Damned Banks

Having a major problem with my bank, the National Australia Bank, two of my cards won't let me take out significant money, the other is imposing a $1,000 a day limit on me when it is supposed to be $5,000 a day. One of my cards is the same one I used the last few times I was here without any problems, but now that the account behind it has been 'upgraded' I am getting nothing but grief - major embarrassment and loss of face, and in an Asian culture where it matters.
I went to the NAB office here in SG, but they are not a 'branch' and don't provide customer service or support. I phoned the NAB international help number and got an Indian call centre where people read things at me but did not provide any service or support. And my last internet banking message got a reply saying that it was not the correct channel for that type of support, signed with an Indian name.
I assume that the NAB has outsourced all support functions to India.
I also assume that the NAB doesn't care about losing customers.

I don't think that I can open a bank account here until I have a working visa. I wonder if I can get a bank that operates in both SG and AU to open an account in 'Australia' for me if I take in the 100 points of ID needed in Australia? But even if they did, what would I put in it? I can't transfer without an SMS code, and my Australian phone is offline! And I am betting that neither the internet banking people nor the call centre people are permitted to actually change it to my Singaporean number.

Maybe I can remotely open an account in Liechtenstein?


Other than that; the girls took me to the bank office then to collect the copy of Office that came with the laptop, then I spent the day following them around shopping and they bought me lunch and a few drinks along the way. And they left me for a while in a huge bookshop in Ngee Ann City tower where I bought a few comics (all Dr Doom), a manga (Burst Angel, loved the anime, assume that I will love the manga as well), and a tarot book since I found when doing a couple of readings lately that I couldn't remember what some cards meant, especially when reversed.

Here's an interesting one; when I came out of something or other yesterday the girls had a hot chocolate waiting for me - they had phoned their sister in Australia to find out what I liked!

They have left to visit family in Malaysia now, and after that they are visiting Hong Kong for a week, so I am on my own for a while.