First Red Flag of the Year

Of course the customer service representative was smiling on the other end of the line, that's perhaps the easiest money she's ever earned for her bank. And talk about life lessons and red flags in this brand new year. . .

I went to my landlord's to give him the check with January's rent but there wasn't anyone home. Not wanting to slide it under the door because I knew his two devilish dawgs will end up eating the check, I decided to put it in the mailbox. So I left the check (dated 01/03/07 as I thought we were in '07) in his mailbox and I kind of overlooked the fact that the little red flag was up, meaning that there was outgoing mail yet to be picked up.

I thought that a plain white envelope with my landlord's first name on it and nothing else (no stamp, return address, etc.) will prompt the mailman to leave it in there. Big mistake.

So that blood sucker vampire that my landlord is, dialed my phone number the day before yesterday and we chatted for a while. After the third time that he asked me "and what's up?" I knew that he wasn't calling me to tell me about his Hanukka celebrations but to ask for the check. "I didn't get it, dawg!" was his answer when I asked him about it. So I wrote a new check (dated '06 this time) and put it in the mailbox again, together with all his incoming mail -I learnt my lesson. And talk about an expensive lesson!

After I talked to him I called the bank to cancel the first check. The girl on the other side of the line, who was very nice and very efficient and helpful, told me that they charge thirty two greens to cancel my check! Thirty two hard earned greens to cancel a check in a time of the year when my poor bank account had been so used and abused that I really hope my rent's check won't bounce. My credit has long been reached and breached so if there's not enough cash in my account I'll have to pawn my PS2, or better yet the microwave -which belongs to my landlord's wife. . .

After she mentioned that little fee to cancel the check, she waited silently on the line for my "go ahead with it darling" so that she could hit enter and transfer those funds immediately to the bank's bank account. She only got silence from my side of the line though while I struggled with the concept of a small price to pay for peace of mind. I gave her the green light finally and she asked me if I was completely sure I didn't need further help with anything else. With those prices for such a simple service I'd also be smiling and pushing for more services.

The word on the street says that you have to be on the look for red flags in your relationships, work, daily life and so on; but how in the frikking world did I miss such an obvious *little* red flag in my life?!