I know where I've been...

It's been a productive day. I go through my credit card bills with a fine-toothed comb. This is how I know that the Intercontinental Hotel in Chicago billed me for a Coke that I didn't drink. (One of the advantages of paying for the room using hotels.com - any incidentals will come through as a separate charge.) I didn't realize the room even had a mini-bar and if I did, I wouldn't have had a Coke. I certainly wouldn't have had a $5.10 Coke.) I also found that Caley Hall, that nice hotel we stayed at in England has made the mistake of charging my debit card AND my credit card. I have a better chance of recovering the credit card charge, which is unpaid, as opposed to the debit card charge that has long since left the bank account. Am I wrong to expect the Citibank "specialist" to help me?

Specialist: Do you have the receipt?
Me: No, I have the credit card statement and the bank statement for my debit card, both showing a charge.
Specialist: Are the charges on the same day?
Me: No, the credit card shows May 31st, which is right, but the bank statement shows the debit on June 6th. And it's a different amount. The credit card was billed at the correct rate.
Specialist: It's different because of the exchange rate.
Me: No, it isn't. It's a UK bank account. It is in pounds and the charge is in pounds. They've charged 95.50 pounds but the contracted rate was 89 pounds.
Specialist: It's different because of the exchange rate.
Me: No, let me explain again. The bank account is in the UK. It is in pounds. The charge is in pounds. The only time an exchange rate comes into play is on the credit card and that shows 89 pounds, which is the correct rate.
Specialist: You said it was a different date. Did you stay there in May and then again in June?
Me: No, I stayed there one night. Only one night.
Specialist: Are you sure?

Seriously, does this woman think that I'm so old that I don't know where I've been?? It was only last month, not six years ago.

Finally a temporary credit is issued and I can move on to my bank statement. I see that I've been charged for checks. The problem is, I didn't get any checks. A quick call to the bank to have them reverse the charge for the checks and reorder them. Simple, right?

Not simple. Because no one knows the whereabouts of the checks my account is now considered "compromised". The only way to fix this is to close the account and open a new one. This requires a trip to the bank. (Not that this is a big deal. It isn't far.) This also means I have to contact people who make direct deposits to my account. I also have to contact people who draft my account for payments, like my insurance and utilities. I have to track Mark down so he can sign all the paperwork, too. You wouldn't think it would take the entire afternoon, but it did.

And for all my efforts, I've only saved us a bit less than a couple hundred dollars. But that's okay. It will more than cover the cost of a movie.