Ok, let's go Tarantino here.
My Norwegian bank called, I didn't answer, and they left me a cryptic message that there had been some suspicious activity on my debit card and that I should call them back right away!
And now, let's rewind to summer 2011 when Lars and I were in the U.S. having a jolly old time.
Right? That looks like a lot of fun. And it was.
We also did some serious shopping while we were there. If I haven't made this clear enough already, basically everything is cheaper in the US than it is in Norway.
Both of us bought iPads from Target, and when we were going to pay in the electronics section, we totally got duped into opening a Target credit card by the Scottish sales representative on shift. Somehow I was thinking that she said we would save 25% on our purchase if we opened the card, which is a significant chunk of change on a such a large purchase. But the deal is 5% of course--if only she would have spoken a language I can understand
(like Norwegian)!
But alas, I was confused and went for it. But whatever, 5% is still money saved. And the plan was just to pay it off immediately at customer service before we left the store, so at that point it didn't really matter. But do you think I was able to do that?
Now, remember this story is delivered to you Tarantino style--
My Norwegian bank called, I didn't answer, and they left me a cryptic
message that there had been some suspicious activity on my debit card
and that I should call them back right away!
Ok, so Lars and I roll up to the customer service counter after purchasing out iPads to pay off the card. But they don't accept Norwegian cards. Oh no, of course not! Plus, you actually have to have the credit card to be able to pay it off. They are wondering what my credit card number is... How the hell would I know? I just opened it. Maybe the Scottish lady said that we couldn't pay it that day, who knows, she was speaking English after all, and I obviously couldn't understand a damn word of it.
The card never came before our vacation was over
(of course), which was by no means the end of the world. All I needed was to get my parents to send over my credit card when it came in the mail
(Target does not send to international addresses) so I could pay it online. After the mail monster that lives in my parents' office had regurgitated that envelope a couple months later, I was ready to get that debt
(plus interest of course) paid off right away! But of course, the online system at good ol Target does not support international cards. No, no, of course not. So I couldn't pay then either.
I called Target and they had no solution. I was so irritated (and busy!) at this point that I naively decided to ignore it and pay it next time I was in the US. Target doesn't support international cards, I couldn't pay over the phone because I didn't get my account number until 7 months later and yeah, a big cluster fuck.
SO... (we're getting close to the end now) when I sneak-attack visited my family this March I physically visited Target, with my account information and desperately explained that I just wanted to pay this bill! It was no problem to pay with my Norwegian card the representative told me, and I said that was a relief that they finally got that figured out! But do you think it worked that time? No, of course not, it was rejected then as well. I believe that American machines read my Norwegian debit card as credit, and I get that--that you can't pay off credit with credit. But come on, it's not a credit card!
(insert tantrum here)
Her best solution was to transfer money to my American account
(thank god I still have one of those btw) and pay with my American card. I agreed that that would work just fine, but it takes a couple days to transfer money internationally and I would be on my way back to Norway by then. So I skipped that option and decided to take out about 800$ in cash, pay the bill in person and to put the mess behind me that same day. They conveniently have an ATM right next to the customer service desk
(maybe I'm not the only one experiencing these frustrations?)...but of course it ate my card and froze. I had to wait a half an hour to get my card out and was pretty sick of the entire situation by then.
Yesterday I called my Norwegian bank back as soon as I saw I had a missed call, and she explained that there was some suspicious activity in the USA this year. I said that I had been in the US and that I was in fact American, and that I spent quite a bit of money while I was there. She insisted that it was something more than that but never really said concretely what it was, I could barely hear her, wasn't at home so couldn't check for myself, so I just trusted her and said she should cancel my card. It wasn't until later that evening when I got online and saw four withdrawals of 1.182kr (200$) from the same ATM machine in Silverdale, WA that I realized what was fishy.
Yeah, that was me, in a money-withdrawal frenzy in the middle of the Silverdale Mall. I withdrew the same sum four times in a row from the same machine to get enough cash to pay off that damn Target credit card. Apparently that's "suspicious activity". Isn't that totally normal? ;)
So yeah. I have probably canceled my card unnecessarily, but better safe than sorry right?
But wait a second, that was early in March...are they just notifying me of that now? Late in May?
I am guessing that all my money would have been long gone by now if my numbers had been swiped while I was in the US!
Maybe there wasn't a lot of blood and guts, or intrigue in the least, but it was still a twisted, complicated story.
À la Tarantino.
The end.
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