During the beginning of their first break, Sally joined Ellen in the lounge.
“Did John reach out to you?”
“Yes, he came over last night. He said that forensic lab technicians will need to sift through the data on my computer before they can identify the hack.”
“Oh. I don’t know what was involved, but that seems a little extreme,” Sally said. “I had another thought concerning your bank account.”
“Oh?”
“I’m not sure what checking account you have, but the top tier account has certain protections against fraud. The bank calls it zero-liability protection, which means if your account gets hacked and it's not your fault, you will get your money back. It’s worth looking into if you haven’t already,” Sally said.
“Thank you. That’s good to know.”
After her shift ended, Ellen stopped by the bank.
“I’m afraid that protection is not on your account,” Joyce said.
“I have the Checking Premium account that the bank offers. It clearly states in the terms of service that I have this protection,” Ellen said. She’d done her research.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Let me check with the branch manager. One minute, please.”
Ellen waited for the branch manager with a pang of concern. It was five minutes before closing. They better not even think about throwing her out.
After another ten minutes, Gordon, the branch manager, appeared. Ellen could see that he was scheming against her behind those round glasses.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Watson,” Gordon said. “I reviewed your account history, and you did indeed have the zero-liability protection when you opened the account. However, last spring we modified our portfolio and asked each account holder to affirm their coverages. I regret to inform you that since you failed to reaffirm your coverage, you no longer have this protection.” Gordon gave her a sheepish grin.
“I never received any notice.”
As soon as she uttered the words, she remembered some flyers the bank had sent out. She had thought they were junk mail.
“I assure you that they were sent out. We gave you sixty days to respond. Since you failed in this capacity, we automatically unenrolled you,” Gordon said in a monotonous drone.
Ellen took this as a personal attack.
“You people are incredible. You screw us in every which way with exorbitant fees, then when we need your help, you refuse! You people are fucking incredible,” Ellen screamed.
Other customers were looking at her like she just escaped the nuthouse.
If Gordon was angry, he didn’t show it.
“I’m truly sorry, Mrs. Watson. If you require a loan, I will personally authorize up to ten thousand dollars immediately.”
Ellen began to calm down. She just wanted the nightmare to end.
“Thank you, Gordon, but I’ll decline for now.”
“If you change your mind, the offer stands.”