Cashless at the worst time!
Mar 24th, 2007 by Oana
In preparation for our Greece trip, I went to the nearest branch of the Bank of Scotland this morning to take out some GBP and/or some Euros. I used the bank machine inside the branch instead of the one outside, and was left speechless when the machine kept my card and told me “Your Card Has Been Retained”.
I thought maybe it was some kind of fraud, so I waited patiently in line to speak with one of the tellers. She got a big set of keys and went to open the machine, then came back and told me that my card was actually being upgraded to one of the fancy new Visa Electron ones.
Oh really? Wouldn’t it have been nice to tell me this before cancelling my existing debit card? Say, before I leave on a 2 week trip abroad which might just require me to use the debit card? Maybe they should actually send out the new card before cancelling the old one!
The bank teller person was useless. She did give me cash out of my bank account, but would not return me the old debit card and had no information on when the new card (and the new PIN) might arrive. It’s a bit of a security risk for that kind of stuff to arrive in the mail while I’m away! Their website is useless as always. Ridiculous!
I would be inclined to look for a new bank. I couldn’t imagine the anxiety that would overtake me if a bank machine told me it was keeping my card without any prior notice or further explanation. It sounds to me like someone goofed.
Wouldn’t a new bank be nice! Unfortunately if you are in the UK on a student visa, you get the short end of the stick when it comes to opening bank accounts. As a comparison, Ian is here on a working holiday visa - he got his bank card in 3 business days and it’s got all kinds of bells and whistles, including a Visa logo which allows him to use it anywhere Visa is used; I went to 2 banks before one would accept my money, and it took them 4 weeks to send me a card that can only be used at ATMs, with no ability to pay at stores directly, no interest, etc.
Jeesh. Why is it that state policies––and apparently bank practices–– always seem apt to giving students the shaft? Too often policy makers describe students as the future, but when it comes time to back that up, students are invariably left behind to fend for themselves. Good luck with your studies.