mindfuck central

Over the past month or so I’ve had some irritating money issues.  I double-paid my DMV registration when the check took too long to post.  The deadline was looming, so I went into the DMV office and paid the fee by debit card.  The rep at the counter assured me that the DMV would not cash my check if I didn’t owe them anything.  She was wrong.  Not only have I paid the registration a second time, when the DMV cashed the check the money wasn’t available in that account so I incurred a NSF fee of $30.  So I have double-paid my $274 registration plus a $30 fee.  To top it off, I now have to file an application for refund using their form.  Who knows how long that will take?

I took my car in for a smog check, which it failed.  The mechanic gave me an estimate for the work that needed to be done before running the smog again.  He said it would be at least $2500 – he stressed AT LEAST because there was still no guarantee that it would pass smog after the service was done.  I can’t get new license plate tags until the car has passed smog.  I’ve had the car parked in the driveway since my registration expired.  It will remain there until I can afford to get it serviced and roll the dice again.  Catching the bus has been okay without Lucky (he stays home with Mom most days since she is still in town), but I’ve tacked on an hour in both directions.  This two hour addition has come immediately from my self-care rituals.  I haven’t stretched, flossed, put together an outfit, done my makeup, eyebrows, pedicure, manicure or anything of the sort since putting the car away.  I rarely even bother to comb my hair.  I get up in the dark and return home in the dark every workday.  On weekends I take Mom out to run errands (in her car), do chores, clean up after four grown ass people, bathe the dog and basically just get ready to do it all over again the following week. 

Weekend before last, when I checked into the hotel where we had our team training retreat in San Diego, I used my debit card for incidentals because our rooms and parking were all being covered by a master bill account.  The hotel held $570 from my checking account.  That wasn’t supposed to happen – mistake on their end. 

Last weekend I stayed at the LAX Renaissance.  I prepaid that stay with Marriott points, so I also used my debit card for incidentals ($50 is typically held for this purpose).  I checked out of the hotel on 3/23.  On 3/24 they placed a hold for $334 on my account (I’m assuming that is the cost of two nights although I really have no idea why that would even be relevant since it was prepaid).  I called Renaissance to find out what the hell was going on since the hold was put on my account the day after I checked out.  The woman told me that she couldn’t help me since the accounting department was closed, but she could see that it was a mistake and my card had actually been run twice (and both times for the wrong amount since the reservation was prepaid).

All of this was a mystery to me until the evening of 3/24 after I got back home and went online to pay my car insurance.  My card was declined.  When I looked up my account info I was shocked, then angry, then upset.  The hotel where I stayed for work was eager to fix their mistake quickly, but the Renaissance rep told me to just wait until the following day and it should fall off on its own.  That wasn’t so.  Yesterday, ON MY BIRTHDAY MIND YOU, everything absolutely fell apart and my account went into the red with multiple overdraft fees and holds and just plain frustrating craziness.  Although I didn’t have any birthday plans, I couldn’t have gone anywhere if I wanted to.  My money is all tied up.  It’s a huge mess, and I can’t do a damn thing about it!  I have made requests for review by accounting representatives, jumped through hoops and yadda yadda yadda.  All I can do now is wait.  Last night I woke up so angry because I’d been dreaming of it.  I lie awake in my bed for almost three hours afterwards, begging the universe to resolve the situation and help me to be at peace.  I do feel a bit better today, but still far from my usual self - I'm fighting to keep my optimism at this point.  The most disappointing thing is that I don’t really desire or ask for much.  I am polite when I bring a mistake to someone’s attention.  I wait patiently on hold when they scramble to figure out what went wrong.  I empathize and never raised my voice.  Still, here I am  - screwed and powerless.  It’s bullshit.