P.P.S. on the D.D.

"Figuring out the system" explained the process of obtaining a demand draft. It ended with a postscript that the "check was in the mail." As it turned out ... it wasn't that simple.

A week after handing the Demand Draft to the hotel receptionist, Praveen told me he still hadn't received it. I spoke with the receptionist who said, "yes, the D.D. had been mailed" and maybe it was just taking extra time because the postal service is unreliable. She cited a case where a hotel guest waited a week for something to get to Chennai ... which is lots closer than Delhi. So I called Praveen back and we decided we'd wait until the day we left to see if it would come and then decide what to do. On Thursday, the D.D. still hadn't arrived.

A D.D. is not like a check because you can't just cancel it. We had to pay cash for it. So we have this significant sum of money in D.D. form, floating around India somewhere. We decided we'd come to Delhi and see if it the D.D. would arrive while we were there. If it didn't come by Monday (about 2 weeks since I'd given it to the receptionist) we would pay Praveen in cash and then work on cancelling the D.D. when we got back to Bangalore.

It didn't come on Monday. Back in Bangalore, first thing on Tuesday morning, I went to the bank and explained the situation. It didn't look like it was going to be a simple transaction. What is involved in cancelling a D.D.?

First, write a letter to the bank's branch manager explaining the situation and the request to cancel the letter. I sat down at the counter and wrote the letter.
Second, the manager is not in the office today, so it will have to wait until Thursday to pass his desk.
Third, after it passes his desk, he mails the request on to the Delhi branch to verify that the D.D. has not been cashed already. If it hasn't, they will issue a new D.D. in my name for the same amount.
Problem 1: In order to cash a D.D. it must be deposited to a local bank account.
Problem 2: I don't have a bank account. "Can I set one up now?" Reply: "No."
Problem 3: At any rate, this sounds like a lengthy procedure, we are leaving the country in six days, is there any way to expedite the process? Reply: "Come back on Thursday when the manager is here."
Problem 4: What if someone has, somehow, foiled the system, and was able to cash the D.D. even though it wasn't in their name? Reply: "You have to pay a Rs100 indemnity fee" and something about owing the bank the sum of the D.D. That was a confusing part to me. The situation didn't look promising.
Problem 5: [posed by the bank employee], "What if Praveen really got the D.D. and you also gave him cash? You shouldn't have done that. You should have cancelled the D.D. first." Reply: We trust the person we sent the D.D. to. Response: Silly American.
Advice 1: [heard from Praveen, the Bank Employee, and Briton's colleagues who heard the story] You should have requested the DD to be sent by courier. It's quicker and more reliable than the postal service and you can track where the letter is. Response: Oh.

I left the bank and hoped things would work out for the best. I spent a couple hours running some errands, then returned to the hotel where a message marked "very, very urgent" was waiting for me. It was from Praveen. This could only mean one thing. I gave him a call. Yep. Sure enough, the D.D. had arrived that afternoon. BY COURIER!!!!!

First, I'm super relieved. The D.D. has been found and isn't just lost in space.
Second, I'm confused. The receptionist said it had been sent by postal, but Praveen said it had arrived by courier ... which meant it had only been sent a couple days earlier - probably while we were still in Delhi.
Third, I need to cancel the letter that requested to cancel the D.D. so that we don't have to go through that long, involved process explained above in problem 1-3. Cancelling the first letter, it turns out, means writing a second letter. Which I did and the hotel faxed it to the bank.

I had a chat with the hotel manager to see if he could help sleuth out the postal vs carrier inconsistency. Here's what REALLY happened to the D.D. (in the billiard room, with the candlestick)...

I gave the envelope to the receptionist to mail. She gave it to the bellboy. The bellboy took it to his desk and then wondered, "Should I send it postal or courier?" He left the question unanswered and then went on leave for a week. The envelope sat on his pile of stuff. When I spoke to reception the first time and she said it had been posted, she was just guessing that it had been sent by postal, since the bellboy wasn't around for her to ask. The whole time it was at the hotel! By the time the bellboy returned, the hotel knew I was anxious about the whereabouts of the D.D. and so they sent it courier ... without telling me. Unfortunately, on Tuesday, because they hadn't told me it had gone by courier just a few days earlier, I had gone to the bank and started the process for cancelling the D.D. They felt bad and were extremely apologetic for the lack of communication. They didn't even charge us for the cost of the fax to send that second letter. They recommended I go to the bank the next day in person, as well, to make sure they didn't sent the first letter to Delhi.

Which I did. And one more "phew": the bank employee (the same one I had spoken to the day before) told me that I sure was lucky. Knowing the urgency of the situation since we would be leaving, and wishing to expedite the process, she had tried to fax the first letter to Delhi the day I'd come in (bypassing the bank manager) ... only the fax wouldn't go through. Hallelujah. She confirmed that they would not cancel the D.D.

Now, what about the extra payment we've made? Luckily and coincidentally, Praveen is coming to Bangalore this Saturday and will pay us back in person. Cash.

Given that that transaction occurs, this story is officially ended.