Scrolling through the charges on my bank card on the internet banking website. I see an obscure charge for $30 from a business I do not recognise. Googling the details yielded a security firm at Paralowie. I haven't been anywhere near Paralowie in years.
So I call the bank. Spend 5 minutes pressing buttons from a cascade of menus before getting put on hold, where I remain for 10 minutes, periodically listening to an automated voice spruiking the bank's services.
Finally get a nice young lady - an Australian accent, which is the only non-shitful aspect of this whole sorry affair - and explain the problem to her.
She suggests that I cancel the card rather than put a hold on it, since if it has been compromised there would be no point in reactivating the card once the mystery charge has been investigated, so I reluctantly agree. She runs me through a series of questions: do I have the card, have I ever lost it, have I ever written down the PIN, etc. She asks me to confirm that the card will be cancelled and I agree.
Then she says, "was the card with you on Monday and do you know where you were?"
I knew where I was. Nowhere near Paralowie; I took the tribe up to Strathalbyn for the Country Show. A surprisingly good day out;
and it only cost $30 to get in ...................
Clearly the Strathalbyn Show outsourced its crowd control - including the entry gate - to some obscure Paralowie security firm.
Worked it out less than 60 seconds after the card had been cancelled, and no I couldn't reverse it.
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2018 4:40 pm