I came home tonight with the intention of writing a post about my life with depression (sure, I bet the kids are just clamouring for that) but instead I hit another bump in the road. I was going through my mail and saw that my credit card statement had arrived. After looking at the balance, eh, no big shock there- I inured myself to that number a long time ago, I was reviewing the individual charges. "How did I spend $88 at Duane Reade?" I thought. Then I looked at the next charge: another big charge at Duane Reade. And another one. Then, a charge at a place called "Atlantis Wash and Lube". And so on. Many of these charges were made in Queens, and as we all know, I've never been to Queens. "Oh my God," I said as the realization dawned on me. "Someone stole my credit card number."
I called my Credit Card company right away and after I finally got someone on the phone I said, "I'm really nervous, I think I've been the victim of fraud." The first response of the Customer Service Rep was to try to enroll me in the Credit Guard Protection program at $11.99 a month, to which I, in my weakened state, agreed. Then he transferred me to Security. I told the agent all of the charges that were not mine, all of them made over the course of two days and totalling over $300. The woman set about cleaning up my record and closing my account. Then, I started to cry. "Miss? What's wrong Miss?" said the Representitive.
I couldn't put it into words, everything just felt so wrong. "Don't worry," said the Credit Card lady. "You won't have to pay for these charges."
"I don't know how this happened! I'm always so careful about shredding my statements. Who did this? How much of my information do they have?"
"Credit Card fraud is very common," said the woman. "Especially in New York. Someone out there just has a counterfit of your credit card. Don't worry. We're going to close the account and issue a new one." The woman didn't get it- I didn't really care about the $300; I know it is a cliche, but I felt so violated.
So then I did what I frequently do when I'm freaked out and crying- I called Timmy. "Don't worry," I said. "It's nothing important! I know it's dumb, but I'm just crying because someone stole my credit card number."
Timmy was very sympathetic. He told me that it was okay and that it wasn't my fault. Then he said, "Don't tell your Dad." Good advice, T. I'm glad I overrode that instinct.
So now I think I'll have some ice cream and go to bed. Because that is the kind of week it has been. Maybe if you're lucky you can read about my struggle with depression tomorrow. Cross your fingers.
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6 comments:
hang in there...i know how you feel...same thing happened to me at the end of 2005...except i actually knew the culprit. getting the money back involved either pressing charges against the person (a sibling) or confronting the person directly with the threat of criminal charges...
not easy and tres depressing....
just know you're not alone in in the sadness train. i've been going through my own peronal sob story for the longest...so if you need to unload to someone with some physical distance from your situation drop me a line at problem hyphen kind at gmx dot net (no spaces)
aw, cupcake!
Somehting like that happened with my debit card a few weeks back. One of those "gee, I thought I had a lot more money than this in my account" moments. A little investigation and someone had charged 600.00 at office depot (where i don't shop) and 80.00 at chilis (where i don't eat. at least not since college and dollar margarita night). Turned out they also attempted to charge 600.00 at neiman marcus, but it was over my daily spending limit. I always figured that since i have such an unusual name this would never happen - why pick on me when you could pick on the jane smiths?
As for the other things, hold tight, spring's almost here, and a little more sunlight can make a big difference.
Some cry in these situations, others get angry. Very angry. To wit,
http://themukreport.blogspot.com/2005/12/target-literally.html
Seriously, that sucks. $100 or $1000, it's an invasion of space that can leave you feeling traumatized. Blah.
Now get cracking on the depression post.
Own your depression! You have been violated and you should fully experience it. All of these different moods, no matter where they come from or what causes them make up who you are. You are not a one-dimensional person and you shouldn't treat yourself as such. Write about your depression and your sadness Nancy. Why put down this part of yourself when you don't overly celebrate your happy days or weeks or your good moods. I don't understand why people try to wriggle out of negative feelings so much. We need them to balance ourselves out. I mean, if depression is long lasting or gets very serious, that is a different issue. People over use the word depression, just like the words love and hate - but regardless - I am one reader who will clamor for all of your moods, good, and bad, sad, angry - it doesn't matter. All of these things make you who you are and I like you. My fingers are crossed.
Dude, that is terrible.
I'm sorry.
But the ice cream seems like a good start on the road to recovery.
Feel better.
I should give my readers more credit. You guys are pretty amazing. Now please send in your credit card numbers. It's just for research purposes, I promise.
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