What follows is the horror story to how my Monday went to hell in a matter of hours. Unfortunately it will probably be weeks before I can take stock of all the damage done. (Just for the record this is the family safe version... you should have read my first draft of this entry)
While life is busy, I finally decided to push a few things to the side so I could start going to the gym again. If you have read my other blog, you know why I really need to get there. My current gym membership is at the YMCA of Southern Nevada. The price is reasonable, it is super close to work, and you can actually get a raquetball court when you want one. Sometimes (especially in summer) the people who frequent this gym are... well... I don't know how to say it so I won't. I will just say the crowd can be a bit rough.
Before my house went on the market about 6 months ago, I was at the gym almost every day. I kept hearing stories about lockers getting broken into so I would always leave my wallet in the truck. One day I was heading home and stopped to pick up some groceries. When I opened my wallet I noticed all my cash was gone, and upon further inspection so was one (just one) of my credit cards. As soon as I got home, I called the CC company and sure enough somebody had already used it to buy some gas. I immediately cancelled the card and they sent me a new one. My CC company said not to worry about the charges and that they would take care of it. Cool. Sure, I was pissed but with only about $30 in cash gone I wasn't too upset.
Today I was a little paranoid when driving over to the gym. I was in the Mustang and could just see somebody ripping my roof out of spite. Because I could see the car as a potential target I decided to put my wallet hidden (so I thought) in my bag, with my bag in a locker that was locked with a BRAND NEW LOCK. This being the first day back, Amar and I did not want to overdo things, so we only played for about 40 minutes. As soon as I got back to my locker, I opened my lock and everything seemed to be where I left it. Just to ease my mind, immediately dug out my wallet and checked it. Damn it! Four credit cards missing. They left three cards, my ID, my cell phone, my watch (not cheap), and the cash... (......... insert long line of curses here). I immediately went to the front desk to report it. Judging by their reaction, this was not a new thing to them. They had me fill out a report and gave me a shrug of the shoulders along with a "um... sorry".
Unfortunately since the cards were actually stolen, I had to come home to get any numbers to start calling. First call... Discover. Sure enough there was already a charge for about $100 worth of gas. Card cancelled. Right then, I got an email from B of A alerting me of suspicious activity on my corporate bank account. I immediately logged into online banking while dialing their number. From a local casino, $2089.99 charge from a cash advance machine. As I sat on hold fuming at the music, I logged into other cards and watched as they started getting charges.
Words cannot express how frustrating it was to sit on hold and watch these charges pile up in multiple browser windows. When someone finally came on the line, this card was already on a security hold, but I would have to wait for the charge to go through before I could dispute it. Cancelled the card and ordered another. The on to the next and then the next. On another card, there were charges for $1,055.00 , $1055.00, $2635.99, and $2399.00. And on the final card a charge for $4,899.99. All the CC companies had me on hold forever, but immediately shut down the cards when I finally got somebody on the phone. I won't be responsible for any of the charges, but words cannot express (yes... I know I used this phrase twice) the combination of feeling helpless and pissed off that was my world while listening to awful musac while on hold. You would think that the number for a lost or stolen card would get you on the line quickly with a human. Nope. To cancel four cards it took me almost 2 hours on the phone. But you know what...? They have to eat the charges so I guess to them it is just the cost of doing business. I just ef'ing hate that some a$$hole managed to walk out of a bunch of casinos with close to $10,000 because they ripped me off at the gym.
Sigh... calming breaths.... in.... out.... in ....out.... (shut up). Just to be on the safe side, I called the cards that were not taken and ordered new ones. That probably wasn't necessary, but I feel better now.
Tomorrow... Cancel my membership at the Y. Eat the money to go to a more expensive gym where at least the people might be less likely to steal from me. Go downtown to the police station to pick up the police report I did over the phone today. Oh yeah... and go to work.
Like I said... "Sometimes I really hate people!"
--C
While life is busy, I finally decided to push a few things to the side so I could start going to the gym again. If you have read my other blog, you know why I really need to get there. My current gym membership is at the YMCA of Southern Nevada. The price is reasonable, it is super close to work, and you can actually get a raquetball court when you want one. Sometimes (especially in summer) the people who frequent this gym are... well... I don't know how to say it so I won't. I will just say the crowd can be a bit rough.
Before my house went on the market about 6 months ago, I was at the gym almost every day. I kept hearing stories about lockers getting broken into so I would always leave my wallet in the truck. One day I was heading home and stopped to pick up some groceries. When I opened my wallet I noticed all my cash was gone, and upon further inspection so was one (just one) of my credit cards. As soon as I got home, I called the CC company and sure enough somebody had already used it to buy some gas. I immediately cancelled the card and they sent me a new one. My CC company said not to worry about the charges and that they would take care of it. Cool. Sure, I was pissed but with only about $30 in cash gone I wasn't too upset.
Today I was a little paranoid when driving over to the gym. I was in the Mustang and could just see somebody ripping my roof out of spite. Because I could see the car as a potential target I decided to put my wallet hidden (so I thought) in my bag, with my bag in a locker that was locked with a BRAND NEW LOCK. This being the first day back, Amar and I did not want to overdo things, so we only played for about 40 minutes. As soon as I got back to my locker, I opened my lock and everything seemed to be where I left it. Just to ease my mind, immediately dug out my wallet and checked it. Damn it! Four credit cards missing. They left three cards, my ID, my cell phone, my watch (not cheap), and the cash... (......... insert long line of curses here). I immediately went to the front desk to report it. Judging by their reaction, this was not a new thing to them. They had me fill out a report and gave me a shrug of the shoulders along with a "um... sorry".
Unfortunately since the cards were actually stolen, I had to come home to get any numbers to start calling. First call... Discover. Sure enough there was already a charge for about $100 worth of gas. Card cancelled. Right then, I got an email from B of A alerting me of suspicious activity on my corporate bank account. I immediately logged into online banking while dialing their number. From a local casino, $2089.99 charge from a cash advance machine. As I sat on hold fuming at the music, I logged into other cards and watched as they started getting charges.
Words cannot express how frustrating it was to sit on hold and watch these charges pile up in multiple browser windows. When someone finally came on the line, this card was already on a security hold, but I would have to wait for the charge to go through before I could dispute it. Cancelled the card and ordered another. The on to the next and then the next. On another card, there were charges for $1,055.00 , $1055.00, $2635.99, and $2399.00. And on the final card a charge for $4,899.99. All the CC companies had me on hold forever, but immediately shut down the cards when I finally got somebody on the phone. I won't be responsible for any of the charges, but words cannot express (yes... I know I used this phrase twice) the combination of feeling helpless and pissed off that was my world while listening to awful musac while on hold. You would think that the number for a lost or stolen card would get you on the line quickly with a human. Nope. To cancel four cards it took me almost 2 hours on the phone. But you know what...? They have to eat the charges so I guess to them it is just the cost of doing business. I just ef'ing hate that some a$$hole managed to walk out of a bunch of casinos with close to $10,000 because they ripped me off at the gym.
Sigh... calming breaths.... in.... out.... in ....out.... (shut up). Just to be on the safe side, I called the cards that were not taken and ordered new ones. That probably wasn't necessary, but I feel better now.
Tomorrow... Cancel my membership at the Y. Eat the money to go to a more expensive gym where at least the people might be less likely to steal from me. Go downtown to the police station to pick up the police report I did over the phone today. Oh yeah... and go to work.
Like I said... "Sometimes I really hate people!"
--C
Comments
Sorry you're going through this. :(
Congrats on getting back in the gym, by the way. Don't let this stop you.
Brett: I already pay for all my stuff. If I ever do put something on a CC it is paid off as soon as I get the bill.
Rusty: You said it.