Israeli Credit Card Firm Pursues Uninterested Customer Amid Fierce Competition

A fierce competition between Israeli credit card companies, particularly over loyalty programs like El Al's Fly Card, has led to aggressive customer acquisition tactics. Following El Al's decision to switch its Fly Card program from CAL to Isracard in a 10-year, billion-shekel deal, CAL launched a competing card, Play-All, with Isrealair joining the fray. This intense rivalry has prompted companies to employ aggressive marketing, including persistent outreach to potential customers.

One customer, known only as Zohar, became a target of this aggressive pursuit. After initially showing interest in Isracard's Fly Card, she provided some details but did not complete the verification process, as she lacked a valid ID and ultimately decided she didn't need the card. Despite her clear lack of interest and repeated attempts to decline, Isracard allegedly continued to contact her daily for a month via phone and SMS.

To Zohar's surprise, she then received a message stating the card was being issued and was on its way, even though she had not finalized the order or given consent. When she tried to cancel, the customer service representative could not locate the card and disconnected the call. Subsequently, the delivery company contacted her to arrange delivery, but she explicitly stated she did not want the card and instructed them to return it to the sender.

Despite her clear rejections, the delivery company continued to schedule deliveries. Zohar expressed frustration, questioning what more she needed to do to refuse the card. Isracard responded by apologizing for a "human error" that caused a delay in processing her cancellation request, stating the card was canceled immediately after the issue was investigated and that they regretted the inconvenience.