Credit nightmare

I woke up after Audouin had left, thinking hours had passed, but pushing myself over to face the alarm clock, I saw that it read 8:30 am. How could he have only left half an hour before? The house was quiet. Sam started late again today, and I rolled back over to wait for his alarm clock to wake me up. What woke me up instead was a panic attack.

"Damn! My Citibank card. Damn. It's the 15th, and I didn't pay it." I was out of bed in a single tick of the heart and downstairs without seeing the stairs go by. The dogs watched me as I bounded for the computer that was already on, the one we can't turn off, or risk never being able to turn on again. I called up a browser window and typed, "Citicards.com".

Nothing. An error message. I did it again. Damn, damn, what was wrong? Every page had a little exclamation point in a yellow square. I hit the ISP window; "Se connecter" showed. I hit that and decided to go pee. Judgement had surely been passed already on my account, and I had already begged forgiveness back in February, succeeding in having my interest rate lowered and my credit line brought back up to its previously dizzying and generous heights.

I'd told the truth; I'd gotten carried away in the Obama campaign and planning an inaugural "grassroots" ball for the MyBO folks in Washington, and with several hundred emails a day, I had lost track of the reminder to pay my January bill on time, and it had cost me my interest rate and my credit line. But, having been with Citibank for 21 years -- the customer service agent was obviously impressed with my loyalty --, she promised to ask that my case be reviewed favorably.

I was pretty sure she was an Obama supporter, too.

When I got back, I tried again, ready to go get the phone to call and beg, I'd never, ever forget again; I promise. Please, please forgive me, just once more. If I am not innocent, I am not a bad credit risk, either.

"Operation not possible."

Panic again. Why? Had they cut me off? Banished me from on-line payments for my sin? I could barely see the screen in the agony of my self-recrimination. Wait, there were small red words. They read,

Account Alert: This account is closed, because your card was reported lost or stolen. If you have not added the replacement account as of yet, please do so to access your account information.

Okay. Breathe. Click on the link and add the replacement account.

It worked. Breathe. Make your payment, even if it is -- not late?

There, written as plain as day on the confirmation of my payment was the date: March 9, 2009, and looking back again, the date my payment was due: March 16, 2009.

The 12th of the month is the date I have engraved in my memory as the date my payments are most often due.

Their tactics in the present financial climate of crisis, I hate to say, work.
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