The Jury Duty Chase Debit Card Saga Continues

Not a lot of people would go to so much trouble to get $4.00, and I'm certain that is just what the government is counting on. But since we are retired, and I find this whole situation laughable as well as totally inconvenient and nonsensical, I will pursue it to the end. For the privilege of being summoned to jury duty four times in the last ten years, one gets a $4.00 transportation reimbursement. We used to get a check in the mail. Now, a Chase debit card is distributed but you cannot access it until after 5 PM on the day you attend. Both my husband and I were summoned within one week of each other, so we had two debit cards to cash in. After reading through all the documentation, which in itself is mindboggling, we stopped at our Bank of America to collect our dues. After about twenty minutes of back and forth and holding up the teller line and signing our lives away, we were able to cash my husband's card because he had his ID on him. I didn't have my ID because we stopped in after our morning walk and I don't carry that stuff on me. So I found where the ATM's are located in the neighborhood for this card. There are no Chase ATM's anywhere near us, so I checked where Allpoint ATM's are located - one in the Walgreens at union station, where we walk when it is blazing hot outside. We ventured out that way today, found the ATM, and tried it. Are you kidding? The machine doesn't even register that low of an amount to cash in. All it would tell me is that I have $4.00 on the card. All I want to do is cash this thing in. I think we will wait until we take another trip to our bank. They certainly weren't happy about this transaction to begin with and I don't blame them. What on earth do other people do? I'm guessing they just don't have the time for all this nonsense. 

A Most Ridiculous Way to be Paid for Jury Duty - All This for $4.00?!

Both my husband and I were called to jury duty within one week apart. This was the fourth time for both of us in ten years. I almost got stuck on a homicide trial while my husband was in and out of the courthouse in two hours! Regardless, both of us are due a $4.00 transportation reimbursement for our troubles. It used to be that a check was mailed to your address - case closed. NOW you get a Chase Visa Debit card that comes with enough documentation to make your head spin. So we waited until he was through with his service to cash them in. So we went to our Bank of America because it said you can go wherever there are Visa cards. Besides, do ATM's even cash out something as small as $4.00? At first they didn't want to have anything to do with it. Then we said we had an account there and made a case based on the information we received. In the end it took two tellers, a lot of verification, and more paperwork to make this ridiculous transaction. Of course in the end I couldn't get mine done because I did not have my ID on me - we were returning home after a walk this morning and stopped in on the fly. I don't carry all that junk on me when we are out for a walk. So we got half of what we are owed and I bet most people don't even bother - which is probably what the US government is counting on. I'm sure they thought long and hard about all of this before they made the change to these debit cards from checks. When we started with this transaction at the bank there was no line behind us, but by the end there were at least six people waiting for teller service. I can't begin to describe the inefficiencies of this entire process. But for whatever reason - including living in DC for ten years - I am not surprised.