492 Credit Card Disaster
I pulled into the gas station to fill up Magillian, the Clothfamily’s Ford Explorer. But instead of approving my purchase after I swiped my credit card, the pump told me I needed to see the cashier inside. She then told me that my card was no longer working.
Great! The Clothfamily was on vacation with pocket change to fill our gas tank which we had emptied during an adventurous day in the remote mountains of Montana. Not only was this the only town for miles, I wasn’t sure if they had even heard of ATM’s in these parts yet.
I used my cell phone to call the credit card company to see what was up. “Our records show that your card has been reported lost or stolen,” the credit card lady told me.
“Well, my card is in my hand and I haven’t been in cell range all day, so it’s obviously a simple mistake. It would be awesome if you could please make my card work again.”
“I’m sorry Clothman we can’t do that and protect you from fraud on your stolen card.”
“I don’t need protecting, and neither does my card. I’m holding it right now. What I need is some gas so I can get home from vacation.”
“Again, I’m sorry Clothman there’s nothing we can do; however, our records do show that you will be receiving a new card in about 6-7 days.”
I couldn’t believe my ears – 6-7 days! I decided to change tactics. “Ma’am, what would you do?”
“Pardon?”
“What would you do if you were out of gas a long ways from home on Friday night and for no reason whatsoever your credit card simply quit working?”
“I’d go to a bank and…”
“Ma’am, it’s 9pm Friday night.” “Right. Well, I guess I’d… hum...” Her stalled silence made me think I might finally be getting through. Then suddenly she rattled off like a trained parrot, “Clothman, your card has been reported lost or stolen, it can’t be reactivated. However, the system has issued new cards…”
“…that I’ll receive a week from now,” I said finishing her statement. I felt as helpless as Tarzan with a computer and more frustrated than Cheetah with a plastic banana. Situations like these test my character and faith to the max. What does one do when totally exasperated and helpless?
I had no option but to employ the wisdom of Paul who said, “Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out” (1 Thessalonians 5:13b-15).
The system, which can be a beauty one moment and a beast the next, had us both by the throat. I wanted to jump through the phone and into that lady’s face, but she was as much a victim as I. Resistance was as futile as reason; no human could repair the damage the system had caused.
“Okay,” I finally said with a deep sign, “I know you can’t do anything. Thank you for not yelling at me. We’ll just pretend that we’re on that TV show “The Amazing Race” and make getting home part of our vacation adventure. Good-bye.”
Turns out, there was an ATM in that town and we made it home fine – despite the system.
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