Problems paying TMo with debit card

[Ten Four]

Several times now, over the period of the past few months, Ally Bank has rejected my TMo phone charge, even though previously they had accepted the autopay for a period of months. Calls to my bank have been useless, with agents basically saying it is TMo's fault for the way they submit the charges. I don't want to lose my autopay discounts on two different accounts paid for with this debit card. So far, I have been able to manually pay the bill within a day of being alerted the charge was rejected, but I could easily miss the alert and find my bill hasn't been paid. Is anyone else having problems like this?

[PaulCrawhorne]

It is so easy, quick and free to open multiple bank accounts and fintech apps that give you multiple cards to use

the solution is to just switch to a different one when there are glitches.

For those of your banks which are Zelle partners then transfers between them are instant and free.

Connecting gPay between the rest is nearly as good.

I have many dozens, you just need to stay organized.

[Ten Four]

I have many dozens, you just need to stay organized.

Sounds complicated! I'd like to keep things simple, which is what we had when credit cards were allowed--I never had a payment rejected over many years. Now using a debit card I have had several failed payments recently.

[PaulCrawhorne]

Yes CCs are MUCH better than DCs for the consumer to make online payments.

Just more expensive for the merchant

[jet1000]

Several times now, over the period of the past few months, Ally Bank has rejected my TMo phone charge, even though previously they had accepted the autopay for a period of months. Calls to my bank have been useless, with agents basically saying it is TMo's fault for the way they submit the charges. I don't want to lose my autopay discounts on two different accounts paid for with this debit card. So far, I have been able to manually pay the bill within a day of being alerted the charge was rejected, but I could easily miss the alert and find my bill hasn't been paid. Is anyone else having problems like this?

Does Ally Bank give you an account number and bank routing number so that you can setup a payment method using that option instead of the actual Debit Card number?

T-Mobile allows payments with that method and that will also count toward your autopay discount. When you're in your payment methods in your T-Mobile account, select Add a Bank instead of Add a Card. Perhaps that will work correctly.

[kaZZoo]

As many times as T-Mob has been compromised, i wouldn’t trust them to keep my info safe.

[Ten Four]

As many times as T-Mob has been compromised, i wouldn’t trust them to keep my info safe.

Yeah, I really don't feel safe giving TMo my banking information for direct debit. At least with the debit card I can set some limits on how much can be drawn out and how.

Does Ally Bank give you an account number and bank routing number so that you can setup a payment method using that option instead of the actual Debit Card number?

[Serial Port]

I think the OP needs to talk with T-Mobile billing to figure out why the payments are being rejected at their end. If Ally confirms that the account is in good standing then the two institutions need to figure this out amongst themselves. The OP needs to be calm, but firm with both parties and should demand an explanation.

[jet1000]

Yeah, I really don't feel safe giving TMo my banking information for direct debit. At least with the debit card I can set some limits on how much can be drawn out and how.

I have never really understood that concern. If I write someone a physical check it has the bank routing number and my account number printed right there on the bottom. I have zero concern that they are going to get any more than the amount on the check (even though they have "my banking information.")

Nor do I have any concern that T-Mobile is going to do an ACH transaction for more than my monthly bill.

But if you have that concern, as PaulCrawhorne suggested, you'll just have to find another bank with a different debit card that T-Mobile will accept.

[Ten Four]

If Ally confirms that the account is in good standing then the two institutions need to figure this out amongst themselves.

I've spoken to two different Ally reps on the phone and they couldn't explain what is going on. They both said it must be something about how TMobile is making the charges, but that seems unlikely since things worked correctly for months before it stopped working. I think the only hope will be to somehow reach higher ups in Ally. Both reps sounded confused when they looked at my record of having made all these payments without problems in the past. I have also tried commenting on the app, and I did get a response telling me to resubmit my information to another email address, which I did. I have heard nothing further.

[PaulCrawhorne]

it has the bank routing number and my account number printed right there on the bottom.

That and your name is all that's needed for a fraudster to empty your account

And whether or not / how quickly you get made whole, is entirely up to how good your bank is.

The saving grace is, you likely only write checks to trustworthy parties.

But being swept up in a huge breach is a different story.

Best to err on the side of caution.

[PaulCrawhorne]

It's easy to say "it should work" and "get them to fix it"

but if you value your time, just open a new account.

I just signed up today with M&T to get a $350 SUB, they are a full Zelle partner, the whole thing took less than two minutes to get my Routing info, the Debit will arrive Wednesday.

I just did a count, and I have accounts with 89 FIs.

Needham Bank is my top reco, CapOne pretty good.

Lili and Dave are fintech apps, prepaid only so just top up as needed.

CashApp is best avoided though.

[jet1000]

That and your name is all that's needed for a fraudster to empty your account

That's just the type of false information used to scare people. It's not true.

Do you know someone who has received a physical paycheck? How often have you heard of them using only the info on the check to empty the employers account? It's just not going to happen.

If there was anything so confidential about routing numbers & account numbers, they would stop printing them on the bottom of checks and switch to a different system. But they don't. Because there is no issue.

[PaulCrawhorne]

I'm not saying routine idiot scammers can do it, but yes it can and does happen.

Such standards only change when the shrinkage %ages are too large to just build into your Cost of Business pasded through to customers

[jamssx]

I have never really understood that concern. If I write someone a physical check it has the bank routing number and my account number printed right there on the bottom. I have zero concern that they are going to get any more than the amount on the check (even though they have "my banking information.")

Hate to tell you Jet but if you live in an urban area in particular, check washing is a huge issue. Mailboxes are being robbed and checks removed from envelopes. These are then altered (known as washing) to pay someone else for larger amounts. Only put envelopes with checks in the mail at a Post Office or hand directly to the mail carrier. I have a friend who was making a charitable donation and ended up having to fight his bank for thousands of dollars because of this. You again have less protections than you might think compared to a credit card.