After Smallsteps end of year event on Saturday, we went into the city to celebrate her successful completion of her first year, her great grades and the stipend she received in recognition. We ordered some food, drinks and a cake to share between (Smallsteps isn't a big sweets person), and then I went to pay.
Declined.
I used proximity pay with a card, and sometimes this happens and it asks to insert the card and enter the pin.
Declined.
Hmm.
My wife paid.
When we sat down and after we had eaten, I checked my net bank to see what the problem is. However, I couldn't get into the account and it just said "contact your bank". All well and good, but the problem is that this particular bank doesn't have 24 hour service, nor weekend service at all. I couldn't even find an emergency number of any kind, in case something had happened and I was travelling internationally.
This meant that all weekend, I was a kept boy, with my wife paying.
This morning, the bank's hotline opened at 8am and after waiting a bit, I was told by the person who checked the account, that I had to contact my local branch. They don't take calls until 10. So, at 10 I called again while I drove to work, and then after twenty minutes, the line went dead.
Fuck that.
Thankfully, the bank is just around the corner from my workplace, so I headed over there, read the sign that they only take appointment bookings, and rang the buzzer. They let me in, and then a woman behind the counter said "we only take appointments" and was trying to push me out again. A friend of the family is a manager there, and I saw her sitting at her desk and asked if I could speak to her by name. Knowing a name seemed to satisfy the woman enough so that she called out so the manager turned, I waved, and then she came to greet me.
She asked me to be seated whilst she checked the account status.
When she came back, she asked whether I was a Finnish citizen, whether I have permanent residency, whether I have proof of residency on me. Of course, I didn't have anything on me, especially since I have been in the country for over twenty years (she knew this - her husband was a client of mine many years ago), and have been a permanent resident for about sixteen years. So, I have to take proof of permanent residency in tomorrow. She still didn't tell me what it was about.
Long story.
I don't know what happens tomorrow, but it proved something to me again today.
It isn't my money.
My salary goes into that account, we had our home loan through that bank, my wife has her account there, and I have my business account there (weirdly, that works), but whatever is there, they control. And if the government wants to cut off my access to those accounts, it can.
I am not a Russian oligarch.
There was no warning, no letter in the mail, nothing - just shutdown of the account. I literally could have been anywhere on a work trip, and then what would I have done?
Find out tomorrow, I guess.
Perhaps it is time to change banks.
It still won't be my money though.
Taraz
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How come? Here call centers work 7/24 and you can solve such problems with them.
It is crazy! I don't know why.
They have just been sold to another group, so the ID might be part of that change, but the call center has always been a problem.
That is truly frightening. I have felt that way for a long time and although I do have a regional bank, I don't have faith in the system like my parents did. I credit this very blockchain with opening my eyes to the need to have alternative finance options. So many old folks (yes, I'm an old folk lol) are at the mercy of their bank and are going to suffer such a fate as you describe here. It is scary!
It shouldn't happen. I was able to sort it out today, but literally, they just shut my bank account access because they didn't have a picture of a card they need for government rules, and that card is government issued. The amount of incompetence in government is ridiculous. I get that the businesses can't keep up at times.
Happy to hear you got it sorted. Government incompetence seems to be the norm everywhere these days.
All the banks are acting the same way, none of them simplifying and streamlining to attract and retain customers. That tells you all you need to know. They're having their strings pulled, and we're a long way from a free market in banking.
Talking to another foreign friend today, the bank he started with wouldn't give him a credit card, because he wasn't a permanent resident. However, they were happy to take his investment money. He changed banks.
Do they have credit unions over there? I got tired of the games the big banks play a long time ago and I moved all of my funds to a credit union. As a member I feel a little more ownership of my money. Whether that is accurate or not.
They have credit unions and also some cooperatives, this isn't one of those. I will change banks eventually, but this one has just been bought by a cooperative and is in the changeover process, so I will wait to see what happens.
My bank got bought twice in one year. That was the tipping point for me.
Outer voice This is inconvient
Inner voice Fuck you assholes
I once wrote a post about this subject; whose money is it anyway
I have on rare occaisions actually tried to cash checks so I could hold my earnings in my hands, and feel like it was mine.
The banks have thwarted me at every turn and proved me quite wrong.
My money, which I earn, is sent to a bank, and they hold it for me like I am a child.
And when I want it, they choose how much to give me and when.
All very fucking paternalistic.
I don't need a dad, I need a bank.
If I could go bankless, I would, and tell these 10 to 3 fucks where to go..
Sorry, this topic angers me because it is ilustrative of the whole system treating adults like children, and to make matters worse the system is as opaque as milk. Add to that the salt in the wounds, that they have the option to break their own rules, anytime they want, because they feel like it.
This just makes me feel doubly fucked. If such a thing is possibly.
I need to stop thinking about this now or I will never get any work done.
Exactly!
Oh I get it. One of my colleagues was saying that the problem with crypto is that it is anonymous, so people can hide it. Umm.... *Panama papers ring a bell? And that was scratching the top of an ocean.
I just looked up the Panama Papers and that is a crazy rabbit hole to go down.
Amazingly only 1 or 2 people went to jail.
I was trying to explain this one to the younger two (because eldest gets it and is also in the angry late teens early 20s phase). I think middle child gets it on a level but at this stage the overwhelming convenience of digital trumps everything else. Youngest doesn't want to get it and also refuses to believe that it doesn't matter in the slightest if he changes bank, problem will persist (he's had his account frozen a few times because he has a habit of saving up and then making big purchases very intermittently and we're both kind of over having to go in to the local branch to get it fixed, at least they fix it relatively quickly).
Convenience trumps everything these days. "If it isn't easy, it isn't worth it."
What happened to the saying, Nothing of value is easy.
Makes people feel bad which has to be avoided at any and all cost otherwise you get cancelled? XD
Damn can't trust banks. Cash is still king in normal world, although seems the new laws want to start making bigger amounts of cash illegal which is super weird. Less freedom to us all.
I was asked "how much cash do I take out each month" today.
It is going to start being, as much as I can.
Recently when I put a bit cash into my bank ATM I saw notification that you can only put in €5000 in month(free) after that amount they will start taking a fee. At first I thought i saw 5000 per year. Slowly adding friction but for rich.
It sucks but banks have always been that way. Are you with a small or large bank? I think the larger banks tend to have a number you can call most of the time. At least the ones in the US do. I don't know if changing your bank will really do much but I would definitely look at the options if there are issues.
This bank is relatively small in Finland, but has locations across europe. It is big enough though.
I am with another two banks for different things, so I will consider consolidating.
Wow, that is insane. I have actually heard of some instances of that happening in the Philippines as well. Some accounts got flagged for transacting/receiving funds from another flagged account. It seems they were using their bank account to receive funds after converting their crypto. P2P transactions is popular here, and the account that sent the funds might have been reported before.
I'm curious what happened with yours.
Mine ended up being some government shenanigans for ID for foreign held accounts. This account hasn't had any transfers for crypto for about four years.
Huh, that is an interesting reason. I don't know why they would lock your account for that.
That is worrying. Shall we start to keep cash under the mattress? I have multiple accounts in at least 2 countries, but still, this would greatly annoy me.
Or a trezor.
How ugly, I hope you can solve the problem. I find the bank's actions stupid and if you are not a permanent resident, then you have no right to manage your money as you please.
Wow, that's so stressful bro 😳. It's crazy how much control banks can have over our money. Makes me think about how important it is to have backup plans. Hope it all gets sorted out soon. This is why for me right I'm dealing less and less with those banks
That’s strange. I hope you’re able to solve the problem and make sure that you don’t use that account anymore
Maybe you should create another account for your salary and others
Ooh wow. That’s sad. I don’t like it when I go out and my card fails me but I’m glad your wife was there to help you out. What do you think you can do to solve the problem right now?
Just do what they tell me to do.
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