Account Payment Question

Is it typical for someone to have their account and/or tier charges suddenly red-flagged out of the blue by their bank or credit card company? My monthly fees bounced, and the credit company called to verify because the "suspicious" charges came from the UK. I don't get it... I've been using this same card, same bank, same card company for more than 2 years in SL, and not so much as a hiccup when LL switched credit processing to the UK. Why would they flag it now, when my monthly charges are DOWN from what I used to spend in SL?
It's not any big deal, I payed it with Paypal, but I'm just curious if this sort of thing is common.

If they're anything like my card company, this isn't anything to worry about. They've blocked LL a few times, despite me telling them that those charges are ok. They also seem to enjoy shutting down my card, about 2 weeks _after_ I come back from vacation..

Just call them up and tell them LL is ok..

My credit card companies sometimes baffle me at what and when they decide to question something, but as someone who has had her bank card numbers stolen, I would rather deal with the minor inconvenience of them sometimes denying something until they can get verification on it.

ya i finally just went straight pay pal ..i got tired of having to call my bank telling them it is me..
i used to really really really go crazy on big shopping sprees and i would have froze me too i guess lol

Thanks It just seems odd that in all the hundreds of $$ I've charged from SL at one time, they pick now to block it when the amount is literally pennies on the dollar compared to previous charges. At least I'm not the only one with a goofy credit card lol. Think I'll stay with good ol' Paypal for the time being.

Agreed, I recently had a call about my payment. I'm happy that they sometimes check.

I've had occasional problems, especially if my tier charge goes up, although it's only a matter of a few US$. So far, it's always been sorted by a phonecall to the card company (I'm UK based)

Oh, jeez. I hope you're getting some kind of profit from doing whatever you do in SL. Hundreds is WAY too much just to spend on a game.

How much do you spend on going out - to the bar, to a restaurant, to play pool, to do a hobby or sport? It is all relative and depends on what each of us considers fun. I have been in SL for almost 2 years now and do not make any money at all - I am not a creator, simply a consumer. I do not regret any of the money that I have spent here.

Large parcel land purchases back when I had tons of tier to fill and land in my home sim was for sale
Lil's right, it's not about profit. If what you get out of it is worth what you put in, then it's justified.

Yes I've had this problem too. I had my card blocked by the fraud department the same company that I've been with since the start 3 years ago. They found it suddenly suspicious that i was spending 'huge' figures on a computer game (which is what SL is technically classed as by the banks) not understanding that I'm paying essentially for server space (i.e. sims) which lots of businesses do without harrassment.

Although they unblocked the card, they were unable to guarantee it would not happen again :-/