 |
| Sophie needs to learn to brush her teeth. |
This morning the sun was shining, and all seemed brighter with the world than yesterday when I woke to a dull, gray day. And the day proceeded to live up to that description. First I got five puzzling emails from DIL Lisa, though I finally figured out that she was giving me the Christmas hints I had asked for. Trouble was, I already had her gift ordered. But that was a minor bump in the road compared to what came next—an email thanking me for signing up for a $700 contract with iStock, with the first payment of $75.78 charged to my Discover card. And sure enough, there that charge was, dated yesterday. Yikes ! At Christmas when I’m trying to live economically in light of holiday expenses and taxes.
I panicked and called
Discover, swearing I’d never signed up for such (this is going to be a lesson
in reading the fine print). I bounced from one customer service rep to another
until I was finally directed to the fraud division—now that sounded awfully serious
to me. But the lady talked me through it—and the most direct result was that my
Discover account was closed and a new account opened, with the new card due in
the mail sometime next week. That means I can’t order gifts, etc., online until
I get the new card. Of course, immediately I got a notice from our local
newspaper that they couldn’t access my payment information and did I need to
update my account. I began a list of accounts that will need updating when I
get the new card. Tonight I realized I can’t even order groceries—so had to borrow
a Burton credit card, because Colin has scared me about using my debit card
online, even with a company I trust like Central Market.
Meantime, back to yesterday
morning—something was nagging at me, a thought that I’d done something wrong.
So I called Colin, my solution to all financial problems. Methodical person
that he is, he had me forward the emails to him. Then he explored online,
called me and made a joint call to Getty, which owns iStock. First time we got
some medical solutions groups which really sounded like a phishing operation.
Colin insisted we try one more time, and this time we got a Getty representative
who looked at records, said I had signed up for a free trial which
automatically became a contract if not cancelled—but they never warned me it
was time to cancel, which I think is fraud in itself. I had, after calling
Discover, written Getty to protest I had never signed a contract and request a
refund of what they had billed me for (It was still pending, so I doubt it went
through). Someone in their outfit had acknowledged my email, though I’m still
waiting for action. The rep assured me I would hear, and cancellation is no
problem. I’m still waiting, and meantime I’m really hampered without a credit
card since I do so much shopping online. Sheer frustration.
To top the day off, I got a
text from the North Texas Tollway folks, saying I had a ticket and had instructions
for entering my license number and something else. I am by now so leery that I
didn’t know if this was phishing or if Jordan or Christian had possibly driven
my VW on the tollway. Christian said that might have happened and he’d check
their bills—though how would they have a bill if it’s in my name? Anyway I have
heard no more about that either, and despite his advice to ignore and not let
it worry me, I do worry.
To me, it’s sad that at this
season of love and hope, most of us worry about finances. I have for years paid
quarterly income taxes (I’m not sure why, but some accountant way back set it
up that way), so I have a bill in January, right after Christmas. And property
taxes are due in January, plus our lawn people have advised me I truly need to
get a professional arborist to trim my trees. And Sophie’s teeth need cleaning.
It all hits in December.
Today, thank goodness, I have
my groove back, and the world doesn’t look so grim to me. It’s amazing what
sunny weather can do for you—and maybe a good night’s sleep. But I learned some
lessons yesterday, mostly about reading the fine print and being careful
online. I have always thought I was careful, but now I know it wasn’t enough. I
know I’m impatient and sometimes I zip through emails when I should stop and
read carefully. MY day yesterday is also a demonstration of how easy it is for
the unwary to get into tangled and ultimately disastrous financial situations.
I am fortunate, as a single, elderly person, that I have my son to protect me.
Not all are as lucky.
I tell you all this as an object
lesson. And also to get it out of my brain.
No comments:
Post a Comment