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by Brent Kellogg
See photo
TUESDAY,
11.18.08 - For the first time since Gail's death I didn't have a
major freakout this past Sunday. The Neil Diamond words "You left me alone,
with nothing to hold [...] I've never cared for the sound of being alone"
spun through my head, but I didn't breakdown too much because I was too
outraged that her doctor who told her "don't be making any funeral
arrangements" has turned her bill over to a collection agency. Get this,
Gail died on Sep 7. On Nov 15 I have a letter from a collection agency
demanding payment. How's that for greedy vultures? (More below)
Actually, I was too making chili and rice (again) after finding a recipe for
a crock pot version. Eight hours later I was ready to dig in. Did it pass
the taste test? You bet! A bit soupy, I probably should have drained the big
can of diced tomatoes.
Some healing to report, one of the last things Gail wanted for the house was
to have the back deck repaired. A neighbor down the street who is a
carpenter gave us a good price, but when the bill came due he'd padded it
and very pissed off I let him know getting ripped burns my ass.
Since that early August day we didn't see our sometimes friend the
carpenter. Aware that Gail had died, he didn't come by or call - until
Sunday when he stopped as I was walking down to the corner store. Our
differences reconciled, I mention this only to show that time has a way of
healing things. As it turns out, just in time as I'm wanting to have the
ugly looking front steps repaired so that they'll look like the deck. Yes, I
made it clear; no hidden charges this time.
...
So I'd been wanting an automatic Swiss movement watch for the longest time
when I saw one on ShopNBC. The host and Swiss Watch International's rep keep
saying 100% satisfaction guarantee so I figure what have I got to lose and I
order it. On Sep 27, a Saturday, it arrives. I open the box and find that
the wristband is large enough to fit a guerilla. There is nothing to
indicate that the band can't be re-sized so on Monday I take it to a
watchmaker. As he's removing two links he tells me the entire band is made
of shit and won't last. On Tuesday I sent it back and made sure to insure it
so I'd have proof that ShopNBC got it.
Weeks later when the credit hasn't been issued to my credit card I called to
inquire. Sorry, we didn't get it, NBC says. I send proof that they did.
Finally, this past Friday, NBC sends an email that the return actually went
to Swiss Watch and they rejected the return due to "wear and tear" since I'd
had two of the links removed from the band. (I included the loose links with
the return). Subsequently, the watch is being sent back to me some 45-days
later and I still don't have it.
My complaint to Chase Bank was almost as worthless as the watch is now.
Chase will charge back the amount, but if NBC disputes the charge it will go
back on. In that case I was told to refuse the return IF it's sent and I
have to sign for it. I can send it back again on my own, but that'll result
in an endless loop. So, as NBC told me, I may as well keep the watch which
NBC later told me the band has been repaired so really, what's my complaint?
My complaint is that ShopNBC misled me, then lied about not having received
the return. It was only because I have proof that NBC then said that the
policy on watch returns is they cannot be altered in any way. In other words
the consumer must know that the watch will fit before buying it. So now, if
I keep the watch each time I look at it I'll be reminded what a fool I was
to have ever shopped ShopBNC and/or bought anything with the name Swiss
Watch International on it.
On the plus side, a new Moen kitchen facet started leaking only two months
later. So I called Moen. A 2-hour wait time to speak with a rep. I'm
thinking, Jesus, must be a lot of bad Moen products out there when a
recording says I can leave a callback number instead of waiting on the
phone. So I do and two hours later a guy calls, I tell him the problem and
he sends a replacement part I'll have today. Now that's good service.
I'm sorry, but after having a bad day dealing with those crooked bastards at
ShopNBC in cahoots with Swiss Watch International, I
read this and couldn't stop laughing. I'm sorry, because the language
isn't for everyone, but it'll make you laugh 'cause I told you folks long
ago about Pringles.
Here's the kicker:
Gail's cancer doctor, the one who never called me following her death, has
turned her unpaid account over to a collection agency which in turn may try
to sue her estate, of which there wasn't one. Gail died penniless. The
doctor knew she didn't have money and agreed verbally to accept as payment
in full whatever her insurance paid. When she would ask why she was getting
a bill, the doctor would tell her not to worry about it. But now, because
the collection agency may come after me for a debt I didn't sign onto, I've
got to hire a lawyer.
Update: It just so happens that a friend of Gail's knows a lawyer that Gail
used to swim with at the local pool and turned me onto her. The lawyer told
me not to sweat the small stuff. In Oregon a spouse is not responsible for
the debts of the other unless they signed onto a loan, credit card, etc.
Thus, while it can try all it wants, the collection agency is shit out of
luck and if they harass me the lawyer will seek a cease and desist order.
I should not be surprised that from the outset the doctor said Gail's cancer
was at stage 2, that it wasn't a such a big deal it couldn't be nipped in
the bud, and then after she's spent thousands on chemo to announce the
cancer at stage 4 and thousands more on radiation would surely fix that.
Now I know too late it's true what they say. If the cancer doesn't kill you,
the treatment will. It is being between a rock and a hard place. Once you've
got cancer, what choice do you have? Go broke fighting it against the
terrible odds, or let it kill you? Why would it be that drugs said to cure
cancer without killing the patient aren't more widely used? Is there a
profit motive in the way? Are doctors so greedy they'll sue their dead
patients? Bet your ass they will.
...
One political item I couldn't help but comment on was Insane appearing with
Obama. What a dork. To me it was like calling grandpa and telling him to
clean up his act or it's off to the old folks home. |
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Brent's morning coffee courtesy of
Speeder & Earls,
Burlington, VT.
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