Why a Store Is Blocked

The three controls

• Kind of store. Every merchant is categorized, such as restaurants, gas, groceries, or cash-like businesses. A card can allow only some categories, or block specific ones.
• One merchant. A single store can be blocked even when its category is allowed.
• Time. A card can be limited to shoot days or certain hours. Outside that window every store declines, not just one.

The category is not always what the sign says

The card sees the category the merchant uses, not the words on the door. A market can come through as a liquor store. A gas station can come through as fuel even if you only bought coffee. A decline that feels unfair is often that mismatch.

The person who set the card up can change it. Crew cannot override a block from the register. Retrying will not help until the category, the merchant, or the hours are changed.

Blocks are there so wrap is quieter

A blocked store is the card doing what the production asked. It is cheaper to decline a purchase that should not be on the show than to find it in the books later. If the purchase is legitimate, ask the accountant to open that category or that merchant for the card, for as long as the crew needs it.

Frequently asked questions

The card works at other stores. Why not this one?

That kind of store, or that specific merchant, is blocked on the card. Ask the production to allow it if the purchase belongs on the show.

Can a card be limited to certain hours?

Yes. Outside those hours the card declines everywhere, not only at one store.

Who changes the block?

The production. Crew see the decline. They do not turn the control off themselves at the register.

Is a blocked store the same as a declined card?

A block is one reason for a decline. An empty account, a used-up limit, or a pending hold can decline a card at a store that is allowed.

Keep reading

• Why Was My Card Declined?
• Using a Card Outside the United States
• Adding Money to a Production Account
• Dolly P-Cards