95% of the time, I absolutely love studying abroad. I love meeting new people, traveling, studying at a new university, everything. Yes, I miss my friends and family from back home, using my car instead of public transportation, and USC, but I love it here as well. The biggest obstacle I have faced in my semester here has to do with my bank.
Before leaving the US, I made sure to inform my bank and credit card that I would be spending the semester in Europe and traveling a lot so that they would not put a fraud alert on my cards and turn them off. I was told that the note on my credit card would only be good for 90 days, so I would have to call the collect number in mid-May to let them know that I was still in Europe. My debit card, however, was set for the semester. Or so I was told.
In mid-March, as I was booking flights for Spring Break and my train tickets for Rome, my credit and debit cards suddenly stopped working. My parents received a call at home that there was a fraud alert on my account due to "unusual spending on travel in Europe." It took me about two days to finally figure out how to get through to my bank. I had to first call the AT&T Switzerland operator and then have them put me through to my bank. Once I got through, it was relatively easy to take the hold off my cards. My parents can't call and speak to the bank for me since I am the only name on the account.
Friday, as I was booking my train ticket to Geneva, my debit card again did not work. I was able to book it with my credit card, but I was angry that, again, my debit card had been shut off due to fraud alert (I knew this because my parents had gotten a call from the bank again). I called through to the operator and they put me through to the bank's number (the same number I had called in March). Calling an operator is odd. I can hear the conversation between the bank employee and the operator, with the operator asking the bank if they will receive my collect call. To my shock, my bank does not accept my collect call. Except this is the exact same number I called collect back in March. I am absolutely livid. I could deal without my credit card for my final month in Europe; the only time I ever really use it is to book travel and that is already booked for the rest of the semester. My debit card is another problem, considering that's how I get money out of the ATM. So I have 200CHF left from the last time I withdrew money, my bank will not accept my call to tell them to turn my card back on, and my parents can't call because their names aren't on the account. So I then tried calling the number on the back of my credit card, even though my credit card is still working fine. This is the number that specifically says it is for collect calls from outside the US. Again, they do not accept my collect call. I cannot even to begin to describe how angry I am at this point. Both my parents are livid too.
The only option we can see to get through to the bank is for me to turn my iPhone back on and use that (as opposed to my Swiss phone that I had been using) to call the 800 number (and spend who knows how much money making an international call). I finally got through, they verified my charges, and stated that there had never been a hold on my card since there was a note that I was traveling. To which I asked, my voice dripping with all my pent up anger, then why had my card stopped working?
I am praying that my debit card works when I try to withdraw money tomorrow. According to the woman I spoke to on the phone, it should. Regardless, I have decided to leave my bank when I get home. It's a relatively small bank, only in a few states, not including South Carolina. I don't know where I'll end up after graduation, but chances are my bank won't be there anyway. And after dealing with this mess, I don't think there is anything they could do to get me to stay.
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