Visa

When we first arrived with Kezia in the UK, it quickly became obvious that I would have to find some way of getting money to Nanda and the easiest way seemed to convert my bank account into a joint account so that Nanda would have her own Visa card to use in ATMs, go shopping etc.

My own Visa card was to expire at the end of March so envisaging Visa would send a new card to our UK address (given as a correspondence address for the account even though the account is actually held offshore th the Channel Islands), given postal delays, airport strikes etc. I asked to be issued a new card when I last visited the UK at Christmas last year. Promptly received before I returned here.

I continued to use the old one until the beginning of last week (still March) when I thought "Let's try the new one". It worked. So I had two valid cards.

On 2 April I try and withdraw some more money. The old card has obviously expired so use the card issued at Christmas and valid until 09/10 ... only for it to be rejected!

Uh?

I ring Nanda on Friday morning first thing ... "oh yes a new card arrived for you here two weeks ago!"

AAARGH!

Rang the bank and sorted it out.

So Visa issued me a card in December, issue another card for 1 April to the UK address and cancelled the card issued in December ... and left me high, dry and broke on the Equator!

And as a P.S. Nanda received a letter from the bank's fraud unit on Friday asking us to call them which I duly did (thanks again Ken). Everything ok - seems we are not money-laundering for al-Qaeda or African drug-runners.