It's bad enough that Farmer H "stole" $200 worth of flea market merchandise on Monday, when Old Buddy loaded stuff into SilverRedO that he "thought" had been paid for. Luckily Farmer H straightened it out with the seller, and is returning it this Monday.
Mrs. HM had her own brush with criminality last Wednesday at 10Box.
I had stopped by for bananas, and picked up some lemons as well, plus some sardines in mustard sauce. I don't remember the total at the checkout, but it was under $20. As usual, I put my debit card into the scanner. The scanner wouldn't take it. Said to try again. So I did. Twice more. It wouldn't work. The cashier said to use the magnetic strip. So I slid my card through that notch. Nope. Twice more. Nope.
"Oh, no! I don't want to spend my LOTTERY CASH on food!"
"I know, right?" said the checker, who is the gal who always asks me if I've won anything lately. "Now it says your card has been declined."
"What? That's ridiculous!"
"Sometimes it does that when it can't read the card. Here. Does it have the TAP feature?"
"Yeah, but I never use that. My son did it for me in Country Mart the other day."
"Here, let me see it." She held the card on the TAP area of the scanner, and it worked.
"Whew! I think I need to order a new card!"
How embarrassing is THAT? There was a line, too, because the other checker, a young guy, had gone outside to take a propane tank return. I've never had my card declined! That's preposterous! Our checking account was fatter than it's ever been, because we had not moved our money around since selling those two properties recently. Yet it seemed (to the people in line) that I didn't have less than $20 to pay for my few items.
Late on Thursday night, I called the automated bank phone number, and requested a replacement debit card. The computer voice told me it would be here in three business days, plus mail time. I got it today. Whoopee! I can make a less than $20 purchase again!
I also balanced my checkbook the next day, as I do once a week. It mentioned that a transaction was DECLINED for a mechanical issue. I wish those people in line behind me could have heard that news!
Meanwhile, Farmer H and I are going to try to stay one step ahead of the law...
8 comments:
Just another example of why the forthcoming inclusive digital era is so concerning. My husband's debit card often looks like it has been left in a busy street and exposed to weather and driven over several times and yet it still works. Mine rarely is scanned and sometime has to be scanned 2 or 3 times for it to work. What gives? Ranee (depending on the age of the crowd, and without trying to be discriminatory, half the people there have probably been declined and never thought twice about it when your card wasn't accepted.) At least the tap feature worked. (I am not a fan of the tap, but that's just me being an old fogy, I suppose.)
Way back in the day, having your card be rejected was embarrassing. Nowadays, with all the new functions it is not unusual to have it rejected. I seldom use mine, since I have a chauffeur who doubles as the credit card holder, and he pays for me. He will suddenly appear as I am checking out and get his card out and pay. Sometimes, just for fun, I tell the cashier that I have never seen that man before in my life.
Rae,
I know! I hate the idea of all the digital stuff. I want my money buried in an old sweatsock in the back yard! I don't like the tap feature, because I think my info is just floating around invisibly, waiting to be stolen by somebody tech-savvy with a gadget. The Pony grabbed my card in Country Mart to use it, when the chip and scan failed on Errand Day.
My debit card looks pretty rough. I think it's had too much lemon juice splashed on it, since it sits on the kitchen counter where I squeeze my lemons every afternoon for my Zero Sugar Shasta Cola. In the past, rubbing the chip with a dollar bill made it work like a charm for months. Not this time.
I've been behind people with declined cards, and they just whip out a handful of other cards! They're not ashamed of it, so yeah, probably just the inconvenience is all that was on the line's mind.
Kathy,
WAAAAAY back in the day, when I worked as a cashier, we had that scanner thingy to slide the cards through, and were instructed to CUT THEM UP if they were declined! So that was kind of embarrassing for the cardholder.
My chauffeur makes me pay for myself, except in restaurants. I think it's to impress the waitress with the tip.
I'd bet $100 the problem is with the reader, not your card, but just in case, swipe over the magnetic strip with a lens cleaner cloth, the ones that are dampish and come sealed in little packets. It also helps if staff at the shops wrap a cleanser cloth around a card and swipe it through the reader a few times to clean it. Those readers pick up all sorts of grime from thousands of cards.
River,
I'll take your $100! I'm not a hustler, but the facts you may not know are that it happened in four stores, over less than two weeks. 10Box was the only place it was DECLINED, but I had to insert it numerous times, and try the swipe, after it failed to read in both the Sis-Town and Hillmomba Save A Lots, and in Country Mart. So I'm pretty sure it was the chip. My new card worked the first time, yesterday in 10Box.
Oh damn! I hate losing money even if only virtually.
River,
Sorry for taking advantage of you by not sharing the full facts! I am virtually refunding my winnings on that bet.
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