An Update

Well, I was wrong. According to those Amazon people in the USA I did accidentally set up a Prime account in America. Set it up, never used it even once and then got billed for almost four years.

I spent more than three hours on Friday with Amazon.com and had interactions with four different reps.

The first seemed very pleasant (I wondered if she was AI) and after I explained myself she offered to cancel my sum and give me one month's refund which I declined.

The second advisor was also pleasant and again I wondered if he was AI. He did ask why it had taken me so long to complain. I continued to make my case and was offered two month's refund which I declined.

The third advisor spent around 10 minutes perusing the previous exchanges and passed me on to number four. 

There was quite a bit of waiting time for me during these exchanges which I spent cleaning my bookshelves.

Number 4 advisor, Priya (I visualised Leonard's girlfriend in The Big Bang Theory seemed like a human being. Priya was able to tell me when the American Prime had been applied for. I wish now I'd asked what was streamed because that would have given me some clue as to whether I had ordered it or someone else. Eventually, she offered me a year's refund. I was tempted. I answered as follows,

I got the two years which would have covered the period that Amazon sneakily got my new card details without my knowledge. I did wonder if I should have held out for the full amount but was exhausted with all the bargaining and bookcase cleaning and it was getting late. I also worried that I might have ended up with nothing. As the saying goes, half a loaf is better than no bread.

The next day 24 separate payment of $14.99 went pinging into my bank account. Music to my ears.

And as promised, Amazon business practices suck but the customer service part is pretty good.

Birthday Present

As a birthday present to myself I finally got around to sorting out online banking - hopefully third time lucky. I was ever so thrilled about it, especially as the lovely person in Halifax wished me a Happy Birthday when she was checking my details. 

I was somewhat less thrilled when I got home, logged on and found that I am paying a monthly sub to Amazon Prime and another one! I cannot get to the bottom of it despite contacting Amazon Customer Service which is probably a bot.

After getting online banking I thought  I'd never have to go into the actual bank ever again but now it looks like I'll be back on Wednesday to see if they can enlighten me about the double Prime payment. 

Another thing about online banking is that there seem to be mysterious outlets where I spend shed loads of money. One was THEFIRTRE where, in recent weeks,  I appear to have splashed out £106 and some pence. I'm pretty certain I wasn't out the door on that particular day so it was concerning. My banking app can tell me what kind of outlet THEFIRTRE was and, according to it, this is misc food store, conv store, market, speciality store and vending machines and as Google Maps would have it, situated under the railway bridge on the Galgorm Road in Ballymena. I imagined some vast emporium selling everything from speciality cheeses to vintage delpht and I definitely couldn't remember being anywhere like that, never mind spending over a hundred quid in it.

Eventually, it dawned upon me. Google Maps had it wrong. It wasn't Ballymena - it was a tiny petrol station on the road to Kilrea and I'd given Bert my card to fill the Jeep. Of course, he'd bought sweets and biscuits as well, so little wonder he'd spent so much.

This is why, from now on, I must start using this blog as an aide memoire/diary even if that means it becomes a little tedious for you, Dear Reader. I may even have to give it a new title. Nelly's Garden may become Nelly's Decline. 

Anyway, here's a photograph to cheer us all up.

Did I mention it's my birthday?