I'm just not cut out for taking care of anything that has to do with money (like paying bills) except for spending it. Just kidding. I hate shopping with the exception of certain things at my favorite online shopping site. Then I'm a Rock Star. LOL.
Seriously, I've talked before about how I missed out on the haggling gene. I get a headache whenever I try to bargain shop. I get cold sweats trying to look through all the disorganization of any kind of discount bargain chain.
Anyway, taking care of business was not how I intended to spend my leisurely Sunday when Mother Nature finally decided to play nice and give us a rainy, cloudy, cool day. I had planned on making a pot of stew or a pot of chili or maybe potato soup if I can make up my mind and bingewatch some holiday movies.
Instead, I spent most of my morning on the phone with one of the companies David and I cut loose a couple of months ago. This particular company required the return of most of its equipment. They furnished the return box and label so all we had to do was pack it up and send it back at no cost to us. Easy peasy right? Wrong.
Imagine my surprise when, two months later, this sneaky company tried charging us for the most expensive part of the already returned equipment. Them was fightin' words to me.
The first representative I spoke with kept trying to keep the ruse going by claiming they had not received it. Then she said I had not included the most expensive piece of equipment in the box. According to her, the box didn't weigh enough. Why wouldn't I include everything? The box had spots for each piece. And how would she know what was in the box if they didn't get it as she was now insisting? Then she said that it went to New Jersey but was supposed to go to Kentucky. Again, how would she know if they hadn't received it? I could see this was getting me nowhere, so I hung up.
I waited a little while and called back. This time I got a sweet lady who asked me what I had sent and when. I told her, she put me on hold, came back on the line, and said she'd gotten permission from her supervisor to put into my account that they had received it and authorize a chargeback on the credit card. I asked for her name so if the refund wasn't done in three to seven business days as promised I'd know who I talked to. I told her it was so when I receive the survey request, I can give her a glowing review. Her name was 'Honey' and she was. (Update: The charge was removed within hours.)
That wasn't the end to my credit card problems for the day. I was making our middle- of-the-month payments when I spotted a charge to my favorite online big box store. I hadn't made any purchases today which was probably a shock to their computer system, so I went to their website to research the amount listed compared to recent purchases. All I could figure out was an iPad I bought during their big twoday sale just now hit the credit card. Who knew they'd wait four days after delivery to charge me?
My final task will have to wait until Monday. I received a bill from our local hospital. We have two insurances that cover everything, so we never pay a dime over what our monthly premiums are. It's not cheap but still less expensive than making copays and deductibles. Sometimes they 'forget' we have secondary insurance and try to slip one past us. We're not that senile–Yet.
The one break we did get this week was our car. When we bought it David insisted, we purchase insurance on the tires and wheels. I thought it'd be the usual waste of money any kind of extended warranty usually is but wrote the check anyway.
Not too many months down the road I popped a tire. I hit a curb at a bank I don't usually frequent and instead of just jumping the curb the dang thang busted!
David and our son-in-law Jeff came to my rescue, put on the spare, and off we went to the dealership. The good news is our tire and rim were covered which was more than half what we paid for the warranty.
A few months more down the road and we got another flat when David ran over a screw. The good news is we get a free new tire. The bad news is they have to order it.
I'm just not cut out for high finance.