It Isn't Mine

After Smallsteps end of year event on Saturday, we went into the city to celebrate her successful completion of her first year, her great grades and the stipend she received in recognition. We ordered some food, drinks and a cake to share between (Smallsteps isn't a big sweets person), and then I went to pay.

Declined.

I used proximity pay with a card, and sometimes this happens and it asks to insert the card and enter the pin.

Declined.

Hmm.

My wife paid.

When we sat down and after we had eaten, I checked my net bank to see what the problem is. However, I couldn't get into the account and it just said "contact your bank". All well and good, but the problem is that this particular bank doesn't have 24 hour service, nor weekend service at all. I couldn't even find an emergency number of any kind, in case something had happened and I was travelling internationally.

This meant that all weekend, I was a kept boy, with my wife paying.

This morning, the bank's hotline opened at 8am and after waiting a bit, I was told by the person who checked the account, that I had to contact my local branch. They don't take calls until 10. So, at 10 I called again while I drove to work, and then after twenty minutes, the line went dead.

Fuck that.

Thankfully, the bank is just around the corner from my workplace, so I headed over there, read the sign that they only take appointment bookings, and rang the buzzer. They let me in, and then a woman behind the counter said "we only take appointments" and was trying to push me out again. A friend of the family is a manager there, and I saw her sitting at her desk and asked if I could speak to her by name. Knowing a name seemed to satisfy the woman enough so that she called out so the manager turned, I waved, and then she came to greet me.

She asked me to be seated whilst she checked the account status.

When she came back, she asked whether I was a Finnish citizen, whether I have permanent residency, whether I have proof of residency on me. Of course, I didn't have anything on me, especially since I have been in the country for over twenty years (she knew this - her husband was a client of mine many years ago), and have been a permanent resident for about sixteen years. So, I have to take proof of permanent residency in tomorrow. She still didn't tell me what it was about.

Long story.

I don't know what happens tomorrow, but it proved something to me again today.

It isn't my money.

My salary goes into that account, we had our home loan through that bank, my wife has her account there, and I have my business account there (weirdly, that works), but whatever is there, they control. And if the government wants to cut off my access to those accounts, it can.

I am not a Russian oligarch.

There was no warning, no letter in the mail, nothing - just shutdown of the account. I literally could have been anywhere on a work trip, and then what would I have done?

Find out tomorrow, I guess.

Perhaps it is time to change banks.

It still won't be my money though.

Taraz
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