Very Suspcious
Back in January I had a few money problems and had to scramble to pay rent, then try to live extra-frugally for a couple of weeks. At some point during this time I downloaded a song from Amazon. 1 song only, I figured I'd be just fine. I normally don't have a lot of money free on my credit card but I make payments every pay period so it's rarely a problem.
This time it was a problem. But I wasn't worried. I got paid in a couple of days, I made a payment on my card, and I figured my little 1-song purchase would go through.
Amazon has a funny way of wording these things by the way. They tell you that your payment has been declined and the order has been cancelled, and you'll have reorder it. But of course, you've already downloaded the song so that doesn't make any sense. Anyway, this wasn't the first time I've made this mistake over the years, and they always bill you again and everything's fine.
That Friday I realized that my card still wasn't working. But I figured I'd only made my payment a couple of days earlier, so give it the weekend to work itself out. In the meantime, most of the things I use my card online for I could also use Paypal for. I called my bank to verify my card balance but didn't do anything else since I figured it was my fault in the first place.
The next week goes by, and I find out again on Friday that my card still doesn't work. I'm not sure why, but it's already late Friday and I can't do anything about it. And I get paid again the following week, so I figure if nothing else, another, bigger payment on my card will solve the problem. In the meantime, it's probably a good thing that my balance us going down and not up.
There are only two things that I'm unable to pay for with Paypal: my web site hosting, which is $8.00 a month, and that Amazon 1 song purchase. I get paid Wednesday, I make a big payment on my card, I check Thursday and my payment still won't go through for the web hosting.
So today's Friday. I tried again, then called my bank. Here's how the conversation goes:
1. They don't have my new phone number. They need this. They need me to give it to them in writing. When informed that I've had the same number for over 10 years, they tell me that they've never had that number in their records. I don't know why, they have my current address after all.
2. When I ask if this is why I can't use my card, they transfer me to their credit department. I somehow thought the problem would be more complicated, but actually my credit union handles everything themselves. If my card is declined, it's because THEY declined it.
3. I'm told that there's been a hold on my credit card since Feb 11th because of a suspicious charge. The charge was for $1.00 from Google. They recommend that I get a new card, just to be safe. When I ask them why a $1.00 charge from Google would be suspicious, they don't really have an answer. Do I know what the charge is? Not from the information provided, but after all I use my card online for purchases so it doesn't seem unusual that I might have bought something through a Google market interface.
4. They tell me that they don't have my phone number and could't contact me about the hold. Which is kind of odd, since I distinctly remember them calling me about a "suspicious" charge once before in the last six months or so. Why did they have my number back then, but not now? But anyway, she's happy to take my phone number over the phone, even though I had just been told that they needed it in writing from the other person I talked to.
5. Bear in mind that I deposit my checks in person every 2 weeks, in a small credit union where the people recognize me. And I've called them often about my account, especially in the last couple of months. Nobody ever said, "Oh, by the way, we need your phone number!"
6. Anyway, the hold was removed and instantly my card works again. I checked my e-mail afterwards and discovered that Feb 11th is when I purchased that 1 song download from Amazon.
So, in conclusion:
1. It's apparently suspicious when Amazon wants me to pay $1.00 for a song that I downloaded.
2. $1.00 was preventing me from using my card for anything at all.
This time it was a problem. But I wasn't worried. I got paid in a couple of days, I made a payment on my card, and I figured my little 1-song purchase would go through.
Amazon has a funny way of wording these things by the way. They tell you that your payment has been declined and the order has been cancelled, and you'll have reorder it. But of course, you've already downloaded the song so that doesn't make any sense. Anyway, this wasn't the first time I've made this mistake over the years, and they always bill you again and everything's fine.
That Friday I realized that my card still wasn't working. But I figured I'd only made my payment a couple of days earlier, so give it the weekend to work itself out. In the meantime, most of the things I use my card online for I could also use Paypal for. I called my bank to verify my card balance but didn't do anything else since I figured it was my fault in the first place.
The next week goes by, and I find out again on Friday that my card still doesn't work. I'm not sure why, but it's already late Friday and I can't do anything about it. And I get paid again the following week, so I figure if nothing else, another, bigger payment on my card will solve the problem. In the meantime, it's probably a good thing that my balance us going down and not up.
There are only two things that I'm unable to pay for with Paypal: my web site hosting, which is $8.00 a month, and that Amazon 1 song purchase. I get paid Wednesday, I make a big payment on my card, I check Thursday and my payment still won't go through for the web hosting.
So today's Friday. I tried again, then called my bank. Here's how the conversation goes:
1. They don't have my new phone number. They need this. They need me to give it to them in writing. When informed that I've had the same number for over 10 years, they tell me that they've never had that number in their records. I don't know why, they have my current address after all.
2. When I ask if this is why I can't use my card, they transfer me to their credit department. I somehow thought the problem would be more complicated, but actually my credit union handles everything themselves. If my card is declined, it's because THEY declined it.
3. I'm told that there's been a hold on my credit card since Feb 11th because of a suspicious charge. The charge was for $1.00 from Google. They recommend that I get a new card, just to be safe. When I ask them why a $1.00 charge from Google would be suspicious, they don't really have an answer. Do I know what the charge is? Not from the information provided, but after all I use my card online for purchases so it doesn't seem unusual that I might have bought something through a Google market interface.
4. They tell me that they don't have my phone number and could't contact me about the hold. Which is kind of odd, since I distinctly remember them calling me about a "suspicious" charge once before in the last six months or so. Why did they have my number back then, but not now? But anyway, she's happy to take my phone number over the phone, even though I had just been told that they needed it in writing from the other person I talked to.
5. Bear in mind that I deposit my checks in person every 2 weeks, in a small credit union where the people recognize me. And I've called them often about my account, especially in the last couple of months. Nobody ever said, "Oh, by the way, we need your phone number!"
6. Anyway, the hold was removed and instantly my card works again. I checked my e-mail afterwards and discovered that Feb 11th is when I purchased that 1 song download from Amazon.
So, in conclusion:
1. It's apparently suspicious when Amazon wants me to pay $1.00 for a song that I downloaded.
2. $1.00 was preventing me from using my card for anything at all.