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Remember the MINI that threw a rod through the side of the engine?
The one with the repair estimate of $7400?
Well, in order to come up with that money, we took a loan out against our 401k. The check arrived on Monday. On Tuesday I tried to deposit it in the bank, and was told that it wouldn't clear until 5-11 days later, because it was "too large." Further discussions with the branch manager (Regions Bank, if you're interested) let me know that the policy was due to the banks unwillingness to provide a loan of that amount against a to-be-paid-in-the-future check, nevermind the thousands of dollars I've apparently loaned them in incremental amounts over the last ten years.
The repairs were finally finished today, and because the check hadn't yet cleared the bank, we were at a loss for how to pay for them. I figured my American Express, with "no preset spending limit" would be able to provide a nice financial cushion until the checks cleared the bank, but unfortunately I figured wrong and the cashier at the MINI dealership was told to call the credit card company, who told her they couldn't approve the charge until I talked with the credit card company's other number.
At the other number, I was told that because I'd never charged $8100 (sales tax!) on my credit card in the past, I wouldn't be allowed to charge $8100 on it now. I explained the situation to them, and they told me that if I pre-scheduled a payment to the account for when the check cleared the bank, they'd allow the charge to go through. So, to make sure everyone's ass other than mine is appropriately covered, and the only person who might possibly not get paid is me, I made the appropriate arrangements and charged the repairs.
If anyone has any suggestions for how this could possibly get more complicated and difficult, let me know so I can know what to expect next.
The one with the repair estimate of $7400?
Well, in order to come up with that money, we took a loan out against our 401k. The check arrived on Monday. On Tuesday I tried to deposit it in the bank, and was told that it wouldn't clear until 5-11 days later, because it was "too large." Further discussions with the branch manager (Regions Bank, if you're interested) let me know that the policy was due to the banks unwillingness to provide a loan of that amount against a to-be-paid-in-the-future check, nevermind the thousands of dollars I've apparently loaned them in incremental amounts over the last ten years.
The repairs were finally finished today, and because the check hadn't yet cleared the bank, we were at a loss for how to pay for them. I figured my American Express, with "no preset spending limit" would be able to provide a nice financial cushion until the checks cleared the bank, but unfortunately I figured wrong and the cashier at the MINI dealership was told to call the credit card company, who told her they couldn't approve the charge until I talked with the credit card company's other number.
At the other number, I was told that because I'd never charged $8100 (sales tax!) on my credit card in the past, I wouldn't be allowed to charge $8100 on it now. I explained the situation to them, and they told me that if I pre-scheduled a payment to the account for when the check cleared the bank, they'd allow the charge to go through. So, to make sure everyone's ass other than mine is appropriately covered, and the only person who might possibly not get paid is me, I made the appropriate arrangements and charged the repairs.
If anyone has any suggestions for how this could possibly get more complicated and difficult, let me know so I can know what to expect next.
