GET F'D KIWIBANK

 

A month ago I got an email from 'Kiwibank'.  In it they said they had noticed frequent 3rd party deposits and MULTIPLE CASH DEPOSITS AT ATM'S.

And they demanded I provide documentation to show where the money was coming from?  And proof of my address bla bla bla.

I thought it was a scam, I really did.

Why?  Because I have only had A FEW deposits into that account from people buying my patchwork, and as for me putting cash into ATM's?  NEVER HAVE I EVER PUT CASH INTO AN ATM machine.  Like, NEVER.

So of course I thought it was a scam, someone trying to get my information to rip me off.

UNTIL YESTERDAY, when I got another email, saying because I had not provided the requested documentation, they were closing my account, and I needed to get my money out of the account before they closed it!  

I was like... OK, I need to go into the bank to sort this out.  STILL thinking it was a scam of some sort.

BUT NO!  It was real.  And when I asked them to show me PROOF of 'numerous 3rd party deposits', and MULTIPLE unexplained cash deposits into ATM's... they said they didn't have to show me!

So I was like, fine you arseholes, give my all my money (there wasn't a lot in there thankfully), and I closed the accounts myself.

I had been with Kiwibank for over 25 years, and they can now get fucked.

I was/am furious.   I am sure they can see I did not make ANY cash deposits into those accounts.  And nor were there any such deposits on my statements.

Stew reckons they just wanted to close my accounts because they were not making much money out of me.  

Whatever.  It's over.  I am now back to being a one bank person, not two.

And there ends my rant.

When I started WEGOVY, I also bought some Opti Fast chocolate shakes to help speed things up a bit.  But I hate them, they have this hideous taste, and even putting fruit in and blending it all together, it was still hideous.

Then someone told me about the Opti Fast Lemon dessert.

So yesterday I bought some...

ABOVE: I whizzed it up in my blender and put it in the fridge for 5 minutes, as per the instructions.

Then I tried it, fully expecting it to still have that nasty Opti Shake taste.

BUT NO... it was perfectly palatable.  Nice even.  Such a relief, as it gives me a very low calorie option when I feel peckish in the evening.

They cost $5.37 per serve, so you can't quibble about that.

Today I will be going to Pak n Save for what I didn't get yesterday.  Then coming home and going to the craft room to do some sewing with the girls.  As long as it's not raining, I'm not trudging down to the craft room in the rain.  I'd rather stay home.

ONWARD... 

JANICE:  The first person I spoke to was a woman.  When I asked her to answer my questions about why the bank was going to just up and close MY ACCOUNT... she said in a very arrogant and loud way "WE DON'T HAVE TO TELL OR SHOW YOU ANYTHING"!  I was gobsmacked.  I pointed out that surely they could see via my bank statements that NOTHING had been put into my account via an ATM or even over the counter...  after telling me I had done so... but NO.  WE ARE CLOSING YOUR ACCOUNT.

So I went over to the teller and took my money out and the young man who served me there was extremely nice.

NO I was not rude or aggressive to anyone... as if!  I was fully aware it was not the staff's fault.

But when I left the bank... I did give 'the bank' the finger.  I couldn't help myself.  

Shoot me now.

It is now 10.30 and I've done the grocery shopping, and put it all away.  It is certainly cheaper at Pak n Save, I really should go there instead of New World. 😖 

While it is not raining right now, I have opted not to go down to the craft room.  Just my luck it will piss down later on and I'll get caught in it.

Best to just stay home.  

12 midday.

And I just had a phone call from the Manager of the KIWIBANK Investigative Team down in Wellington.  He had received my email this morning.

He starts by saying "MRS HARVEY, WE ARE SO SORRY"... then continues with...  The Bank has made a MONUMENTAL ERROR, and the person who sent you the first email asking for all the 'documentation, proof of transactions, bla bla bla made a mistake and sent it to YOU, instead of the intended recipient!

I was never supposed to get that email!!!

I was never supposed to have my account closed.

And the woman who dealt with me and my enquiries yesterday also made a mistake, by telling me I had no right to see or be told WHY this was happening.  Or even trying to check out what I was saying was TRUE.

So there ya go.  I told the man I would like a follow up email detailing what had happened, and the apology in writing.

Cos I like this sort of shit in writing.

I nearly cried actually, I was so relieved that it wasn't my fault, I had done nothing wrong at all.

Which I knew, but I was made to feel so 'bad' when I left the bank yesterday.

SAGA IS OVER.  And I'm still not going to re-join Kiwibank.  

Audrey:  I was not calling an unfamiliar phone number to possibly get a scammer on the other end!  A resident here in my village did that recently and got scammed out of her life savings!  Luckily for her, the idiot then went on to pay a personal bill with HER money and subsequently got caught.  But back to me... I do not click on any links or ring unfamiliar numbers.  When I think it looks like a scam I hit 'DELETE' immediately.

In hindsight, I should have gone into the bank in person to check it out.  Like I did yesterday... and see how that went?

Just in...  

Hello Christina,

 

Thank you for your time today.

 

I am writing on behalf of our AML & Sanctions Team to sincerely apologise for the way your account review and subsequent closure were handled.

 

We have identified that an error was made in our assessment, and transactions were attributed to your accounts that did not occur on them. We recognise that the information we requested was not intended for you, and this may have affected your decision to continue your banking relationship.

 

I appreciate how serious and distressing this situation has been, particularly given the nature of the concerns raised. You should not have been placed in a position where you felt that your account activity was being questioned.

 

I am also very sorry to hear about your experience when you approached the branch for an explanation. Regardless of the circumstances, you should have been treated with courtesy, respect and empathy when raising your concerns.

 

We take responsibility for our error and for the impact it had on your experience with Kiwibank. We are reviewing what occurred so that we can understand how the incorrect information was associated with your accounts and strengthen our processes to reduce the risk of this happening again.

 

I appreciate that an apology cannot undo what happened or the frustration and distress this caused. However, I want to acknowledge clearly that we got this wrong, and I am genuinely sorry for the impact on you.

 

Please feel free to contact me directly either by reply email, or you may call my cell phone below.

And that's the end of it.  I shall email Whetu back on Monday, thanking him for his email and clarifying, in writing, that I did nothing wrong.

It is now 5 pm and I have been sewing for a bit this afternoon.  Not too much as my left shoulder/arm is rather sore today.  Well it is most days now.

When I next see the Dr I shall bring it up again and see what can be done, if anything.  Except injections!  lol

ONE THING AFTER THE OTHER

 

I have a little list of things to get done today.

First up is my walk.

Then I am going to The Base for a few things, and Pak n Save for some groceries.

After that I will be going to our local Sports Club to VOTE.  Might as well get it done and over with before Saturday, when the hordes will be voting.

Once all that is done I'll come home and continue working on these:

ABOVE:  I started 9 kitten placemats yesterday, so today I will sew the backing fabric on and they will be done.

Then I'll move on to another lot.  

I wonder how long it will take me to get all 59 new placemats made???

And yes, it is Guy Fawkes Day, and we will be doing.... NOTHING.  I have no intention of wasting money, or adding to the chaos/noise and terror for animals by getting fireworks.  Hopefully no damage is done to homes/vegetation or animals.

I'm pretty sure that is all I have on today.   Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  I was looking at my zoo photos last night and noticed .... a sparrow flying over the giraffe.  I thought it was awesome.

Slight change of plans... one of my dear new friends here has talked me into attending Coffee & Chat this morning.  Something I was phasing out of my weekly go to's.  So everything is pushed back a bit... but will still happen.

Let's hope it's not a pain in the arse (and ears) again.  

So Coffee & Chat was OK today.  No jabber jaws, and mostly pleasant company. There was a birthday morning tea 'shout', and I had  NONE of it.  I did bring home a couple of pieces of slice for Stew, he likes to be included.  lol

Lots of TICKS ... I got all my jobs done, except going to Pak n Save.  That can wait till tomorrow.

I felt rather shaky and needed food, so I'm home now and cooking my lunch.   At 1 pm, so not too late in the day.

This morning I was wearing 3/4 tights and a lightweight jumper... but when I was ready to go out... it was getting warm. So I changed into this:

ABOVE:  This gorgeous linen dress.  I am thinking it's the start of 'summer dresses' time.  I just have to get my summer slip on jandals out now.

4.25 pm:  I really should look in the mirror before leaving the house!  I just realised I went out and about wearing two entirely different earrings! What a twat.

And no one at C & C said a thing!  Nice people.  

Though a heads up would have been good I think.  lol

7.40 pm and we have just arrived home from the pub.  

When we were about to set off on foot for the pub, it started to rain.  So we went in my car.  Thank goodness we did that!

Because by the time we got up to the pub is was ABSOLUTELY PISSING DOWN!  Torrential rain, some thunder too.

I think it rained more in the next hour than it has rained in months!

When I left the pub to visit the kids, the rain was so heavy I could hardly see to drive, and the roads were flooded.

ABOVE: This was near Steve 'n' Bex's home... the water was up on the footpaths, and there were whirlpools as the water tried to get down the drains.

Luckily, it settled down after an hour or so, and the water drained away eventually.

At least I didn't have to water the gardens today.  😊

We are now going to enjoy the remainder of the evening just blobbing out watching the telly.

Catch ya tomorrow.

FOR THE VERY LAST TIME

 

When I went to Weight Watchers last night we all found out, at the end of the meeting, that our lovely coach, Andrea, is LEAVING permanently.

My immediate thought was... well so am I.

The meeting will (after next week) be run by Andrea's 'replacement'.  And I don't enjoy that person's meetings, having gone to one a while ago.  

I see no reason to attend a meeting run by someone I don't 'jel' with, or enjoy listening to.

Andrea has been the only WW coach I have enjoyed since leaving Palmerston North.

So, it is a very easy decision to just up and leave Weight Watchers.  I was only going for the enjoyment I got out of the meetings.  

I am doing very well ON MY OWN.... and will continue to do very well I am sure.

Also, Andrea is a 'friend' of mine on FB Messenger, so I can still keep in touch with her via that.

I will be sad not to see the ladies who I have gotten friendly with at the meeting, but hey... none of them became 'friends' outside of the meeting, so ... yeah.

Moving on... this morning I am being picked up by Bex and Lily, and we are going to the Zoo!

That will be such fun... I like the zoo and have not been for bloody ages.

I need to pack something for my lunch (in case we are there that long).  Probably just crackers/cheese and chutney.  Better than nothing.  

In other news, our garage window is ready to be picked up.  Steve will sort that out, and then work on scheduling the installation between himself (the builder) and a bricklayer.   Just a little bit exciting. 

And on that happy note... I'm out of here... 

ONWARD... 

1.15 pm.

ZOO TRIP:

ABOVE:  We three girls had a wonderful time at the zoo.  Saw enough animals to make it interesting.  Lily was like a little dynamo... go  go  go!  And talk about a little poser!  So cute.

She was certainly very interested in some aspects of the zoo... like the rhino poo!  😂😅

We spent almost two hours there, and by the time we left it was starting to get very hot, so going in the morning was a good idea.

Lacy had just finished cutting out 69 placemat battings when we arrived home.

ABOVE: And there we have another 'family poser'... aka the photo bomber.  She knows just where to stand.  😊

Lacy had already done the Hakarimata Summit Track before doing my batting!  So she was ready to go home and have a rest.

And now... it's time for me to take a break.  I might get into Crabby Quarters a bit later on.  We'll see.

Oh shit, clearly I've forgotten to update since lunchtime!

Well... I did some sewing.  I watched TV.  I did a jig saw on my laptop.  I might have yakked with Stew for a while.  And that's about it.

Time to sign off for the day, I'm watching Coronation Street right now, then heading off to bed.

WALK, THEN PLACEMATS AGAIN...

 

My plan for today:

ABOVE:  Stitch up about 2 dozen placemats.  I cut them all out yesterday.

ABOVE:  I do have about 10 more to cut out completely, so I'll probably get them done today as well.

I know I'm low on backing fabrics for these placemats, so a quick trip to Spotlight will happen at some point too.

At our last Tamahere market, and the Village market, I had several people ask me if I had any horse placemats?  I said nope.

And I didn't think I had any fabric with horses on either... but yesterday during my hunt for placemat fabric, I found a few horses.  Yaaa.

Next thing I fully expect?  Some twat asking me if I have any with Crocodiles/Lizards/Lemurs and so on.  😂😅😆  You can never cover all the bases.

So, that's my day planned out.

But... first up, I'm off for a walk.  Trying to get a new habit established.  Walk every day, even if it's only a 30 minute walk, that is better than nothing.  AND that walk always includes 'THE HILL'.  I can do that hill now without gasping for breath at the top.  That's neat. 

Oh that reminds me, I need some new shorts for walking in over summer.  I prefer cycle shorts, so might pop into K Mart or The Warehouse while I'm going to Spotlight today.  

ONWARD...

9 am:  And the walk is done.  Today I did the river/two bridges walk.

ABOVE:  The river is so still today.

ABOVE: Such a lovely garden.

ABOVE:  The river is so low... does not bode well for summer.  It is probably going to be hot and dry.

ABOVE:  My walk stats... happy with that.

Now... back to work I go.

2 pm:...

ABOVE:  50 placemats cut out yesterday.  50 placemats stitched up today.  I had no idea I had that many on the go.

Tomorrow I will make a start on quilting them all... but there is NO WAY IN HELL I will get them all quilted tomorrow!

Lacy has said she will come over tomorrow and cut out the batting for me... cos that is one job I really don't want to do.  

I am taking a break for a little while, before going to Spotlight, K Mart and The Warehouse. 

 4 pm, and I'm just in from shopping.  

ABOVE: 4 pairs of cycle type shorts for summer, at a great price from The Warehouse.

ABOVE: Also at The Warehouse, the chocolates for Christmas.  Thank Goodness I no longer have to buy so many.  

As it's a family tradition, I will probably be buying them forever.  😊

ABOVE:  I got the backing fabric I needed, and some more puppy/kitten fabrics for placemats.  Now I just need to sell 30+ placemats to cover the cost!  Oh well... it keeps me happy making them and going to markets at the end of the day.

I am going to WW this evening to catch up with my friends there.   Our regular coach, Andrea, is back from her holiday as well, so it will be nice to see her too.  I am still not weighing in at WW, I'm just not ready for the stress that gives me.

7.15 pm, and I'm just home from the WW meeting.  Some news about that... tomorrow.

That is it from me... catch ya tomorrow.

MONDAY, BACK TO SEWING

 

I am sure you all know what I will be doing today, and for the next couple of weeks.

Sewing.  Getting my stock back up to speed for the next markets, which start again in three weeks time.  

And when they do start, with the Tamahere Market in November, we will have a market every weekend for 5 weeks!   It's going to be a bit busy then.  

So, best to make the most of the next three weeks, and get plenty made, just in case we sell heaps over that time.

Top of the list of things to make is Placemats!  I sold about 18 on Saturday, which really surprised me.  When I consider how many people came to our little village market, the turn over was damn great!

I want to show you what a loss of 9.1 kilos in three months looks like:

AT THE START OF WEGOVY

THREE MONTHS AND

9.1 KILOS LOST

I really must stop bitching about how slow it seems to be going.

Slow and steady means it SHOULD stay off!  And you can clearly see the difference.  Though I would love to see some more come off from above the waist.  Hopefully the next ten kilos sees that happen.

TEN MORE, that's all I want... and if that takes another three months, then so be it.

Before I pack up my sewing trolley to go and spend the day in the craft room, I am taking myself off for a walk.  Exercise hasn't been that good of late, and I feel like if I do a bit more, like a walk EVERY SINGLE DAY, I will be helping myself get fitter, and facilitate the weight loss as well.

Right... I best get up and get moving.

Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

I HIT THAT 'MAGIC NUMBER' THIS MORNING.  

It is a number I've not seen in over 18 years.  I don't know how I feel.... I think relieved would sum it up best I reckon.   It isn't my end goal, but it was a big motivator... to break out of the 90's.   I have hesitated to ever mention actual 'numbers' before, as I felt ashamed of myself.

But it is what it is, and I can only improve from here eh?

I have been for my walk, before it got too hot.  Now I am about to head down to the craft room for some sewing.

2.12 pm, still at craft group.  I've spent HOURS cutting out placemats. I will start sewing them up tomorrow.  We will be having afternoon tea soon, then I'll head home. 

6.40 pm.

After I arrived home I made my lunch.  Today I had corned beef (frozen from the freezer), a mashed potato and some veges.

Then I kinda crashed out and lay in my bed to get warm.

That's where Stew found me when he got home from work.  Whoops.  Bit of a lazy afternoon.

Now, Stew has gone for his walk and I have unpacked my sewing trolley and have everything ready for tomorrow's sewing.

I anticipate getting most of what I cut out stitched together tomorrow.  I'll probably have to go to Spotlight for backing fabrics, I sure go through a lot of it.

And although it's still early, I am signing off for the day.  I'm going to have an equally lazy evening now.

Catch ya tomorrow.