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January 2008 is nearly over, and I’m glad. It’s been an awful month for me in several respects. I’m hoping that February and the Chinese New Year will bring me some good luck. My astrologer friend says it should be a good year for Monkeys like me:

Passion, excitement and glory await you in 2008. It is one of the most promising years you’ve seen of recent times full of material, spiritual and physical fulfilment. A new chapter in your life begins and you’re full of vitality, shining with a youthful exuberance. Your finances are good and it is good time to apply for a loan, maybe for business or property. You will have that little extra and you may choose to be generous with it. For those who are still single, there are interested suitors hanging around. Act quickly as 2008 is an especially auspicious year for monkey marriages. Your intuition and instincts will serve you well so listen to your feelings; explore your inner world. Being that this is your dream-year, it will pay to give back to those who are not doing so well. Build your karmic rewards and see just how fantastic you can make 2008.

Good news, eh?

Anyway my money situation has been dire this month. I guess I overextended myself over Christmas, though I still thought I was okay. However when I checked my bank account I discovered that I was £115 over my overdraft limit, and that my lovely bank, the Halifax, were planning to take a total of £245 (nearly US$500) out of my account the following week. That didn’t even include the monthly unauthorised overdraft charge of £28. I felt angry at myself and at the bank. They charged £35 for seven separate payments, one of which was a direct debit of just £3.99 for my mobile phone insurance. I had no clue that I was overdrawn when I’d gone shopping and bought some items on my debit card, the bank just let them go through as normal. Why bother to decline my payments when they can charge me £35 for each one? Evil bankers.

So the next day I visited my branch in Croydon. I asked to see an account manager, but instead I saw a customer adviser who was being supervised by a manager. The adviser tried to flog me a loan, after I’d already told her that I was there to discuss these exorbitant fees. She kept on trying to create some fake raport by asking me about my job, then asking me the same questions over and over. “Do you have any other credit cards?” “So, you don’t have any other credit cards?”

Then I spoke to the manager, and asked for her help. I asked her why the bank hadn’t declined my instore debits, and she told me that they apparently had a duty to the retailers… where’s the duty to their own customers? I also mentioned the current High Court case between the Office of Fair Trading and the banks about unfair (unlawful) bank charges. She snapped at me, and apparently thought that I was threatening to take them to court!

In the end she told me that she’d get back to me. I basically told her that if they went ahead and charged me they could forget the loan, and lose me as a customer. Half an hour later her minion called and told me that they’d removed five of the seven charges, which was a definite result. I’m still going for gold and will aim to get back the last 6 years worth of bank charges.

So after all that I’ve been trying not to spend much money, but somehow it seems like money is currently running through my fingers like water. Tonight I arrived home from work and saw my phone bill waiting for me. It’s usually not a big deal, as the contract is £35 for 500 texts and 500 mins to any network, and I never exceed those limits so it’s never more than £37 even if I send a text or two to America or Jamaica or France. This time however, my bill came to about eighty pounds! How did that happen?!!! A brief look showed me that the person I called the most was good old Miguel, who often calls me and asks me to call him back because he’s on a pay as you go mobile. Some of our calls were over an hour long, and those long calls had pushed me over the 500 minute threshold, which meant that my calls were costing up to 40p a minute. Damn.

I really need to get back on track. I need to sell a few things, like my Mont Blanc pen, my Seiko watch, some books, CDs, etc. I probably need to pull my finger out and start working full-time like normal people…

Or is it time to rob a bank?

Written by PJ | Posted in my life

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