMT

@Trailrun23 wrote:
I am sure they got the system back up as soon as they could, but I am also sure they didn't lose much money...most. people just went to another Costco; we have several in our area; their systems are all separate. The WM is almost always messed up and says cash only; prob from all the credit card skimmers that get stuck in the machines over and over. They are notorious for it.

You are right about that. When I go to Wal-Mart I make sure I have cash with me.

Re: Another card system went down

MamaWick — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 03:20:19 GMT

I was at H-E-B (grocery store) today and was told upon entry that their system was down...it would be cash, and that i could go to the ATM in the store if necessary, which was not using the same system. However, by the time I reached the checkout, they announced it was back up.

Then, I did go to the ATM and got the message my financial institution denied the withdrawal. DH tried his card...and got the same info. We went to our truck and I called our bank. They said our account was flagged for suspicious activity. Huh? They couldn't tell me what the suspicious activity was, though. The rep unlocked it.

Re: Another card system went down

catter70 — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 10:03:47 GMT

I pretty much use cash only. Too easy to lose track using a card, IMHO.

Re: Another card system went down

San Antonio Gal — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 14:06:57 GMT

@catter70 wrote:
I pretty much use cash only. Too easy to lose track using a card, IMHO.

@catter70 - I'm the opposite. If I used cash only, it would be way too difficult to keep up with what I spent. Paying with a card has a record of every transaction.

I rarely pay in cash.

Re: Another card system went down

haddon9 — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 14:10:21 GMT

@rms1954 wrote:
Wonder what will happen if they ever do all digital and they take away our ability to use cash.

That would be awful for many reasons!

Re: Another card system went down

haddon9 — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 14:13:53 GMT

@Trailrun23 wrote:
I am sure they got the system back up as soon as they could, but I am also sure they didn't lose much money...most. people just went to another Costco; we have several in our area; their systems are all separate. The WM is almost always messed up and says cash only; prob from all the credit card skimmers that get stuck in the machines over and over. They are notorious for it.

Where I am Costco is few and far between. The one that I belong to is just under a half an hour away. The others are also half an hour away in another direction.

Same with Walmart. I never shop at Walmart and have probably only been in one half a dozen times total. I do like my Costco though.

Re: Another card system went down

chrystaltree — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 14:58:08 GMT

Re: Another card system went down

icezeus — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 17:33:56 GMT

@Trailrun23 wrote:
I am sure they got the system back up as soon as they could, but I am also sure they didn't lose much money...most. people just went to another Costco; we have several in our area; their systems are all separate. The WM is almost always messed up and says cash only; prob from all the credit card skimmers that get stuck in the machines over and over. They are notorious for it.

@Trailrun23

Two things that I did not know. First that Costco systems are independent of each other. I actually had the misfortune of going to Costco for gas yesterday. I normally go early in the morning but I was running errands and did not get to one until after 12:00. Like you I have several in my area. I pulled up the first one and saw the line coming out to the street. Nope, I left and jumped on the freeway towards home and exited to go to another one. Line was still stupidly long so this time I waited.

I did not know that Walmart had skimmers on their machines. How do they manage to put the skimmers on the cash register devices that are in the front of the store.

Re: Another card system went down

icezeus — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 17:36:22 GMT

@San Antonio Gal wrote:
@catter70 wrote:
I pretty much use cash only. Too easy to lose track using a card, IMHO.

@catter70 - I'm the opposite. If I used cash only, it would be way too difficult to keep up with what I spent. Paying with a card has a record of every transaction.

I rarely pay in cash.

@San Antonio Gal

Right. I always have cash on me for little things, but mostly I pay for items using my debit card. Keep the receipts, go home and record what you spent. Check online to make sure the correct amount has been deducted. Easy peasy.