Charge it or charge it to experience?
March 16, 2004 | 12:00am
For most of us, it’s something we can’t leave home without. We’re not talking about the near-indispensable cellphone. What we’re talking about is the omnipresent credit card, aka the almighty plastic money. In some stores in the US, if you fork out a $100 bill, the cashier will eye you suspiciously, short of asking, "How can I be sure your money is not fake?" Or, "Did you just rob a bank?"
The reason could be that in the land of plastic money, sales clerks are just not used to seeing real paper money.
Today, with assorted criminal elements preying on the city, nobody feels safe bringing so much cash around (or even just moving around, with or without cash). Our card-toting friends agree that the credit card is much safer to carry around than good old cash. You can charge most anything to your credit card. And then there are things without a price tag that you can only charge to experience. These stories were passed on to us by somebody who got it from somebody who must have gotten it from somebody else, etc. via e-mail:
SCENE 1: A friend goes to a gym for his routine workout and puts his belongings in the locker. After the workout and a shower, he comes out and sees his locker open. He tells himself, "Funny, I thought I locked the locker." He dresses up and flips through his wallet to make sure everything is in there. Everything looks okay, all cards in their places.
A few weeks later, his credit card bill arrives. His bill reads a whopping P140,000! Enraged, he immediately calls up the credit card company and starts yelling at the person on the other line, saying that he did not make such and such transactions. The customer care personnel goes to verify and says there is no mistake in the system. He is then asked if his card had been stolen. "No," he replies, as he takes out his wallet and pulls out his card. Yup, you guessed it — a switch was made. A similar (same type from the same bank) but expired card was placed in his wallet. A thief broke into his locker in the gym and switched the cards.
So what happens now? The credit card issuer says that since the credit card holder did not report the card missing earlier, he would still have to pay the amount owed to the company.
SCENE 2: After eating in a restaurant, the bill comes and you dish out your credit card to settle it. The waitress comes back with your official receipt, which you sign. She also returns your card. Usually, you’d just take it and put it back in your wallet without looking at it. But suddenly, you take a look at the card and see that it’s an expired card belonging to another person. You call the waitress and she looks perplexed. She takes it back, apologizes and hurries back to the counter under your watchful eyes. She simply waves the wrong expired card at the cashier who immediately looks down and takes out the right card. No exchange of words, no nothing. Just a silent conspiracy.
Moral of the story: It pays to make sure that the credit cards in your wallet are yours. Check the name on the card every time you sign for something and your card is taken away from you even for a short period of time. Develop the habit of checking your credit card each time you take it back.
Concerned consumers have also alerted motorists via e-mail to watch out and steer clear of danger that lurks whether in the streets or in the parking lot. Be street-smart. Stop, look and listen to these warnings:
WARNING 1: You’re walking to your car in a parking lot. You unlock the door and get inside. Having locked all your doors, you start the engine and shift into reverse. You look in your rear-view mirror to back out of the parking space and you notice a piece of paper, some sort of an advertising flyer, stuck to your rear window. So you shift into park, unlock the doors and jump out of your car to remove that paper that’s obstructing your view. When you reach the back of your car, a group of men materialize out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off. Your engine is running, your purse and other belongings are in the car, and they practically mow you down as they speed away in your car.
Beware of this new car-jacking scheme. Just drive away and remove the paper that’s stuck to your window later.
WARNING 2: If you are driving after dark and you see a car without its headlights on, do not flash your lights, do not blow horn or make any signal to the driver in the other car. There is a new gang initiation in the streets. The new member drives without headlights on until someone notices. Once someone does and makes a signal to call the gang member’s attention, the latter is now required to chase the car and shoot at or into the car to complete his initiation.
You can’t be too careful these days, can you?
If there’s something bugging you and you think we can help, e-mail us at ching_alano@yahoo.com.
The reason could be that in the land of plastic money, sales clerks are just not used to seeing real paper money.
Today, with assorted criminal elements preying on the city, nobody feels safe bringing so much cash around (or even just moving around, with or without cash). Our card-toting friends agree that the credit card is much safer to carry around than good old cash. You can charge most anything to your credit card. And then there are things without a price tag that you can only charge to experience. These stories were passed on to us by somebody who got it from somebody who must have gotten it from somebody else, etc. via e-mail:
SCENE 1: A friend goes to a gym for his routine workout and puts his belongings in the locker. After the workout and a shower, he comes out and sees his locker open. He tells himself, "Funny, I thought I locked the locker." He dresses up and flips through his wallet to make sure everything is in there. Everything looks okay, all cards in their places.
A few weeks later, his credit card bill arrives. His bill reads a whopping P140,000! Enraged, he immediately calls up the credit card company and starts yelling at the person on the other line, saying that he did not make such and such transactions. The customer care personnel goes to verify and says there is no mistake in the system. He is then asked if his card had been stolen. "No," he replies, as he takes out his wallet and pulls out his card. Yup, you guessed it — a switch was made. A similar (same type from the same bank) but expired card was placed in his wallet. A thief broke into his locker in the gym and switched the cards.
So what happens now? The credit card issuer says that since the credit card holder did not report the card missing earlier, he would still have to pay the amount owed to the company.
SCENE 2: After eating in a restaurant, the bill comes and you dish out your credit card to settle it. The waitress comes back with your official receipt, which you sign. She also returns your card. Usually, you’d just take it and put it back in your wallet without looking at it. But suddenly, you take a look at the card and see that it’s an expired card belonging to another person. You call the waitress and she looks perplexed. She takes it back, apologizes and hurries back to the counter under your watchful eyes. She simply waves the wrong expired card at the cashier who immediately looks down and takes out the right card. No exchange of words, no nothing. Just a silent conspiracy.
Moral of the story: It pays to make sure that the credit cards in your wallet are yours. Check the name on the card every time you sign for something and your card is taken away from you even for a short period of time. Develop the habit of checking your credit card each time you take it back.
WARNING 1: You’re walking to your car in a parking lot. You unlock the door and get inside. Having locked all your doors, you start the engine and shift into reverse. You look in your rear-view mirror to back out of the parking space and you notice a piece of paper, some sort of an advertising flyer, stuck to your rear window. So you shift into park, unlock the doors and jump out of your car to remove that paper that’s obstructing your view. When you reach the back of your car, a group of men materialize out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off. Your engine is running, your purse and other belongings are in the car, and they practically mow you down as they speed away in your car.
Beware of this new car-jacking scheme. Just drive away and remove the paper that’s stuck to your window later.
WARNING 2: If you are driving after dark and you see a car without its headlights on, do not flash your lights, do not blow horn or make any signal to the driver in the other car. There is a new gang initiation in the streets. The new member drives without headlights on until someone notices. Once someone does and makes a signal to call the gang member’s attention, the latter is now required to chase the car and shoot at or into the car to complete his initiation.
You can’t be too careful these days, can you?
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