As someone who does not have a lot of money, I keep my finances in pretty good order. Not as good as someone who budgets properly, but I at least always pay my credit card on time and always have a little money in the bank (it helps to not have nice things). So I was pretty confused why Target turned me down for a credit card a few months back. I can't afford to shop at many places, but Target? I can afford Targets flimsy bookcases.
A bajillion frustrated phone calls and one very illuminating one later, I finally figured it all out. Well, a very, very helpful customer service person figured it out. I'm thankful that I talked to her today, and not the other dozen unhelpful people before her. Turns out, precision matters. And typos can ruin credits. Because I had a student loan under a wrong social that ballooned into a vicious catch-22. Whenever I got an angry letter or call, I'd call back, identify myself with my correct info, and they wouldn't see the typo account and would tell me that I was crazy or I should call someone else or it wasn't their problem. I don't know what made the representative today look a little deeper than everyone else I'd talked to in the last year (on and off... I didn't think it was that big a deal since I was in school and my loans are in deferment and no one seemed to be willing to track down my phantom loans, but Wrong Social Me wasn't in school, hence the angry calls). But something clicked this morning and it all got sorted out (ish, pending lots of paperwork).
One misplaced number. One helpful person. One financial disaster averted (we think).
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