So this week started as any other week with the exception of the heavy rains and whipping winds. There was a short power outage early in the week but still nothing dramatic.
And then it hit! It was Tuesday night and we received a call from the kids aunt's house, it was their dad. he informed them and me that he will be moving here and staying with his sister Jen. Not only that but he expects to be here by the end of the week. He lives a very rocky life and though I would love for him to have a better relationship with kids, I also appreciate the distance as he has yet to figure out his life. So I went to bed in a worried state.
Wednesday morning arrived and my husband came into the room asking me if his check hit the bank and how much it was for. I logged into our online account and my heart sank into the pit of my stomach. There was a pending charge from Walmart.com for $883 - ouch! Now knowing I am the only one capable of making said purchases and we are still playing catch up from Christmas - there is no way in hell that I would have made such a large purchase. I immediately went to my online Walmart account to confirm that there were no pending orders, which there were not. So I picked up the phone and called the bank. The gentleman I spoke with told me there was nothing he could do until the charge cleared my account. What CLEAR MY ACCOUNT!!!! So I then called Walmart and after searching my records several different ways from address to phone number to social security number - the transaction was found. I was then told that the order did not meet security requirements and was rejected, however; it would take 72 hours to be removed from my account. I then proceeded to the police department to make a report. I was told that the police would take the report but they would not spend the hours investigating the charges as it was less than $10,000. (By the way had it been that large of a sum, I would not be telling this story as it would not have been my account.) So from the police station I went to the bank with my paycheck - hoping to open a new account and close the one in turmoil. I was told that the new accounts person was not in that day and I would have to wait until the next day to do that. By end of day I had a call from the Fraud Prevention Group from my bank stating that there were other attempts to purchase from the Apple Store, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc.
Thursday afternoon, Casey and I use our lunch break to open a new account so we can pay our bills. We then wait for two and a half hours to even be seen by the new accounts person. Once our account is opened we are told that our check would not be available until 12:00 am. Desperate for groceries, I was able to borrow money from my step-dad. So now I have spent at least 3 hours of my work week resolving these issues.
Friday, my funds are available so I promptly pay my step-dad back and pay necessary bills. Saturday morning, my other account is now available and I immediately transfer the funds from old account to new account before Mr. Debit Card Thief proceeds to make more grand purchases at my expense. I then head to work as it is tax season requiring me to work four hours every Saturday and p.s. this Saturday was not overtime thanks to the banking issues - grrrr!
By one o'clock I am headed to my girlfriends daughters' 3rd birthday with confirmation that my ex has made it to town.
It is now noon on Sunday and I am still in my p.j.'s exhausted from my week. Thank goodness for the fact that though it was inconvenient, no money was actually taken from us and that I have great family members that were there to bail me out when I needed them most. I am tempted to be sick tomorrow - LOL!
