last night I was on a long drive, when I went to buy gas my card was rejected. I had another card and cash, but what if I didn’t? someone had tried to use my card for fraud so the company cancelled it and is sending a new one. I had money in my account but couldn’t access it. so what does a person with one card and no cash in the middle of nowhere/the night do for money? Aside from becoming a lot lizard I mean.
going to the bank isn’t an option, they are closed and could be far away. can a person have someone else pay the fuel bill over the phone using their credit card, if so would cash back from a bill paid over the phone be an option?
I’ve had machines be unable to read my card and the clerk was able to manually input the card number. If all you had was a card that was suspended for fraud I suppose it’d be easy enough to verify who you are to the card company, let them know your situation, and then they can give the new card info to the clerk so you can make your purchase.
Otherwise…how far from home are we and do we know anyone within a couple hours’ drive? I bet a cop could at least get you to a shelter for the night so you can get youself sorted out without him having to deal with you as a loitering lot lizard in a couple more hours.
I would call the number on the back of the card, they usually are toll free and also accept collect calls from overseas, and try to get it sorted so I could use my card.
If you use your debit card at a gas pump, it often makes sure that you have an amount available, like $100, before you can start pumping. If you go inside the clerk can let you pump up to the amount that your account shows available. My daughter was down to $40 once and couldn’t pay at the pump but could get gas through the clerk.
I have a debit card and a credit card each from different institutions. That way if one account has a problem, I can use the other.
I also have about $40 inside my car and usually keep about $100 in my wallet. This probably stems from the days where I didn’t have a checking account or credit card. Heck there weren’t even ATM machines. If you forgot to get money before the weekend, you had a boring weekend usually. I did have one great weekend when I was down to $1.05 and still had a nickle left over on Monday!
I have many backups. I keep a twenty hidden in my wallet. I have plenty of friends I’ve bailed out in emergencies and I could contact one of them. Several credit cards, two personal and two business. ATM card. PayPal?
Turning tricks as a last resort. I’m sure there are hot babes who would pay good money for a quickie with an old, out of shape dude.
Hairy bears are quite popular in some neighborhoods. Bonus points for grizzled chest hair.
Or so I’ve heard.
I was once stranded out of town by a bad boyfriend, with no money or cards or anything. I went to a police station and, after having my license checked to make sure I had no warrants or anything, given a voucher for a motel room for a night and a meal at a fast-food restaurant close by. I don’t know if they still do it, but the cop that helped me told me that this is available to legitimately stranded people in every town, that he knew of. This was at least 20 years ago. Today, I’d call a family member or friend to help me out, but if I didn’t have that option, I’d try a police station again.
This would be funny, except I’m an out of shape middle age dude who landed a hot babe quite by accident. Some ladies just dig the look. Barring that kind of luck, however, your cunning plan could still work if you expand your definition of “babe” to include, as Leaf suggests, men.
I came dangerously close to this situation last week, in Norway . . . because of my own stupidity.
I was tooling along in a rental car, after 5:00 on Saturday night, when a series of little lights went on in my head:
- I do not have enough gas to make it to my destination (North Cape).
- Gas stations in Arctic Norway are not manned 24/7, as in the United States.
- You can buy gas from an unmanned station, with your credit card . . . if it is pin-enabled. Mine is not.
- Ergo, unless I find a manned station soon, I am Fucked with a capital F.
Og be praised, the single gas station in the next little town was staffed until 6:00, and I got there at 5:57.
Not sure what I would have done otherwise. If that rinky-dink town had a hotel staffed 24/7, I would have been OK . . . but I doubt that it did. Could have been real ugly.
In a similar vein, what if you lost your wallet and not only had no money, but no ID? On a city street, in a strange town? I guess that’s another topic altogether.
The Auto Club has a program to help stranded members. They will come and give you some gasoline, or tow you if your car is broken down. Their membership isn’t a credit card per se, but they do take good care of their members.
When I travel, I usually put a $20 bill in my sock, and lately one of my credit cards in the other.
How would paypal help? It takes 3-5 days for money to transfer from your bank account into paypal. I’ve never withdrawn paypal money before, I just transfer it to the bank account. But again, I don’t think it would help since without a debit card and without an open bank I can’t withdraw the money.
I suppose money transfers could work via moneygram or western union. But you have to find an open money wiring place.
I have a paypal debit card.
Another poster recommended a $100 bill in a rat hole in your wallet. Spare me the “Do you know the interest you could have earned on that?” sermon. Its supposed to be in there for moments like these.
Yes, I know you can call someone & beg for money to be sent via Western Union. If you have someone in your life who’d actually do that for you, Good For You…!
Do you know the interest you could have earned on that? I think my bank is offering 0.05% interest in savings accounts right now. Must be nice to be able to throw nickels down the toilet like that.
That is a good idea, hide a 50 or 100 in your wallet away from the rest of the money for emergencies. I’m going to do that. I usually don’t carry much cash, but I was lucky I had $47 in cash to buy gas last night.
Hey, lots of hot babes have middle aged outa shape fetishes. Who are we to stand in their way?
When I worked overnight at a budget motel adjacent to I95, I dealt with lots of people whose debit cards were flagged by their banks. The most common scenario was someone traveling, making a series of purchases in several states: fuel up in Virginia, lunch in North Carolina, dinner and fuel in South Carolina, then try to book a room in Georgia. I always advised that they call the 800 number on their cards, and a 5-minute security check would correct the problem. A lot of folks got mad at me, because obviously, they had plenty of money and I was just an idiot. So, they’d stomp away to the gas station or atm across the street, and lo and behold! Card declined. For exactly the reason I’d suggested. Many came back to apologize and book a room, others were too embarrassed to face me.
Personally, if I were truly stranded, I’d burn up the phone trying to get a friend or relative to wire me some money through Western Union. If that didn’t work, I’d find a cop. They usually work with service agencies, churches, etc., that can provide a meal or motel voucher or some fuel.
For the eneral situation of being stranded.
2 palces (usually) never close:
Hospitals
Police Stations
(small communities have volunteer firefighters).
Hospitals have people who know the numbers to call to arrange almost anything.
It used to be that, as long as you were neatly dressed, clean, and sober the hospital staff wouldn’t challenge anyone. They may still, if you explain the situation, allow you a seat in a waiting room.
Hospital workers: what would you do with a person in such a situation?
Intubate? Gotta maintain an airway. Just a guess, though.
ETA: I see you say “eneral”, I’m assuming you mean “general”. Are you Mexican or are you making fun of their speech?