The Trouble with American Bank Cards in Taiwan

4-15-13  Mon.

      Leona and I spent three hours in the electronics store on Dongshan Road buying four air-conditioners, one refrigerator, and one washing machine, all Hitachi, all made in Japan. We also got a number of small appliances as gifts from Hitachi as well as a gift from the electronics store that was holding a 10% clearance sale. One of the three hours we spent in the store was consumed with trying to pay for the items we purchase. Leona was going to use the Cathay bank card she had but I suggested we use the TD bank card. However, I warned her that we should wait until I could call the bank and alert them that we were making a large purchase. Didn’t realize we could call 24/7 so I told her to wait until the bank opened unless she wanted to try it anyway. She did try it, and the card was rejected. After the fact, Leona noticed the back of the card had a 24/7 phone number so I called and spoke to an operator. I tried to straighten it out but instead gave her the wrong password. Finally, we straightened it out; we would have $2500 limit on debit and $5000 on credit. I went in to tell Leona who tried to put the card through again and again it wasn’t accepted! I called back the bank again and then the operator told me it would take twenty minutes to two hours for them to reset our credit/debit! They didn’t tell me that the first time I called! That’s when Leona decided to use the Cathay card, anyway, to at least leave a down payment. Meanwhile, I went outside from the noisy store to contact Capital One bank to see if we could use their card. By calling in advance, I freed our debit up to $2000 and credit up to $5000 for a month. When I went in to tell Leona the good news it was good that I did because Cathay bank also rejected Leona’s attempt to give a down-payment! I handed the clerk the Capital One credit card and, lo and behold, it worked! It wasn’t until after we left the store that Leona said she had used Capital One only to give a $2500us down- payment. Why? She said $5000 wasn’t enough for the full purchase! So why did she tell me $5000 was enough when I asked her? She said she didn’t tell me that. I let it go at that. She would pay the balance from a cash transfer and withdrawal she’ll make to Cathay bank today. We will transfer funds from Capital One debit to checking on-line.