Last week, I discovered what I thought was fraudulant use of my Visa Debit card. I immediately called the bank and reported it, thereby disputing the charge. The reason I thought it was fraudulant was because the charge for Walmart came through as I was entering Trader Joe's the evening before. I wrote down the store numbers determined to do a little Nancy Drew style sleuthing (she always called it that). What I discovered had my jaw on the floor and my fingers punching in the bank's number as fast as I could. I had been to Walmart. The one just around the corner and up the street; a little neighborhood market just perfect for picking up a few items. I went on Sunday. The charge, as legitimate as they come, didn't come through until Monday evening. When the bank representative picked up, I explained what had happened ("...and boy is my face red!") and asked her to please, please, pretty please with sugar on top, undo my faux pas. Stopping the dispute was easy, however, I could kiss my current Visa Debit card goodbye. It's kind of like when God closed the door of the ark and sealed it. If you weren't aboard, you weren't getting aboard. My card was canceled, closed, kaput. I would have to wait for the new one to arrive. Approximately 10 working days. YIKES!!! How was I to live? I needed gas. No card; no Costco gas. I needed groceries...I needed...I needed...
It's interesting. I've always just taken it for granted. I will not be doing that anymore. For gas, I had to go cash a check, find a gas station, go inside and pay, back out to the pumps, and then back inside to get change (a measley $0.73 out of $40.00 for a Chevy Cavalier). I had to be very careful that I didn't over spend when I went to TJ's for a few groceries on Sunday because of the limited amount of cash I had with me. What a pain!
I got my new card yesterday and began the tedious task of changing the accounts that I pay with my card, Neflix, Amazon, and the like. I still can't use it in an ATM because I have to get a new pin number. It comes separately so that no one can use it. I'm hoping it will come tomorrow. Then, if I want a pin number that I come up with, I have to go to the bank to change it.
The moral of this little tale is: Do the Nancy Drew-style sleuthing first and then call if it really is fraudulant. Save yourself the embarrassing agony of being without.
By the way, what did we do before we had ATMs, ATM/Debit, and/or Visa Debit cards? Any one remember?
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