Crazy Evening, Crazier Morning

Internet
Last night, after my nightly chat with M, I needed to go back on the internet for some reason. I found that I had no connection at all to the internet. I tried my work laptop and even TiVo to connect, but there seemed to be nothing doing. And this after chatting for an hour and browsing the internet after work. I checked all connections, released and renewed my IP, turned everything off and back on, etc.; all the usual tricks. Nothing.

I attempted to reconnect this morning, prior to leaving for work. Still nothing. Yet Cox’s online help site indicates nothing unusual for the Orange County area. I wonder if my modem or router crapped out on me very suddenly? The lights of each were still working, everything appeared to be firmly connected.

Bank 1
I picked up my mail yesterday evening as well, but did not feel like reviewing it at that time. This morning, I went through it. I received a loan statement from KeyPoint that was dated 4-20-06—WTF? Why, in November, would I be receiving a statement showing me the activity for March and requesting the April payment?

So I called. Spoke with a nice woman named Madeline about it. I explained that I was trying to get the amount paid off, which they were not making easy, and that last month’s statement came with some oddities on it that I was hoping this month’s statement would clarify. However, the statement I received was for March/April—so I was very confused. We had to step all the way back to January 06. She then month by month read to me the balance, the amount paid, until she got to October. Then all hell broke loose. In October, I made several large payments in an attempt to get the loan from them paid off and closed. I wound up receiving two statements in October, one with my original amount owed and large payment amounts, and a final amount due of well under $1000. The second statement, about two weeks later, showed them backing out those large extra payments, reposting them in a different amount to the account, and my final amount owed on the account at over $1000. Hunh?

Madeline needed help, so she called her manager over to see if he could figure it out. Neither of them could find any notes or details explaining what finance had done with these changes. They also could not explain why I was receiving a statement for March/April in November. When all was said and done, Madeline put in a work order for finance to go through my account with a fine-tooth comb and contact me back with answers no later than December 6. In the meantime, I show I need to make one final payment of about $700 and they show me needing to pay about $1150. I do not think I will be paying anything until they get this resolved!

Bank 2
While speaking with Madeline, I tried to access my bank account online so that I could tell her the exact amounts I paid. I could not enter the site. So, I wound up having to call that bank and ask them what my account number is, as it was the account number field which was at fault.

Car
My next piece of mail was a certified letter from American Financial Warranty Corporation. It politely informed me that the extended vehicle warranty I had purchased two years ago when I bought my truck was reviewed and noted that one section was on “the wrong form.” They had corrected the mistake and were sending this change to me for my records. Wait, WTF? When I sat down with the finance guy at Saturn, I was very clear about not wanting any extended warranties. Was this a scam?

I decided to call Saturn and ask them if I did, in fact, have an extended warranty on my vehicle and if it was from this company. I had to transfer around until I reached Saturn’s Director of Finance, Mario, before I found someone who could answer my questions. He looked up my account and, sure enough, I had an extended warranty. I explained that this was a surprise to me, as I had been very explicit about not wanting one when purchasing the vehicle.

Being in the position he is, Mario could not come right and say I got scammed by their finance person. However, he did say that there were three people who worked for Saturn at the location where I bought my car during that time period. One name, Rick, stood out as familiar to me, but I cannot be sure without checking my paperwork. Anyway, Mario indicated not one of those three lasted more than a couple of months. He never came out and said it, but I got the strong impression that Saturn let them each go for “irregularities.” In general, Saturn prides themselves on being an honest and customer-centric company. And my many experiences at the particular location have all been good, so I believe him.

Further discussion and some extra research on his part indicated that this letter I received did appear to be legit. Mario apologized for my confusion and offered me some coupons for free oil change/service for the inconvenience. So, I have a $1250 extended warranty on my truck, should something go wrong, and my next service will be free. I guess that’s a good thing.

Doctor
Lastly, I received a postcard from my eye doctor’s office, indicating it was time to make a new appointment. Usually, however, these postcards also say what date/time my appointment is for, because I never leave without making the next year’s appointment. This one did not have that listed, so I called. Bob was able to look me up and determined that I did not, in fact, have an appointment scheduled. My eye doctor is generally booked well in advanced, which meant my early-December appointment is now at the end of January!