Credit Card Woes

We haven't had many issues with our credit cards while traveling the past 15 years until recently. Oh, sure, we get frustrated when charges don't go through, but we usually don't have issues with unauthorized charges. The current problem is not a fraud thing, though we've had a few charges on our account from time to time that weren't ours. We had an issue in Chile once when buying diesel where the owner knowingly charged us twice. Luckily, I caught it before we left Puerto Montt … he had done the same thing to another cruiser as well. We visited him with the proof of the duplicate charges. He said it was just a little mix-up and sheepishly handed us back cash on the spot.

This time, it's a little different. I noticed a duplicate charge on our Visa card account at the end of May. I called the little restaurant that charged us twice, explained the issue to the manager, but was met with a bit of resistance. Bring your receipt and come to the restaurant, she said. Well, I didn't have the receipt any longer and the restaurant wasn't convenient to get to. I lodged an on-line dispute with the credit card company and let it go at that.

About a week later, another duplicate charge showed up … different vendor. This place had a customer service department and the woman promised to look into it immediately and credit out the dupe charge. She was good on her word, but of course, the rand exchange had changed and so the credit was for a bit less than the duplicate charge. Only 25 cents, no big deal. No problem.

Recently, however, I checked our account and saw a duplicate charge for all that rope we just bought, as well as a dupe charge for several items purchased at the chandlery. Now, we were starting to talk serious money and it didn't appear it was the vendors who were at fault, but rather a communication snag between the banks and the credit card company.

I had the miserable task of calling the credit card company. We only have a local cell phone and overseas charges are not cheap. I opted to use Skype which has, in the past, worked well for us. The first step is establishing your card number and passing all the security codes … no problem. Then getting to a representative … relatively easy. After explaining the problem in detail, Don from Tampa, admitted he couldn't help me. I had to talk to the Disputes Department … but they don't work 24x7 and they'd just left for the day. Drat!

I called back during Disputes business hours and had to go through the same rigamarole with establishing account number, security, etc., got to a  representative who insisted I give her the rundown before she switched me once again to Disputes. My Disputes rep, Buddy, had an odd accent. No comment on that. Once again, I explained the issues and after delineating each charge and duplicate charge and explaining that the differences in charges in dollars were due to the fluctuating Rand exchange rate, he put me on hold … forever. After a 25 minute hold-time, I was disconnected.

When I tried calling back, the credit card company was “experiencing a high volume of calls, but be patient while our customer service representatives work hard to handle your call as soon as possible.” Another 20 minute wait had me identifying myself to Chris from Somewhere and explaining the problem. She was sympathetic … anything to pass the crazy woman on to another representative … and held the line while she patched me through to Disputes David from Tampa.

Disputes David knew his stuff, but admitted he'd never heard of this particular problem before (dupe charges from several different vendors) and had no idea how to even go about fixing it. He did, however, provide me with a direct line to follow up with him and promised to credit our account for the dupe charges while he was investigating further. He took my cell phone number and actually called back later in the day. He wondered how I was swiping the card … maybe that accounted for the problem? Really … swiping the card incorrectly could account for dupe charges. I expressed my doubt about this possibility. He promised to work on the problem some more.

I checked my account again today and sure enough, Disputes David had credited the dupe charges, however he'd credited them incorrectly. He credited out not only the dupe, but the original charge on one and didn't credit out the dupes on two others. Sigh! This is going to take awhile, I fear.

I guess the moral of the story is to check your credit card charges frequently and carefully. It's so easy to sneak an unauthorized charge onto your account, especially if you use your card frequently and the transactions list is long. Most banks/credit card companies allow 90-120 days to dispute charges and we're not liable for the duplicate charges. It's just the hassle of straightening it all out from afar.

Easy to Make Ditty Bags...and Groundhogs Day

I mentioned awhile ago that David had asked me to make some new ditty bags the next time I had the sewing machine out. He uses them for holding various parts and tools. I use them for things like clothespins and sewing supplies. I had cut up the old bimini and salvaged some good-sized chunks of useable Sunbrella fabric which provided ample material for the half dozen new bags he'd requested. For those of you who don't know what a ditty bag is, here's Wiktionary's definition. Though the origin of the term ditty bag is not clear, it appears to be a nautical term used in the 1850s as a slang for the cloth bag which sailors used to carry their personal items. It might derive from the British naval phrase commodity bag. Not sure how “housewife” got mixed up in the definition. Anyhow, David uses ditty bags lots and needed more.

When there's a dearth of ditty bags, David uses Zip-Loc bags which wear out quickly. The ditty bags eventually wear out, too … but after several years, rather than weeks. In particular, he needed a new ditty bag to hold his vast collection of sockets (you can never have too many!). He also needed one to manage his supply of stainless hose clamps in various sizes. If I make more, he'll always find a use for them. This is about the easiest project you can do using used or leftover fabric and you can make one, from start to finish, in 15 minutes … max.

This is not rocket science. I don't even get out my measuring tape. I eyeball the size and cut, providing for a ½ seam allowance and a 1” tube along the top edge for a drawstring. In this case, David wanted a couple of bags about the size of a ZipLoc gallon bag, so I got out a bag to figure the approximate size. I fold the fabric in half to save myself cutting and stitching on one side.

Fold over and stitch the short ends of the rectangle first to give a finished edge. Then fold over about 1” along the top edge and stitch it so there is a long tube for the drawstring.

Stitch the side and bottom seams starting about 1” down from the top, so that you have access to the drawstring tube.

Turn the bag right-side out and then draw a piece of small line through the drawstring tube using a large safety pin. We usually tie the ends of the line together in a knot.

Voila! You've got a ditty bag.

Notes: I had a shortcut because the finished bimini edge provided a built-in drawstring tube for a couple of the bags.

Sometimes the bags are leftover fabric from another project … like pillow covers, etc., in which case they become rather colorful, but easily distinguishable.

For sake of identification, David sometimes labels the bags.

By the way, in case you forgot, it's Groundhog's Day. Not from the USA? It's an fun holiday to determine if we'll get an early Spring or not. Check out Punxatawney Phil's official website. We plan to watch the movie, Groundhog Day, tonight to celebrate. Any opportunity to celebrate!

In Search of a New Duffel

 

About once a year when the kids were young, we encouraged them to go through their old toys and clothes and box them all up. We'd head off to the Mile High Flea Market, secure an 8' x10' spot, lay out our tarps and display all of our treasures for sale. As soon as they'd made a few sales, the kids would disappear and return with all the new treasures they'd found. Who can forget Brad's life-sized stuffed black panther or Brennan's coconut head collection? As we headed for the Broad Acres Flea Market (Your one stop for shopping and entertainment) in North Las Vegas, we couldn't help reminiscing a little bit about the “old” days.

The parking lot was crowded early on a Saturday morning. Some folks go to the flea market to browse Not us … we had a mission. We needed to find a sturdy duffel (read that: a large duffel able to withstand over-stuffing and rough handling on three connecting flights) for our return trip to Australia. Yes, we do plan to return to Australia in the near future and this is proof of our intent. Prices we had seen on duffels seems extraordinarily high though the last time we bought one at Wal-Mart for cheap ($20), it was flimsy and unwieldy and didn't even make it through the whole trip (thank goodness for duct tape). We were hoping to find a sturdier used one in good condition for cheap. Our parsimonious natures always kick in when it comes to spending money for lugging stuff back to the boat.

It was hot … 105F (40.5C) as we purchased our $1.50 entry tickets and headed through the Broad Acres gates. They touted “over 1,100 vendors”, but there was no where near that number this morning. We only needed one used duffel, however, and surely within this flea market universe there had to be one vendor willing to part with a slightly used one for under $10! We were counting on it.

We skirted around the perimeter in the full sun and walked full circle checking the outside booths. We had no hats, water or sunscreen … big mistake. What were we thinking? We know better. We quickened our pace to avoid melting into the asphalt pavement and retreated to the inside aisles seeking shelter from the sun where we could and ferreting out booths with luggage as we cruised by. We saw hula hoops, lots of Jesus statues, used tools, an alley of appliances, lawn mowers and knock-your-socks-off amplifiers, a whole booth of brassieres, and one of cowboy boots, miscellaneous mops, coconuts and a myriad of other interesting offerings. No duffels.

After traipsing up and down endless aisles (with much complaining on the part of the first mate), we spotted one. An Hispanic fellow about our age had a disparate grouping of used household stuff, old cell phones, a laptop and other miscellany laid out carefully on a blue tarp. There, propped up at the far end of his booth was a sturdy-looking duffel. I checked the heavy duty zippers … they all worked. I checked the tote handle and wheels … all sturdy and in working order. No holes or wear spots. I turned the hard part over to David, chief relentless negotiator.

“How much for the duffel?” David queried.

“$12”, the vendor smiled.

“How about $5?”, David smiled back.

“No, Senor. $10.” Still smiling.

“Would you take $7?” David retorted while I started towards another booth.

“I will take $8.” One more unconvincing smile crept onto his face.

David paid the man and walked away dragging our duffel behind him.

Mission accomplished. Now all we have to do is pack it.

By the way, lest you leave without a bit of trivia, there's quite a bit of conjecture as to the etymology of the term “flea market”. The theory I like best was published in the 1998 winter edition of Today's Flea Market (yes, Virginia, there is such a magazine). Albert LaFarge, in his article “What is a Flea Market?” wrote "There is a general agreement that the term "Flea Market" is a literal translation of the French “marche aux puces”, an outdoor bazaar in Paris, France, named after those pesky little parasites of the order Siphonaptera (or "wingless bloodsucker") that infested [old clothing and] the upholstery of old furniture brought out for sale."