I HAVE had bad experiences with my POSB debit card. I tried using it to pay a bill around 2am to 3am on Feb 23.

The transaction failed twice. I was embarrassed and upset, especially because I had sufficient funds to pay the bill.

I called the bank hotline to ask for an explanation for the card failure.

While I admit that I was rude and agitated during the call, I was answered with a mix of excuses and silence.

I was told that the system had been under maintenance when I tried to pay the bill, and that merchants had been instructed to call the bank should such an issue crop up.

POSB contacted me later but gave me the same reasons as to why the transaction had failed.

Last Saturday, the same problem occurred when I used my card between 2am and 3am.

I called the hotline again and asked why there was no backup system to prevent such issues from occurring.

I was told that my debit card could not be used during that time of the night because the system was under maintenance.

After two bad experiences in fewer than two weeks, I was disappointed that there was no satisfactory answer from the bank and that no action had been taken.

What if I had been overseas and had no payment means other than the debit card? I will be terminating my debit card and sticking with my Nets card.

MR CALEB CHIANG

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