London, baby! Part II

Here are some examples of conversations I have had with Heidi (who is traveling abroad for the first time) leading up to our trip:

Heidi: "my friend Susan told me that I should call my bank and credit card company and tell them that I will be out of the country so that they will know that my cards are not stolen when they see activity coming from London."
Me: "Yeah, I've heard that, but I've never had any trouble before."

Heidi: "I am going call my bank today."
Me: "okay. I'm not going to do that, though."
Heidi: "Really? I read that we should."
Me: "I'm not worried. But you can."

(At the airport in New York.)
Heidi: "Oh, there is an exchange place. Should we exchange some money now?"
Me: "You can if you want, but I'm just going to get money from the ATM at the airport."

Heidi: "I called my bank and credit card company, so I'm all set for the trip!"
Me: (thinking 'Good for you!')

We get off the plane in Heathrow. I head straight to the ATM to take out some money. My card is denied. I figure they are just out of cash. I go to a different ATM, where my card is denied again. I go to a third ATM, and my card is denied for a third time. Heidi has to pay for our cab. Once in the city, I try the ATM of a bank that is partnerned with mine in The States, figuring that the problem must be that my bank card is not recognized by their ATMs. Again, denied.

I call my bank, on the verge of swearing up a storm, and am told that they saw some suspicious activity on my card and put a hold on it.

Me: "WHAT??"
Heidi: "Told you so."

(Can I just add that in 2009 alone, I have been to Rome and Montreal twice and have not had a problem?? Grrrrrrr......)

Guess which one of us is Joey (super excited) and which one of us is Chandler (Westminster crabby) in this scenario.