Attention - Skiers Who Are Travelling By Plane
Although it is not something that is publicized, or in many cases, even disclosed until there is a problem, you should know that damage to ski equipment is not the responsibility of the airlines. You would think that, like any other luggage, this would be covered for loss or damage. It is not, and especially now because of the additional fees pouring in from luggage, nobody will make it a point to tell you that. By the way, golf clubs fall into the same category…..your problem.
My suggestion; pick up a reasonable travel insurance policy to cover you in the event of damage in flight or arrival. They cost a fraction of the price of the equipment and will give you peace of mind that far outweighs the small fee.
Don’t learn the hard way like I did.
Here is the company I recommend.
Safe Travel & Great Skiing!!!!
Chase - You Should Be Ashamed of Yourself
I was out of town recently and wound up overlooking a $10.00(Thats Right……Ten Dollar) minimum payment on a card that I seldom use, but had a small lingering balance.
When I opened my statement, I noticed that I had been charged a $15.00 late charge on that $10.00 payment which was, at the time, about 10 days overdue. As Chase executives continue to reel in massive personal incomes, plenty of common folks, most of which are much less capable of absorbing this level of financial floggings like this, continue to be exploited by these thieves.
Speaking to the customer service agents at Chase is more maddening than the act itself. They continue to point to their “right” to charge 150% late fees because it is in the cardmember agreement, reciting perfectly the scripts prepared for them by their morally and ethically void superiors.
Next time you all read about JP Morgan Chase’s earnings skyrocketing, and how they are fueling the resurgence of the economy as a result, keep in mind that it is on the backs of hard working Americans who are being robbed blind.
I can’t help but dwell on 2 things which the customer service agent said to me….
1. When I pointed out that I was a long term bank customer, with both personal and business acoounts with Chase, the agent responded by telling me that “We are not the Bank, We Are The Credit Card Company”. I guess that is how they rationalize doing the unspeakable to Chase banking customers….pretending that they are 2 different entities…Sorry CHASE; we’re not that stupid; we realize it’s all CHASE, and we will probably put less money in your bank now that we have been mistreated by your credit card people.
2. I was told that I was lucky because the “rate table” actually allowed them to charge me a late fee as high as $29.00(290%), but they only charged $15.00.
So I thought it would only be appropriate, on behalf of all of us who were treated to 150% finance charges in lieu of 290% finance charges………
Thank you Jamie Dimon, and enjoy that year end multimillion dollar pay package that main street America is breaking their back for.
Please Mr Obama - No More Money For Bank of America Until They Start Living Up To Their Obligations!!!!!!
Please Mr President…..and Mr Geithner, listen to an update from Main Street, that same main street you talked about so much during the election.
Before you commit to any more blank checks for Bank of America, realize please that most of what they say to you and Congressional committees differs dramatically from what they are doing once they get on their corporate jets and fly back to their corner offices. Both Bank of America and Countrywide are still, after almost 2 months, almost denying the very existence of your Homeownership Affordability and Stability Plan. Sure, their website and press releases say the right thing, but you could probably, in one hour, round up thousands of people who have been working exhaustively to try to access help, and receive nothing in response, and if they do receive a response, it is nothing but meaningless double-talk without any meaningful progress. Most will tell you that Bank of America and Countrywide are encouraging default as opposed to trying to prevent it.
I can point to examples of those who, according to the program’s guidelines, should be national poster children for it, but yet after months and months of frustrating effort, are still sitting around not having moved off the dime.
Before we dish out anymore tax payer money to these liars, we should figure out where it is going, because it is not going to help Main Street America, as was the plan. Please don’t give Bank of America or Countrywide any more of our hard earned money until they are held accountable for their side of the bargain.
Beware of Wells Fargo
It’s One Story To The Media and Congress and Another To Main Street America, and the Story Stinks Real Bad.
By reading the press releases from Michael Heid, the president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, any family in trouble would gain immediate comfort in knowing that Wells Fargo is there for them in times of difficulty. That is, of course, until you speak to any other employee of Wells Fargo other than Mr Heid. You can find that press release at Wells Fargo HASP Press Release
Mr Heid has repeatedly preached about Wells Fargo’s staunch commitment to the Obama Home Ownership Affordability & Stability Plan, targeted directly at struggling homeowners, and designed to help them avoid defaults and foreclosures, when by every measure, they have done the right thing and in some way through un-forseen circumstances, find themselves in financial difficulty.
The truth though, is that when you get past all of the glossy press releases and carefully prepared congressional testimonies, Wells Fargo is an organization who works harder to disqualify hurting, modification eligible borrowers, than it does to help them.
I am making these allegations not based on some annectodal evidence, but on the real facts presented by real people, and those facts are;
- People who clearly meet and exceed the hardship qualifications set forth by Secretary Geithner on March 4 are being turned away, without explanation.
- Wells Fargo’s press release from March 4, from Co-President Michael Heid, which followed Secretary Geithner’s, says, and I quote, “The company will offer the Home Affordable Modification Program for its own loans and loans it services for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. You can speak to anyone inside of the company(with the exception of Mr Heid, I suppose), and they will tell you that they have adopted written poilicies which call for them to make the program available only to loans it services for Fannie and Freddie, and not for their own loans as the press release states. Funny how somehow the 3 most important words, “its own loans”, never it into the final internal written policy. In fact, what did make it is a written policy that prohibits, for its own loans, any interest rate reductions, principal reductions, or term extensions. These 3 tools are the cornerstone of President Obama’s plan.
What makes all of this even worse is that it is being perpetrated on a sizable group of loans which are owned by Wells Fargo, but serviced by another company. Wells Fargo has been turning down the clear cut modification applications, and then instructing the loan servicer that they are not to disclose to the borrowers/applicant who the owner of their loan is. As a result, Wells Fargo cowers in the shadows, mandating anonymity, while hurting homeowners try to figure out how to appeal a decision with an owner of their loan that they are not allowed to know about. Our investigation confirmed this act first hand.
Now is the time for all of us, not just President Obama, Secretary Geithner, and Congress, to stand up and fight for what is right. The next time Wells Fargo’s CEO sits before Congress asking us, the taxpayers, for more of our hard earned tax dollars, through TARP funds, to pay his salary for the next year, lets make sure that he is accountable for, and must answer to the horrible facts here. If all of these Federal funds are not finding their way into the hands of hurting people as the Administration planned, then where in the world are they going, and why on earth would we hand out any more until we completely understand that.
Also, next time you need a financial product please, please think twice about whether this is the type of organization you want to support. It’s just as safe to support your local community banks, where you can establish and maintain a personal relationship with a banker, who will be at that desk during good times, and bad, and not a big bureaucratic coward like this, where the defined strategy is to hide behind a third party, and say no to so many that should be hearing a yes, and doing so with the mandate/expectation that their identity as the decision maker will never be revealed. Guess what, Wells Fargo, and Mr Heid, it’s being revealed.
And please remember, your funds are funds are just as safe and insured at your local community bank as they are at Wells Fargo.
Until Wells and others are made formally accountable,, even though it is difficult, do not let companies like Wells Fargo force you to give up. It is clear to us, who are financial professionals with 20+ years in this industry, that the outlined policies and procedures are designed to make it so difficult to gain access to these programs, that you simply walk away. I urge you not to do that, and we are making ourselves available to ensure that that is not the road that Main Street America is shoved down.
Beware of Wells Fargo - It’s One Story To The Media and Congress and Another To Main Street America, and the story stinks real bad.
