Debit card not working?

Here's why:

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060620215409990007&_ccc=5&cid=842

Stopped by a store to get a bottle of water this morning on my way to play basketball and my damn card wouldn't work. I had no cash on me, so I had to stroll back to the fridge and put the water back. Kind of felt like a walk of shame, 'cause I know everybody in there was thinking, "What a damn bum. Doesn't have a buck-25 in his account."

Called the bank to see what was up and found out they had arbitrarily issued me a new debit card and switched off my old one. Said it was some sort of fraud prevention thing.

 

When was the last time yours worked? That article says they were sent out last week, so if mine worked over the weekend, I'm good, right?

 

My bank did the same thing to me on Memorial Day weekend.

No cash, no gas, no nothin. Bank's 1-800 service number was down all weekend, of course.

When I did get ahold of them on Tuesday morning, it was a 2-hour wait on hold. Finally get connected to a real operator, who says she can provide "temporary authorization" to reactivate my old card, so I can go out to the ATM and get some money. "If there's any problem, call us back immediately." Fine.

Nooooo, wait. I jump in the car, head out to the ATM. "CARD USAGE UNAUTHORIZED."

So I scorch rubber, screech back into my driveway, dial the 1-800 number, wait on hold another 45 minutes, and I am connected -- to the same exact operator. (For all I know, she was the only one working that day.)

Her: "Gee, that's strange, it should have worked. Oh, I see, somebody overrode my authorization order. OK, I'll put through a special order which will specifically activate your card for the next 24 hours at BANK ATMs only."

Me: "Swell, terrific, groovy. That's what you told me last time. How long will it take for the new card to arrive?"

Her: Seven to ten business days."

Me: "Hold it, that ain't good enough. I use this card for everyday living expenses. I got no gas in the car, I'm eating dried ramen noodles because I got no food in the house. I need a card here, like TOMORROW. FedEx it to me. "

Her: "I'm sorry sir, it's already been sent, we cannot order a duplicate unless we certify the first card didn't arrive. My advice is to go and take out enough cash to cover your living expenses for the next 10 days."

Me: "Then, put an authorization order for me to continue to use this card until the next one gets here."

Her: "I'm sorry sir, you can only put ONE re-authorization order on a specific card. Once the 24-hour period is up, that card is permanently deactivated."

Me: "So, after 24 hours, I am shit out of luck until the next card gets here?"

Her: "Not if you take out enough cash to cover your expenses for 7-10 business days."

Me: "Hold it. You say 7-10 BUSINESS days, not 7-10 calendar days. It is Tuesday, May 30, and it's 4:30 p.m., so this whole transaction won't get processed until tomorrow, right?"

Her: "Most likely."

Me: "So, 7-10 business days means -- Wednesday, May 31, Thursday, June 1, and Friday, June 2, are Business Days 1-2-3, right? Then, we have the weekend. Monday-Friday, June 5-9, are Business Days 4-8, right? Then, we have ANOTHER weekend. Then, Monday and Tuesday, June 12-13, are Business Days 9 and 10. So, I am not really very likely to receive this card until Tuesday, June 13, correct?"

Her: "Most likely."

Me: "Oh, THAT'S great. I spend $6-8 bucks a day on gas, maybe $5-$8 on food. So I'm supposed to go take out $200-$300 in cash, and walk away from the ATM, in the middle of the hood, just cuz the bank screwed up MY debit card?"

Her: "I'm afraid so."

Me: SLAM.

In addition, almost all of my recurring monthly bills (utilities, phone, internet, etc.) were being done through debit card -- so now, they're starting to bounce back. Already had my cell phone shut down for four days until I could get THAT shit straightened out.

Thanks a fucking lot for all your "help."

Postscript: I recieved the new card on Friday, June 9. Woo Hoo. : :

 

i've never had this particular problem but whenever i get screwed by some massive company and talk to a faceless, nameless phone operator i like to make them miserable. i know they're just doing their job and it's not their fault they work for a fucked up mega-corporation. but instead of yelling at them, i ask things like "do you know why [Comcast] is the worst company on earth - and i mean that sincerely - i really want to know the answer to this question" or "besides you, because I know this isn't your fault, do you have a single competent person working at [Comcast]?"

 

This is why my cash is under my mattress.

 

Am I the only person in America who still has a checkbook?

 

I have one, but I only use it to write my rent check. That's it.

 

Same here.

 

I have one, but I never, ever, ever use it -- and a lot of places won't take them anymore.

 

I was kinda wondering the same thing. Wal-Mart takes checks, so does Sam's.
You don't have to write the check out, just sign it and they run it through a printer. Done.
Kroger, the grocery store in my neighborhood, takes checks as well.
You can even write checks for cash there, and I think Wal-Mart lets you write over the amount and will give the cash difference.
That takes care of food and gas, pretty much everything.
So I don't see a problem, or am I missing something?

 

I still am not convinced that I need a debit card. I just have a plain ol' ATM card and some credit cards (plus a checkbook; I still write a few checks a month). I've heard too many stories of people having trouble with recovering money after their debit cards were lost or stolen. I also don't like the idea of some places not requiring that you enter a PIN when you use a debit card for a transaction either. Too easy for money to be stolen. The story linked above could apply just as easily to an ATM card, too, so I'm not specifically referring to that, but I know a few too many people who've had debit card issues to want to have one. Of course, my bank doesn't see it that way and it's always been a hassle to get an ATM card, not a debit card.

 

Ditto. And I use it to make my car payments each month.