October Chatty - after the apocalypse II

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OurCreature
 
 
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October Chatty - after the apocalypse II

Post by OurCreature »

I think that's the right decision Merry, disappointing though it is for you and STPD. :grouphug
Like the late Chaircat Midge, I am not always right.
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Furby
 
 
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Post by Furby »

It's like lockdown again but without the 500 pounds bonus given for merry to stay in isn't it. People should always have stayed in and not gone out in public with infections. Covid was as bad as it was because we had moved to a world where infectious people weren't blamed for being in public and even expected to be at work so it was culture shock to say stay home and we never really achieved it properly. It did convince me that covid wasn't nearly as bad as flu though because if someone has flu regardless of old age it isn't a choice to go out to work or on trains you are struggling to get to the water tap and toilet.

Get well soon to the merries.
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Patience
 
 
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Post by Patience »

Someone tried to spend £5k on a debit card of mine yesterday. The banks phone department phoned to tell me this which I was grateful for. However, the old problem of the bank phoning and asking verification questions happened. No, I’m not going to tell you my DOB, and things about my account because, I don’t know you are the fraud department. 🤷🏼‍♀️ The lady was polite but seemed to be unwilling to give me a reference number and preferred that I was transferred to her manager to complete the process of cancelling my card. I didn’t think that it was an unreasonable request on my part. After a bit of discussion, I ended the call and phoned the bank (using another number). Despite the bank’s website saying they were always open for urgent fraud requests and me selecting this on the phone, after an hour they hadn’t answered.
Guess what I’ll be doing today.
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Furby
 
 
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Post by Furby »

Travelling to a real bank, standing in a queue for an hour , being told cant you do it online or by phone it's so much easier for us and eventually insisting they help with cancelling and replacing a debit card.
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Patience
 
 
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Post by Patience »

I spoke to the bank this morning who deny they contacted me yesterday so maybe I was right to be suspicious or maybe one bit of the bank isn’t joined up to the other. 🤷🏼‍♀️
I have cancelled both cards and wait for new ones to come out in some working days. I’ve also requested new PIN numbers.
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OurCreature
 
 
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Post by OurCreature »

I think that you avoided a scam, Patience - well done.

Today I had a text from the Passport people to say that they had received my form and that it could take up to 10 weeks before I received my new passport; and that if they needed any further information they would contact me.
Like the late Chaircat Midge, I am not always right.
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Post by OurCreature »

On 6 October E.ON sent two gas engineers to change my gas meter. The new meter worked very well...............until three days ago when it had a hissy fit and stopped talking to the electricity meter, E.ON and my little meter reader that lives in my kitchen. However, it still records my gas consumption so today I took the reading for both meters and sent them to E.ON via my online account. E.ON had been able to read the electricity meter yesterday but I forgot to check that before sending them the latest reading; never mind.

I'll see if the gas meter magically starts working properly between now and the end of the year, and inform E.ON in the New Year if it doesn't. I am in no mood to set the wheels in motion now, I am fed up with having to stay in until such time as they feel like attending. If this had been an ordinary device bought from somewhere like John Lewis I could take it back or tell them to do something about it under consumer legislation; but not with energy supply meters. At least I can give E.ON meter readings and I can check to see if the gas usage is significantly different to the years when I had a gas meter that worked properly.
Like the late Chaircat Midge, I am not always right.
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Post by Furby »

I hope Patience has money for a few days or can manage without money. Do you have any ideas how the scammers or fraudsters got the card numbers.

Bad smart meter. This makes me glad I havent been forced yet though they are getting more horrible about it now covid is over. My meters have lasted over 20 years if the new ones arent lasting a few weeks never mind a few years the whole smart meter program isnt going to save money is it. Will have been cheaper to just employ meter readers once a year than replace bad meters. Could it be the mobile signals? Smart meters use the old style 2g thing dont they and was that even installed in the new forest.
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Patience
 
 
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Post by Patience »

Furbs, thank you for your concern. I keep an account for internet purchases and have a separate current account with a different bank for my other needs. This way I should always have access to cash.
I would assume that one of the places I have used my card where you have to give the number, the CVC and your phone number has been hacked. After all, they called me and also knew the town I lived.
My internet account used to be a credit card with a £500 limit, so the exposure was capped at that. It’s impossible to get cards with that low a limit, so I keep a debit card with a low overdraft. It does mean that I lose out on credit card protection of purchases. To be fair, I think they need to be over £100 for that.
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Post by OurCreature »

I have 2 credit cards, one with my main bank account for petrol purchases and the other for everything else. I reduced the credit limit on the petrol purchases card to £500 more than 20 years ago at a time when skimming cards in petrol stations was all the rage and I wanted to limit my potential losses there. The other one with a different provider has a rather higher credit limit mainly for when I am booking expensive holidays, though it is set to pay off the balance in full every month.

Every so often my bank tries to get me to use its card as my main credit card which I refuse to do. One of the free credit reference agencies tells me every so often that I should increase my credit card limit to get a better credit score but there is no point in doing that because my credit rating with them and another agency is excellent so why bother.

I have a secondary bank account with another bank as well so, like Patience, if one bank has an outage I can still use it with a bit of hassle though I would have to find a branch to draw money out because the second bank stopped my debit card as I never used it.
Like the late Chaircat Midge, I am not always right.
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Post by Furby »

I had that lost card problem many years ago when my purse was stolen. My other money all needed a visit to actual branches. I was still working so couldnt get there and anyway would need bus fare money which luckily I keep loose change in a cup. So I just used the bus fare money to get bread and milk instead and waited. Glad to hear patience is ok and had contingency plans in place.

I don't understand the obsession with credit scores and having a better score. What use is it anyway?

My other account got downgraded to a paupers account but this meant they cancelled my cheque book (remember them) and sent me a debit card. It was mad logic but I got an emergency money plan out of it. There are all sorts of things I am not allowed as a pauper but they are all things I don't do anyway except the cheque book and that has become obsolete as noone accepts cheques anymore. I really miss cheques it was such an easy way to pay.
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Post by Panikos »

Merry wanted me to say hi and :wave as she is still too ill to do much. The worst is the cough I think as it just doesn't stop. Mr Merry is still suffering too.

Hopefully back to normal soon.
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Post by Panikos »

Patience, I think you avoided a scam there too. Though it is true in general that people ring you and expect you to prove who you are. I always thought that was mad.

I've had charges to my credit card at least twice, but thinking back I'm fairly sure I had to call them. They thought it looked unusual so just blocked the card and waited for me to notice.

They were fine about refunding the money both times of course. They took that for granted, but the whole system needs a rethink. You have a card with a secret number on it that you have to hand to strangers :bash
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Post by OurCreature »

Thanks for the info, Pani - their coughs etc are dragging on a bit. Eccs and I wondered in Chat last night if they were still unwell as Merry wasn't there. I hope they are better soon. :grouphug

I have still got a cheque book, but I have never used it. The last cheque debited to my bank account was on 01/10/2020 and that was the last one I wrote because my unused cheque book starts with the next number.
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Post by Furby »

It's nearly a week for the coughs now which sounds like flu doesn't it especially if too poorly to do much. They have had all their vaccines up to date too so that spoils the NHS message of best way for winter is to get your vaccines.

I used cheques to pay repair men like a plumber on rare occasions they could spare the time to do any work. The last one said he only takes mobile phone money now and so it was lucky I had cash to pay him. Only that it was lockdown and I had kept some for emergencies otherwise could have been difficult. It's just assumed everyone has mobile phone money now. :(. I still pay in cheques from Ernie when he remembers me which he did in lockdown and it was tricky to get out to banks but seemed to forget about me once lockdown ended.
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Patience
 
 
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Post by Patience »

Merry! Sorry to hear you are still under the weather. It really is rotten for you. :grouphug
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Post by merry »

Thanks everyone :bighug This has been absolutely the worst thing we've had since our 'Covid' in March 2020. I'd love to say we're on the mend but still coughing like crazy and quite unwell, thank goodness for internet food shopping and daughters popping in. Anyway I set a deadline to myself of Saturday to get back to the board and will try and gradually catch up. Glad you avoided the scam Patience but sorry you have been put through so much hassle :hugs
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Post by asymphototropic »

Thingummie major and I had three weeks of "Cough" with a capital C in May of this year. Sounds like Merry et al. might have succumbed to the same hideousness. If we sent it across The Pond to y'all, profound apologies! We did go on antibiotics during week three, which seemed to right us.

Hope you're getting better :hug Bless the daughters for kindliness.
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Post by merry »

Thank you, Asy!

Three weeks! :eek So far have resisted ABs but will see how it goes.
"... not to be told a story, but to live inside a dream." - Hades, The Burnt City
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Post by merry »

Much better today :) oh no I shall have to start doing stuff again.
"... not to be told a story, but to live inside a dream." - Hades, The Burnt City
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