I'm a very simple sort of guy, having being brought up in a simple sort of way. My parents have never had and never will have a credit card. I guess, not that they are opposed to plastic money, but they simply do not like the idea of 'credit'. It was up till a few months ago, that I was of a similar opinion. I had never felt the need of a credit card till then. Paying for everything by cash was just fine by me. The sun was shining brightly upon me, the birds used to greet me every morning , everyone was polite and friendly, and in general, I was living the good life. But then one incident changed all that.
I had to travel to Chennai for a conference along with 2 of my colleagues. We had to book Spice Jet air tickets and since Spice Jet does not have a city office in Pune, one had to book them online. There was a great offer going on where the tickets were available at a throwaway price. But we were stuck, as neither my colleagues nor yours truly had a credit card. A couple of my friends who did, had a small maximum spending limit and as the sum involved was about 20000, no one as ready to do it. Finally my Guide, Professor & HOD came to the rescue and we booked the tickets through his card. But because of the 1-2 days delay in getting around to ask him, the discounted tickets were no longer available and we ended up paying about 1500 more per person.
Thats when i decided that i wanted a credit card badly.
I guess you, the reader of this post, are subjected to at least 4-5 calls per week from banks offering you credit cards. Thinking that it would be a simple enough matter for me to get a similar call, I waited. No one called for over a month. Putting this down to plain bad luck, i waited some more. Finally, one day i got a call from HDFC, where i have an account. The caller was almost shocked at the enthusiastic way in which i almost shouted at him that "Yes!!! I want a credit card.. ". A agent was ringing my doorbell before I had even hung up. We completed the formalities and he was also kind enough to go and make a xerox of my driving license. I was assured that my life time free card would come in 15-20 days.
Feeling mildly victorious, i imagined the nice shiny blue card in my wallet. But I had jumped the gun a little. After a couple of verification calls, nothing happened for 2 weeks. Surprised and confused, I headed to the bank one day. Which brings me to the point, that with the banking hours that these banks have, when can a good natured, hard working soul like me ever manage to visit the bank ?????? Anyways using techniques that even '007' would be proud of , I managed to slip out of college and reach the bank. There i was told, that no inquiry on credit card status could be answered by anyone in person, I would have to call the phone banking assistance numbers. There i was, in the spacious lobby, facing about 3 "May I Help You" desks, seeing about 30-35 bank personnel in smart formal clothes smiling the Banker Smile, and not one of them could help me. Is this new age banking ? I made the call and i was told that my application had been rejected, for reasons unknown, and I would have to make a fresh application. Not buckling down under pressure, I approached the first desk i saw and told the gentleman sitting there that i wanted a credit card. I guess its not everyday that a customer goes to a bank and asks for a credit card. He looked at me as if I was kidding him. After my stare convinced him that I was serious, he made me fill another form. I left the bank with an assurance that within 15 days, the life time free credit card would be mine.
Nothing happened for the next 2 weeks. No calls from HDFC, no calls from any other bank. Had the word gone out that I was to be kept deprived of a credit card ? Let me assure you, I have no police record, and the maximum embezzlement i have done is to the tune of 50 rs. That too, of a friend who very greedily was not ready to part with the aforementioned sum, which was rightfully mine. All sort of crazy ideas started to run in my head. Was that friend highly connected in the banking circles ? Was he laughing away everyday as he was told about my futile attempts to procure a credit card ?
I called the phone banking assistance number again, and now i was told that my application had been rejected because of a signature mismatch. This was now getting personal. HDFC did not want me to have a credit card. I received a form by courier the next day, where i was required to sign in 4 places to verify the signature. I did that and dropped the form at my branch. This happened on 4th Feb and since then, whenever i call the phone banking assistance number, either the system is down and they tell em to call after hours, or they say that " My application is in the process of getting approved".
I will not give up. After another week I will start making a round off all the banks in the city, demanding a life time free credit card. This is my number: 09890166694. If u work in a bank and if you are not on the payroll of my friend, do give me a call and get me a life time free credit card. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment