Watch the expiration dates of your cards !
Posted date : Nov 4, 2017.
Dear Bird Talk,
Like many snowbirds, we do our banking online while in Florida. While away from home, we use Kathy’s debit card information to access our company and personal bank accounts but, last winter, we discovered that her card was about to expire while we were away. It had a November expiry date.
According to the bank, a new replacement card had been mailed to our home. To authorize it, we had a choice of either phoning the bank’s 1-800 authorization number from our home telephone number of record, or authorizing it online using details only available on the new card and in the transmittal letter. It was a Catch 22 situation, since we could not do either. I called our local bank branch, but there was nothing that they could do to help until we returned home.
Luckily, I found that my debit card had a June expiry date, so was able to use this to reset our online banking access. If not for this, we would have lost complete control of our online banking while away, including all monthly utility payments and several major annual expenditures planned through the winter months.
Lesson learned. On arriving home in April, the bank adjusted Kathy’s debit card to a summer expiry date.
A similar situation occurred with our home insurance renewal a few years ago. As a result, we had our insurance company change all of our renewal dates (home, car, etc.) to a summer month, so that we would be home and able to handle any complications.
Snowbirds might want to make similar adjustments to winter months’ renewals, to avoid similar situations. Being a six-month snowbird with no family back on the home front can certainly be interesting at times.
Dave Hunter, author/broadcaster
“Along Interstate-75” ‒ the Florida snowbird’s bible.
“Along Florida’s Expressways” ‒ endorsed and used by VisitFlorida.
Response:
Ed: Thanks, Dave and Kathy. Have U.S. renewal dates for everything U.S. come due when you are in the U.S. The renewal dates for everything Canadian should renew when you are in Canada, of course. And don’t forget your passport and driver’s licence, too.
