10.11.08
More Scuffles with the Bank, Part 4: My ‘Happy Ending’
cont’d from More Scuffles with the Bank, Part 3: Assets still Frozen, Hope on the Horizon
A recent e-mail from a reader (thanks Evelyn) alerted me to the fact that I never concluded the story of my latest ongoing feud with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Well, the reason why I forgot to wrap things up is that surprisingly, the situation resolved itself quite smoothly. After the seven day waiting period, Da Sen was able to withdraw my money in Fuqing, and then transfer it to my new ICBC account in Beijing. I was able to withdraw it, and use the funds to pay for most of my trip to Jinan, Qufu, and Qingdao. (1500 RMB, roughly $200 USD goes a long way in the Middle Kingdom).
What I learned from the whole endeavor is that when a banking conflict arises in China, more often than not, you will get your money in the end. However, the amount of aggravation and bureaucracy you have to deal with is often so much that it makes you question whether or not it was even worth wasting your time on in the first place. At a standard laowai rental/tutor rate of 150 RMB/hr, I probably would have been better off allotting the time I spent on getting my money back to working an hourly job. Of course, things would be quite different had it been a considerably larger sum of money in question.
Another thing I learned, or should probably say already knew but was reinforced, is that Chinese banks (and institutions as a whole) tend to err on the side of over-security. Over-security to the point that it’s often the rightful owner who is locked out, rather than a potential thief. I have made this same observation several times when logging on to Chinese websites as well, which often require a far greater deal of verification for password retrieval than their American counterparts. More often than not, you end up having to set up a new account (I must have at least 3 Tianya accounts by now).
But most importantly, in these times of great financial crises, rest assured your money is safe and secure within the confines of the Chinese banking system. You just may never be able to get it out in the event you make one small mistake.
English learner
said,
October 13, 2008 at 2:59 am
Do you mind English punctuation question? Why did you use single quotes in ‘My happy Ending’ rather than double quotes? Isn’t it that single quotes are more for things like brand names (like magazine names etc)?
Benjamin Ross
said,
October 13, 2008 at 5:12 am
@ English Learner
Good Question. Glad you asked. As a former teacher, it’s one of my own major pet peeves when English learners ignore punctuation rules, (especially proper spacing after punctuation when typing, which is a huge problem with Chinese students for some reason).
To answer your question though, there really was no real reason. Sometimes I use English quotes when I am drawing emphasis to a word, or indicating it might be implying a double entendre. I’m really not sure if this is a proper use for quotes or not (my guess it’s is not), but it’s something I’ve just gotten accustomed to doing from time to time over the years. Usually for magazine names, I would put them in italics.
chriswaugh_bj
said,
October 13, 2008 at 7:08 am
English learner, I’d say there’s no real difference between single and double quotes. Both are used for pretty much the same reasons. It’s a question of style, not grammar or “the rules” or ‘the rules’.
penny
said,
October 13, 2008 at 9:48 pm
It’s really a good place to learn english! Thanks!
Tong
said,
October 14, 2008 at 11:46 am
150 RMB/hr? Tutoring during the college days, we would be thrilled to get 15RMB/hr, most often than not we got 10RMB/hr. The pretty and bold ones would dress in tight red shots and high white boots and work in the bars as Budweiser girls, they got 1RMB per Budweiser they sold.
150RMB/hr * 40 hr = 6000RMB, a week salary of one foreign tutor > a Chinese professor’s a month salary. Wow!
Benjamin Ross
said,
October 14, 2008 at 5:30 pm
@ Tong
150/hr was the standard laowai tutor rate when I lived in Fuzhou from ‘05 to ‘07. At one point the rate was dipping down to between 100 and 125, but thanks to a text message campaign among Fuzhou’s several hundred Westerners, we were able to work wages back up to 150/hr by systematically refusing all offers of less. And who says China doesn’t have labor unions?
Lu Kai Rui
said,
January 3, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Hello Ben… where can I get a copy of your kindergarden writing scrap book and a typhoon to ensure I’m not distracted