I had always thought that KitchenAid was a quality manufacturer of kitchen related products: major appliances, counter top appliances, and kitchenware. I have (or should I more accurately say, "in many cases 'had') a KitchenAid Dishwasher, Garbage Disposal Unit (2), a water filter, range hood, coffee maker, mixer, counter top oven, cookware and a toaster.
What intrigues me this week is the simultaneous destruction of a dishwasher, garbage disposal unit, a toaster and a coffee maker. I know that the probability of multiple failures increases with the larger number of components, but to have this many failures in one week is downright conspiratorial. After all, I had paid a premium for the products to avoid the common and frequent replacement of these types of items. The last thing you need is to wake up in the morning and find your coffee maker dysfunctional, or to be faced with the horror of replacing or repairing a fairly new dishwasher. Of course the unit may be repaired, but I say replace because oftentimes it is cheaper to replace than to sustain the ridiculously high cost of repair.
I have now come to the conclusion that I am not going to replace my appliances and related products with KitchenAid any more. it is just too hyped up a product for me to have faith in their product line any longer.
So long, KitchenAid.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Time Warner Joins Comcast and Charter Communications in Competition for the Sleaziest Service of Cable TV providers
I had noticed my Time Warner Cable bill was creeping up month my month. I have just TV service and it had reached $76 a month. I called TWC (Time Warner) to see what they could do.
They offered me a rate of $49.95 a month for the service. I accepted that. I then received the next month's bill and it was in excess of $86.00. What is going on here. I called TWC yesterday to try to get it straightened out. I had to wait over an hour to get to a customer service representative. They explained to me that there was no $49.95 program available and that I would have to pay the $86.00 for the previous month. I told them to remove the equipment.
Today I received a call from Jessica from TWC who wanted to know if there was anything they could do to get back in my good graces. I explained that I don't like to deal with sleazy companies that lied. Jessica offered the $9.95 package to me and offered to rebate me $110.00 off the next months bills to compensate for the over billing. They also have a vacation program that will reduce the bill to $5 when I am away on vacation, which happens a lot to me.
Lesson learned. Don't be afraid to cancel your service as the threat to get the plan you want from your cable provider.
They offered me a rate of $49.95 a month for the service. I accepted that. I then received the next month's bill and it was in excess of $86.00. What is going on here. I called TWC yesterday to try to get it straightened out. I had to wait over an hour to get to a customer service representative. They explained to me that there was no $49.95 program available and that I would have to pay the $86.00 for the previous month. I told them to remove the equipment.
Today I received a call from Jessica from TWC who wanted to know if there was anything they could do to get back in my good graces. I explained that I don't like to deal with sleazy companies that lied. Jessica offered the $9.95 package to me and offered to rebate me $110.00 off the next months bills to compensate for the over billing. They also have a vacation program that will reduce the bill to $5 when I am away on vacation, which happens a lot to me.
Lesson learned. Don't be afraid to cancel your service as the threat to get the plan you want from your cable provider.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
US Postal Service has their Thumb on the Scale
I went to the local Post office today with a large envelope with 7 letter size pages inside. I needed to put postage on it. The line was too long, so I went to the automated machine to buy the postage since there was no line there. I put the letter on the scale and pushed a few buttons. It asked me to verify the weight: 1 lb. 1.2 oz. That couldn't be right. A regular first class letter can easily handle 4 page under an ounce. 7 pages, even with the large envelope couldn't weigh more than 2 ox.
I took the envelope off the scale and the weight registered exactly 1 lb. I put the envelope back on and it weighed 1 lb. 1.2 oz. again. I started over again and got the same results.
I got in line and waited about 10 minutes to get to the clerk. I explained the situation and asked them to take the machine out of service so that others wouldn't be overcharged for using the machine. They said they would get around to it when they had time. Right now there was a line that had to be taken care of.
I got the correct postage from the clerk, mailed the letter, and left the post office. I called the weights and measures department of the State department of Agriculture. They informed me that they have no jurisdiction over the Postal Service. They suggested that I call the Postmaster. Of course, the Postmaster never answers the phone. There is always the complaint form at the USPS.com site. I remember the last time I used that and it took weeks. Oh well, caveat emptor at the USPS.
UPDATE
I went to the Post Office again today, Feb 2, 2015. It has been about a year and a half since my last visit. Whatever I have written above can still be said for today's trip with the only exceptions being that the letter weighed 3.4 ounces, but the machine said 1 lb. 3.4 oz. I've heard that the Post Office was slow, but this takes the cake. Criminal.
I have now contacted the Postmaster, Customer Service, Consumer Affairs, Office of the Inspector General, Fraud Division, and Postal Inspector. All to no avail. I guess the US Post Office is immune to these criminal activities. I have also tried the local Law Enforcement, State Law Enforcement. The only thing I can think of that remains is the FBI. Seems like a waste of resources to bring in the FBI, but I don't think I have much choice. More later when I get some results.
I took the envelope off the scale and the weight registered exactly 1 lb. I put the envelope back on and it weighed 1 lb. 1.2 oz. again. I started over again and got the same results.
I got in line and waited about 10 minutes to get to the clerk. I explained the situation and asked them to take the machine out of service so that others wouldn't be overcharged for using the machine. They said they would get around to it when they had time. Right now there was a line that had to be taken care of.
I got the correct postage from the clerk, mailed the letter, and left the post office. I called the weights and measures department of the State department of Agriculture. They informed me that they have no jurisdiction over the Postal Service. They suggested that I call the Postmaster. Of course, the Postmaster never answers the phone. There is always the complaint form at the USPS.com site. I remember the last time I used that and it took weeks. Oh well, caveat emptor at the USPS.
UPDATE
I went to the Post Office again today, Feb 2, 2015. It has been about a year and a half since my last visit. Whatever I have written above can still be said for today's trip with the only exceptions being that the letter weighed 3.4 ounces, but the machine said 1 lb. 3.4 oz. I've heard that the Post Office was slow, but this takes the cake. Criminal.
I have now contacted the Postmaster, Customer Service, Consumer Affairs, Office of the Inspector General, Fraud Division, and Postal Inspector. All to no avail. I guess the US Post Office is immune to these criminal activities. I have also tried the local Law Enforcement, State Law Enforcement. The only thing I can think of that remains is the FBI. Seems like a waste of resources to bring in the FBI, but I don't think I have much choice. More later when I get some results.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
OptumRx Sucks just like Express Scripts and Medco
I really thought I had finally gotten away from the skulduggery of Express Scripts when I signed up for my part D medicare coverage through AARP's United Healthcare. Little did I know what I was in for. If you are unfamiliar with my escapades with these two firms please be my guest and look at my past posts on them. You will not believe the heroics that one must go through to deal with them.
Well, I have almost met my match with OptumRx.
We went through the usual with the first Rx. They said the drug was not in the formulary and that it would require precertification. We went through that with flying colors and in anticipation of the next roadblock I had the physician send in advance the required Rx that would be needed to be filled and a spare to the house just in case they screwed it up. We were away on vacation when the automated messages started arriving on my cell phone indicating that they had approved the drug based upon the physicians report. They called to say that they had received the Rx. They called to say that they had shipped the Rx. We waited and waited, but no delivery was in sight.
I called. They promised that it would arrive the very next day. Nothing. I called back. And that is when holly hell broke loose.
First, I notice that it was very strange that I had called at 5:15pm and got the message that the office was closed and that I must call between 8am and 8pm. Ah ha!, this must be eastern time.
I called the next morning at 7am pacific time (10am eastern). Got the same message, that's strange. There was an option 6 for emergencies. I dialed and bot a human. That was better than the day before when no one answered the emergency number. I explained that the message explained that the office was closed and that I would have to call back later, but that it didn't made sense. She did not know what to make of it, she said I had not dialed the emergency number and that she could help me. I explained the situation and she said that the delivery was going to occur that very day and that I should be patient.
I was patient, but no package arrived. In anticipation of the problem I took the spare Rx that I had gotten for the drug down to the pharmacy to get it filled (we are out of medication at this time). The pharmacy could not fill the Rx, nor did they have any of the meds on hand. I would have to wait till the morning to contact OptumRx.
I called OptumRx and got the same silly messages about the office being closed. I tried many times. I tried the emergency number, but that did not work either. The only option left was to use the Spanish option. I dialed 1 for Spanish and got a representative who spoke to me in Spanish.
I speak Spanish so this is fine for me.
As an aside, did you know that for most organizations that hire Spanish speaking customer service representatives, they must also speak English. Further, if you find the wait too long for the English customer service you can oftentimes have a shorter wait for the Spanish representative and then proceed to speak in English. I have tried this many times and have never had a problem doing it. In truth, I think this is a form of discrimination against English speakers, or a form of harassment when the company wants to slow down the rate at which they are handling customer service calls.
Anyway, I explained everything to the representative and he referred me to a specialist. The specialist took down the information and said that she would contact the pharmacy and get back to me in about a half hour. After three hours I called the pharmacy to see if the situation was straightened out. It wasn't. I called the number for the specialist over the next few hours and got no response. I finally called the main number again (Spanish option) and got through to a representative that finally got me to the original specialist. The specialist explained that she had been out to lunch (yea, "out to lunch", for 4 hours, right). Everything would be straightened out.
Three hours later, nothing.
I paid full price for the meds. I can't wait any longer.
Now, why doesn't their phone system work. I called the number and got the option for complaints.
They could not deal with me since their system was down. Yes, there was a problem with the phone system over the last few days, it is not fixed and who knows how long it has really been not working. This has got to be the greatest scam in history. They are paid to deal with filling Rx's an so slow down the rate at which they fill Rx's that's all they have to do is made their phone system deep 6 all, or most of, the phone call they are getting.
Good going OptumRx.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
February 28, 2014. Update:
Things have muddled along with OptumRx. They have been very slow to deliver. Deny receiving Rx's, etc. All the usual stuff to deal with. I have now run into a new class of problem with them.
We had ordered an Rx just after the beginning of the year and they claimed that we needed a new Rx from the Dr. since the old Rx was stale. They required a written Rx mailed to them. This is like when I was in grammar school and the teacher wanted a signed note from my mother. Oh well (yawn). This was sent in by the Dr. and we a received call from OptumRx that they could not accept a Fax of the Rx. Dr. claims to have sent in a hard copy via snail mail, but sent a Fax in advance advising them that the snail mail was coming (Oh well). It was taking so long to get the Rx that the Dr. gave me a 30 day supply to fill locally, which I did. Rx still not arriving from OptumRx. Called and found out that since the local Rx was filled they had to wait until 2 weeks before that supply was exhausted before they shipped. They indicated that they would ship at that point (new Medicare rules require them to get permission before shipping a new Rx. Permission granted. Further waiting. No delivery. Called OptumRx. The claim is we never gave permission to send the Rx. Gave permission again. Waiting and waiting, called, shipped. waiting, waiting, called, to be shipped, waiting, waiting, called, shipped that day to be delivered in 3 to 5 business days, signature required. Delivered the very same day as that last call, no signature required. Oh well.
Now for the interesting part. I now get my credit card (CC) statement. There are three charges for the same amount. Once in January (what was that for) and two on February 20 (why two). Inquiring minds want to know. I called to find out what they were doing. The first charge was for the medication that was never sent out. The two on February 20 were for the same Rx. I have a credit, so they say, for 2 times the amount of the copay. Why did they charge me so that they could have the credit on my account? Please refund. Okay, BUT -- The information they have on my credit card does not match the credit card I have. The expiration date is different. The date they have is further into the future by over 2 years. Possible explanation is that my CC is about to expire next month. Perhaps the CC company gave them the new expiration date so that transactions would not be rejected??????. I called the CC company. First, they have not issued me a new card yet. Next, when they do issue it, they would never give that information to the vendor. And, finally, the date I was given by OptumRx does not match the soon to be issued expiration date given to me by OptumRx as the expiration date on the card that they have on file.
How the hell have they been charging things to my account all this time?????
To be continued.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
March 4, 2014.
I have been watching my on line credit card transactions to see if the OptumRx credit has been issued. No chance. However, I do note that there is yet another $7.00 charge on my account from OptumRx. This one is strange. It was charged on 2/19, one day before the other two charges for $7.00 but posted on March 26. Strange.
I am finished with trying to resolve this with OptumRx. I called the CC company and disputed the two charges for $7.00. Tune in next week.
Note to self: I have to check every charge from OptumRx on my CC statement from now on against Rx's filled to make sure they are not over billing me.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Well, I have almost met my match with OptumRx.
We went through the usual with the first Rx. They said the drug was not in the formulary and that it would require precertification. We went through that with flying colors and in anticipation of the next roadblock I had the physician send in advance the required Rx that would be needed to be filled and a spare to the house just in case they screwed it up. We were away on vacation when the automated messages started arriving on my cell phone indicating that they had approved the drug based upon the physicians report. They called to say that they had received the Rx. They called to say that they had shipped the Rx. We waited and waited, but no delivery was in sight.
I called. They promised that it would arrive the very next day. Nothing. I called back. And that is when holly hell broke loose.
First, I notice that it was very strange that I had called at 5:15pm and got the message that the office was closed and that I must call between 8am and 8pm. Ah ha!, this must be eastern time.
I called the next morning at 7am pacific time (10am eastern). Got the same message, that's strange. There was an option 6 for emergencies. I dialed and bot a human. That was better than the day before when no one answered the emergency number. I explained that the message explained that the office was closed and that I would have to call back later, but that it didn't made sense. She did not know what to make of it, she said I had not dialed the emergency number and that she could help me. I explained the situation and she said that the delivery was going to occur that very day and that I should be patient.
I was patient, but no package arrived. In anticipation of the problem I took the spare Rx that I had gotten for the drug down to the pharmacy to get it filled (we are out of medication at this time). The pharmacy could not fill the Rx, nor did they have any of the meds on hand. I would have to wait till the morning to contact OptumRx.
I called OptumRx and got the same silly messages about the office being closed. I tried many times. I tried the emergency number, but that did not work either. The only option left was to use the Spanish option. I dialed 1 for Spanish and got a representative who spoke to me in Spanish.
I speak Spanish so this is fine for me.
As an aside, did you know that for most organizations that hire Spanish speaking customer service representatives, they must also speak English. Further, if you find the wait too long for the English customer service you can oftentimes have a shorter wait for the Spanish representative and then proceed to speak in English. I have tried this many times and have never had a problem doing it. In truth, I think this is a form of discrimination against English speakers, or a form of harassment when the company wants to slow down the rate at which they are handling customer service calls.
Anyway, I explained everything to the representative and he referred me to a specialist. The specialist took down the information and said that she would contact the pharmacy and get back to me in about a half hour. After three hours I called the pharmacy to see if the situation was straightened out. It wasn't. I called the number for the specialist over the next few hours and got no response. I finally called the main number again (Spanish option) and got through to a representative that finally got me to the original specialist. The specialist explained that she had been out to lunch (yea, "out to lunch", for 4 hours, right). Everything would be straightened out.
Three hours later, nothing.
I paid full price for the meds. I can't wait any longer.
Now, why doesn't their phone system work. I called the number and got the option for complaints.
They could not deal with me since their system was down. Yes, there was a problem with the phone system over the last few days, it is not fixed and who knows how long it has really been not working. This has got to be the greatest scam in history. They are paid to deal with filling Rx's an so slow down the rate at which they fill Rx's that's all they have to do is made their phone system deep 6 all, or most of, the phone call they are getting.
Good going OptumRx.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
February 28, 2014. Update:
Things have muddled along with OptumRx. They have been very slow to deliver. Deny receiving Rx's, etc. All the usual stuff to deal with. I have now run into a new class of problem with them.
We had ordered an Rx just after the beginning of the year and they claimed that we needed a new Rx from the Dr. since the old Rx was stale. They required a written Rx mailed to them. This is like when I was in grammar school and the teacher wanted a signed note from my mother. Oh well (yawn). This was sent in by the Dr. and we a received call from OptumRx that they could not accept a Fax of the Rx. Dr. claims to have sent in a hard copy via snail mail, but sent a Fax in advance advising them that the snail mail was coming (Oh well). It was taking so long to get the Rx that the Dr. gave me a 30 day supply to fill locally, which I did. Rx still not arriving from OptumRx. Called and found out that since the local Rx was filled they had to wait until 2 weeks before that supply was exhausted before they shipped. They indicated that they would ship at that point (new Medicare rules require them to get permission before shipping a new Rx. Permission granted. Further waiting. No delivery. Called OptumRx. The claim is we never gave permission to send the Rx. Gave permission again. Waiting and waiting, called, shipped. waiting, waiting, called, to be shipped, waiting, waiting, called, shipped that day to be delivered in 3 to 5 business days, signature required. Delivered the very same day as that last call, no signature required. Oh well.
Now for the interesting part. I now get my credit card (CC) statement. There are three charges for the same amount. Once in January (what was that for) and two on February 20 (why two). Inquiring minds want to know. I called to find out what they were doing. The first charge was for the medication that was never sent out. The two on February 20 were for the same Rx. I have a credit, so they say, for 2 times the amount of the copay. Why did they charge me so that they could have the credit on my account? Please refund. Okay, BUT -- The information they have on my credit card does not match the credit card I have. The expiration date is different. The date they have is further into the future by over 2 years. Possible explanation is that my CC is about to expire next month. Perhaps the CC company gave them the new expiration date so that transactions would not be rejected??????. I called the CC company. First, they have not issued me a new card yet. Next, when they do issue it, they would never give that information to the vendor. And, finally, the date I was given by OptumRx does not match the soon to be issued expiration date given to me by OptumRx as the expiration date on the card that they have on file.
How the hell have they been charging things to my account all this time?????
To be continued.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
March 4, 2014.
I have been watching my on line credit card transactions to see if the OptumRx credit has been issued. No chance. However, I do note that there is yet another $7.00 charge on my account from OptumRx. This one is strange. It was charged on 2/19, one day before the other two charges for $7.00 but posted on March 26. Strange.
I am finished with trying to resolve this with OptumRx. I called the CC company and disputed the two charges for $7.00. Tune in next week.
Note to self: I have to check every charge from OptumRx on my CC statement from now on against Rx's filled to make sure they are not over billing me.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
CVS Needs to Get their Act Together
I went to the local CVS to get some aspirin. I bought some aspirin that was on sale and also some gum that was also on sale -- 2 for $2.50. I went to the cash register to check out and the clerk rang up the items while I looked at the small screen as the items passed by. First, the aspirin rang at full price. I commented that I did not get the sale price. The attendant asked if I had a CVS card. I gave her the card and it showed the discount. Then she rang up the gum and it did not show the discount. She voided the entire transaction and started over. She asked for the total amount due. The small screen still showed the price of the gum undiscounted. She looked carefully at her screen and said that I was getting the discounted price. I showed her in the screen that the amount was not discounted. In a matter of fact voice she said that sometimes the small screen does not show the same price as the screen she is looking at. Come again? What planet is the software designer who designed that system coming from?
I think that the most galling thing was the way she expected me to swallow that one as being a reasonable thing for a cash register to do.
I think that the most galling thing was the way she expected me to swallow that one as being a reasonable thing for a cash register to do.
Largest Debt Collection Company Hit with $3.2 Million Fine by FTC
As reported in the media Tuesday, July 8, 2013, Expert Global Solutions was fined by the Federal Trade Commission a total of 3.2 Million Dollars for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Expert Global Solutions is the largest US Consumer Debt Collection company based in Plano, TX
The fine resulted from what the FTC called gross violations, including calling consumers multiple times each day, even when consumers asked them to stop. They were also cited for having called consumers at their place of work, even when the consumer's employer prohibited such calls. They also left messages about the debt with third parties, which is expressly prohibited.
Under the agreement Expert Global Solutions must not harass or abuse a person while trying to collect a debt, not contact third parties about a person's debt, not call a person's workplace if it is prohibited by their employer, cease communications if a person has requested no further contact, and record at least 75% of all their debt collection calls beginning one year after the date of the order and retain those recordings for a period of not less than 90 days after they are recorded.
Expert Global Solutions has more than 32,000 employees and has annual revenues in excess of $ 1 Billion.
The fine resulted from what the FTC called gross violations, including calling consumers multiple times each day, even when consumers asked them to stop. They were also cited for having called consumers at their place of work, even when the consumer's employer prohibited such calls. They also left messages about the debt with third parties, which is expressly prohibited.
Under the agreement Expert Global Solutions must not harass or abuse a person while trying to collect a debt, not contact third parties about a person's debt, not call a person's workplace if it is prohibited by their employer, cease communications if a person has requested no further contact, and record at least 75% of all their debt collection calls beginning one year after the date of the order and retain those recordings for a period of not less than 90 days after they are recorded.
Expert Global Solutions has more than 32,000 employees and has annual revenues in excess of $ 1 Billion.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Lowe's Home Improvement Needs Some Improvements
I don't mean to be hard to deal with, but I think that Lowe's needs to learn a lesson in customer service.
I have been trying to reach the Doors & Windows department at the local Lowe's Store for a few weeks now. I have called the local store and been guided through the automated system, but there is no listing for Doors & Windows. I have spoken to the operator and I have been transferred to that department's phone extension only to be on hold with that wonderful elevator music. I have waited over a half an hour for someone to answer while I put my phone on speakerphone and go about what I am doing (and, of course, I have the elevator music blaring as the background noise). I have done this too many times now (8 to be exact). I have asked the operator to deliver a message, all to no avail. I have called the manager, and gotten into the same loop, again to no avail.
I have also called the corporate customer care number and explained the situation. I am on hold right now for them. I have been on hold for 34 minutes and I have now been connected to the customer care representative for the store.
I have explained the situation. They are incredulous as to my difficulties, yet they cannot locate my quote in their system and they have now put me on hold again.
Exactly how much time Lowe's expects me to waste waiting for a meaningful interaction with them seems to be infinite. Shawn has finally gotten back to me and cannot find my quote. We started over again and he cannot find a manufacturer that makes the window I want.
Ok, after about 20 minutes of poking around He finally found a company that makes what I want.
I GUESS THAT DEEP DOWN LOWE'S DOESN'T REALLY WANT MY BUSINESS.
It really gets me that these companies can say that they want to be the store that they want me to shop at, but I somehow don't think that this is really true. They need to get their act together.
I have been trying to reach the Doors & Windows department at the local Lowe's Store for a few weeks now. I have called the local store and been guided through the automated system, but there is no listing for Doors & Windows. I have spoken to the operator and I have been transferred to that department's phone extension only to be on hold with that wonderful elevator music. I have waited over a half an hour for someone to answer while I put my phone on speakerphone and go about what I am doing (and, of course, I have the elevator music blaring as the background noise). I have done this too many times now (8 to be exact). I have asked the operator to deliver a message, all to no avail. I have called the manager, and gotten into the same loop, again to no avail.
I have also called the corporate customer care number and explained the situation. I am on hold right now for them. I have been on hold for 34 minutes and I have now been connected to the customer care representative for the store.
I have explained the situation. They are incredulous as to my difficulties, yet they cannot locate my quote in their system and they have now put me on hold again.
Exactly how much time Lowe's expects me to waste waiting for a meaningful interaction with them seems to be infinite. Shawn has finally gotten back to me and cannot find my quote. We started over again and he cannot find a manufacturer that makes the window I want.
Ok, after about 20 minutes of poking around He finally found a company that makes what I want.
I GUESS THAT DEEP DOWN LOWE'S DOESN'T REALLY WANT MY BUSINESS.
It really gets me that these companies can say that they want to be the store that they want me to shop at, but I somehow don't think that this is really true. They need to get their act together.
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