On Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:29:54 -0000, "Road_Hog"
wrote:

Ryanair got around including the debit/credit card by
offering at least one payment that there wasn't a charge, hence the Electron
option. If you want the card to use with Ryanair, you're too late, too many
people applied for them to use with Ryanair, so the lovely Mr.O'Dreary has
this year changed it to a prepaid/top up Mastercard.


Mostly correct, except that he didn't change it because too many
people applied for them, but rather because they are being phased out.

I'm not sure if any new ones are being issued now, but if they are, it
won't be for long.

The prepaid mastercards are actually much easier to obtain than
electron cards.
--
Alex Heney, Global Villager
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail
To reply by email, my address is alexATheneyDOTplusDOTcom

"Jonathan Bryce" wrote in message
...
Max Demian wrote:

What he means is that you can't use the manual machines to take a carbon
copy impression of the card, however I haven't seen one of those for
about
12 years now.

Nothing stopping people from writing the details on the form by hand.

Apart from the "ELECTRONIC USE ONLY" thing under the signature strip on
the
back of the card - for an Abbey Electron card. It may be in a different
place on other banks cards, my old Woolwich one had it down the front left
hand side of the card.

Please note that Santander are not issuing any new Electron cards - mine
will be replaced with a Visa Debit on expiry. Woolwich is now Barclays,
and the Barclays account that replaced my Woolwich one didn't have any
sort
of debit card facility on it.

Where did you see this? I have a bank account with Santander (09/01/27
sortcode) and got a Electron card.
This will be great as some websites dont take Electron cards.

Alex Heney wrote:

The prepaid mastercards are actually much easier to obtain than
electron cards.

However, they are very expensive to operate, even before taking into
account lost interest. Using them to buy airline tickets is likely to
be more expensive than paying the credit card "surcharge".

"Alex Heney" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:29:54 -0000, "Road_Hog"
wrote:

Ryanair got around including the debit/credit card by
offering at least one payment that there wasn't a charge, hence the
Electron
option. If you want the card to use with Ryanair, you're too late, too
many
people applied for them to use with Ryanair, so the lovely Mr.O'Dreary has
this year changed it to a prepaid/top up Mastercard.


Mostly correct, except that he didn't change it because too many
people applied for them, but rather because they are being phased out.

Oh you are gullible, aren't you!

tim

"David Woolley" wrote in message
...
Alex Heney wrote:

The prepaid mastercards are actually much easier to obtain than
electron cards.

However, they are very expensive to operate, even before taking into
account lost interest. Using them to buy airline tickets is likely to be
more expensive than paying the credit card "surcharge".

Not to mention the fact that you don't get any protection if the airline or
other organisation goes bust.

Peter Crosland

"Peter Crosland" wrote in message
o.uk...
"David Woolley" wrote in message
...
Alex Heney wrote:

The prepaid mastercards are actually much easier to obtain than
electron cards.

However, they are very expensive to operate, even before taking into
account lost interest. Using them to buy airline tickets is likely to be
more expensive than paying the credit card "surcharge".

Not to mention the fact that you don't get any protection if the airline
or other organisation goes bust.

for a fare of 99 pounds you wouldn't get this however you paid

tim

"tim...." wrote in message
...

"Alex Heney" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:29:54 -0000, "Road_Hog"
wrote:

Ryanair got around including the debit/credit card by
offering at least one payment that there wasn't a charge, hence the
Electron
option. If you want the card to use with Ryanair, you're too late, too
many
people applied for them to use with Ryanair, so the lovely Mr.O'Dreary
has
this year changed it to a prepaid/top up Mastercard.


Mostly correct, except that he didn't change it because too many
people applied for them, but rather because they are being phased out.

Oh you are gullible, aren't you!

tim

Without wishing to be rude, that was my thought as well.

Sam wrote:

"Kipling" wrote in message
...

What he means is that you can't use the manual machines to take a
carbon copy impression of the card, however I haven't seen one of those
for about 12 years now.

Christ, does anywhere still use one of those?

Still used as "fallback" machines for if and when the electronic
terminals go tits up, i once had to use one for about a week in a shop i
used to run. Authorisations are completed via telephone..

That was with Natwest's Steamline system.

Crikey, I haven't seen one for years now...

I saw one a few months ago at Tesco. I hired some wine glasses for a
reception. The hire is free but you need to leave a deposit (in case
you don't bring them back, or break any). Their standard procedure for
deposits by card is not to debit them through the till and then re-credit
when the glasses are returned, but merely to take an old-fashioned
multipart imprint on collection, which you sign, and when you return the
glasses they tear it up.

"Sam" wrote in message
...

"Jonathan Bryce" wrote in message
...
Sam wrote:

They're also unique (?) in that they do not have embossed details on
them, ensuring that they can only be used on electronic processing
machines which can read the chip built into them.

Not entirely true...I've had occasions where the machine couldn't read
the
chip, so the shop staff have swiped the magnetic strip instead...
But you're right about no embossed text...

What he means is that you can't use the manual machines to take a carbon
copy impression of the card, however I haven't seen one of those for
about
12 years now.

Christ, does anywhere still use one of those?
ScrewFix did a few months back when their C&P went down.

On Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:56:11 -0000, "Sam" wrote:


"Jonathan Bryce" wrote in message
...
Sam wrote:

They're also unique (?) in that they do not have embossed details on
them, ensuring that they can only be used on electronic processing
machines which can read the chip built into them.

Not entirely true...I've had occasions where the machine couldn't read
the
chip, so the shop staff have swiped the magnetic strip instead...
But you're right about no embossed text...

What he means is that you can't use the manual machines to take a carbon
copy impression of the card, however I haven't seen one of those for about
12 years now.

Christ, does anywhere still use one of those?


Europcar in Merthyr Tydfil did when I had a hire car for a week back
in July.

It was the first time I had seen one in a few years.
--
Alex Heney, Global Villager
Philosophy: unintelligible answers to insoluble problems
To reply by email, my address is alexATheneyDOTplusDOTcom