Doin' battle

We had switched to a new cell phone company last month, and before doing so, I had called our old company to verify when our contract would be up and to make sure we wouldn't get hit w/an early termination fee. Well, I found out that when Jon had to get a replacement phone about 1.5 yrs after we initally set up the contract, that had extended his contract for an additional 2 years! So his line wasn't set to expire until 2009...however, this extension was never disclosed to us when he got the phone. So after talking w/the rep, he said he'd go ahead and adjust the date and make notes on the account to indicate that both line's contracts were up at the same time, and that there wouldn't be any sort of fees. Great, right?

I called back a few days later before we actually set up service w/the new company just to verify AGAIN that the notes were there, and that the changes had been made, and there were no problems. Again, I was assured that everything was good.

So yesterday, I get home from work and in the mail is a bill from the old company, which included -- guess what -- a $200 early term fee on Jon's line!

I was livid.

I got on the phone, spoke w/a nice girl who was able to locate all the same notes as the previous people, and she says that she has to xfer me to the cancellations dept, as they're the only people who can issue the credit. OK.

I get xferred to cancellations, and all of a sudden, ALL the notes that everyone else had been able to see w/no issues had magically disappeared! There just weren't ANY notes there validating anything that I was claiming, and there was no way to credit the $200 back.

I lost it. BIG time. Up till that point, I'd been keeping myself in check pretty well, even though I was pissed. But that pushed me over the edge. And when I asked to speak w/the guy's supervisor, he thought it would be a great idea to HANG UP on me.

Wrong move, buddy.

I called back, asked for a supervisor immediately, explained the situation to the guy, and he wound up not only crediting back the early term fee, he wiped out the entire balance on the account.

That was 1 of just 3 calls I had to make to various companies last night to get crap like this taken care of. The other ones went much more smoothly ;)

On how I loathe insurance companies.

I'm sorry if anyone out there works for one of them, but if that's the case, you work for a rat-bastard of a company.

Our mail-order insurance is essentially refusing to fill one of Jon'scripts -- which was prescribed to him BY HIS DOCTOR -- because the need "preauthorization".

Well, first of all, they've filled it before with out a problem.

Second of all, they have the script from the doctor. How is that NOT authorization enough?

I do not understand how these people can override a doctor's orders. I'm pretty sure these people do not have medical degrees, and I know for a fact that they have no clue about --or concern for -- Jon.

He's been on the phone w/Medco, the doctor's office, and our health insurance company this morning. Medco says it's Blue Cross's fault -- they say it's Medco's fault. No one will step up, and now he's going to suffer as a result.

**Another statistic**

Jon emailed me this morning, letting me know he'd just found out one of the couples we know are getting divorced. He didn't know any details.

This news threw me for a loop. We ran into one of these people last month in the Atlanta airport, when we were on our way home from Seattle, and according to her, everything was great. (I'm sure she wouldn't have had a full-on confessional moment there in the airport, not having seen us in awhile, but you know what I mean.)

This is the 3rd couple we know whose marriage has not lasted...and we have a pretty small circle of friends.

These people are ones who I would have put in the "not likely" category when it comes to divorce. They always seemed like such a good fit, and like they had such a good relationship.

So today seemed like a good day to try and burn the kitchen down.

I had a wee bit of a grease fire on the stove today around lunchtime.

I was cooking bacon, and the next thing I knew, I saw flames licking at the bottom of my pan.

Oops.

Luckily, I didn't panic....I took the pan off the eye, grabbed the box of baking soda (that I had just purchased yesterday for our smelly fridge), and dumped some on. It worked like a charm....too bad I had to get the poop scared out of me to find that out.

I did completely forget that there was a fire extinguisher under the sink :P

Enough drama for today, thanks.

On why I hate the DMV.

So today was the day I was going to nut up and go out to the DMV to get my driver's license. I'd been putting it off for awhile, but it had to be done, and I'd decided today was the day.

I went to their website and made sure I had everything I would need:
-old FL license -- check.
-social security card -- check.
-copy of lease for proof of residency -- check.
-proof of insurance -- check.

Good to go. I got my directions and headed out.

The DMV is located in BFE, so it took a little while to get out there. But I finally arrived, got out, and took my place in line. There were about 6 people in front of me, and I was pretty happy with that.

After waiting about 10-15 minutes, it's my turn to go up to the reception desk. I tell the lady what I need, and she asks me for all my IDs and insurance and residency. I give them all over. No problem. I ask, "I am able to pay with my debit card, right?" Her response: "No. Cash or check only. You can go ahead and take your test today while you're here and come back and pay later." Well, OK -- not sure exactly how that will work, and I really don't want to come back. It didn't say anything about that on the website, but fine. She gives me a number and tells me to have a seat.

I sit and wait. After a few more minutes, my number is called. I proceed to the Station Number One, and sit down. The man says hello, and I try to clarify with him that I didn't bring cash or a checkbook, but the lady at the front said I could still take my test, but he interrupts me mid-sentence, asking me why I moved here from FL.

*deep breath*

I explain why, briefly, and try to ask him again about taking the test and coming back with the money. This time I get no response whatsoever. Ooookay.

He's looking over all my documents, which the lady at the front had paper clipped together. He stares at my insurance card. "I can't take this. It doesn't say when your policy expires."

"What?"

"This insurance card isn't any good to me."

"That's the only card I have. You can see when the policy was set up -- it's a 6-month policy, that's standard."

"I don't know that. You could have purchased the policy for one month for all *I* know."

"Okay," I say, completely disgusted. "Just give me my stuff back and I'll come back some other time."

He continues, "You'll have to have your insurance company fax us this document that shows when your policy expires."

"Just give me my stuff. I will come back."

I left. And there's another hour of my life I'll never get back.