No post today. Except for this post.
So anyway, if you follow my Twitter account, and you probably shouldn’t, it’s terrible, you’ve likely seen my latest set of travails. In this case, someone gained unauthorized access to my store’s bank account and withdrew some cash via an online payment somewhere or ‘nother.
As such, that has occupied my days since I discovered the perfidy on Friday evening, especially since at every turn I seem to get the runaround for a bit before finally acquiring the assistance I need.
For example: I go to the local branch of my bank. They tell me they can’t help, I have to call the customer service line. I go back to the store, call said line. They tell me no, I have to call the fraud department’s number on the back of my store credit card. I call that number, get told “why are you calling me? You need to report this at your branch.” So I go back to the branch, and then they figure out what paperwork I need to fill out, etc. etc. So, you know, in case anyone was wondering why I opened the shop an hour late on Friday.
The solution to this issue is “close the old account, open a new one,” which is seemingly fine…the old account is frozen to withdrawals, but I can receive deposits, which is good in this heavily credit-card focused economy. And I thought I was good, with no pending payments out in the wild that would try to draw on that account, except I totally forgot about the payment I mailed to Diamond Friday morning for the weekly comic shipment, which they will attempt to deposit by Wednesday or Thursday. Therefore, I have an early call to Diamond to make Monday, warning them about this little problem. I can theoretically tell the bank “look out for that check, make sure it gets paid from wherever my money is,” but being told it “should” work, and “maybe” there’s not a problem doesn’t instill me with confidence.
In short, it’s been a huge aggravation, getting in the way of anything I wanted to do at the shop for the last couple of days. Part of it is my fault, in that one piece of paper I really needed to file with the bank, the one I was sure I put in a safe place, wasn’t where it was supposed to be, so I tore up the store looking for the stupid thing for quite a while.
But at this point, aside from some paperwork I need to finish up tonight, I’m pretty much ready to head back to the bank and finally get that new account opened. And then spend my Monday updating that info at the various locations that need it. And hoping that Diamond check gets clearly properly. All in all, I hope that few hundred dollars this person got away with made them happy enough so that it was worth all the aggravation I had to go through.
With any luck, things will be back to relative normalcy shortly, and I can go back to posting about DC’s multiverse and whatnot. Thanks for your patience, pals, and I’ll be back at it soon.
I was just gonna post some sympathy (my wife went through a similar struggle recently) but then I saw the immediate prior post and need to say that this is *weird*.
And I am sure that link is totally safe…
“All in all, I hope that few hundred dollars this person got away with made them happy enough so that it was worth all the aggravation I had to go through.”
–“Ah, some easy ill-gotten cash, perfect for spending on pogs!”
But seriously, sorry this happened, Mike. I went through a similar event a few years ago when somebody used my credit card number to stay at a luxury hotel in Singapore and run up huge bills. (And why did the CC company not think it suspicious that I was suddenly on a continent I’ve never been to?!) A real pain getting everything settled! Hope things run smoothly for you in getting this taken care of.
Walaka – ugh, how’d that get past the spam filter. I don’t think I even saw an email notification for this. I was wondering what you meant by “that link!”
re: the run-around you had to endure.
whenever i’ve been in a situation like this it always amazes me how it seems that i am the first person to ever have the specific problem.
Sorry this happened Mike. Good luck with Diamond.
Banks are so gawddamn stupid!!
I’m so sorry to hear this. I hope everything gets squared away.
I don’t know where you do business, Mike, but several twitter pals have been having big problems of late (data breach?) with Ally Bank.
— MrJM
Nothing worse than unhelpful people when you’re in the middle of a crappy situation. Sorry to hear of your trouble, hope it all gets sorted out soon.
Take comfort in knowing that on the Crime Syndicate’s Earth, YOU stole money from this jackass. That’s kinda like revenge, no?
Oh, man, Mike, I’m sorry to hear this. Hope things are smooth sailing once you get things sorted out, and that things with Diamond work out OK.
Sorry to hear you had to deal with this nonsense. I’ve only had my personal credit card number stolen, and it was resolved comparatively quickly, but even that was a pain. I hope you’re at the end of the process.