Sooo, embarrassingly my card got declined at the McDonald's drive through...4 dollars (two hamburgers and a small milkshake -- don't judge me)....I stupidly ask, "Strange, I wonder how that happened" Most people might think that was a rhetorical question, but the guy at the drive through window, apparently, thought I really wanted his opinion, so while I was digging through the ashtray/coin holder of my car and the bottom of my purse for loose change (yeah, I really wanted that milkshake) the late-teen-early-twenty-year-old decided to tell me how my card could have been declined. He mentioned that if you go into your overdraft a lot then you're charged fees and that's what could have happened--after all not everyone knows that. He was also kind enough to tell me that if I don't pay the overdraft then they can close the account. After I gave him a handful of quarters and reduced my order to just the milkshake, he also mentioned the importance of paying my bills on time....REALLY?
Thankfully, the bank is just across the street from the McDonald's, so I promptly drove over there....after all, I had just looked at my account and I was not in overdraft, bills all paid and thankfully a decent amount in the account (yes, I know we're lucky and blessed to be able to say that). There was a weird charge for an Indian restaurant for 900+ dollars but then a credit for the same amount. I figured, Jason had lunch, they charged the wrong amount and promptly corrected it....I figured WRONG. The lady at the bank....after a chuckle at my story of the McDonald's clerk....called the visa people and was transferred to the fraud department...apparently, it wasn't on Jason's card that the 900 purchase was on, it was mine (not being an engineer, I rarely eat Indian food for lunch, so how could this be?)....apparently this was an Indian restaurant IN India. Our bank card has an awesome fraud department and they caught the activity right away, shut down my card and credited my account (Go Compass/BBVA bank -- don't mess with Basque bankers). Then the clerk said, "sorry I have to do this," and cut my card, I turned to look at the people in line behind me and said, "It's because someone got my number....not because I'm overdrawn" .... like they cared.
Moral of story, don't use my debit card for online purchases.
Not all calls from the bank are sales calls and maybe I should stop screening so much.
Jason sometimes eats lunch at places other then Indian restaurants.
