(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Time-sensitive desperation - thank you all so much and thanks for reading - I will PAY YOU BACK. [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-12-18 UPDATE: thank you to everyone who has recommended this diary. I know so well that everyone is stretched tight at the moment. I am grateful for any eyeballs on my pathetic ask. ______________ I never thought that I would be writing a diary like this. I am a climate change diarist. I sometimes gain traction, and sometimes not, but am always thrilled to get comments and views on this platform (I’ve been here since 2015). I appreciate this amazing community. I believe in my single focus cause, and do not want to be a leech or a poor sap or (shudder) a grifter. But my husband and I are in a serious bind, which is (luckily) short term. TL; dr: I need to get an AirBNB in London in the next couple of days, to tide us over until March. When my husband retired, he dreamed of a new career in the UK. I supported him. He got a lead on a good new job working for a manufacturing company in London, and in January, the visa application process is set to start. He’s got social security and a small State pension. We came to London (well, Burgess Hill, where we are house sitting until the end of the month) and are about to start a new life. We had everything covered, or so I thought, with a SLIM MARGIN for error. (I take full responsibility for being too optimistic.) Then two things hit at the same time, hard. 1) I was laid off , which means that Friday was my last day, unless I run out a couple of weeks of vacation and keep my work login until the 29th of this month. After that, I am no longer employed, at the age of 63. Because I am technically in the running for a new position in my old department, I can’t just cash out and get some fast money (which would be paltry, anyway). 2) I was approved for a $6000 loan that I am not able to access ! This was from a small old Fidelity account. I work(ed) for the University of Washington, and that old account from a prior employer was available for me to take loans. Those funds are what I planned to use to pay for an apartment in Jan/Feb/March while my husband’s visa is being processed. The loan was approved, but my bank (Wells Fargo) inexplicably REFUSED the funds transfer. (Wut?!) Lengthy conversations with the lender (Fidelity) resulted in the following gobbledygook: “Yes, you asked for direct deposit, but when your bank said ‘no’ to that, we mailed you a check, and our ‘system’ cannot change it. We cannot void the check that we sent, and re-direct deposit. So sorry.” And here’s the deal. I am sure they *did* send a check. But (1) it was sent to Iowa (not the UK), and (2) it will take 7 — 10 business days from the date my bank refused the direct deposit… by which time we will be unhoused. (And in case you are wondering, as I was: no, they can’t just cut a new check and send it to the UK — I would have to change my official address and wait 10 days for that to take effect, at which point we’d be too close to the end of the month to get anything like an affordable price in the greater London area, for even the crappiest apartment.) I am desperately asking if anyone can loan (yes, loan — I will pay you back) us enough to make up the $6000 that we need to rent a place in London for the months (Jan-Feb-beginning of March) we need while we await my husband’s visa. The moment the check comes (to ‘hold mail’ in Iowa, which my aunt can pick up) I’ll be able to deposit it and pay anyone back who has been able to help me out. To be clear, I am horrified. I am grateful for even a click on this diary. And I am good for the money — because it is on the way, except it is on the way via snail mail to my family farm mailbox in Iowa, in a town where there is not a Wells Fargo bank. And I need to get an AirBNB in London in the next couple of days, to tide us over until March. I have a PayPal account, and I think I have Zelle through Wells Fargo. For personal inquiries, my email is kirathomsencheek [at] gmail or red_kira [at] yahoo. I realize this sounds hilarious. “Wah! I’m in Lunnun, and don’t ‘arf need ‘elp, guvnor!’ But I am panicking and in need and I just threw all caution to the wind. Thank you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Kira Thomsen-Cheek [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/18/2212450/-Time-sensitive-desperation-due-to-financial-system-tomfoolery-and-I-will-PAY-YOU-BACK?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/