Category Archives: Financial

Fake plastic

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Jacq was called yesterday by Natwest who told her that her bank card had been cloned. So that’s the second card of hers which has probably been skimmed. That account is therefore out of reach as new cards are issued and she contacted Barclaycard to get those details changed as a precaution. How to get fast help in such cases? Say “My card has been skimmed” and they don’t mess you about – send you straight to the fraud dept. Apparently Barclaycard have some monitoring checks you can use so J is doing those now. And she already uses Credit Expert to keep an eye on potential issues that way.
She had a call last week from Barclaycard about “unusual activity’. When she asked where she was told iTunes. Turns out my grandiose spending of 59p and £1.79 here and there had set off the alarms. Yet when I buy the shopping on it, an xbox on it and other stuff all in one day or buy online they couldn’t care. And I’d been using the card at iTunes since I got the Touch (and no music. I refuse to buy music from a computer company). I’m sure they’ll say someone could be testing the card for approval.

They say you are fully protected against this sort of thing. But given that you would no doubt have to prove you were not in certain places, given that you would have to do without money until they satisfied themselves and this would be no short process, and also given that we must all surely know by now that bankers are thieves in it only for themselves then I don’t want to be at the sharp end of finding out.

Owe? No.

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A few months ago we set a target of zero debt by April 1. Bills were creeping up because they only want a little each month then whack you with a huge bill if you want to move, the credit card had a debt, various other little bits were hanging around. So we set that target. And as of now there is no-one who can knock on the door and ask for their money. No-one. We owe nothing. Sure it starts again but starting from a clear point is so much better.

Details with money

Reply

Read a good post yesterday at Mosceala concerning banks and credit card fraud. Damn useful information. The sort of thing to be copied and kept just in case. Given our history with financial institutions I mentied the post to J and said she should read and keep a copy. I described – we were out at the time – the contents of the post. She then starts telling me about a call she got yesterday.
Some goon from the Natwest bank had called to talk to her about ID Theft. J asked him how she knew he was who he said he was. His reply? “We have a website”. They have clever staff at Natwest then …..

Anyway, he starts asking and telling her about ID Theft. He starts quizzing her. He even said that if someone stole her ID that she would be liable for every single thing that person did including all debts. I have not the slightest doubt that the Natwest employee was lying, he knew he was lying and that his bosses knew he was lying – because he was actually trying to sell a £60 ID Theft Insurance Policy. (When J had the car accident which ultimately caused her to stop working which lead to financial disaster, every single financial institution said that as the Multiple Sclerosis was a pre-existing condition that it was not covered therefore no money. This was even policies that had been taken out over 10 years before diagnosis. So I am completely confident that should we have bought this new insurance policy and should we have claimed then the bank would have said “As your ID was a pre-existing condition….”).

Back to the goon. He is trying to spook her by continuing to lie. Why do sales people have this need to lie and lie and lie? And they expect people to be honest when they apply for jobs? He is telling her about the things people can do and how she would not find out. J starts to tell him where to find information (and it’s not just Experian) and how to keep track of who knows what and from where. She starts to educate him. He starts on about letters – she tells him that we routinely shred all docs and even CD’s that have info which should go no further. He lost. Totally.
This goon was given a script, sat in front of a telephone and told to scare the crap out of people to sell them a policy that has zero benefit to anyone. Now isn’t the Natwest bank a bunch of even greater lying cheating thieves?

Side note: J’s phone rang when she wasn’t close so I answered it.
“Hi, I am from Orange calling about our service to you”
“Whatever it is I am not buying so you are wasting your time”
“I am not selling sir, I wish to arrange for you to have a new handset”!
“Cool – I didn’t think Orange cared about Pay As You Go customers”
………. click.

And remember – if the Double Glazing people call, just tell them that they need to ask the Landlord. They’ll go instantly :)