I decided to buy Bitcoin.
I didn't do it because I think it's a good investment idea but so I could write this story and make sure that I am passing on solid information and a real personal experience.
The first thing I did was go to a site called Coinbase as I know that it's been around for a few years and has links with established businesses in Australia.
They asked me to put in my name, email address, make up a password and click on a space to make sure I wasn't a robot.
They then sent me an email to verify my existence and asked for my phone number for security reasons which I confirmed by keying in the code they sent.
And I was in, or so I thought.
I will not deny the possibility of making a little bit of cash from Bitcoin was creeping into my mind.
Then what I thought was going to be a fast and fun story started to turn into a tedious process.
Coinbase sent me another message.
This time they wanted me to upload an image using my phone to confirm my identity.
I gave them a picture from my passport.
Then they sent me another message saying it didn't work.
By this stage I was getting a bit irate, but I tried again.
And it worked.
I was in, again, or so I thought.
I initially decided to put $20 into Bitcoin, but having spent so much time messing around I decided to up that figure to $100 to boost my chances of being compensated for all the valuable time lost – this would be my big gamble for the year.
Next, they wanted my credit card details which I provided with that all too common sense of apprehension.
I keyed in the details, the numbers, then my address, but something went wrong, again.
I didn't know what was going on.
But nearly an hour had gone by and I still couldn't get my Bitcoin.
So I decided to contact the support network, which was a struggle in itself.
When I finally figured out how to contact them via a message they seemed to indicate that it was going to take a while to get back to me because they were too busy.
By this point I would have given up if I wasn't writing a story about this process.
But I was determined to push on.
Then they sent me another message.
It wasn't good. Have a read:
"Thank you for submitting your request. Due to increased volume it may take several days to receive a response. If you suspect that your Coinbase account has been compromised, please submit a request and select the "Hacked account" category."
Several days!
Hacked!
What a joke.
They've got my passport, my credit card details and my address and I didn't get my Bitcoin but was left with a foul mood and the word "Hacked" making me feel even more vulnerable.
Then it got worse.
They sent me another message:
"Unfortunately your transaction has been canceled (sic) by our banking partner. If your payment method was charged, you will receive a full refund as quickly as possible. If you have any questions, please contact our customer support team."
Charged!
Full refund!
Quickly as possible!
This made me angrier.
Did it mean that they had taken my money but didn't give me my Bitcoin?
I looked on the Coinbase site for a number to call someone, a real person, but there was nothing.
I became restless.
I quickly checked my bank account to make sure they hadn't pilfered my funds.
It was kind of a pointless exercise because if they had taken my cash what could I do?
Write another message?
Wait a few more days for a reply?
Anyway, all I could do was wait and wish I just Googled 'how to buy Bitcoin' and cobbled together a list of methods.
This is obviously not a Bitcoin success story.
But it is a genuine experience that highlights at least one important lesson that can be learnt from my traumatic Bitcoin venture:
Don't use Coinbase!
When I regain the strength, I will try again.
To be continued…
