Not unusual at all. The odds of getting the same two numbers in this instance is exactly the same as getting any two random, different numbers.
Added to say, that’s really what you’re arguing further on I think.
Don’t worry Sue, I still reckon that it’s 1 in a million. Any views on next week’s lottery numbers ? 
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I received new 2 cards, 1 from CA in France, the other from NatWest in the UK in the same week, the PIN was the same for both
I wouldn’t expect anything different from you Robert!
To anyone who is convinced the odds are 1 in a million: I have a fresh consignment of magic beans I’m willing to sell for a good price…
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A million euros?
We moved town at the beginning of the 50’s when I was a wee lad. My Mother was issued with a new 4-digit Co-oP Divi number which was the same as my Dad’s car registration. Now what (as Harry Hill would say) are the chances of that?? Well, 1 in 10,000 of course!
None, some of you will not know what the hell I am wittering on about, but others will understand that, when I’m gone and they carve me up, they will find that Divi No. running through every limb like Blackpool Rock.
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Totally agree Graham. Barclays are a nucking fightmare.
Once Upon A Time they used to be quite a good bank - you could go and see your local branch manager who had the authority to issue overdrafts and provide actual customer service. Then it all went corporate and computerised… I had business and personal accounts with them for years - but by the time I ditched them I was having to deal with a “Small Business Relationship Adviser” who was fresh out of college and whose stock answer to every question was “I’ll have to ask my manager”. And of course there was no possibility of getting an appointment with said manager, you were required to deal with the Numpty.
Then I moved to the Turks & Caicos Islands for a few years (long story) and tried to open a personal account with “Barclays International”. They initially turned me down flat, on the grounds that my long banking history with Barclays UK was irrelevant because the UK version “are a different company”.
And of course when my intention to move abroad became known to Barclays UK they unilaterally closed my UK account…
I ended up with Royal Bank of Canada who were (mostly) excellent, except when you wanted to move money from Turks & Caicos to the UK in which case they would lose it for up to four weeks…
Banks - first up against the wall when the revolution comes. 
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I feel your pain @ChrisMann
I too had a “small Business Relationship Manager” who wasn’t even based at our local Branch but worked from home out of the County 
She did once arrange a meeting at my offices with her manager from Head Office and he and I just didn’t get on! I told him in no uncertain terms to piss off out of my office and never come back (perhaps a dangerous manoeuvre in itself as we had a significant o/d facility with them) but I had already been having discussions with another High Street bank who seemed keen to take our business including an increased facility so emboldened by that, the look of shock on my Bankleys relationship manager’s face at being spoken to that way was priceless!
Later that day, my local relationship manager telephoned me to apologise for her manager’s attitude towards me and said that throwing him out of my office was well justified and really shook him up!
I still moved the account though… and was very pleased in the end that we did.
What a tosser!
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Talking about strange things with Bank cards, I had a message from a friend who is in UK currently. She used her Bank card (Mastercard debit card from CA bank here in France) to pay for goods in ASDA. The payment was declined. She said last time she was in UK (2020) it worked fine.
Would this be due to Brexshit? I am assuming there is a problem with a Euro account paying for goods in Sterling….
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Considering it’s completely un-problematic to use UK cards in Europe, it would be a surprise for an internationally recognised card not to work in the UK.
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I spent two weeks in both UK and Ireland during March and had no problems with my Mastercard debit card also from CA. I used Shops, fuel stations and pubs/restaurants without once having a problem.
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Thank you, I’ve passed that on to my friend. She will be contacting her bank on Tuesday.
I don’t want any bank doing anything like this for me. If one of my banks I use did I would kick their bottom.
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I suspect the reply will be that their fraud software noted unusual activity (ie abroad) on the account so they had declined/disabled the card. No matter if you are stuck up the Zambezi without a paddle the computer says no. Nothing pisses me off more than the “we are trying to protect your account” bullshit when all they are doing is protecting their own interests. When I was working I ended up all over the place and after “severe words” many, many years ago my Bank would now never, ever decline a transaction on the credit card I use when travelling. Of course, two factor authorisation makes all this a doddle.
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Yes sometimes banks get overzealous and block cards just because you are outside your normal stamping ground.
I vividly remember having to make a transatlantic call to Lloyds TSB on my mobile, to get them to unblock my Visa card, when I was trying to buy a Canon dSLR in a camera store in Cambridge Massachusetts. It was a fairly expensive camera so I suppose I should have contacted them in advance to alert them to this unusual purchase, but still…
Then again, Nationwide Building Society happily allowed two transactions on my debit card from Macchu Picchu in Peru - a place I have never been to in my life!
Luckily I spotted the transactions on my statement and got them reversed…
Banks - first up against the wall when the revolution comes.
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I bought a laptop in Mass (NH) using a UK issued MBNA credit card and didn’t have any problems.
Might be of some use to someone…
They don’t let me opt out of unnecessary cookies, so I didn’t proceed any further.