Tense Sunday afternoon, continuous follow up with the bank, frantic calls made to the call center. No respite. They asked me to visit the nearest branch to lodge a complaint and see what can be done to resolve the issue at hand.

Next day, by the time I reached the bank from the remote location I was at, it was noon. I was clasping my hands, fiddling with the pen, & sat before the officer who listened to all I had to tell her.

She took my complaint and raised a reversal request. Unfortunately for me, he had withdrawn the entire amount leaving no balance to be reversed. Treacherous I thought, but shushed my mind as I had to focus on getting my money back.

My heart was already beating fast, it now doubled up. Did I lose my money? Will I never get it back? How am I to tackle this? He is not answering my calls, should I call him from some other number?

Hundreds of thoughts crossed my mind.

I had already told the person who connected the situation, now I update the status. He promised to talk to the client and get my money back. As for me, I had no option but to trust him and wait.

Oct 2nd – Gandhi Jayanthi, I calmed down a bit and had by then begun to alienate myself from that money, but somehow the optimistic person in me kept telling me that I will get the money. It possibly was my defense mechanism to fight the negative thoughts. You know the Law of Attraction thing!

Came Wednesday, no trace of money yet.

Thursday, my associated suggested I write them an email. But before that I consulted my lawyer to discuss the next course of action. After doing a little back and forth, I did write an email. And lo! He responded in a flash saying that he will transfer the amount EOD.

Hope restored! Thursday went by and no trace of my phone beeping[to indicate money transfer]. I sent him another mail, he again responded and said he will pay the next day.

Day-5 – Friday– I had begun to focus on work again, attending meetings and going about my duties. I had now begun to remove it from my account and started recovering payments from other regular clients.

I sent him a reminder email. This time- no response.

At 9.30pm, my phone beeps, so does my heart- and yaaaay, he paid me!

He took the freebie and didn’t pay me for my time or effort. But I was happy that I got my money back. Rich people also need charity sometimes, and that’s just what I did.

Learning:

1. Rectify Refund policy
2. Stringent working patterns.
3. Pulling up socks had to be done.
4. Most importantly- never make any bank transactions when network is low!
5. Always stick to your PLAN! Leave everything else to God, He always has a plan for you.

Thank you all for staying by my side and filling me with optimism! It immensely helped me cope with my stress. There is light at the end of the tunnel, if there is no light, it just means that the end is no