Natwest Card Problem

my chip & pin card with Smile seems to be fine for 6 months, then suddenly the chip doesnt read properly and i have to sign for everything. Its just started messing up now - its almost like the chip warps or something, but i look after my cards!!!

Yeah thats the same with mine it happens overtime. After about 6 months i'll have problems now and again and then it just gradually gets worse and worse until I end up having to order a new card.

Just out of interest what colour is the chip on your card? Is it Gold or Silver? Because Natwest have these odd silver chips (I recon its them being cheapskates) yet all my other cards from other banks have Gold chips and I never have a problem with them.

my chip is silver-y too actually.
Saying that, my nationwide chips are gold, and ive NEVER had a problem with any of them warping at all - i can always use chip & pin with them until the card gets replaced at its expiry!

Does anyone else have problems with their Natwest debit card working in the chip and pin machines and certain cash machines?
nope, not got a problem
I have a problem with my card being read in certain shops, like in Morrisons earlier it wouldn't accept it and I have had it happen in other shops before. Luckily I had my Alliance and Leciester card with me and used that, but its embarrassing having your card rejected. There is also a certain Halifax cash machine in my town centre that won't read it either. Its not because of lack of funds or because my cards been blocked or anything as I can walk straight into another shop (or cash machine) and spend the same amount and it will work fine. I also notice these like black specs on the chip which is when it starts playing up but I can't get them off.

with any system that is on the link machine network, it can go up and down at any point, even temporarily. If you had had a problem with NatWest Cash machine as well, then I would expect the issue to be the card.

I have had it happen to me before with previous cards from them and I had to call them up and order a new card. I just called up to order another one but they wern't as helpful this time and just blamed it on the cash machines and chip and pin readers being faulty yet they couldn't explain why I never have a problem with my cards from other banks.they don't work for other banks so could only speculate on what the problem is to resolve as soon as was humanly possible.

They work everytime without fail. I got them to order me a new card in the end but I wasn't very impressed with their customer service I think they are going downhill in that respect as they used to be very good.

OP - In Morrisons you should have been given a spit-out from the till with "Declined" and then a code number on the bottom (Usually "Declined Code 5" in my experience.). If you take this slip into the bank they should be able to trace the transaction attempt and tell you exactly why it failed. At least, Lloyds could tell me so I don't see why Natwest wouldn't be able to.

Ok, I read subsequently about gold or silver chips......I really hope you are not being really serious on that matter. Gold or silver coloured chips does not change the chip itself. I would use a wallet, not had a problem with my card since it was renewed. If the bank order you a new card then the existing one should remain active until the new one arrives(in fact it could be up to a month afterwards).
I have seen since the introduction of chip and pin, some very poor customer service, specifically where the pin is blocked for chip and pin and a new card being ordered. That would not solve the problem. I would say new card maybe.

I was being serious about the colour of the chip. Its just in my experience I have found that the 2 cards I have with a gold chip are completely fine, you can just see a few marks which are there from when you put it in the machine. The chip on the Natwest card on the other hand as well as having the marks from the machines also after about 6 months starts getting black specs on it and then starts playing up. All the cards are stored in the same wallet, I don't treat them badly or anything.

I'm just getting sick of having to put up with my card not working in places and then having to ring up and order a new card. Plus now they seem to have made ordering a new card more difficult before they had no problem with ordering me one now they just blame it on the machines despite the fact everytime I get a new card it works fine until about 6 months later when it starts to play up.

At least its good to know that my old card should still work until my new one arrives. They told me that as soon as the new card is ordered on the system the old one stops working. Thanks for your help.

i just got my new natwest card for maestro and the chip and pin doesnt work. or at least it refuses my pin number all the time. its the one they gave me and i remember checking it loads and i even stored it in my phone just to be sure but it still doesnt work and so i have to use my solo card, which thankfull doesntr run out for another year but still, my god its annoying!

Pop into the branch tomorrow and confirm that the pin number(the account number and sort code on the front of the slip sent out is for the card)..if it is I am 100% certain that the chip is blocked for chip and pin(and possibly ATM useage which mean a PIN readvice or reminder being sent out). However, if the card can be used for ATM withdrawals then go to a NatWest, Tesco or RBS machine with the card and then go to "other services" and then "unblock pin". That should sort the problem out.

hmm i got it from a different branch and threw away that piece of paper that came with the PIN as that's what it told me to do
i will try that "unblock pin" thing though. although, doesnt it need to recongisde my pin in the first place so i can get to that part? or does that come up automatically when i put my card in?

We have cards with gold chips on them. Servicecard250. The colour of the chip makes no difference as to the workability of the card as I am about to explain in the next post on here.

If its because the card is blocked for chip and pin what would cause that? I know it happens when you enter the PIN wrong 3 times but I have never done this. When the machine is actually able to read the card I always enter the PIN correctly first time. Is there anything else that causes it to be blocked and would you be able to see it on your computer systems when I phone up as they didn't mention anything like this.

I think I might just move over to another bank for day to day use and just keep my Natwest account running enough to continue getting my Railcard. Maybe its not the chip colour but there must be something which is causing me more problems with my Natwest card than my other cards and there doesn't seem to be any way of sorting it other than having to order a new card every 6 months or so. My other card with the Halifax has lasted the full 2 years without a single issue.