When is a transaction not a transaction, but is a transaction?

 I have to pay the government money.  This particular bill allows me to drive my car on their poorly maintained roads.  So I use the 16 digit id and up come the charges.  I fill in my payment details, and the bank (the one with a blue logo) wants to be sure I am who I am.  The pop-up is blocked by my ever vigilant browser (FF), and a long and detailed error message appears on the web page.  Something about the transaction cannot be completed due to an error.  It went too quickly to save, although that may have been my fault, I'm not sure.

Still the transaction is not a transaction any longer.

I try again.  It says try in 5 days.  My confirmation email comes through, saying my vehicle is taxed.  I check the gov web site using my registration number - no, it's not.  It still expires at the end of the month.

 I log on to my bank, and there is the pending transaction.   Will it go through, or not?

Five days later. I try to give them money again, but they say it's already gone through. Checking my bank, I see the charge is on my account.

 The transaction that is not a transaction is now a transaction.

Conclusion - Bank security is rubbish. DVLA error processing is suspect.

Orlando 9 July 2024 - British in a foreign land

I received the Wi-Fi code for the holiday home, courtesy of Karen's 'hotspot', overnight.  Now we are properly up and running.  

The first task, for today, is to pay for the pool heater. This will be by electronic transfer.

First Bank - I select the international payments page - "Something went wrong, clear your cache and try again - you can call us".  I re-tried, with VPN in my country - no difference.  Of course, I can't call them, that would cost me more than the pool heater, because calls from America to UK are stupidly expensive - 25p / minute, with my provider.  This is just profiteering.

Second Bank - No problem, I just need all these details - and on and on, which I don't have.  I send the request for details to the owner, who wants to try another way.

So, both UK banks (I only have two with me) and my phone provider have conspired to make this IMPOSSIBLE.  This is typical of my experiences with banks when I'm oversees.

I have been travelling to America for over a decade now, and these simple things are still just as difficult - nothing changes.

Finally, Karen paid the fee, and I paid her in Sterling.  That may sound OK, but it has transferred the currency conversion risk to an innocent third party.

We had lunch in the British Pub, which also had a British food and drink section, where we, at last, get some proper tea.  The food was very good, and served by a lady from Bishop Aukland.

The main event of the day is Legoland.

The entrance to Legoland

It was a good time, although tiring and hard on my limited legs.  The children bough Lego brick keychains with their names engraved on. We went on various rides - them more than me, of course, and got a little damp as the rain started to fall gently.  A good time was had by all.

In the evening, I stated to catch up with my blogging.

Autumn?

I'm expecting rain because it's a public holiday, but the forecast is good. Today I was up early (for me, on a Saturday), as I had an appointment with the Bank at 9am. Why do I need an appointment to close an account? Well, as you have surely guessed, its a marketing opportunity. So up and out by 8:45. It was a foggy morning, but already the sun was strong and my spirits were raised. "It' going to be a nice day!" When I got back I walked into the garden. My feet were immediately wet from the dew, and the garden is covered in spiders webs:This is probably normal behaviour for spiders, but it struck me how much is going on in the world. What do they catch that low to the ground - they must catch something or they wouldn't spin webs. So there is a whole 'insect' world in my garden that I've hardly thought about, until the dew made a small part of it visible.

Later the kind lady who comes to help with our garden (I fix her computer in return) was round, and more clearing up was done. The garden looks better than its been for a good few years. When she comes, we are motivated to do some as well, so real progress is made.