This week had a high point for me in that I won a competition with Performance Ford magazine and gained an interesting book written by one of Ford's RS designers and some stickers.
I emailed them over my details so they could post the prizes out to me and mentioned a summary of Juliette as my toy. They replied almost immediately with a request for images, so keep your eyes open if you read PF Magazine.
Those of you that read my previous blog fed back how much you enjoyed my suffering at the hands of royal mail on a regular basis, and as such, I'll share my joyful day with you.
There is a tenuous link to the run, so not entirely off blog topic, but in the abscence of anything else to write about, I'm going to take this opportunity to have a moan...
Yesterday afternoon I tried to pay my phone bill, by telephone, using a bank debit card. Fair enough, so I telephoned them to make payment.
Having got past their automated switchboard and selected pay bill, advised which number I was phoning from, then typed in the phone number I wanted to pay the bill for, it then asked me to key in my bill amount. To be fair, I have no idea so when prompted I selected the text my balance option and waited rather than be disconnected.
That came through so I punched in precisely what they already knew my balance to be, opted confirm, then slowly keyed in my bank card number, then expiry date, then CSC security number, then my digits from my postcode and I waited for the usual payment reference you expect. I didn't get that. What I got was "Your payment has been declined".
Occasionally I have trouble hitting the right numbers on the touch screen, so assumed naturally I had mis-keyed something. I got through to an operator who patiently explained she couldn't advise me why it hadn't gone through. I patiently advised her I had probably buggered it up at my end, could she take the details again. We went through the whole process again (which involved a couple of minutes of me trying to remember my o2 password) to be met with "sorry...".
A little miffed, I figured I'd deal with it in the morning and trundled off to see a client. Soon as I got in the car, the little orange diesel logo appeared on the display and the read out told me I had only got 30 or so miles left. Not trusting my card for a debit purchase, I figured I'd chance it as the client was due to pay me that evening. 15 miles each way, I played the gamble.
I stopped off on the way to my destination at a cash point and checked my balance... yep, plenty of funds available, no worries. Unfortunately, the client didn't pay me in cash so I needed a cash point stop. It's only on the way back that I stopped to draw cash out that the machine told me to bugger off.
Balance = enough, available balance - same, issuing = nothing.
I made it back on fumes and prayers, with a steady slow drive and figured I'd look into it this morning.
So this morning, I nipped out to ASDA's cash machine to be greeted with the same numbers, but again, not letting me have anything. It's my bloody money, let me have it. A little anger had started to work it's way into my system. I drove off towards my closest Barclays working my insults through in my head.
I got there, I walked in and was met at Havant Barclays by the most cheerful and helpful bloke I have ever met. To lay into him with a torrent of adjectives and verbs would be like kicking a newborn puppy... it can't be done. Maybe that's why he was in the customer comforting role?
Anyway, he heard my story, took my details and ushered me to a Personal Banking Manager. Posh title, and another cheerful employee. I want to rip them new ones and the frustration was getting a bit much but they were useful. I then got told I had a fraud marker on my account. Always worrying, but they phoned the fraud team up to see what was occuring.
The fraud lady said there was unusual activity on the account so they had frozen it "for my best interests". How precisely is not letting me have any money in my best interests? They have my contact details, bloody phone me. I won't mind. If I've used my card, I've used it. If I haven't, then thank you. Dont just block it and not tell me.
After a bit of a drawn out convo, it appears that I had used my card "out of character"... Had I paid for a Thai bride? Had I used it abroad? Maybe even bought some flowers for the wifelet? All of these would be out of the norm, but no.
The reason my card was stopped and the buggers wouldn't give me anything is because I had spent £50 or so............
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on bloody eBay! Buying the rear shocks for the cabriolet (told you there was a link).
Barely a week goes by without me buying something on eBay. It's what I do you morons. I have a sellers account on there linked to my bank account. There are countless ins and outs every month. How the bloody hell is that out of character? Livid.
Anyway, I would like to end this entry with a simple few words....
If you want to open a bank account where you can't use your own money, Barclays.
Gonads.
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