The Not Happy Thread

I know, I was trying to put across that it's not that that bothered me, more her actions as a supposed friend. The only 'rule' is that you don't hurt your friends, that seems pretty intuitive to me

And I'm sure it will get better. To be honest, I'm pretty damn sick of her as it is.

 

Have you considered, "don't hurt your friends" includes don't make them feel bad for a new relationship just because you knew the guy when the two of you were together?

 

That's not the situation, Ginger.

She's made it clear that she doesn't want a relationship with him; he asked her out and she said no before I ever found out (she told me, by the way). I made it clear that if they were to wind up together, I'd be fine with that. It was just the timing that struck me as insensitive: a couple of days after a break-up you know the other person didn't take well is a dick move, as far as I'm concerned, and most of our mutual friends are in agreement. It was made worse by the fact that all I got from her after the break-up was insults, petty remarks, and cancelled plans.

As for 'making her feel bad,' I'm not. She was happy to agree (seriously: no disagreement whatsoever, and that's rare) and we had a friendly day out since. Our friends are currently an echo chamber of agreement with me, and there's rumours going around about her (apparently the guy had a girlfriend at the time), and I've tried to sort both things out, reminding mutual friends that she didn't harm anyone on purpose and offering to back her up. I'm quite prepared to put this behind us and be a friend. She just alternates between friendly and hostile, and I'm not sure how much longer I can put up with it.

 

I'm just giving you my outside of the situation (aka objective) opinion. You don't need to explain it to me. I don't see the 'insensitive' that you see. Beyond that, I'm not involved. And like Liz, I'm sorry for your breakup, they are rarely easy.

 

It's welcome, really. I do actually need outside opinions, they tend to be more helpful than inside ones

I can't really say why I thought it was insensitive. It does seem that friends of both of us agree with me, while people who aren't so well-acquainted don't, so I think there's something in the context. It certainly didn't help that said she'd remain a close friend then became impossible to talk to.

Either way, I just want a friend back now. Do you have any ideas on why she might be acting hostile? (She was doing it before the break-up, it's just got a lot worse since.)

 

I have no idea but I might guess it's because whatever it was that caused the breakup is still there when you two are in the same room.

 

I suppose that could be it actually. Looks like I have a bit of thinking to do.

Thank you for that, it's probably saved me from losing a dear friend. I know I whine about her a lot, but really she is (or was) one of the best people you could meet, and things are better with her around

 

I hate everybody today.

I try to get a patient's lab report, I end up on hold forever. I try to use the automated phone report and it doesn't recognize my account number. I go Online and find the very same account number is indeed there, but because when I order HIV tests I use a code name and don't enter a birthday on the requisition, the computer screen won't let me search for a result without a birthdate. I call back and finally get through.

I'm filling out my DEA registration renewal, they need my NPI number. I try to look it up online, the web page says I'm not in the system. I am in the system. After trying multiple search options on the NPI site I finally give up and just Google my name and "NPI", low and behold, there it is. So all these data sites like the Yellow pages have my practice information but for some reason the official registration website search engine doesn't work.

My son graduated to his own phone service and I changed service levels a month ago but the bill still shows the old amount. I call I read them the bill with the service dates right on it, they insist the service dates are for the previous month despite what the bill says. I asked to file a formal dispute, they insist they cannot send me anything by mail, it's e-mail, text or phone message.

My cable/internet bill is double, for no reason I can figure. I call they say I have some fancy upgraded service. Isn't slamming illegal? I traded a broken digital box for a working one. First they sent me a phone installer. I got that straightened out, had to go in and pick up the working box. Now they claim in this upgraded service I'm being charged for a phone.

This can't be an accident, it has to be a business model, add fake charges, hope the customer pays it by accident or out of not enough time to bother. There are no other Net options in this area except dialup. They have a monopoly.

Sigh....

 

Sometimes you just have to play their game. You then call back and tell them they either fix it or you cancel your service. You can even tell them who you are going to switch to. For the cell phone service ask them what info you'll need to 'port' your number to a new service. With the Cable and phone, tell them you are going to change to someone like Dish Network or Directv because they have a better deal and free equipment.

They will then transfer you to a service retainment specialist and you'll end up with your monthly bill fixed, a one month refund, and as far as tv goes, more than likely a few months of free premium channels. Just don't budge until things get fixed.

 

It's not the TV that's the issue, it's my internet connection. There are two choices, this one, or dial up. As for the phone, no problem changing service, but the bill is supposedly for service I already used, either I protest or I pay $100 when I should owe $25.

 

There has got to be a term for this kind of fury. This rage at cyber-stupidity which seems to have no solution. I go absolutely mental when this kind of thing happens and you can NOT get a human being to help, or even acknowledge the problem. Unfortunately it's becoming common, as company after company axes its competent staff and replaces it with call-centre employees who work to a script.

Do you see a gap in the market when it comes to service provision? I sure do.

'My company has employees who are properly paid, working right here in our office. These employees answer your phone call right here, in our office. Our employees pick up your call, say 'hello,' listen to what you have to say, then connect you to the correct department so you can get your problem fixed. We do not put you through an online menu first. My company sends out paper billings, by post, to your home address, if requested. My company does not require you to have a working online account in order to access our customer service.'

 

me to Comcast, "my internet is down, what can I do?"
Comcast rep, "email us with your issue."
"My fricking internet is DOWN!!!!!!"

 

A while back my son switched his sim card to a smart phone his girlfriend gave him. I got slammed (that's the term here) for a data plan even though I never signed up for one. Not only that, but without a word they stopped sending paper bills and started sending the bill to an old email address I wasn't checking. Next thing I know the phone gets shut off because I didn't pay the bill I didn't know I even had. To reconnect was some $65 charge.

And to get them to drop the data plan monthly charge that was never used, it was just that the phone had the capability, that's all, my son had to put the sim card back in the old phone (no problem) but then I had to read them the serial number off the phone and he wasn't home. Anyway, to make the long story short I also had to jump through a bunch of senseless hoops, get a text message, respond to it, even though I was on the phone to them with the phone they wanted me to prove I had by replying to the text all to have them start sending the paper bills again. And after all that, they claimed it was security for my protection. Who the fudge would believe such tripe? They stopped sending the paper bills without asking, no security codes, nothing and to get a bill sent to the service address needed all these security hoops?

If I hadn't read David Kay Johnston's book, The Fine Print, How Big Companies Use Plain English to Rob You Blind I would have believed it was just bizarre incompetence. But after reading the book it's apparent it's a purposeful business model meant to get money or something else from customers who don't bother with the fight. They would like to do away with paper billing (of course you do not get the savings, they just add it to their own coffers) and they are trying to force people to change.

By the way, also in the book, taxes we pay often never make it to the Federal coffers, and money they collect to upgrade the infrastructure never gets spent on infrastructure. I could go on, I do recommend everyone in the US read the book.

 

My computer was at the Apple store getting fixed, they wanted to email meto tell me it was ready.

Guess they think everyone has multiple devices.

 

The cable companies are the worst. A while ago, we had Comcast, and switched to directv. My husband brought the boxes back to the Comcast office, and they had made us pay a fee for the boxes, which they then credited back to us, but I don't think ever actually paid. Somehow in their system, they kept changing it to show not that they owed us $50, but that WE owed THEM $50, for these boxes that we physically returned to them. Every couple months they'd call, and my husband would go through this with them, explaining over and over what had transpired. Finally, the representative would be satisfied and the issue would end, only for them to call us again a few months later. Then, after about a year, they referred this "delinquent" account to a collection agency and they called us. Boy, were we pissed. That was finally straightened out and they didn't call us again. But we swore we were NEVER EVER EVER going to use Comcast again, no matter that they changed their name to Xfinity or anything else. Now, they have these reps that actually go door to door trying to get people to switch to Comcast/Xfinity. So when they bother us, we explain to them why we will NEVER use their company. They usually go away pretty easily after we go through our story.

As far as the fine print, have you seen this:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20140218,0,2211926.column#axzz2u9qdws8I
Capital One modified their agreement to provide that they might show up at your house or workplace.

 

Is it possible to become a benadryl junkie? I kept thinking I had a hair in my throat and finally I looked in the mirror and realized there are big raised bumps on my tongue and I started to have difficulty breathing. I looked it up on line and it said it was either from allergies of some kind of infection. Well since it is the weekend I've been pooping benadryl like tic tacs to get me until Monday so I can see my doctor. They sure make me tired!

 

Since you don't know what the cause of the 'bumps' are, you don't know if the benadryl is the right treatment or not. If you have an infection you could be making it worse. If you are having "trouble breathing" is it really worth whatever money you'd save by not going to an urgent care clinic and waiting until tomorrow?

Allergic reactions don't usually get worse over several days time unless you are continuing to be exposed to the cause. There is a reaction called a delayed hypersensitivity reaction which can get slowly worse over several days. If a wasp stung you on the tongue you could have that. But it's extremely unlikely. Bottom line, go see someone.

 

That Capital One story went viral.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/18/news/companies/capital-one-credit-card/

One has to wonder just who the language does apply to.

It would be nice to get a viral news reaction to both AT&T's and Comcast's dishonest business tactics.

 

Yes, but the fact remains that they did change their agreements to specifically state that they could do these sorts of things. (In some cases, there may be things that violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which I'm sure will be amended to encompass some of these new things, given the outcry. I noted that the story was shared on Facebook by both a group of Progressive Democrats AND a group of Conservative Republicans, both with alarm. If nothing else, Congress could pass something like that for some kudos, just so they could say that they did something.) It doesn't matter what a company spokesman is saying now, particularly when what they are saying directly contradicts the language they put into their agreements.

Credit Card Companies (i.e. Banks) are sneaky buggers. They always find ways to get around the spirit of whatever the laws are. A few years ago, I recall that Chase had a bunch of credit card members who had accepted their offer to transfer balances to their cards at very low interest rates. Chase discovered that it was taking customers a long time to pay off these loans, and they therefore weren't making much money on them, because they had offered these low (like 2% interest) rates for the life of the loan. They were limited in what they could do -- they couldn't raise the rates unless there was a default. So they decided to quintuple (or in some cases, more) the amount of the minimum payment. When customers called to complain, they were told that they could go back to their previous minimum payment if they agreed to change the amount of interest on the outstanding loan. There was nothing in the agreement or in the law at that time that prevented them from screwing around with the minimum payment required. They wanted to cause a default so they could jack up the interest rates. Or get customers to willingly agree to raise the rates.

Now, I doubt that Capital One is seriously planning to start visiting people at their homes or workplaces on any sort of regular basis. I don't think it would make financial sense for them. But, it is certainly something they could threaten or highlight if they so desired. Also, the messing around with their Caller ID is interesting. It does seem odd that a legitimate business would seek to disguise its number. I no longer answer any numbers that are unfamiliar to me. Instead, I run them through google, as there are a number of sites where people can report who is calling from specific numbers. If it does happen to be a legitimate business who needs to talk to me, there is no reason why they wouldn't or shouldn't leave a message.

 

I didn't intend to downplay the significance of the Capital One contract wording.

 

Problem is, nothing has changed in my environment. I've only gone outside for doctor's appointments. I have blood in my snot but there isn't very much snot and I haven't had any headaches for me to assume it is very much of a sinus infection. I don't have transportation at the moment so I would have to call an ambulance to go anywhere and I don't want that bill. I'll just fight it out one more day while I'm half in a benadryl coma.

 

That's terrible about the bumps! Hang in there!

 

If nothing has changed, why are you self diagnosing an allergic reaction?

I do hope it turns out to be minor. Do let us know, it's an odd description of symptoms.

 

Well I looked up all the causes of it, and it said there are only a few causes of white bumps there. A reaction to extremely spice, sweet, or sour foods, viral or bacterial infection, allergies, or some kind of irritation to the tongue due to dentures or excess bone in the mouth.

Out of those things, the only ones possible are the infections or allergies.

 

Can you post an image? Or send it as a PM?