Friday 6 October 2006

Can you believe this?

I subscribe to several US magazines. One of them is the Journal of Ayn Rand Studies. Because it is a small outfit they don't accept credit cards so I had to ask my bank to issue a dollar draft for my renewal. I got a phone call from the bank today asking me why I needed a dollar draft. Doesn't the word "journal" give a clue? We're talking about $69 (£37) here and yet this warranted a call from London to Edinburgh. Apparently it's all to do with money laundering laws. We're talking about a few pounds, and haven't the authorities heard about credit cards? Get used to those chains.

1 comment:

David Farrer said...

Comment made on previous template:

The purple scorpion
Actually it IS pretty unbelievable, given that the FSA has been telling banks to be proportionate in enforcing money laundering rules. 
 
Still, there are plenty of idiots working in banks so all things are possible. 
 
It would have made more sense for them to offer you other ways of making the payment, such as a bank to bank transfer.

7 October 2006, 10:18:35 GMT+01:00