I missed a payment on my credit card this month for the first time in forever. I either got too busy or too distracted or the statement notification was killed by one of three separate spam filters or the dog ate the email, but for whatever reason, I was fourteen days late. I noticed today when I was doing some banking and immediately went to correct my error.

However, as I was trying to make my payment online, I had found that my bank had frozen all the online payment tools and was forcing me to go through this arduous process of surveys and payment plans when all I wanted to do was to send them a check. I use the card for all my transactions and never keep a balance and didn't expect this process to be such a challenge after nearly two decades of business with them

As I was reading the survey, they were asking me why I had not paid and when I expected to pay and how long my financial situation would last and how I planned to pay by listing options like, and I swear this is the truth, cashing in my 401K.

No where on the survey was: I forgot. Here's the check. My bad.

I finally had to call the bank and route them the cash (they waived the fourteen dollar fee that would have been free anyway had I been able to simply do this online as I had planned).

What struck me about the situation was precisely the same as when the bank screwed up my mortgage last year: The whole system appears gamed to profit from failure and to speed customers toward that very end.

This is an organization with which I have done hundreds of thousands of dollars in business over my adult life. They have extended vast amounts of credit, know every possible fact about me, from my social security number, to my address, to my email, to my employer, to my cell phone, to my family history, to where I buy my tofu and how often. But despite the variety of resources both technological and personal with which they could notify me in the event of an imminent late fee, my phone, my email, my text messenger all remain deathly silent.

But God forbid I use my card in a gas station on the way to Joshua Tree, and they pounce to shut me down for "security reasons." Something they do to me with shocking regularity.

I am increasingly convinced our entire banking industry is bankrupt - and not merely on the books.

In other news, here's a cute dog: