RAAARRRRRRRRR
i hate international money situations
jfc
im trying to send money to a bank in South Africa and its virtually impossible
for starters all it says on the bill is some sketchy name like "Paul's Bank", a account number and some other non-sensical words and letters.
if you know anything about direct depositing money, you know that you need a name, an account number and the bank's ABA number.
in need of a great deal of information, i search for the bank online
of course, i wasnt able to find their ABA number anywhere on their website, but i was able to find a phone number.
i tried dialing the phone number but all i would get was a busy signal. something was wrong.
i asked around the office and someone finally told me that the number was incomplete.
can you believe this? the number was incomplete!
doing what any american would do, i called 411 and said "im trying to dial an international number but i don't think i have enough numbers."
as one would expect they treated me like a complete idiot. "this is 411, we do not provide assistance for international calls."
"what?"
"you'll have to dial your local operator for assistance."
"but i did... you're not my local operator?"
"you dialled 411. this is Information, not your local operator."
i was confused. what the hell is the difference? im calling b/c i need information! she told me to dial zero.
the AT&T operator was much more patient and helpful. i explained my problem and told her what i was dialing.
apparently the number i had didnt include the country or city code
hmm
the operator fills in the blanks and i make my call to the bank in South Africa.
three quick rings, pause, three quick rings, pause, etc. and no one answers... why? b/c South Africa is on the other side of the freaking world
they are in bed
so i ask DJP if he has any idea about the ABA #
he says "oh, they dont have those"
they have something called a SWIFT #
hmmm... yes, of course, what was i thinking.
using the SWIFT # located on the invoice, i entered the info into our online banking systemgod damn thing wouldnt take it
it wants 9 DIGIT NUMERICAL bank #
SWIFT # is all LETTERS
for the love of GOD
do these people want money or not???
i call our bank and ask them how i can ACH this money to the bank.
cant be done.can they wire the money for me?"You'll have to have one of your signers come down to the bank and fill out paperwork to wire a payment."are you fckg kidding me?am i really supposed to go ask the president of my company if he'd mind coming to the bank for a moment so that we can wire some money to South Africa?are we really the only company in this country who does business outside of the US?i bet GW doesnt have to go through this when he's sharing money amongst his royal friends.
previously:
weather or not - 2006-03-07
My Flight - 2006-03-02
poetree in motion - 2006-02-28
ultimate personality test - 2006-02-25
limerick e-trip - 2006-02-22