Here are the steps I took to rectify the problem.
- Stay calm and take a few deep breaths. Believe it or not, this will help.
- Pray. Ask God for favor as you talk with your bank and others involved in clearing this up.
- Call the 800 number on the back of my debit card to report the unauthorized transactions.
- Authorized the my bank to close / cancel my debit card and issue me a new one with a new number.
- Did a Google search for the vendor, called their customer service number and informed them of the unauthorized charges. One of the vendors was able to remove the charge before it posted to my bank account.
How about you? Have you ever had your credit / debit card compromised / stolen? Leave me a comment and share your experience.
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5 comments:
I like #2 - so often in panic, I forget to stop and pray.
We were doing a promo video in the upstairs of a home that housed the Christian counseling service that had been a huge help for our then 10 year old's anxiety. We were in one room, our 10 & 6 year old were in the next room coloring.
When the interview was over, we went downstairs and grabbed our coats. My husband grabbed his keys and said "I can't find my wallet". I remembered him having it at home and so we stopped for an errand and then went home. He confirmed that his wallet was not in it's usual spot and we called the counselor and the police. Sure enough, the counselor realized that their place had been rummaged through while we were all upstairs.
We cancelled everything and since it was a stat holiday, realized we would have to order new birth certificates, id everything for my husband the next day.
After I was asleep that night, the phone rang. An apologetic elderly gentleman was on the the end and asked for my husband. I told him he was asleep and asked if I could take a message. He explained that he was coming out of a convenience store 10 mins from the robbery and had reached down on the ground to pick up a plastic bag, as he had failed to get one from the cashier. When he opened the bag, he found every piece of my husband's wallet (except for the wallet itself).
The thief had evidently rummaged for cash, found none and apparently threw the contents at a dumpster and missed. This lovely, honest man found it, called us, and we got every piece of his wallet back - everything from business cards to id!
We still put an alert on our account at the credit bureau and got new credit/debit cards, but in the 2 years since we have had no issues. What could have been a huge loss to us was over within 12 hours. We were outrageously blessed.
Just a few months before this happened, I had viewed a thread on a message board where someone had lost a wallet. So I had a printed list of our cards & contact numbers waiting. It made the whole process so much easier.
So I hope your post today could be that nudge for someone else!
Christy,
Thanks so much for sharing your story. It's nice to know there are good hearted people out there. The one like the gentleman who called you late that night.
I'm wondering after that chapter in your life, how many times a day your husband reaches back his hand and checks to make sure his wallet is there? I find myself doing that from time to time. As just last night I left my wallet here in my desk drawer.
The first thing I did when I got to work was breath a sigh of relief and mentally said, "yep, right were I left it."
We BOTH check constantly. He will feel for it 5 times in the mall even though it's zipped into his pocket.
As a result of this, we have started communicating before we leave the house about who will be taking their wallet. We used to take both of ours everywhere and now when we're both headed to the mall or a restaurant, we plan ahead and leave the other wallet at home. One less to lose or get ripped off.
Christy,
Leaving one set of card and ID at home is a fantastic idea. I'm going to talk to my wife about this tonight.
Thanks!
Todd
We've had our Debit/Credit card compromized on 3-4 occasions...the gal at the bank hates to call me to tell me - it's sad but it's almost like "old hat" and I don't panic. The only bad thing that happened this past time was that we were without our card for over a month before the new one showed up. The GOOD part about that is 1) I got to personally know everyone in the bank when I went in to cash checks and 2) we got used to carrying cash again to make purchases - which I know is better anyhow.
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