A word of thanks
RIGA – It could’ve happened to anyone.
I’ve heard many stories about people stealing someone’s credit or debit cards and draining them out. I’ve heard an unconfirmed case of someone trying to spy to find out a pin code of one card. I’ve also heard a guy – threatening a woman with a gun – asked her to empty her bank account at an ATM. The video didn’t capture him and it looked as though she withdrew the money herself.
Most of those stories came from my father who’s not known to be an authority on banking. Inherently distrusts ATMs, Internet or banks, he walks inside a bank with one purpose – only to exchange the mighty dollar he gets from his employer.
He is a representative of the Soviet generation who lost all of the savings in Soviet bonds (after all, they were secured by the Soviet government, which didn’t exist any more) when the evil empire crumbled. He also represents the people who invested their money in questionable banks, like Latvia’s largest Banka Baltija in 1994, offering to pay up to 20 per cent a month on the saving accounts. It was bound to be a scheme and it was. It resulted in a lot of people being very upset because they lost a lot of money.
Those were the growing pains of the years of wild capitalism.
Needless to say after hearing these stories, I was a bit worried to leave my bank card anywhere and always protecting the precious PIN number.
One phone call, however, restored all my confidence in the banking system. After I stopped at a post office, I ventured to a friend’s house, which was less than 20 minutes away. I barely stepped in, when my phone rang.
It was my bank, Hansa Banka.
A woman with a pleasant voice told me that the bank decided to put a hold on my debit card after someone from the post office called them. The post office let the bank know I left my card there. It was an unexpectedly-pleasant surprise amidst the stereotypical steal-while-you-can routine you hear so often about.
Apparently, they chased me around, too – they called home first to find out where I was before they reached me on my cell phone.
The following morning, I went into the post office to pick up my card and thank them for their service. Then, I stopped at the bank to reactivate my card, making sure no one’s tampered with the account.
And voila, my money has been protected for me the whole time.
Thank you, Latvijas Pasts and Hansa Banka. You’re the best.
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