So I’m leaving for Europe soon.
Ergo, I need to have European money. I went to the bank and found they didn’t have Euros or CHF available. The teller suggested I go to a currency exchange place; the rates are better there. Sounds like a good plan.
I drive out of my way to Southgate Mall. I go to the exchange place. There is a bit of a wait, and then a large group of people get in line behind me. I generally don’t like crowds when I’m about to be carrying a lot of money, but such is life. When I attempt to make my purchase, I put in my debit card, and am told “Card use limited. Refer to branch.”
What the hey?
I leave, forsaking my place in line, to phone the bank. They claim it should work. They make sure my limits are raised in any case, and suggest that maybe the machine wasn’t working.
I go back, wait in line again, and get the same error. This time there is no one in line behind me, and I have the bank on the phone while I am doing the same thing. They even try using my credit card as a debit card, but the currency exchange doesn’t accept credit cards. (Reasonable.)
The entire period, I am next to the kiddie ride machines, so the loud noises are stressing me out and I am in the middle of an anxiety attack. To my credit, I never raised my voice, but I was not happy. Still, I was Canadian and frequently apologized to the person at the bank.
So, wasting all that time, and I don’t have my money. The bank has one job, give me back my money when I want it, and they can’t do that.