Activating A Credit Card...Part II

I really didn’t know I was so lucky. Somehow I lucked out to receive a new credit card from the same company that sent me a new credit card six months ago. If you missed that story you can check it out here. No wonder these companies are in such sad shape. The latest ploy from this credit card company is to keep sending me new cards before my current card expires. How stupid is that? I usually just shred the new card. It has the same account number and expiration date. They just want to get your current phone number so they can bug the crap out of you. I wonder what would happen if I didn’t call from my home number? Would they still activate my card? I’ve had the new card for several weeks but I’m trying to get things in order, tidying up loose ends and completing miscellaneous tasks. I sat around all afternoon and had basically worked myself into a tizzy. Talk about somebody having a bad attitude. I was P ‘od and I hadn’t even talked to anybody yet. I called the 1-800-charge-your-life-away activation number and was prepared to speak with Radji Patel from Mumbai when I got Perky Penelope from Peoria. (Doing my best Valley Girl impression) “Like, hello? Is there anyone like there? Oh my gawd! Thanks for calling … thanks for calling… oh my gawd, like where do I work? Hello? This is so, like, totally tubular! Hello? Chelseigh, I don’t think anyone is like there. Hello? Like, hello already. I’m like hanging up if you don’t say something. I mean it, totally.” Click!

Ready Made Excuses

Awhile back I mentioned that I don't like to deal with credit card companies over the phone because it's never easy to get them off the phone. Mainly, if you have to call to activate a new card, you always get transferred to a customer service representative halfway across the world that tries to add some sort of protection against fraud or rude sales clerks. (Which might come in handy) Anyhow, several years ago I received one of those satellite radios for my birthday and a one year subscription was included. That first year ended and I have been paying for it by the year ever since. It was interesting and has a lot of good music on it but my system is kind of bulky and I don't really have any space available for it to be utilized on a daily basis. In fact, I haven't listened to it in about six months. I wanted to cancel the subscription sooner but I couldn't find my paperwork. Plus, I hate dealing with those people on the phone. Yesterday, I received an email from the company and it had my account number and a phone number to call for customer care. (Bingo!) They were just letting me know that my credit card was going to be billed in a few weeks and thanks for being a subscriber. (Not anymore) I've cancelled several services and subscriptions over the years and have come up with a ready made excuse that stops the person on the other end of the phone in their tracks. What is it? The MA Fat Woman tells them that she's getting married. By my calculations, I've been married about 12 times. Of course, the person from the company will tell you that you can take your service with you when you get married. I got an answer for that too! Tell them that your new spouse already has the service and you don't need two. So, the next time you have to cancel something try that excuse, it works for me every time.