Just 10 days ago, Mrs J and I were shopping quietly as usual. At the checkout the machine said ‘Card cancelled’. (!)
Within half an hour we arrived at our local bank. They had no idea it had happened or why but the chip had been deactivated by ‘somebody’ and a new card was duly ordered post haste. I sent a WTF message to the netbank ‘system’ in the hope of enlightenment and received a strange reply, to the effect that the bank had been advised by the Tax Office that I did not have an address in Denmark and that the card had been duly cancelled.
That’s strange because in this police state my address is clearly recorded in the ‘folkeregister’ and accessible to banks and other institutions. And a quick phone call to our friendly local taxman confirmed that the records showed nothing which might have prompted any call to the bank. So now I await the assistance of the bank’s CEO who, I hope, was suitably underwhelmed by my experience and ready to investigate. Not holding my breath.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Which reminds me of a great ad running here at the moment
enjoy 🙂
Would it be fair to say that you couldn’t have your card and swipe it! 😉
🙂
I was once in the bank I used regularly in Brum near the boy’s flat and was moving some dollars over to the UK using a card. The police rang and said to take my card and hold me. That I was money laundering!!!
The manager refused point blank, said she knew me, that I did this regularly and basically they had got it wrong and go and persecute someone else!!
Evidently what tipped the whole thing off was that I had breached the 10,000 dollar barrier that I had never done before on a transfer.
What a hoohaa, we called the card company from the manager’s office, all we got was “Oh sorry!”
Nowadays I call the card company before departure inform them that I am traveling and will be making foreign charges. I have never had a repeat.
But can you imagine that little scenario had it happened somewhere I was a stranger?
good luck sorting it out.
CO, good evening.
Your #4? A fine rant as ever.
But I worry that your chosen spelling of the participle of ‘travel’ in your penultimate paragraph might be a subtle hint that you have finally given up completely on our great country and our orthography and are now in training to become a Septic.
Error on my part.
Got a question for you JM.
The USA has rescinded Snowden’s passport.
Does having a passport withdrawn make one a stateless person, and if so how can the USA possibly demand his subsequent repatriation?
Surely by negating his citizenship they no longer have any say what he does or where he goes. Strikes me an own goal!
JM, glad to see you here so I can assure you that Gordon McKie, trying to buy up the bits and pieces of your football club, is no relation despite the surname.
CO at 6 Probably getting him ready for “Termination with extreme prejudice”. . Why do these flakes think they can take the shilling and make the rules?
Too many unanswered questions, J, very worrying. Why did it say “Card cancelled” in English? Why was the taxman telling the bank (inaccurately) about your address? Would it have been different if you had been shopping noisily?
Tambman, it said it in Danish akshully. The taxman didn’t akshully. Your last question is so metaphysical I can only wonder! 🙂