This happened to me just last week! I just got a new apartment and had just paid my first month’s rent and my security deposit. Then the next day, I went to get some supplies for my new place. Card declined.

Tried again. Card declined.

Called the number on my card. It was “after hours” and the person picking up the phone couldn’t do a damn thing for me. They suggested I’d hit a “spending limit,” but they couldn’t tell me for certain, couldn’t tell me how much that limit was, and couldn’t make my card usable again. Absolutely pointless, why even answer the phone?

Moments after, I got a call from the automated “fraud alert” service. But it was useless too, as it glitched out (made an annoying sound and didn’t respond to anything I said), then hung up on me.

Thank goodness, I was able to simply call that fraud alert number back, verify recent transactions, and my card became usable again. (I was worried it’d be one of those lines that calls you, but that you can’t call back.)

I get that my credit union is trying to protect me, but damn. At least make it so the people answering the number on the card can DO something to help!