It's always embarrasing to try to pay a bill and find out that you don't have enough money in the account to cover it. But it is equally, if not more embarrasing to be told that in front of several people, including friends.
This happened to me just recently and I felt compelled to warn others to check with their banks so the same doesn't occur to you.
I had a full basket of groceries and was in line to pay. The line behind me was quite long and as the check out clerk wrapped up her scanning duties and totaled my amount, I scanned my debit card only to find it would not work. The store clerk took my card to manually scan it, however this was to no avail. Of course, the natural conclusion of folks is that I don't have enough money in the bank to cover the expense, however I was sure that was not the case. She entered the info again and politely advised me it still would not work. Having no other alternative to pay, I asked the checker to hold the basket for me while I called the bank. The clerk announced to the bagger to do so and I gave a somewhat embarrassed "I'm sorry" smile to the long line of customaers behind me. To make matters worse, the checker was a friend and the wife of one of my church's Pastors.
I called BofA's customer service and was advised that they believed my card info had been "compromised" and that my card was now permanently blocked. The rep went on to say that the "good news" was that the bank had already sent me a replacement card, which I should have received in the mail by now. I had not received any card nor any other correspondence from the bank advising me of this situation. I advised the rep that I needed gas for my car and groceries for the weekend so please unblock the card. After discussing the issue with the BofA rep and then with the rep's supervisor, I was advised that there was no way they could un-block the card. After embarrassing myself more by letting the store clerk know I would not be able to pay for the groceries, I went home, angry.
I Googled the issue and came up with several news articles about Bank of America's debit card info being compromised due to an apparent hacking of their server and a lack of their security. I stayed home since I had no gas to do any extra driving till Monday morning when I would be driving straight to the bank to get the issue resolved. When I arrived at the bank, I found that they mailed out my replacement card, not to the address on my checks and not to the address my statement comes to. No, they mailed out the replacement card to an address I haven't lived at for over 2 years. They issued me a temporary card until my permanent card arrived. The permanent card has not arrived yet at the time of this blog.
I urge you to check with your bank now to make sure your card info has not been compromised. You don't want to find out when your in line at the store, or traveling far away from home. Good Luck!
By the way, if you or someone you know is at risk of losing a home to foreclosure, please know that there are new options available to avoid this devastating occurrence. And know that there is someone here you can trust to help. As a Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist, I understand the ins and outs of Short Sales and Loan Modifications. I am also a Wachovia and World Bank trained Pre-Foreclosure expert and well educated in the Government’s new H.A.F.A. and H.A.M.P. programs for helping homeowners facing foreclosure.
CLICK HERE TO AVOID FORECLOSURE
Are you a buyer looking for a home? CLICK HERE TO SEARCH ALL AVAILABLE HOMES
Comments(5)