phone tracking

Recently, there was a push by some apps on my phone to activate GPS tracking. The weather app stopped showing my little town as my location opting to show another nearby town instead. Merlin says "Location is essential for bird ID. For Merlin to work properly, location services must be enabled." BS! What difference does a few meters make? or for that matter, what difference does a mile make? it's a small town.

I'm sure that the weather app and Merlin people have many reasons why I should turn on GPS tracking on my phone. I have two good reasons NOT to: PRIVACY and SECURITY. My wife and I are retired. She's the ONLY person who needs to know where I am 24/7, and vice versa. 

I no longer use Merlin because of their ridiculous demand that I activate GPS tracking. 

PS I also ceased my monthly contributions to Merlin.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indoor_location_services_on_mobile_phone_(10928087126).jpg

attribution: Intel Free Press, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

Food Lion - recalled carrots

ATTENTION FOOD LION SHOPPERS!!!

https://www.grimmwaycarrots.com/status-history/?id=1102 

note the yellow banner at the top:

UPDATE 11/21/2024: GRIMMWAY FARMS EXPANDS RECALL DUE TO POTENTIAL E COLI CONTAMINATION

Why haven't recalled Grimmway Farms carrots been removed from Food Lion's shelves???

answer: Talk is cheap. It's easy to say that you're the best. Being the best requires commitment and hard work. Many "talk the talk", but few "walk the walk".

 

KIMECO

another botched delivery from Amazon Prime to add to:

• https://customertalk.blogspot.com/2023/10/balneolamazon.html
  
• https://customertalk.blogspot.com/2023/07/chatting-with-amazon.html

This delivery almost made it inside the house when we heard a CLUNK and saw the Amazon delivery guy driving away.

What makes this one unique is note at the bottom of the packing slip:

the tuna that we ordered was not the tuna that we received. It was also damaged. On the packing slip Kimeco stated that if there are problems with your order, then contact Kimeco directly and they will resolve them. We contacted Kimeco as requested. Kimeco didn't resolve the problems.

Kimeco "talks the talk", but they don't "walk the walk".

health care: drug companies, health care conglomerates, doctors, PLLCs, etc.

Health care in the USA is BIG business.  It's also a mess. 

Have you ever wondered about all of the prescription drug commercials on television (also insurance, automobiles, trucks, etc.)? Why are some prescription drugs so expensive (thousands of dollars per month)? Where does all of the money for these expensive tv commercials come from? From drug companies. Besides the tv commercials are we paying for kickbacks to doctors too? 

Everyone (including us) has their stories about their health care suppliers. Ours is too long to tell. However, I'll share a couple of things with you that we've learned. 

First, check out the google review and individual ratings (available through google maps) for your health care provider. Start from the bottom. High ratings may come from family or friends. The lowest google rating is 1. The highest is 5. Some health care providers have incredibly low google ratings (3 or below). 

Second, if your doctor is a PLLC or PLC, take a few moments to look up PLLC on the internet. Professional Limited Liability Companies are great for the doctor, but may not be so great for the doctor's patients or employees. Limited liability may mean that feedback from your doctor will be limited, including testing results, feedback from appointments, unanswered phone calls, etc. 

 

In short, much of today's health care business doesn't pass the smell test.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/135213460@N06/21473796202/in/photolist-5LNL8c-5uvhEc-hN1djZ-5Sqz9E-oWpjmC-8hqSWY-6hz4pa-iFiov3-c5aijs-KzfYk-fwJWW8-oQVhc6-oQV7tm-4YfsC4-oQWpQk-oQVKjd-LqUe-p8onb9-4N6YBr-KzfYi-5JhY7H-Q58Tt-5uvi7X-88biBa-4XJsz3-7NxQCw-5uzDTU-22jqDM-w55JD-yHyPty

attribution: mmntz and flickr

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

HOLTER heart monitor

My wife and I are in our mid seventies. Recently she was prescribed a heart monitor to wear for 30 days. It's hard for me to imagine how other folks in their mid seventies have the physical strength and determination to use this monitor.

The heart monitor includes a sensor and a telephone monitor. Each have batteries that must be recharged. It came with six patches that hold the sensor in place. The patches have to be removed and replaced when the sensor battery is low. Removing the sensor from the cradle on the patch requires both physical strength and determination.

The patches must be positioned precisely on the patient's chest. The adhesive is like gorilla glue. We went through three of the six patches (and two calls to help) before the monitor worked properly. Each time that the patch was replaced it removed another layer of skin. An area about the size of her hand was both red and sore.

Even then the sensor didn't work properly until I used an ace bandage to apply continuous pressure on the sensor. 

I pity those who are in their seventies whose doctor prescribes one of these heart monitors. Setting it up, getting it to work properly, and changing the patches so that the sensor battery can be recharged is an immense challenge.

more problems with AARP/UHC medicare supplemental insurance

Ever since United Healthcare (UHC) switched payment for our (husband and wife) AARP/UHC supplemental medicare insurance from payment coupons to online, there have been problems paying our premiums. Today's problem is the link, "UHC", on each of our online accounts on healthsafe-id.com, doesn't show up. We tried calling the help number. We couldn't understand the help person ("Claire") because of her heavy accent. 

Could this have something to do with it?

https://apnews.com/article/tech-outage-crowdstrike-microsoft-windows-7294e6c9356050cb095dad3353e9244c

Is there anyone in the world whose "secure" private information hasn't been compromised by "secure" data websites? here's just the latest example:

https://apnews.com/article/att-data-breach-text-cell-b5cdc8d6c9e1b980cb2163f34b297dad

it's a mess.

Apparently UHC, AT&T, CrowdStrike, etc. haven't learned: 

"IF IT AIN'T BROKE, THEN DON'T FIX IT!"

 

stupid dryer vent, stupid Alan Toothman

Clothes dryers have exhaust air vents that must be vented to the outside. In most houses the vent is located near an exterior wall. NOT in this house. The laundry room is located in the interior of the house with the dryer vent some 15 feet from an outside wall. ABSOLUTELY unmaintainable for the average homeowner. 

Builder Alan Toothman needs a middle school science refresher class.

Thanks, Alan Toothman.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/zenzoidman/3332708054

attribution: Samurai Appliance Repair Man and flickr

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

Valley Health, Medicare, AARP/UnitedHealthCare Medicare Supplemental Insurance

I take prescription drugs for high blood pressure and cholesterol. I've been taking them for years. Each year I make a routine appointment with my doctor to get my prescriptions renewed. This year's was two months ago. During my 30 minute appointment I saw the doctor for less than 10 minutes.

A few days ago I received a message from Valley Health that appeared on their MyChart website saying that I owed them $240. This was a first.

I sent Valley Health the following message:

MyChart shows that I owe $240. as follows:

billed $359.,

insurance covered -$119,

balance $240.

 

Does the $119. "insurance covered" include both Medicare Parts A and B and my AARP/UnitedHealthcare Medicare Supplement insurance?

 

Please explain.

Thank you.

PS Part of the problem was because the claim wasn't showing up on UnitedHealthCare's website. Finally, after TWO MONTHS I received a copy of the claim in the mail.

I received the following MyChart response from Valley Health:

"Thank you for contacting Valley Health. We charged you $359.00 but Medicare said that we should have charged you $417.01. of the $417.01 Medicare paid $153.21 and applied $240.00 towards your deductible and then Medicare applied $23.80 towards your coinsurance.

Then your secondary paid the coinsurance of $23.80 but they do not pay your Medicare deductible so that is why you had a balance of $240.00. Please let us know if you have additional questions. Thank you"

WHAT?!?  

Medicare is a government program connected with Social Security. We paid into Social Security and Medicare with payroll taxes during our working years. Since when does Medicare tell a Medicare recipient's doctor that he should charge MORE for his services? Since when did Medicare become an advocate for the healthcare business? Why isn't Medicare advocating Medicare recipients?

TALK ABOUT THE TAIL WAGGING THE DOG!!!

This being an election year we're hearing a LOT about inflation. Most of it is about low-ticket items--like gas, groceries, etc. 

What you DON'T hear about is HIGH ticket items like taxes, housing, transportation and medical care. 

That's because the tail is wagging the dog.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/richmondspca/10725295086

attribution: Richmond SPCA and flickr

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/

government's calculations for inflation (CPI) are flawed

"The CPI represents changes in prices of all goods and services purchased for consumption by urban households. User fees (such as water and sewer service) and sales and excise taxes paid by the consumer are also included. Income taxes and investment items (like stocks, bonds, and life insurance) are not included."

https://www.bls.gov/cpi/overview.htm

https://www.marketplace.org/2021/11/22/whats-included-in-the-consumer-price-index-and-what-isnt/

There you have it. the CPI only includes "out-of-pockets". Big ticket items like federal and state income taxes, state and local property taxes, healthcare costs (including prescription drugs), education costs, etc. aren't included. 

why? 

Mark Twain said it all: "Figures don't lie, but liars figure." 

https://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2010/Murphygovernmentcosts.html

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mark_twain2.JPG

public domain via wikimedia commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Public_domain

Walmart Pharmacy and GoodRx

I'm retired. I have Medicare Parts A & B and supplemental insurance. I don't have prescription insurance. 

I live in Strasburg VA where there's a Walgreen's and a locally owned pharmacy. 

I take three prescription drugs for blood pressure and one for cholesterol. Last December I paid $144.66 (using GoodRx) for a 90 day supply from Walgreen's. 

I switched to Walmart Pharmacy. Yesterday I paid $70.14 (using GoodRx) for a 90 day supply for the same four medicines at Walmart. 

LESS THAT HALF!!!

Needless to say, I'm glad that I switched to Walmart Pharmacy. Thank you, Walmart Pharmacy and GoodRx. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/walmart3/12331640945

attribution: Random Retail and flickr

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Shentel

Dear Shentel,

Don't you think that it's a bit arrogant of you (the vendor) to be telling us (the customer) that our modem must be replaced? and that if we don't rent one from you that "you (we) will be responsible for purchasing a new modem"? What if we don't want to purchase a new modem? or rent one from you? what if we don't have a problem with our internet speed?

Maybe it's time for us to switch to Comcast.

Sincerely,

Jenny and Ray Koenig 

collusion between the IRS and USPS?

My wife and I have prepared and filed our taxes for all of our married years--we've been married for 57 years.

The IRS has made it well known that they prefer tax returns submitted electronically. Returns prepared by taxpayers and mailed to the IRS go to the bottom of IRS's processing stack. 

As with past years we sent our tax 2023 tax return to the IRS via certified mail. The USPS receipt indicated that it was mailed on March 4 and would be delivered to the IRS in Kansas City, MO in four days. Since March 8 the same lame excuse has appeared on the USPS website: "Moving Through Network, in Transit to Next Facility, March 8, 2024 ... Your package will arrive later than expected, but is still on its way. It is currently in transit to the next facility." 

Something doesn't smell right. Is the USPS colluding with the IRS to hold taxpayer prepared tax returns?

That's how it looks to us.

https://live.staticflickr.com/722/21473796202_c3076cb3ea_b.jpg

attribution: mmntz and flickr

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

inflation and prescription drug prices in 2023/WALGREENS

There's been much talk by the government and in the media about inflation in 2023. Much of it has been about gas and food prices. I did an analysis (by quarter) of the price of my prescriptions from our local Walgreen's in 2023.

DATE NAME NUMBER WALGREEN PRICE DIFF DIFF CARD

3/23/23 HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE (HCZ), 12.5mg 322565 $8.53 - - SINGLECARE

3/23/23 LISINOPRIL, 20mg 342594 $15.39 - - GOODRX

3/23/23 ATORVASTATIN, 40mg 342594 $53.95 - - GOODRX

3/23/23 AMLODIPINE, 2.5mg 342593 $34.80 - - SINGLECARE

3/23/23 TOTAL $112.67 - -

6/25/23 AMLODIPINE, 2.5mg 342593 $43.16 $8.36 24% SINGLECARE

6/25/23 LISINOPRIL, 20mg 342594 $15.39 $0.00 0% GOODRX

6/25/23 HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE (HCZ), 12.5mg 322565 $11.67 $3.14 37% SINGLECARE

6/25/23 ATORVASTATIN, 40mg 342594 $53.95 $0.00 0% GOODRX

6/25/23 TOTAL $124.17 $11.50 10%

9/21/23 ATORVASTATIN, 40mg 342594 $33.31 -$9.85 -18% GOODRX

9/21/23 HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE (HCZ), 12.5mg 322565 $16.44 $4.77 41% SINGLECARE

9/21/23 LISINOPRIL, 20mg 342594 $25.39 $10.00 65% GOODRX

9/21/23 AMLODIPINE, 2.5mg 342593 $44.59 $1.43 3% SINGLECARE

9/21/23 TOTAL $119.73 -$4.44 -4%

12/18/23 AMLODIPINE, 2.5mg 342593 $43.37 -$1.22 -3% SINGLECARE

12/18/23 LISINOPRIL, 20mg 342594 $31.91 $6.52 26% GOODRX

12/18/23 HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE (HCZ), 12.5mg 322565 $15.13 -$1.31 -8% SINGLECARE

12/18/23 ATORVASTATIN, 40mg 342594 $54.25 $20.94 63% GOODRX

12/18/23 TOTAL $144.66 $24.93 21%

1st QUARTER $112.67

4th QUARTER $144.66

INCREASE $31.99 28%

The SAME 4 prescription medicines increased from $112.67 in March to $144.66 in December--+$31.99 (+28%)!!! In the last quarter alone, the price of Atorvastatin rose a whopping +$20.94 (63%) from $33.31 to $54.25--IN JUST 3 MONTHS!!!! 

Another area of double-digit inflation is taxes. But, you never hear the media or the government talking about double-digit increases in local taxes and assessments. They'd rather talk about the gas and food prices.

According to the Biden administration inflation is under control. 

YEAH, RIGHT!!!

Balneol/Amazon

Recently I received an order that I placed with Amazon for three 3-oz. containers of Balneol lotion. The containers were in a sealed envelope that was leaking inside a small sealed box. The sealed box also contained two large plastic bubbles, one of which was deflated. When I opened the leaking bag, a large amount of the product had leaked out of the containers. WHAT A MESS!!!

Balneol used to come in containers with leakproof caps. Besides being leakproof, the smaller hole for dispensing the product was easier with the old caps. 

There's an old saying: "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it."

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SMirC-thumbsdown.svg

attribution: Cäsium137 (T.)Template from chris, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

Later we got a threatening email from Amazon--an email that you can't reply to. The email threatened to charge our credit card for not returning the Balneol mess! RETURN IT?!? We told the Amazon representative that Balneol had leaked from all three containers and was unusable and nonreturnable!!!

Amazon made it impossible to talk with an Amazon employee about this problem. Why? Because it's a scam! Amazon doesn't want to hear about their and their suppliers screw-ups! They'd rather have the customer pay for them!!! as if Jeff Bezos doesn't have enough $$$$$!!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos

I was able to send the following message:

Amazon,

I received an email from you (11/28/23, 2:48 PM) threatening to charge our credit card for not returning an order that was damaged so severely as to make it unusable and nonreturnable.

When we opened the delivery box that contained the Balneol, it had leaked from all 3 containers and from the leaking plastic envelope that they were in. one of the two bubble packaging cells was punctured. One corner of the delivery box was crushed.

We told Amazon's representative that the mess was unusable and nonreturnable. We cleaned up the mess and disposed of it.

Now, Amazon is threatening to charge us for the mess??? This is outrageous! Amazon and/or your supplier, epharmastore, should give us a credit for having to clean up the mess.

So, who’s responsible for the mess? not us. We didn’t package the Balneol for delivery. We didn’t place the bottles in a plastic envelope without packaging around them to protect them. We didn’t cause the tops on the Balneol containers to leak. It was obvious when we opened the plastic envelope that the tops had become loose and leaked Balneol in and through the plastic envelope.

we're not the only ones. If you check the reviews for this item on your website under "bottles and they leaked" you'll see many. Unfortunately, we didn't see these reviews until AFTER we received the mess. Also, we have a photo of the mess on our phone but were unable to attach it. we're more than happy to send it to you if you can tell us how to do so.

Why is it so difficult to get this resolved? Why can’t Amazon’s customers speak to a live Amazon employee to resolve problems?

We resent your threat to charge our credit card for a product that was so severely damaged when it was delivered as to make it unusable and nonreturnable.

Sincerely,

 

On their form Amazon asked "How likely is it that you would recommend Amazon to a family member or a friend?"

Our answer: 0% 

******************************************

Amazon charged our credit card. Lesson learned. We know now how amazon treats their customers. We won't be doing business with amazon anymore. 

We know now that amazon doesn't give a rip about its customers. That's why you can't discuss problems with a person at amazon. Robots make for poor customer service. 

Jeff Bezos has more money than dirt. He doesn't give a rip that amazon has lost us as customers. He doesn't give a rip that customers have no recourse with amazon's "my-way-or-the-highway" rules.

Adios amazon.

"chatting" with Amazon

For most of my 76 years I've lived in populated suburbs. That changed when we moved to Strasburg, VA. Strasburg is rural. Not as many people, stores, etc. We do a fair amount of on-line shopping. 

On June 28 we placed an order with Amazon for a king-sized bag of pistachios. On July 3 we found this:

Today, July 11, I "chatted" with "Jane" at Amazon. 

The word "chat" has a different meaning today than when I was a kid. Then, "chat" meant "TALK in a friendly and informal way". I didn't TALK with "Jane" at Amazon today and "Jane" didn't TALK with me. For all I know, I was messaging with a computer.

The outcome of my "chat" with "Jane" is that my "replacement" bag of pistachios (for the bag that we never received) is supposed to arrive sometime between July 15 and July 19. I'm not holding my breath.

If in fact we do get the bag of pistachios when "Jane" from Amazon says that we will, then it will be almost ONE MONTH since we placed the order.

Talk is cheap--it's easy to say that you're the best. Being the best requires doing what you promise your customers that you're going to do.

Amazon talks the talk. But, Amazon doesn't walk the walk.

Toyota RAV 4

I posted a review of our 2019 Toyota RAV 4 on Google maps on the site of the dealer, Malloy Toyota in Winchester VA. It reads:

"what good is a service department that can't/won't diagnose a problem with the liftgate on a NEW Rav 4, that was reported NUMEROUS times, that has to be forced manually to open and shut? What good is a sales department that doesn't return phone calls? what good is a car with too many gadgets, a dashboard with print so small that you can't read it and a useless, poorly written owners manual the size of a phone book? ... Mr. Lewis, you have my contact info. what do you have in mind? please respond in kind (email)." 

 

 Malloy responded:

"We are not pleased to hear of the incident you've described in this review. We want nothing more than to work with you to correct this situation as soon as possible. Please feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience. Thank you, Frank Lewis, Service Director"

 I received an email from Malloy:

"Good afternoon Mr. & Mrs. Koenig,

I'm writing in regards to the review you left in reference to your 2019 RAV4. My service director, Frank, and myself have tried to reach out via the phone number provided and haven't heard back, so I'd like to extend this email to assist you further.

It appears that the last time you were in for service was in 2021, and you still have ongoing concerns with your liftgate. We are more than willing to have a Master level Toyota-trained technician look at your liftgate again, as well as our service director, to ensure your concerns are addressed.

It also looks like there may be some questions regarding the features of your vehicle, and I've got members of my team ready to go over the features and functions with you whenever you are available to bring the vehicle back in. Please give me a call at 540-678-1791, or reply to this email with the best days and time for you, and I'll make sure you're taken care of!

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you soon." 

I responded:

"Good afternoon Kala, 

I can understand why you and Frank are concerned with my review.

 The facts are:

1. Shortly after we purchased the car, the liftgate didn't always lift and close properly.

2. We reported this problem each time that we brought the car in during the warranty period.

3. Each time we were told that the liftgate was working properly.

 4. Since the warranty expired, the problem has only gotten worse.

In writing my review, it wasn't my intention to bring my car to Malloy to have a master level toyota-trained technician diagnose and fix the liftgate problem. Why didn't your mechanics diagnose and fix the problem when we reported it multiple times during the warranty period? Did they think that I was lying? The fact is that I've had to force the liftgate open and shut for some time now. It's my intention to continue doing so until it breaks. At that time I'll take it to a mechanic of my choice to fix the problem.

After Mr. Lewis responded to my review, I felt compelled to reply. I emailed our contact information to Malloy. I did not lie in my review.

I'm familiar with Malloy's practice of doing business over the phone. I wouldn't entertain the thought of bringing my car back to Malloy unless we were assured, in writing, that we would not be held responsible for any costs associated with diagnosing or fixing the liftgate problem. It should have been fixed during the warranty period.

Sincerely,
Ray Koenig"

I received another email from Malloy:

"Mr. Koenig,

I appreciate you following back up with us. Kala and I have carefully reviewed your service history. We found a concern on 1/21/21 stating "Liftgate will not open or close correctly at times." The technician opened and closed the liftgate 12 times and found no issues. It was working properly at that time. The next time you had a concern with the liftgate was on 5/27/21 stating "Tailgate hatch will not open all of the way." The technician adjusted the liftgate height for you as it is adjustable. So we see a total of 1 visit stating the rear liftgate is inoperable.This does not mean that we thought you were “lying”, we take the safety of our guests and integrity of their vehicles very seriously. If we cannot duplicate or find a failed part it is impossible to fix something that is intermittently failing.

Your review was posted on 6/2/2023 and the last time we have seen the vehicle in question was 5/27/2021. I am always willing to help a loyal Toyota customer out with after-warranty assistance, but I think it's obvious I need to be aware of the issue other than receiving a review more than 2 years later.

I'm not sure what you meant by "Malloy's practice of doing business over the phone" and ask that you please elaborate if you care to.

While we do apologize about the small font on the dashboard and density of the owner's manual, these things are out of our control. As far as the liftgate concern goes, we are more than happy to look at this free-of-charge as well as offer assistance should any repair be needed.

Please let me know if you would allow us to assist you further with your concerns, and we will do all that we can to help."

Thank you, and we hope to assist you soon!"

I responded:

"Mr. Lewis, 

I recall another time when someone from Malloy went with us to the parking lot and opened and shut the liftgate once and declared that it was working properly and sent us on our way. That's not what I call diagnosing the problem. I wouldn't even call opening and shutting the lift gate 12 times as diagnosing the problem. I'm not a mechanic. Our car has 10,883 miles on it--in 4 years. Most of that mileage is for short trips. Driving to Winchester is a relatively long trip when compared to going to the grocery store, doctor, etc. in Strasburg. The other observation that I've made, for what it's worth, is that the liftgate problem is greater in cold weather than in warm weather.

As far as my comment about doing business over the phone is concerned, I said that "I wouldn't entertain the thought of bringing my car back to Malloy unless we were assured, in writing, that we would not be held responsible for any costs associated with diagnosing or fixing the liftgate problem." I am unsure that this is the case ("... other assistance ..."). Even with your assurance, I don't know if I will bring the car into Malloy for another go at diagnosing and fixing the problem. As you know by my review, this whole experience with the liftgate has left a very bad taste in my mouth. 

Sincerely,

Ray Koenig"

That's the last I heard from Malloy.

A brief search of the internet yielded problems associated with the liftgate, including those similar to what we've been experiencing.

"According to experts, it could be that your battery is not dispensing enough voltage to the liftgate. When the voltage to this part of the vehicle is low, it will not function or it will function below expectation."

"One thing you should know about liftgates is that they run on a pump/motor system. So when they malfunction, it is likely that the motor or pumps are having issues. It is also possible that the hydraulic reservoir oil is low. In this case, the liftgate will struggle, depending on the level of oil available."

"There are times when your liftgate malfunctions because of leaks. Check all these parts for damages. If you notice any leaks, first try to tighten the connections at those points."

autoshub.net/toyota-rav4-liftgate-not-working/

Diagnosing liftgate problems involves more than just opening and shutting the liftgate. Complete diagnosis requires checking of both electrical and hydraulic systems that operate the liftgate. Was this done? Based on copies of the service orders that we received and our discussions with Malloy personnel, our answer is no.

Now I know what RAV stands for: Really Awful Vehicle.

VISA vs. mastercard

For years we had a VISA credit card through our bank, Navy Federal Credit Union. About a year ago we switched to mastercard because of confusing and misleading bills. They were hard to follow AND VISA had an option on monthly bills where you could pay ahead. WHAT? why would anyone pay their credit card ahead for charges that they hadn't been billed for?

We've been happy with our switch to mastercard. Their monthly invoices are clear and straightforward. mastercard lists all the charges for the month with a total. There is no option to pay ahead. Again, why would anyone pay ahead on charges that they hadn't been billed for?

That we made the right decision to switch to mastercard became even more evident recently when we noticed charges from a vendor that we didn't know. The total was $160. when we called mastercard, they told us not to worry--that mastercard would credit the $160 to our account. They issued us new mastercards. They contacted the vendor and we received a letter from mastercard that the vendor would issue a $160 credit to our mastercard account and mastercard would remove their credit. Problem solved. Thank you, mastercard!

contrast that with a similar suspicious charge on our NFCU VISA card several years ago. We were told that we had to try to work it out with the vendor first. 

So, when we're asked "what card do you have in your wallet?", we answer "MASTERCARD!", with BIG smiles on our faces.

information overload

examples of information overload:

• IRS
• messages on our cell phones from vendors, doctors, etc.
• IRS
• TV 
• commercials ad nauseam 
• local news
• weather
• traffic reports
• IRS
• the owner's manual for our RAV 4
• HUNDREDS of poorly written and poorly organized pages
• We've NEVER got an answer to our questions from the owner's manual.
• IRS
• appliances' manuals
• IRS
• TONS of junk mail (email, snail mail, etc.)
• IRS
• etc.

why is the IRS listed six times?

answer: because the IRS is the KING of information overload.

• the INSTRUCTIONS for completing the 3-page form 1040 is 113 pages long!
• not to mention the HUNDREDS of other forms, instructions and documents.

questions:

1. how did our parents ever get us to doctors and dentists appointments?
2. how were they able to complete their income tax returns?
3. how did they know how to operate their cars and appliances?

answers: 

1. they wrote them down on a calendar. they didn't need multiple "reminders" (phone calls, messages, etc.).
2. income tax forms and instructions were relatively simple. 
3. they checked their owner's manuals. their owner's manuals weren't HUNDREDS of pages long. They were short, to the point, and clearly written.

do yourself a favor. don't get caught in information overload. get yourself a calendar that you can write on (like Mom and Dad's), pencils and paper, a calculator that adds, subtracts, multiplies and divides, and do business like your parents did--in the good old days.

Motivator - Information Overload | scorp_stanton | Flickr

Creative Commons — Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic — CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

attribution: scorp_stanton

BTW, don't get me started on doctors and dentists. the media likes to talk about inflationary gas and food prices. Is there ANY greater example of inflation today than what doctors and dentists charge? Filling a small cavity used to cost less than $100. Today, you can spend THOUSANDS of dollars a year on dental care. It's the same with doctors. WHAT A RIPOFF!!!

blame???

we're approaching mid-March. the deadline for submitting our 2022 federal tax return is a little more than one month away. once again we find that we're unable to complete our tax return.

we're retired. we live on social security and IRAs from my 401K and the sale of our homes. we have a financial advisor. our financial advisor has a financial advisor. Fidelity handles the transactions.

the reason that we can't complete our 2022 tax return is that we don't know what our income for 2022 was. we don't have Fidelity's 1099. 

so, what else is new? this has become an annual problem. Fidelity's excuse is: "We're waiting for final tax information from DFA GLOBAL REAL ESTATE SEC PORTFOLIO (DFGEX)". 

GREAT!!! we're coming up on just one month left before the IRS's deadline! and we don't even know what our income for 2022 was!!! it's the FIRST STEP in a process that involves multiple forms, instructions, worksheets, calculations, checking, completing the forms for submittal, final check, and mailing. WTH!!!

so, who's to blame? Fidelity? our financial advisor? our financial advisor's financial advisor? the IRS (that doesn't enforce their rule that taxpayers must receive their 1099s by January 31)?

I don't know who's to blame. all I know is that I'm NOT to blame!!!

now I know how Dorothy felt: https://youtu.be/YWyCCJ6B2WE

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IRS_Sign.JPG

attribution: Joshua Doubek, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States — CC BY-SA 3.0 US

boost mobile

the voice mail on our smart phone was working until about 3 weeks ago when it stopped showing our voice mail messages? WTH

I called boost mobile's "care" line (611) THREE TIMES about the problem. "You have voice mail messages that can't be downloaded--error #6." Each time I asked "what's error #6?" THREE TIMES I failed to get an answer to my question. the experts' heavy accents made communication difficult. 

In baseball, 3 strikes and you're out. I gave up.

Later I discovered somewhat of a "workaround". I called voice mail and listened to my 3 week old phone messages. They don't show up on the phone, but at least every so often I can call voice mail to see if I have any phone messages.

We all realize that vendors reap benefits from cheap foreign labor. but, what about their customers? The answer is clear--there is NO benefit to the customer with a "care" line where it's difficult to understand the people on the other end of the line AND when the experts fail to solve the problem after THREE tries.

boost mobile is just one of many vendors who talk the talk but fail to walk the walk.