Have you used or do you know about using prepaid Mastercard or Visa Gift Cards to purchase B12 online?

[_Rose]

Hello to all at Health Unlocked,

I have just joined your site after visiting and researching for a while.

As a long time sufferer of chronic exhaustion and while waiting for results of blood tests I have decided to be proactive about a better quality of life for myself, so I'm making queries about purchasing B12 injections.

I hope the forum can help me with how to pay for an order from one of the German sites. I have emailed each several times enquiring about making payments using prepaid Mastercard or Visa Gift Cards.

I have tried to explain that they are different from credit cards, more like single use debit cards that you top up, but they do not seem to understand and keep answering simplistically about regular credit cards.

Gift Cards are suppose to be accepted widely everywhere Mastecard & Visa are, but there is a lot of controversy online about these gift cards not being accepted and scams, so I wanted confirmation from the sites themselves.

I also wanted to know if there is a purchase order minimum limit, so I could try with a small order first to make sure it would go through.

* And as they only mention paying with Euros and as I'm in the UK using pounds how does that work?

Sorry for such a long post, but I only use specific store gift cards online as I do not

want any risk of access to a linked bank account.

If anyone knows of a simpler more secure way to pay please feel free to let me know.

Many thanks to anyone who takes the time to help me out, your kindness is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

A

[wedgewood]

I’m sorry that I know nothing about the prepaid cards that you mention . I understand that you want to be as careful as possible . I always use PayPal when I purchase B12 ampoules from the online German pharmacies . But I have noticed that they also accept Amazon pay for purchases . So if you have an Amazon account you could make use of this facility, which I understand is pretty secure .

[_Rose in reply to wedgewood]

Thank you for your quick reply Wedgewood, what about currency please - they only mention paying with Euros and as I'm in the UK using pounds how does that work?

Many thanks for your time, much appreciated.

A

[wedgewood in reply to _Rose]

No need to worry about Euros . They are automatically converted at the going rate into pounds , before your very eyes ! Do go

ahead and try to use your prepaid cards though . I think that they will work

The German online pharmacies are strictly controlled by the German Health authorities and are above board . Best wishes .

[_Rose in reply to wedgewood]

Thank you again wedgewood.

A

[Hidden]

It's probably just fine to use prepaid. Worst that happens they reject it and don't ship? Sometimes a larger amount is placed on the card as a retainer before the charge can be verified, but online it should be instant. I don't know in the UK but most credit cards have insurance protecting you against fraud. I had my card used abroad before and was no problem to get it refunded and a new card.

Amazon Pay is another option that shows up when available, just like PayPal, pay with 'Amazon Pay', so if you see if that is just a click to login to your Amazon account and pay with Amazon as an intermediary.

Goodluck!

[_Rose in reply to Hidden]

Thank you InfiniteYawns.

A

[deniseinmilden]

I know how frustrating feeling rough is and you get 10/10 in my book for being so proactive when you are feeling rough but I'm just thinking that your results won't take much longer in the grand scheme of things and it might be good to wait for them to come back, incase you want to retest or do further tests.

The other caveat is that it is advisable to get your first test done at a health centre in the extremely rare chance that you get an allergic reaction to the jab.

If your Dr has done the tests and they do come back low they are likely to give you at least the loading doses and then you will know if it is the B12. They can also test for folate and maybe help you with supplements for this too.

After that it definitely seems like SI is the best option to get your body the treatment it needs - if that is what the problem is!

If your B12 test results come back truly OK - generally >400, then you should be looking at other possible causes - maybe iron, folate, vitamin D deficiencies or thyroid problems might be your next things to investigate.

But apart from that I found that the easiest and safest way to pay abroad is to set up a PayPal account - go to PayPal online and follow their easy instructions - and then your accounts are automatically one step removed. Mine's paid by my credit card so is actually 2 steps away from my debit account.

PayPal then automatically works out the taxes, currency, exchange rates, etc and makes it completely simple (which was essential for me when my brain was so foggy. All the pharmacies I've looked at all accept PayPal. And you can use it as a safe way to order other items online - like your needles and syringes - too.

Good luck with it!

[_Rose in reply to deniseinmilden]

Thank you deniseinmilden.