At my college orientation, one of the sessions I attended was all about managing your money. The speaker warned loudly and clearly the dangers of carrying cash.

“Pickpockets can take that $20 bill right out of your back pocket without you noticing,” he said. “How easy is it to leave your wallet behind in class, only to come back and find it empty?”

Since then, I’ve carried very little cash, leaving my money where it was safe: in the bank.

Or so I thought.

Last Monday, I made my usual trip to the convenience store to buy an energy drink (we’ll save the healthy choices talk for later). When I handed my card to the clerk, he swiped it, furrowed his brow and then leaned over the counter to whisper, “it’s been declined.”

Baffled, I was sure there was some kind of glitch in the store’s card reader, so I fished out the $3 in my wallet and went on my way. (Here’s where I leaned Lesson No. 1: Always have a little cash on hand. No matter what some guy at college orientation tells you.)

That day after work, I took money out of the ATM and made a purchase at the gas station with no problem, but the next day at lunch, the embarrassing dilemma repeated itself.

Finally, I called the 800-number on the back of my bank card and calmly explained the quandary to the customer service representative.

“Did you receive some phone calls from a 1-800 number yesterday?” she asked.

As a matter of fact, I had received several, but I always let them go to voicemail, and no messages were left.

As it turns out, “They were calling to tell you your account has been compromised. You have been locked out of your account and have no access!”

I was peeved by her perky tone, better suited for telling me I’d won the lottery, but I checked my call log to find five missed calls from the same number.

Lesson No. 2: When your debit card is declined and a number calls you five minutes later (and every 20 minutes after that for three hours), you might want to answer your phone.

I “mhmmed” my way through a long set of questions confirming I was in fact The Real Ambrosia Neldon and that I was not in New York City at 2:54 a.m., or Deleware at 3:48 a.m., only to conclude the conversation by finding out I would be locked out of my account until a new bank card arrived — in three to five business days.

Lesson No. 3: Banks are in no hurry to get you your new card. I received mine seven days later.

Luckily [read my sarcastic tone], the kind sir (or madam) who stole my identity chose to do so the week that ALL my bills are due. Try explaining to a federal agency that you cannot pay on your student loan because someone stole your money. I might as well have told them my dog ate my homework.

I had never realized how many resources I use on a daily basis that were linked to my debit card, especially online. Suddenly I was broke (in spite of having money I couldn’t access) and unable to use basically everything on the Internet.

Lesson No. 4: Pay websites with PayPal.

Like I said, I finally received my bank card seven days after the crisis occurred, so I spent 90 minutes reactivating my account, sifting through every charge to find the ones I did not make and paying all the bills I missed. Then I was finally able to dispute the fraudulent charges to (hopefully) get my money back.

I couldn’t help but laugh at my luck when, as I finished filing the claim, a screen popped up announcing, “When you click submit to file this claim, you will be locked out of your acount for three to five business days. A new card will be issued, at which time you will be able to reactivate and gain access to your funds.”

So, here I am again, using the cash I was warned to never carry.

 

Ambrosia Neldon is the managing editor at Leader Publications. She can be reached by phone at (269) 687-7713, or by email at ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com