What to do when your wallet with debit cards and credit cards gets stolen.

People have their wallets stolen all the time, its happened to you, its happened to people you know.  picked from their pockets in the train or in the bus or in a crowd or their domestic help flicks it  and you  realize it only when the messages start popping in for the transactions of withdrawals at ATMs / merchants/ fuel pumps and you really don’t know what to do because you don’t even know the account number/ card number sometimes you don’t even know the Bank name either and in the state of Panic you forget the name of the account holders too which is you yourself or your spouse or which or your children or …….   

 WHAT DO YOU DO?

  

In a lot of ways I just refuse to connect with people but somehow people associated with my wife and my child imagine me as the man who probably works in a bank and has the answer to everything associated including the odd phone call every now and then from neighbors, friends and relatives to check if the bank was open today or would open tomorrow or not.  

To be fair ; the banks print a lot of paper on the DON’T DO THIS LIST but people simply refuse to read it because it is fine print and if its bold print then they are only selling something. So why read it. 

Ignorance and Stupidity have no age. At the age of 15/20/30/40/50/60/70/80 also you can remember the name of your childhood crush and his/her birthday but you simply refuse to memorize a 4 digit password for an ATM Card / Credit Card.  You would rather keep the password noted on a piece of paper or maybe the same paper along with the respective cards in an organized manner and pat yourself on your back for your meticulous organization skills. Some of you would even keep signed blank cheques in your wallets, just In case the ATM runs out of money.  So much so for a backup for a backup.

  

It’s amazing how the same person who has an OCD of checking the house lock twice and then walks away but turns back to open the lock again, reopens the lock and walks into the kitchen to check if the Gas was fully turned off, Locks up the house again, checks the lock twice again after turning the keys and keeping it in the pocket and walks away knowing he has done everything to secure the house from theft and fire. 

To cut a long story short – people forget their wife’s and offspring’s birthdays despite running successful and rewarding lives but don’t know what to do when they find their wallet missing other than asking for  help, which is also a great thing. It’s a good thing to seek help. By nature all of us are helpful and sensitive in nature.  

It’s just money, earned through your lifetime lying in your bank account, waiting to find a purpose 

Call the helpline of the respective banks. Immediately !

Yes, you need to know the names of the banks for you to start with, to begin to even search for the help line numbers or anyone to be able to help you.

I could note down all the helpline numbers here but that would be a waste of time or maybe I will, who knows. 

Almost all bank help lines even the automated Interactive Voice Responses have the first option as Card or Bank account and then generally have the 1^st option as report loss of card. It is Open 24x7x365.  

There is a real human being’s voice at the other end. (That should put you at ease) 

Tell your Name/ Bank account/ Debit Card number/ Credit Card Number and the representative would hotlist the debit cards / credit cards immediately after verifying your identity with your complete name/ date of birth/ mother’s maiden name / last transaction / last payment / last withdrawal / mobile number / billing address or any other random information that only you would know.  

Remember to take down the service request number / the last transaction on the account and the balance for follow up action.

You might ask why would they ask you for verification, instead of simply blocking the card but the fact is that if they don’t, you could simply block anyone’s card by just knowing his/ her  name. Imagine the fun pranks you could play on your friends by simply blocking their debit cards and credit cards.  Yes you can do that, if you do your homework properly. (There is a forward going on in whatsapp on why to remove your name/mobile from Facebook else fraudsters can empty your bank account without even stealing your wallet)  

Now here is the tricky part in the mind - - like most people including me,  you don’t know your account number/ debit card number/ credit card number so what do you do now ?

If you are, who you are saying who you are – say upfront you lost your cards with your wallet and you don’t know the numbers.

Assist the representative of the bank with your Name / Date of Birth / Pan Number / registered mobile number and he/she will be able to pull out all the details.  It is all a matter of keying in the details while you speak it out slowly and clearly.  

If you don’t know or don’t have your PAN Number or can’t even remember your Mobile number -  then you might face some difficulty or an extension of anxious moments but nothing that can’t be overcome because searching further requires isolating your name matched details with further verification.   Yes there are other people in the world who have the same name and the same date of birth as you, living in the same country and having an account with the same bank in the same city and the same branch. Amazing isn’t it. 

If it is a bank account – it helps knowing the city and the branch in which the account was opened for quicker search and find on the bank’s data base.  

Well so you get the general drift now.  That’s about all there is to it. 

If you have overcome your state of panic by this time, then go ahead and request for a fresh replacement credit card/ debit card in this phone call itself.  Considering you don’t know your account number or card number and the representative would not be disclosing the same to you, other than confirming that the same has been blocked.  You would not be able make a fresh phone call to request for a new debit card/ credit card till you go through your records at home to find your account/ card numbers. 

Repeat the above process by calling the helpline for all the remaining banks.  I know it is not fun but every subsequent phone call is easier to follow through as you go down through your list of cards to block. 

On re-issuance of the plastic, all your standing instructions would get transferred to the new number and you don’t have to do anything for that and trust me that knowing that from beforehand is a big relief.  

But then not to underestimate the power of the buffoonery of the humans and the quality of the mobile network - Calls can get dropped - Please call back.  Sometimes a particular representative may not be able to search for your particular account successfully and express regret. Not to worry – Simply disconnect and call back again and start afresh. The representative at the other end is a new one and would have a different skill and training level and may be able to help you successfully. I have experienced such instances in my life time and hence mentioning.  Please also explore the possibility that you might not have an account with that bank either. 

I have also come across a bank whose helpline was not willing to search and find without knowing the account number or the debit card number and that was truly a scary situation to be in that despite giving all personal details the helpline expressed its inability to act upon the loss of debit card and that is what prompted me to write this piece. 

Interestingly the wonderful thing about the cards in your wallets are that they come with an expiry date too. If you are lucky you might be carrying cards in your wallets which have expired and the helpline would update you on the status as EXPIRED.    

In the times and age that I live in, the word “EXPIRED” never provided so much of relief.

In case you are the internet savvy customer – all banks have the option of hot listing of debit cards including registered credit cards after you have logged in.  It’s faster than calling the help line.

In case you have the mobile app of the bank you use – you can hotlist your card on that aswell.

Replacement cards generally arrive in 3 to 4 days. If you live in the Metros you have the new card at your doorstep even before you have taken complete stock of your life after you lost your wallet and made those phone calls. 

Now that you have the cards - replacement cards cost a mere Rs 150/- plus taxes to Rs 200/- plus taxes and vary from bank to bank.  

Hope this helped.

   

Monsoon Magic 2016.

Observations of a working visa tourist Life in Mumbai monsoons. 

People walking along the road and crossing the zebra crossing all seem to be walking with a purpose.  They seem to have a spring in their walk by and large.  Very Unlike the Delhiite who waddles or saunters or simply drags his feet.  

People leave their shoes under their work stations, change into their walking shoes and head for home. In the morning they practically dress up in the office.  

Folks eat breakfast in office. It's their morning togetherness  before beginning the day.  

Folks buy breakfast on their way to work from street side vendors and bring it to workplace in their tiffins. 

It's a regular practice not a one off day of indulgence.   

It can rain anytime with no predictability on either the strength or the length of the time of the downpour.  

The city does not stop just because it's raining.  

The city does not stop just because it is flooded.  It only pauses.   

In any case traffic only crawls in the best of times.  

Auto drivers are generally polite. They do travel by the meter without an exchange of argument, depending on the time of the day. It's all a matter of demand and supply at the pickup point.  

The meter does rule.  Auto drivers return change of Rs 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 7 or 7 or 8 or 9.  They don't crib about it and try to make an extra few bucks in the name of chutta nahi hai.  

By and large they wish you back with an exchange of greeting. 

Well all is not really fair.  You do have a few autos with their meters rigged.  For a regular Rs 37 bucks can end up being Rs 40 on the same route at a shorter distance and lesser time.  Yes it does happen.  Sometimes it's only Rs 34 or Rs 35.  It sets the mind wondering.  

Wish I had made notes of the conversations with the auto driver and the ola cab.  It's an insight into life you have seen and not seen, heard about it or not, known about it or not known about it.  It's all good because the conversation will end without a baggage at the destination.  

The security guards that frisk you before entering the metro are not used to being wished a good morning or a thank you. No wonder their return of the greeting is a little delayed but they do turn around and wish you back though you have passed them by.  

The office building security guards are pretty polite about requesting to see your I card.  

The residence building guards respond to your good mornings and good evenings with equal enthusiasm.  3 fortnights down the line.  It's the reverse.  They wish me instead of me wishing them just in case I miss - if I am lost in my own world or am occupied on the phone.  

It's like creating a new world of familiarity around you of people wishing you a good morning and a good evening or a good night.   It's kind of immaterial.  What's material is the smile that it brings on the face without any deliberation  even if it is artificial and we might not know each other's name ever.  

Ladies selling breakfast on the pavements of Mumbai from 8.00 am is a fairly common sight.  They are all neatly dressed with well oiled hair and yes they do wear flowers in their hair.   If it's raining there is an umbrella at hand and the hand is that of a gentleman.  

Umbrella?   Yup you always need to carry one on you.  It's like a walk in the city with your phone in one hand and an umbrella in the other.   

Don't mind getting your shoes wet ?   

Keep waking in the rain.  The street turns into an ankle deep fast flowing river.  Now that your leather shoes are soaked in water you will mind it and there is nothing you can do about it as the passing by double decker bus sprays water all over your trousers upto knee high. Squish squish is a sound remembered from childhood rainy days. Cut to : Why not drenched upto your waist ?  Well you know buses can't really drive very fast in this city.  Leather shoes soaked in rain water muck don't dry overnight and there is no sunshine.  If you are lucky to see the sun don't make the mistake of drying them in the sun. You need to dry them with newspaper lots of newspaper. 

Keep marching onwards. 

There is no sense of panic till the time you can make it to the 6.22 pm fast local to wherever and that's how you figure out that this city is not tuned into the system clock or the sun or the moon or the rain or the shine. It's tuned into to the digital clock of the Mumbai suburban railway and the Indian railways only recovers 36% of the the operational costs from the passengers.  So for all of you who thought this was a city driven by capitalism.   It's socialism that's powering the entire city daily all the way through the heart and back. 

Ever seen a road on a map that simply ends.  Of course you have. But  have you seen a road simply end because there is no place to go on land.  

Well that's Bombay for you. 

And when the sun does come out, You can smell it through the entire city.  I always thought that's dead fish.   Of course it's dead fish ! damn it ! but we are drying them so that they did not die in vain.  

As a kid staying outside the municipal limits of Lucknow -   It used to be an event going to town.   

At age 43 in Mumbai.  "I am going to town" is also kind of an event. 

The great divide still exists.