Off Topic Rant

[carguy]

Around Christmas time last year I ordered some stuff from Apple Computers, partly because they offered three months free financing through Juniper Bank.

You make the three payments on time and you don't pay any interest. Well I made the three payments on time, but Juniper said the three months had ended four days before they received my final payment and now I owed $50.99 interest.

 

Just for the record I paid the greedy bastards the $50.99, but needless to say that will be my last transaction with them.

 

If you ever run into anything remotely connected with Juniper Bank, stay as far away from them as possible.

 

Now I feel a tiny bit better. I'm still pissed off enough that I don't care if the moderator pulls this thread.

[DonK]

I feel for you man. That's one of the reasons companies offer those deals...because so many people end up paying the interest. Sometimes it's because of a change of heart and the buyer decides to extend the financing, sometimes it's because they don't really have the money but thought they would, and MANY times it's because they don't read the contract fine print. For example, a lot of the so-called "one year interest free" deals provide for a 360-day year (which is actually quite common in the business world: 360 days is considered a year for many interest calculations). My guess is that your three payments were represented as three months free financing that you reasonably interpreted to mean three months but which actually meant 90 days. That's just a guess, though; you're the one with the facts. As a CPA & consultant with a national accounting firm (5th largest), I get to see a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that goes on that most people would never imagine actually happens.

 

It's the same reason so may companies have gone to rebates: only a small percentage of people apply for them, and fewer still satisfy the application requirements. Try getting a rebate from Symantec after purchasing one of their products.

 

The only time I find the free-financing thing to be safe is when it calls for automatic payments via electronic funds transfer; for example, as with American Musical Supply and their three-payment plan.

[knockwood]

Originally posted by DonK It's the same reason so may companies have gone to rebates: only a small percentage of people apply for them, and fewer still satisfy the application requirements. Try getting a rebate from Symantec after purchasing one of their products.

 

Man, this totally reminded me that somewhere in a pile of papers is a $40 rebate slip for a window A/C unit I purchased last year... which I'm sure has expired by now. All fine print is obnoxious, but rebates are especially slimy. If you're not up to something, why not just give the customer $____ off the purchase?

 

Carguy, sorry to hear about this. At least you've still got your D-1...

[Hudman]

Find out where Juniper Bank is located and take a crap in their lobby. That will send them a message.

[Whalebot]

I'm still in the process of trying to CANCEL my Juniper card, I haven't put anything on it, but I don't want that credit line just sitting out there.

[DonK]

 

Originally posted by knockwood Man, this totally reminded me that somewhere in a pile of papers is a $40 rebate slip for a window A/C unit I purchased last year... which I'm sure has expired by now. All fine print is obnoxious, but rebates are especially slimy. If you're not up to something, why not just give the customer $____ off the purchase?

 

 

Well, of course, they ARE up to something. I agree it's really slimy, as the only purpose is to manipulate behavior based on the illusion of getting a deal.

 

Naturally the idea is to make it appear that you're getting a lower price (they usually show the "final" price in big type and then show the real price in fine print with the rebate on a separate line, and then "your final cost"). It's a real scam for sure; as an example, for software the percentage of people who actually apply for the rebates is only 10% - 15%. So, 85% of the people buying the product are paying the full price.

 

Here's one for you. Some years ago the accounting profession adopted a new rule that required companies that sell extended warranties to recognize the income from them over the period of the warranty. So, if you sold someone a three-year extended warranty for $150, you could only recognize $50 per year (for three years). Circuit City, which was one of the leaders at the time in promoting the whole idea of extended warranties and depended on them for a huge chunk of their bottom line, railed against the proposed rule in a trade journal. They argued vociferously that since only 10% of buyers ever needed to use their warranty, sellers should be allowed to recognize the entire amount as income immediately upon sale (since the future cost of fulfilling the warranties was negligible). Of course, the knowledge that only 10% of people ever needed them didn't prevent them from using every hard-core sales trick in the book to convince you that whatever you bought was going to break the day after the manufacturer's warranty expired.

[SurrealMcCoy]

BEWARE of DELL!

 

They pulled a similar deal with my wife when she bought a pc directly from them 3 years ago. To this day it's her only credit blemish.

[kwakatak]

Originally posted by SurrealMcCoy BEWARE of DELL! They pulled a similar deal with my wife when she bought a pc directly from them 3 years ago. To this day it's her only credit blemish.

 

You're preaching to the choir!

 

Despite numberous calls to Dell's "award-winning customer service" and speaking to several heavily-accented guys named "Frank" with a superiority complex in New Delhi I basically got nowhere. Beside the obnoxious "I'm better than you" attitude I got they basically told me that they wouldn't honor the warranty on the RAM sticks that I bought from them. Those sticks basically corrupted Windows and I lost a lot of data because of them! As a result my 4 year-old Dell is on borrowed time with my patience.

 

Man, I can't wait 'til it dies so I can get another Apple!

[knockwood]

 

Originally posted by DonK Here's one for you. Some years ago the accounting profession adopted a new rule that required companies that sell extended warranties to recognize the income from them over the period of the warranty. So, if you sold someone a three-year extended warranty for $150, you could only recognize $50 per year (for three years). Circuit City, which was one of the leaders at the time in promoting the whole idea of extended warranties and depended on them for a huge chunk of their bottom line, railed against the proposed rule in a trade journal. They argued vociferously that since only 10% of buyers ever needed to use their warranty, sellers should be allowed to recognize the entire amount as income immediately upon sale (since the future cost of fulfilling the warranties was negligible). Of course, the knowledge that only 10% of people ever needed them didn't prevent them from using every hard-core sales trick in the book to convince you that whatever you bought was going to break the day after the manufacturer's warranty expired.

 

 

Man, that is so irritating. And I'm amazed that they had the gaul to print the fact that only 10% of their customers ever needed to avail themselves of the warranty... I absolutely never purchase extended warranties. Not that everything I own doesn't break down, but in principle I find this infuriating. Companies should stand by their products. If it's good enough for me to pay their asking price, it should be good enough to work as advertised without me paying an extra fee. There's a lot about my company I don't love, but one thing I do respect is our warranty for the life of our products. Some of the reimbursement/replacement demands our customers make are purely ridiculous - IMHO - but we go to absurd lengths to honor every one of them.

[Hudman]

Originally posted by kwakatak You're preaching to the choir! Despite numberous calls to Dell's "award-winning customer service" and speaking to several heavily-accented guys named "Frank" with a superiority complex in New Delhi I basically got nowhere. Beside the obnoxious "I'm better than you" attitude I got they basically told me that they wouldn't honor the warranty on the RAM sticks that I bought from them. Those sticks basically corrupted Windows and I lost a lot of data because of them! As a result my 4 year-old Dell is on borrowed time with my patience. Man, I can't wait 'til it dies so I can get another Apple!

 

True story:

My buddy's brother bought a Dell computer for his family a few years ago. They were having trouble with it, so his wife called the "award-winning customer service" department (they were still located in the USA at the time). The customer service person's name was Jeff. He was VERY helpful, unfortunately the computer "problems" continued. She spent hours on the phone, day after day with Jeff trying to get it sorted out. Long story short; she divorced my buddy's brother, moved out of state and married Jeff from Dell. She abandoned her 3 small children in the process.

 

Moral of the story? It's a good thing those Dell guys are in India now.

[knockwood]

 

Originally posted by Hudman True story: My buddy's brother bought a Dell computer for his family a few years ago. They were having trouble with it, so his wife called the "award-winning customer service" department (they were still located in the USA at the time). The customer service person's name was Jeff. He was VERY helpful, unfortunately the computer "problems" continued. She spent hours on the phone, day after day with Jeff trying to get it sorted out. Long story short; she divorced my buddy's brother, moved out of state and married Jeff from Dell. She abandoned her 3 small children in the process. Moral of the story? It's a good thing those Dell guys are in India now.

 

 

Sounds to me like old Jeff planned it all from the beginning. It's the old "Booby trap dude's computer to steal his wife" trick. I can't believe people still fall for that...

[Hudman]

 

Originally posted by knockwood Sounds to me like old Jeff planned it all from the beginning. It's the old "Booby trap dude's computer to steal his wife" trick. I can't believe people still fall for that...

 

 

I know it sounds very "Jerry Springer" - but it's 100% true. Jeff was 10 years younger than the skank.

[SusanV]

 

Originally posted by Hudman True story: The customer service person's name was Jeff. He was VERY helpful, unfortunately the computer "problems" continued. She spent hours on the phone, day after day with Jeff trying to get it sorted out. Long story short; she divorced my buddy's brother, moved out of state and married Jeff from Dell. She abandoned her 3 small children in the process. Moral of the story? It's a good thing those Dell guys are in India now.

 

 

GET OUT!!!!

[knockwood]

That whole Jeff thing is either really good customer service or really bad customer service. I can't decide...

[Hudman]

 

Originally posted by knockwood That whole Jeff thing is either really good customer service or really bad customer service. I can't decide...

 

 

I think the guy is bad at picking woman. He remarried since the Dell caper. He married a stripper (now ex-stripper). She's almost 20 years younger than him. She runs around partying 5 or 6 nights a week with her friends, while he sits at home with his kids. He complains to anyone that will listen to him about her spending all his money.

 

Why would a gorgeous 23 year old woman marry a fat, bald 40 year old guy she only knew for 5 months? {cue cash register sound effect}

 

Poor bastard.

[JasmineTea]

A couple just got married, they're walking out of the chruch, the bride's ex boyfriend comes rolling up in a pickup truck, she runs down the stairs, jumps in the pickup, never heard from again.

 

true story.

[Hudman]

Originally posted by SusanV GET OUT!!!!

 

True story.

 

The funny part is how he caught her. He had his brother (my buddy - the computer genius [for real]) hack into her AOL and Yahoo email accounts. He also hacked 2 of Jeff's email accounts. Once his brother got him in, he sat back and watched them for about 4 weeks. They didn't have a clue. He built an excellent case for his lawyer.

 

Of course, she tried to deny she was having an affair (she took several "business trips" during her Dell romance). She was shocked when he pulled out a stack of her hard copy emails.

 

She looked like this:

[FingerBone Bill]

Originally posted by Hudman I think the guy is bad at picking woman. He remarried since the Dell caper. He married a stripper (now ex-stripper). She's almost 20 years younger than him. She runs around partying 5 or 6 nights a week with her friends, while he sits at home with his kids. He complains to anyone that will listen to him about her spending all his money. Why would a gorgeous 23 year old woman marry a fat, bald 40 year old guy she only knew for 5 months? {cue cash register sound effect} Poor bastard.

 

Why would a fat bald 40 year old guy want to marry a stripper??

 

Bragging rights?

[knockwood]

 

Originally posted by FingerBone Bill Why would a fat bald 40 year old guy want to marry a stripper??

 

 

Because I'm smart.

[FingerBone Bill]

Originally posted by knockwood Because I'm smart.

 

Smart enough to spell "alimony"?

[knockwood]

Originally posted by FingerBone Bill Smart enough to spell "alimony"?

 

Smart enough to spell "prenup."

[FingerBone Bill]

[kwakatak]

BFH

 

All marriages end badly. Divorce or death it's the same thing; somebody's left feeling broken or bitter.

[FingerBone Bill]

Originally posted by kwakatak BFH All marriages end badly. Divorce or death it's the same thing; somebody's left feeling broken or bitter.

 

You're forgetting murder/suicide pacts

 

Or family car wrecks where nobody gets out alive

[kwakatak]

Originally posted by FingerBone Bill You're forgetting murder/suicide pacts Or family car wrecks where nobody gets out alive

 

This sucks:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06104/682185-54.stm