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Thursday, April 23, 2009

Havoc

So-I am paying bills this evening, entering each and every transaction into our monthly budget spreadsheet, when I come across the strangest entry. It reads "Havoc Heli NY."

See, Justin uses the credit card that pays you back a percentage for each charge. I use the airline card for points. Both good perks. We USED to only use the airline card, until they angered me. Angered is an understatement actually.

My mom told me that I could go anywhere for my 30th birthday. London, Ireland, Alaska-just her and me. I picked New York City. I have a facination with it. Maybe it is a Sex and the City thing, but I really love the feel of the city. Of THAT city. I had only been there twice before-once for work and once on a fantastic girls' trip with my mom in law and sisters. Both trips were just short enough to make me realize how much I was not able to do. So, I wanted to go back.

We shopped-we ate. In fact, we pictorially logged all of our meals. Here are a few of the highlights-






Found Grits in New York-and they weren't bad either!


Anyhoo-We also found Manolo. Now, you would think that the actual Manolo store would be adorned with roses and diamonds. Nope. In fact, I walked past it. It is a door with a little itty bitty sign-tiny sign. Seriously-I was looking for the store and walked past it. Have no fear, I found it after a bit of looking and did a little bit of damage. It was in doing this damage that the credit card people made me exorcist angry. They DECLINED my card in the middle of Manolo Blahnik. YES THEY DID. Why you ask? They thought the card was stolen. Now, you might think this is a nice perk-they look out for you as a customer of theirs. NO NO NO NO!!!!! I was in Target the week before (I am an equal opportunity shopper) and purchased an electronic for $400, and they declined the card then because they thought it was an excessive amount for a GROCERY STORE. WHAT?!?!?! Guess what credit card genius people? Target only started selling groceries-they have sold other things for a long time, including electronics. After 15 minutes on the phone in the check out line at Target verifying every county I have ever lived in, they allowed the transaction. So, I made a point to call and let the credit card company know that I would be in New York and that it was indeed my little self making purchases.

So, when they declined the card at Manolo, I politely excused myself to the loveliest court yard in the back of the store-yes...there is an actual little garden there!!!!...and yelled at the credit card people. It took 45 minutes and 3 phone calls for the transaction to finally go through. Talk about mortifying. Especially when a girl came in and tried on 4 pairs of shoes and told the sales clerk to send them home and pranced out. What a life. I want to go to her home and live in her closet undetected. Even after this debacle, the card was still declined at most other stores-Olive and Bette's, French Connection, Brooks Brothers...it just did not stop. So, I made sure to find a new credit card company when I got home. But, then I had a hard time giving up the airline miles. I mean, if I was not earning points, how would I get back to my favorite city to visit but not live in? So, I told myself that if it happened ONE MORE TIME, I would cancel the card. Guess what? It has not happened again-not even when traveling. I truly think they were testing me-messing with my account-so they could use my phone calls as training tools for the new folks. "Here is how to handle a completely indignant, irate customer who is being denied the most fabulous shoes in the world."

The WHOLE point of this is that Justin uses one card and I use another, and that is how that came about. So-I find this charge on his card and am very curious-he tends to be a pretty predictable charger-it is all food. And, not all kinds of food, but the same food. He eats the same things over and over and over again.
I put the description "Havoc Heli" into the google search bar. Up come these ads for this tiny little remote controlled helicopter. Seriously-this cannot be something that Justin ordered. I have never heard of this thing, and he is not a 10 year old boy. He is 34 years old and JUST had his birthday. He did NOT mention anything about wanting a Havoc Heli for a gift. The card must have been stolen. It had to have been. We are officially the victims of identity theft. We will be telling our story on tv one day. It will be about how I had to sell my Manolos to make money to cover the charges from our identity theft nightmare. We were sucked dry by people buying toys.

So, Justin gets home and I ask him, "Did you order something called a Havoc Heli?" I just know that he is going to tell me no or tell me that it is something for the yard and NOT really a mini helicopter. He just looks me right in the eye and says, "Yes." HUH? He continues, "Someone at work had one and it was the coolest thing. So, I ordered one." REALLY? First of all, what in the heck are you people doing with mini helicopters at work? Do you work in the 2nd grade at perpetual PE class? His eyes got HUGE, and he asks "Did it arrive!!??"

I say, "You just had a birthday" He says, "Yes, but this is something I wanted to do for myself. It is my birthday gift to myself."

REALLY......well, if that is how we do things.
Did I mention that my birthday is next month?

3 comments:

  1. It's payback for the baby shoes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I know for certain that we took way more pics of food on that little trip, remember Serendipity and their frozen hot chocolate?? Worth going back for I would say. How about for 35? (Just around the corner)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, and by the way, you left out the part about me sitting in the tiny Manolo store watching you turn red in the face and screaming in the phone while standing in that pretty, peaceful little courtyard, all the while the little rich girl and the three sales girls knowing what was going on as you kept putting your cute little head in the door and telling the sales girl, "they assure me it will go through now, go ahead and put the charge through." Then, 3 different times, "sorry, the charge is still being declined!" Oh God, the horror and humiliation I endured in the middle of Manolo!!! Obviously the post traumatic stress that I have lived with is the reason I could not ever wear a pair of Manolos!! Not to mention the ridiculous price tag associated with those pointy toed patent leather urban myth shoes!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete