Wednesday 27 July 2011

Divine intervention?

The world just got crazier!  I don't know whether to be impressed, disconcerted or worried by the recent communication from my bank.
The phone rang and a voice informed me that it was a mechanised automatic check by the bank for Reverend Jean.   I was instructed to disconnect immediately if I was not Reverend Jean. There were at  least two voices used in the one sentence and Reverend Jean was spoken in a deep sinister sounding voice which was decidedly alien.

I was then informed that they were not going to ask me for any pin numbers but they had to check that I was indeed Reverend Jean.  I passed that bit , confirmed that I'd paid off my MasterCard this morning and they then went through yesterdays spending.  Money spent at a grocery store was followed by money spent in a bar! They managed a note of scepticism and disapproval here.  They went all the way back to last week!
I know they are doing this to protect me. When ever I was abroad they always rang my son to make sure that it really was me spending all that money.  It reminds me of the old days when if I bought my husband a present he always knew about it by the time he got home.  Someone on the staff always let the bank manager know what his wife had been spending her money on!
After he had died I went out to buy my first computer. The man in the shop rang the bank for clearance. He looked up and said.
"She wants to know how your husband is? "
I took the phone off him.  It was one of Davids old colleagues who knew perfectly well that he had died. We chatted for a few moments before she told the man in the shop it was Ok I was good for the money even though my husband would not have approved!  

I got used to having my spending monitored from afar...but this new automated call really did sound very weird.
 Good job I'm not easily spooked   or I might think its David the first  checking up on me from the second cloud on the left, whilst he plays the harp and adjusts his halo!

1 comment:

UKViewer said...

I've had this sort of call several times, although, not from an automated operator. Mostly if I spend money over the internet.

I find it intrusive, so I always ask for a name and a direct land line number to call them back on (I haven't got caller display) and call them back to verify that they are, who they say they are.

Normally, they have an Asian accent as their call centres are in India. I often have difficulty overcoming the Cockney English and Asian English language barrier.

Fortunately, I heard recently that they've moved their call centres back to the UK. Yay for that.

I must admit that I find the vision of your departed husband, sitting on a cloud, playing a harp and checking up on you rather amusing.