sigh.
anyway, as i was about to say (but could not because i had to go to work), first great western rail lines is now about to receive about 500-600 pounds (pounds, mind you) of my money, even though neither they nor i have any record of me actually purchasing any train tickets.
basically, yesterday i was trying to buy some tickets to go visit my aunt jan in devon over easter weekend on the first great western website. however, every time i entered my credit card information and pressed the "continue" button to reach the final leg of the process, i got a message that there had been an "error in validation."
i thought maybe this was the fault of my internet connection, which can be a bit dodgy at times, so i tried again. again, and again, and again. five times, specifically. then i tried with my new regular credit card, just in case it was a card-related problem. every time i got the same message: "error in validation."
i checked my bank account online to see if any charges had appeared, but there was nothing. nor did i receive any email confirmations of purchase. even today, when i logged onto my FGWtickets.co.uk account, there were no records of any bookings by me. so at that point i resolved to give up and try ordering tickets by phone at a later date.
imagine my dismay when i woke up to an email from my mom saying that my checking account was overdrawn. horrified, i went back to my online banking site, and my fears were confirmed: for each of the six (unsuccessful) attempts i had made to purchase tickets from FGW, there was a charge of about $211 (108 pounds), on both my debit and credit cards. i shouldn't say "was," really, because they're still there, waiting to post to my account as soon as the MLK holiday is over.
i might be a little less angry if this had resulted in me accidentally purchasing six sets of train tickets. however, the facts are:
-my checking account is empty,
-my savings account has been forced to provide my checking account with $400 in overdraft protection money,
-my available credit is down $211, and
-I DIDN'T EVEN MANAGE TO BUY ANY FUCKING TRAIN TICKETS.
FUCK.
so i emailed FGW, and after a bit of correspondence they have told me that they can start a refund process (which usually takes 15 or more days) if i can send them a bank statement.
problem is, my bank statements don't post until the end of the month. granted, february starts next week, but nine days is a long time to wait around when you're down to your last $500 in traveler's cheques and you need to buy food. (i suppose i shouldn't be so dramatic; 250 pounds could support me for a little while, and my mom did say that she could transfer some more funds into my checking account if all else failed.
BUT STILL.)
anyway, i called my bank and learned that nothing can be done until the charges actually post to my account, which could be as late as wednesday afternoon. once that's done i can request a snapshot of my checking account to send to FGW and file a dispute on the charge to my credit card.
and maybe, a few weeks or months after that, i'll actually have enough money again to buy some train tickets.
basically, yesterday i was trying to buy some tickets to go visit my aunt jan in devon over easter weekend on the first great western website. however, every time i entered my credit card information and pressed the "continue" button to reach the final leg of the process, i got a message that there had been an "error in validation."
i thought maybe this was the fault of my internet connection, which can be a bit dodgy at times, so i tried again. again, and again, and again. five times, specifically. then i tried with my new regular credit card, just in case it was a card-related problem. every time i got the same message: "error in validation."
i checked my bank account online to see if any charges had appeared, but there was nothing. nor did i receive any email confirmations of purchase. even today, when i logged onto my FGWtickets.co.uk account, there were no records of any bookings by me. so at that point i resolved to give up and try ordering tickets by phone at a later date.
imagine my dismay when i woke up to an email from my mom saying that my checking account was overdrawn. horrified, i went back to my online banking site, and my fears were confirmed: for each of the six (unsuccessful) attempts i had made to purchase tickets from FGW, there was a charge of about $211 (108 pounds), on both my debit and credit cards. i shouldn't say "was," really, because they're still there, waiting to post to my account as soon as the MLK holiday is over.
i might be a little less angry if this had resulted in me accidentally purchasing six sets of train tickets. however, the facts are:
-my checking account is empty,
-my savings account has been forced to provide my checking account with $400 in overdraft protection money,
-my available credit is down $211, and
-I DIDN'T EVEN MANAGE TO BUY ANY FUCKING TRAIN TICKETS.
FUCK.
so i emailed FGW, and after a bit of correspondence they have told me that they can start a refund process (which usually takes 15 or more days) if i can send them a bank statement.
problem is, my bank statements don't post until the end of the month. granted, february starts next week, but nine days is a long time to wait around when you're down to your last $500 in traveler's cheques and you need to buy food. (i suppose i shouldn't be so dramatic; 250 pounds could support me for a little while, and my mom did say that she could transfer some more funds into my checking account if all else failed.
BUT STILL.)
anyway, i called my bank and learned that nothing can be done until the charges actually post to my account, which could be as late as wednesday afternoon. once that's done i can request a snapshot of my checking account to send to FGW and file a dispute on the charge to my credit card.
and maybe, a few weeks or months after that, i'll actually have enough money again to buy some train tickets.