Monday, October 13, 2008

Crappy Monday

Today was the most craptastical Monday in a long time. Anything that could go wrong did.

The icing on the cake was discovering my debit card number had been stolen somehow. Not my credit card, but my debit card! As in my checking account, with money, to pay bills.

Called the bank and there wasn't much they could do today since its Columbus Day. They'll be sending me a letter tomorrow that I need to sign and send back to confirm, in writing, that all the charges over the weekend were not made by me.

In the meantime, my debit card has been cancelled and I need to wait for a new one. The kicker is that the bank needs to do an "investigation" into the charges, which can take up to 90 days. I won't get my money back until the investigation is complete.

I don't know about you guys, but losing a chunk of my checking account for 90 days can have some disastrous consequences. I'm going to go into my bank branch in person tomorrow to see if there's anyway to speed that up.

I'm going to go have some chocolate therapy now.

8 comments:

Kristina P. said...

Oh no!!! I'm so sorry. That is terrible. The only thing we've had happen is someone opened a phone account in Adam's name, but we disputed it and it was dissolved.

I hope it works out!

Laura said...

Oh wow, how horrible! I'm so sorry to hear that! I can't believe the bank is going to make you wait 90 days to get your own money back, when you were the victim of fraud! How are you supposed to feed your daughter or pay bills in the meantime???

I don't know if you have anything similar there in NYC, but my local newspaper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, has a financial columnist who helps people resolve problems with banks, creditors, etc. I wrote to her last year about a warranty dispute I had over a nightstand I bought for my daughter, and she was able to help me get a replacement.

Another thing to consider is contacting the Office of Thrift Supervison. It's a government agency that has regulatory control over banks. Here's a link: http://www.ots.treas.gov/?p=ConsumerComplaintsInquiries.

Caroline said...

Que horror chica! Lo siento! what a royal pain in the neck! I totally know what you mean about being shorted the $$$in your checking account. we wouldn't be able to amnage either, somethng would have to left unpaid. I'll be hoping that you get a speedy resolve to your dilemna!

Bezzie said...

90 days? That's insane!!!

Karen said...

What bank are you with? Chase? Because that's the same line that they gave me when my debit card number was stolen and used to purchase stuff in France. My $$ was back in my account fairly quickly. Call them again today and talk to them again to see if they get get you the $$ quicker. Use the kid/family/bills lines....

Anonymous said...

omigosh! That is horrible! I feel for you, I know what that is like! (((Many huggzzz))))

Anonymous said...

OMG! That's insanely awful! I am so sorry this have happened to you. Just another testament to how much Mondays really do suck.
I can't believe it takes so long to resolve! It's not your doggone fault.

Anonymous said...

OMG! That's insanely awful! I am so sorry this have happened to you. Just another testament to how much Mondays really do suck.
I can't believe it takes so long to resolve! It's not your doggone fault.