I am ashamed of myself for not getting the name of the young lady who answered my panicky call today. She ceratinly went above and beyond.
My husband is in Rome for the night to catch his flight home early in the morning. I am at work and I went into panic mode when I got a short e-mail saying he'd put his debit card in the wrong slot at the bank and the card had been taken and would not be returned until tomorrow. He was trying to get cash because the hotel he'd checked into on recommendation by a service person at the airport told him they knew their info said that they take credit cards, but they really don't. So, he's got no money, the bank has his debit card, the hotel can hold his luggage hostage, and it's 7:00 p.m. in Rome with a 10:00 a.m. flight for home looming and he'd better not miss it!
All I could think of is how he needed a PIN for his credit card, but he forgot to carry it with him. I knew it takes days to get a PIN. I had put him on my Chase account because of the insurance he could get when he rented a car. I'd never had a need for a PIN. Still, I logged in and called Customer Service, hoping for a miracle. I got one. The sweet young woman immediately picked up on my stress and understood exactly what I needed. She put me on hold and went in search of the fastest and cheapest way we could get cash to my husband. She came back to tell me the only way to get it done really fast was to use Moneygram on their site. She explained that Chase was just starting to offer Moneygram, but she had gone on the Moneygram site to see if there would be a faster way than overnighting money. She came back and directed me to the Moneygram site, then told me how to read up on the Chase services associated with Moneygram. It turns out that there are something like 30 Moneygram offices in Rome and I could get money to my husband "usually within 10 minutes". I've sent my husband an e-mail to let him know he can get his luggage out of hock and we'll just cancel the debit card if it's not returned to him in the morning. Talk about priceless peace of mind...it will cost only $12.00. I'd have never thought of this without help and I had the best.
