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The non-global financial circus
Feb. 21st, 2014 08:19 pmI've spent a not inconsiderable part of the day coping with the inefficiencies of the current financial infrastructure. First I went to pay off a chunk of my mortgage. I went to my old C&G branch at Moorgate, walked in, gave my cheque to the cashier and told her what I wanted to happen. After some apologies that it was "her first day", I was passed along to the next guy, who told me that it was now a TSB branch, and although he could process it, it might be a better idea for me to go to the Lloyds branch around the corner.
So, of I went to the Lloyds around the corner. That led to a 25 minute farce as they tried to work out what to do. The main problem is that most of the mortgage payments that they receive in branches are just that - payments on the mortgage. What I wanted to do was reduce the principle on an interest-only mortgage, a different transaction entirely. And they just could not find out what code they had to enter.
I think it was finally sorted out (and to be fair the guy behind the counter was extremely diligent - a far better result than blithe assurances that you get over the phone from people at, say, Thames Water, -- blithe assurances that turn out to be (a) worthless and (b) wrong), and, even if it isn't, I can always phone C&G in a week or so to make sure that my money hasn't gone astray.
Then I went back to the office and attempted to buy the rights to use a picture on the next issue's front cover. I went to the website and tried to pay for my order (once you have done that you can download the image). But Paypal (the processor) refused each and every one of the cards that I had in my pocket. That took up about half an hour.
Now, we all know that Paypal is run by fundamentalist cunts who are hopeless at everything, and that includes payment processing. I had a hunch that I knew why my cards were being rejected -- it was because they were not dollar denominated or not US-bank-issued cards.
So when I got home I tried my US debit card. And, yes, that worked. The irony here is that the card which worked was Neteller, a card that I only possess because a decade ago the cunts at Paypal decided that they wouldn't touch poker sites. And also a company of which Paypal very much does not approve.
The second farce? Paypal tried to charge me an exchange rate conversion of $1.61 (rate as I speak, $1.66). Now, hold on. Paypal has refused all UK credit cards, and has accepted a US dollar card, but THEN it wants to charge me in GBP? Luckily there was a concealed option for "other conversion options". Clicking on this meant that, instead of suffering an iniquitous (and unnecessary) conversion by Paypal, you could let your card company do the conversion. Of course, since it's a dollar account and I am paying in dollars, THERE IS NO CONVERSION, Paypal, you fuckwits.
++++++
Four weeks into the new job and, despite some moments of doubt, I can honesly say that I am sure that I made the right decision. I had failed to realize to what extent working at Informa was slowly killing me. Five days a week of early starts and having very few people to talk to. At least now I am working in a more challenging, but more interesting, job, and I have people to speak to.
A long road ahead and many challenges, but overall, at the moment, the decision gets a Birks thumbs-up.
+++++++++
So, of I went to the Lloyds around the corner. That led to a 25 minute farce as they tried to work out what to do. The main problem is that most of the mortgage payments that they receive in branches are just that - payments on the mortgage. What I wanted to do was reduce the principle on an interest-only mortgage, a different transaction entirely. And they just could not find out what code they had to enter.
I think it was finally sorted out (and to be fair the guy behind the counter was extremely diligent - a far better result than blithe assurances that you get over the phone from people at, say, Thames Water, -- blithe assurances that turn out to be (a) worthless and (b) wrong), and, even if it isn't, I can always phone C&G in a week or so to make sure that my money hasn't gone astray.
Then I went back to the office and attempted to buy the rights to use a picture on the next issue's front cover. I went to the website and tried to pay for my order (once you have done that you can download the image). But Paypal (the processor) refused each and every one of the cards that I had in my pocket. That took up about half an hour.
Now, we all know that Paypal is run by fundamentalist cunts who are hopeless at everything, and that includes payment processing. I had a hunch that I knew why my cards were being rejected -- it was because they were not dollar denominated or not US-bank-issued cards.
So when I got home I tried my US debit card. And, yes, that worked. The irony here is that the card which worked was Neteller, a card that I only possess because a decade ago the cunts at Paypal decided that they wouldn't touch poker sites. And also a company of which Paypal very much does not approve.
The second farce? Paypal tried to charge me an exchange rate conversion of $1.61 (rate as I speak, $1.66). Now, hold on. Paypal has refused all UK credit cards, and has accepted a US dollar card, but THEN it wants to charge me in GBP? Luckily there was a concealed option for "other conversion options". Clicking on this meant that, instead of suffering an iniquitous (and unnecessary) conversion by Paypal, you could let your card company do the conversion. Of course, since it's a dollar account and I am paying in dollars, THERE IS NO CONVERSION, Paypal, you fuckwits.
++++++
Four weeks into the new job and, despite some moments of doubt, I can honesly say that I am sure that I made the right decision. I had failed to realize to what extent working at Informa was slowly killing me. Five days a week of early starts and having very few people to talk to. At least now I am working in a more challenging, but more interesting, job, and I have people to speak to.
A long road ahead and many challenges, but overall, at the moment, the decision gets a Birks thumbs-up.
+++++++++
