Adventures With an NSF Notice

One of the things I like about My First Wife is her honesty. Everyone who knows her acknowledges that. Another thing I like about her is that she's detail-oriented. That's what she says, anyway.

When the junk mail arrived last Saturday we noticed an NSF notice. Fortunately, the bounced check was for only $236.00. Add to that the ever-popular $20 NSF fee and we owed the bank one arm and one leg each.

Here's where the detail comes in. About two weeks ago My First Wife ordered something from St. Louis. She wrote out a check and sent off the order. Uh-oh. She forgot a minor detail—the one where you write down the check information in the checkbook. So then a couple of days later while reviewing her checkbook, she realized she must not have sent the check. It wasn't written down, was it? Well, detail-oriented that she is, she took care of that in a flash. Now the company had two checks, same amount.

A few days later, the bank cleared her first check. No problem. A few days after that they went ahead and paid the second check. Big problem.

On Monday morning, she leaned on my arm as I left the house and pleaded, "Oh hunny, pray for me because I have to call about those checks. I hope they understand and don't hassle me." First she called the folks with the two checks and seductively explained what happened. "Sure, no problem," the man said. "I'll send you back a check for that amount. I'll do it today. Anything else?"

Then here's where her honesty comes in. She called the bank and tearfully explained what happened. "Now, Mrs. Nichols, because this is an obvious mistake—and certainly unintentional—(Mrs. Nichols?) and because there have never been any incidents on your account (Are you alright, Mrs. Nichols?) and because you're calling to tell us how you're going to rectify your account, I'm going to refund the ever-popular $20 NSF fee. Will that help make you feel better?"

Another thing I like about My First Wife is her telephone skill.

This incident is remarkably similar to this incident. Twice in a lifetime.