My Credit Card Debacle
On Sunday, I went grocery shopping, as I tend to do nearly every Sunday. I gathered my thirty dollars of groceries, including apples and boxed stuffing, both of which were on sale, and went to check out at the register. The cashier rang up all my items, hit the “student” button to give me my well-deserved 5% discount, and I then proceeded to swipe my credit card.
The cash register beeped rudely. The cashier told me my card had been declined. So I swiped again. Again, my actions were met by a rude beep. I swiped yet a third time, and yet a third time, the feedback informed me that my card would not be welcome at Met Foods that day. No biggie, I figured, I’ll just use my debit card.
I swiped, and the machine asked for my PIN. I popped in the familiar four-digit code, and heard the rude beep yet again. Uh oh. The cashier suggested that I swipe it as a credit card, so I did so, only to be met by the familiar E-flat tone. [Actually I don’t know nearly enough music to know what note it was. I just thought it would sound better if I suggested I did.]
Well obviously I had a serious problem. I usually don’t carry thirty dollars of cash on my person, and the machine didn’t want to take either of my cards. I swiped my mom’s card, which the machine accepted, and proceeded to call my bank, Bank of America. Here’s what I learned:
Some vendor (probably online) that has my credit card and debit card numbers was compromised (possibly hacked, possibly internal issues, who knows). They told Visa, and Visa told BoA. BoA canceled both of my cards and issued me new ones, sending an explanation and the new cards to my address on file. In Houston.
Well apparently the cards arrived in Houston, so claims my mother, but since I’m not in Houston, I would have no way of knowing this! Luckily, Bank of America, after asking me twenty different questions to ensure my identity, agreed to ship new cards to me in NYC.
Wow. What a nightmare. So for the next week, I have to either avoid spending, or use my mom’s card and transfer the cash via Online Banking. Not a big deal really, and I suppose it’s better this way than having my identity stolen, which is the alternative. Still though, I submit that there is little more embarrassing than having your cards turned down, with other people waiting in line behind you.
This happened to me and one of my housemates, too, in August. Sucky part was that we were both on vacation, her in Canada and me 4 states away from home. BOA didn’t call or email, and neither of us were home to get the letter. We were both pretty pissed off about it.
Aww man that sucks!