Urgent Message: State of Oklahoma Bank Cards Being Declined for Vape Shops

[WyattDerp]

Hey everyone reading, horrible news this afternoon in regards to the vaping community as a whole. I was not able to make a purchase with a local shop online with my Visa check card so I called the bank to find out what was going on as I have sufficient funds in my account. After some digging, the teller on the phone let me know at least three other customers of Bank of Oklahoma reported similar issues and they were only dinging an error with vape shops, at least in Oklahoma. They checked with another bank officer and they've received an email from their corporate office stating that new legislation has been passed as of 1/1/2014 that prohibits the online sale of anything vaping related and that cards attempting to buy things from those sites will receive an error message and funds will not be transferred. When I asked whether this was in regards to Oklahoma or national, they couldn't say but they've only seen it within our state since they are only based in our state however it would effect every Oklahoman's credit card no matter who the issuing company is. This is terrible and we need to get this around so we can find out what the heck is happening. Thank you.

 

[klynnn]

I had the same thing happen yesterday with my debit card at MVS. I believe they are in NY. I used a credit card and it worked fine.

 

[AgentAnia]

Is there any way you can get more information on the legislation they referred to?

 

[Rickb119]

You can bet that BT lobbyist are behind this.

Coming soon, to a "country" near you!

 

[liquidzoo]

There was another post in the New Members forum about their card from a Credit Union in KY

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...card-company-refused-process-transaction.html

If this is the case, it's bad; but I'm wondering if this is something that only SOME banks just decided (probably with a lot of help from Big Tobacco) to do on their own.

 

[LoveVanilla]

Did a news search as of post time, and didn't find any collaboration. Maybe the bank blocked this particular shop due to a hack, fraud claim, etc.?

Of course, in current times, when corporations and government monitor every morsel of our citizens thoughts and communications, well who can say what might be tried...

 

[ingerri]

a facebook poster in a vaping group I belong to had same problem

 

[OldSeer]

Now are you saying if you roll into the local truck stop (thousands in Oklahoma) 7-11 type store
and buy e-cigs... the banks know what is being purchased and they will deny... use of peoples cards????

Have you talked directly with any of the B&M's to find out if in store customers
are having their cards refused?

 

[CreepyLady]

I have seen quite a few posts on this it appears to have something to do with certain states having recognized ecigs as a "tobacco product" and they therefore fall under the same legislation for online purchase as tobacco, ammunition, firearms etc. preventing the sale to minors....

It appears to be totally worked around via credit cards, gift cards, prepaid visa ETC.

Well thats just a PITA. Rather obnoxious too.

 

[spawnsharks]

Here we go again... these are glimpses of an Orwellian future. Not even kidding. George was sooo right on sooo many points. Just think. Money is 99% digitized, and we likr it because it's 'easier'... but Big Brother government decides that you forgot to pay taxes.. Yoink. Right from your account. They decide they don't like something you do? Transaction declined.

Books are headed this way too. When you use an e-reader, you do not own the book... only the rights to carry and read it (just like with iTunes, really) If BB decided that a particular paragraph is too inflammatory, they can change it... and the change can happen as a software update, that we all agree to at this point. They don't like a title? Deleting it is way easier than a good old book burning.

Edit: Just watched the vid. Um, why more up in arms about the vaping community than the country? The real reason for concern here is draconian measures (I know, I know, that word's been over used in wrong ways.. but it fits here) Government doesn't like it... Government shuts it down. No data to back it up, no FDA testing and approval (or declination)... Nothing but.. "It becoming a real threat to BT, we don't understand it, but we don't like it". If such a ban goes through, and all vaping purchases are monitored and declined.. Don't be mad about the vaping... there is a bigger picture that is being overlooked, and it's way scarier than not being able to buy vaping supplies.

Also, banning anything "Used to make e-cigs"... a vaporizer is a battery, a switch and a wire coil. Good luck banning those items.

 

[CreepyLady]

Now are you saying if you roll into the local truck stop (thousands in Oklahoma) 7-11 type store
and buy e-cigs... the banks know what is being purchased and they will deny... use of peoples cards????

Have you talked directly with any of the B&M's to find out if in store customers
are having their cards refused?

The tiny snippets of legislation I found for a few states say online sales only due to "not having required age verification for tobacco purchase"

 

[klynnn]

It wouldn't surprise me if the vendor name has something to do with it. Any name with ecig/vape in it would be obvious to certain people that want to shut us down.

 

[liquidzoo]

Now are you saying if you roll into the local truck stop (thousands in Oklahoma) 7-11 type store
and buy e-cigs... the banks know what is being purchased and they will deny... use of peoples cards????

Have you talked directly with any of the B&M's to find out if in store customers
are having their cards refused?

Pretty sure that all of the instances I've seen/heard of so far (this one included, I had to read the post twice to make sure) were online purchases.

 

[ingerri]

im in Indiana and just placed a bulk nic order from NC with debit card it went through

 

[patkin]

It isn't just Oklahoma. In the other thread the OP is in Kentucky. If this is a nationwide movement and not just like politico pay pal, it will be a drag and more expense for us via vendors passing on the costs but I guess it will be back to COD or the old paper checks in snail mail. Law suits are what I want to see. Where are the vapers with big bucks? Come on celebrities.

 

[Langdell]

This is quite interesting. I am not in Oklahoma, and I got error messages attempting to make an online purchase from a vape shop in another state. I tried a debit card and two credit cards, all of which work fine for other purposes. I was not able to make the purchase. This happened on Tuesday, so before 1/1/14. Yesterday, however, I was able to make a purchase from a different vendor, using one of the same offending cards.

 

[Orb Skewer]

Could this be security linked to the mysterious $9 withdrawals from accounts?

 

[Rancor0681]

Could this be security linked to the mysterious $9 withdrawals from accounts?

Was thinking the same my card had a decline issue and it ended up being the scam charge.

 

[rico942]

I've been purchasing generic medications from offshore vendors (at about 5 to 10 percent of the domestic cost) for about 10 years now. There was a period of time (around 2007 as I recall) when Bank of America suddenly and without warning started denying charges from any foriegn pharmaceutical distributors, labeling them as "fraudulent". Bank officers that I contacted answered from a script, citing "bank policy to protect consumers". Yeah, right ...

Around the same time, US Customs started holding packages from these same vendors for about an additional week. Inconvenient and frustrating, but not a deal breaker. Coincidence ? Sure ...

These vendors, located in the Seychelles and Vanuatu, provided the option of making international wire transfers of funds to cover purchases. I trusted these vendors, and had done business with them long enough to have confidence. This worked for a few months, then customers were advised that Visa gift cards were working for them, so I used that payment method. Still a bit inconvenient, but worth it for the considerable savings, and the right to spend my money as I pleased ...

In less than a year, B of A was again processing their transactions, the delays in Customs ceased, and all was as it had been ...

While we're all accustomed to making purchases of vaping gear and supplies as easily as any other, if the banks get self-righteous and start rejecting transactions, there are alternatives ...

For the vaping vendors that I trust and deal with regularly, I for one would not be opposed to setting up an account with them, funding it in advance with a transfer, and making purchases against those funds ...

Will arguing with an officer at my local bank yield any satisfaction ? Not likely. Will my displeasure cause them to make an exception ? Equally unlikely ...

Passive resistance has always been an effective tool against oppressive policies ...

Now I'm gonna place a juice order and see if history has repeated itself ...

Update: Well, so far so good. B of A (in SoCal) processed my order from Halo, and it appears on my online statement as "Processing". I'll be watching this one carefully ...

 

[BillyWJ]

The only response to this is to identify the banks doing this, and cease doing business with them.

It's YOUR money, they have no business deciding who you can do business with, and who you can't.