Rip Off AMonth

Good morning everyone. Well July is almost over and I am so glad. It seems that this month was try to rip me off month. Three people tried to take my money  this month.

let's start with my handy man. He wanted $1900. for work that he himself created. He gave me a verbal list of things that needed to be done on my rental home. After my partner thought about it and we talked about it. My handyman is luck if he get's $300 from me. There are small things I want him to fix. But everything else will wait or I will do it myself.  Because most of the work that he said needed done he did last year. So it does   not need to be done again. He just wanted me to pay  his rent for July  which happens to be $1900  Rip Off# 1

I got into a car accident and the  cars driver side window was knocked off. I got the police report went to my insurance agent. He told me I should have waited until a insurance adjuster came to look at my car before I replaced my mirror. Which cost me $500. My agent then goes on to tell me I might get $300 for my troubles back for the  repair. But they were not saying all this when I was paying them for insurance on a monthly basis.  So I might be out more money then I am getting back from the insurance company and my rates will go up.  Rip off #2  

I sell things on the internet. This guy purchased  six  radios nice sale $140. from me. Once he got the radios . He didn't want them and he sent me to dispute with Paypal. He wanted his money back plus shipping and handling fees.  I wrote to Paypal  telling them my side of what happened.  Paypal told the buyer to send my merchandise back before he get's a refund. The buyer sends the  merchandise incomplete. He sends me back 5  radios and not 6 . One of my radios was broken that he sent back. I explained all this to Paypal in writing and on the phone . Paypal still gave him a full refund anyway.  So now I have a broken  radio I can not sell and I am out a radio the one he kept . This is not the first time this buyer pulled this stunt. He did the same thing to another seller. He buys something then wants his money back without returning the sellers merchandise. So he get's his items  for free plus a full refund.  He's a thief and Paypal is stupid. That's why I am looking for another company that will accept payments from my customers.  With Paypal the buyer not the seller is always right!    Rip off # 3

See why I am tired  and angry this month. I have been fighting with people who either took my money or wanted to take it. Hopefully August will be a better month.
                                               So what did you think?   

Happy News

 Hello everyone, well today I got some good news money wise. I got my Con Edison bill  and instead of me  owing them they owe me. I have a credit of $351.50 after they deduct what I owe them for  Junes  which is  $252.00 That leaves a credit of  $99 dollars. Which they will send me the $99 in a check. This credit is really an overpayment that I gave them in a 12 month period.  So you see I am on a level billing plan where I pay the same amount every month. I had to go on this plan because when your dealing with New York's energy company like Con Edison  from month to month you never know what your bill is going to be. It's like opening up a surprise envelop every month. 

Before I went on level bill plan some months my bills would be $250 and some months my bills would be $375. I could not keep guess and hoping that I would have the money to pay for my surprise energy bill. So I went on level billing  so I knew every month what my energy bill would be. no more guessing. Living in New york is expensive as you can see from the amount of money I have to pay just in energy alone. So now that I have a $99 dollar check coming and I don't have to pay a Con Ed bill this month I am happy.  Hopefully the rest of the week will be about money coming in and not going out.  

So what do you think?

Things I Do Now.

Good Morning everyone no rant today. Thank god. I just wanted to share with you  the things that I do different now that I am not working. It's almost been a year since I left my job.

1. I wash my own  hair saving $40-60 for the month since I tend to go to the  hair dresser  twice a month.

2. I am having more no spend days since I  stopped working because I go out less and there for I don't spend money.

3  I have no need for  new clothes so the clothes in my closet is find. I am wearing them to death. Some of my clothes have holes in them since I wear them all the time and I like holes in my clothes it makes me feel free. Saving money by not having to purchase clothes for work.

4. I still eat out but now I have time to find the coupons that go with the places that I want to eat out at . Before when I was working I would just eat out and say to heck with a coupon.

5. I am more watchful of where I spend my money since I will not  be able to make it back so easily. so buying on impulse is out for me for now. I look closely at my credit cards purchases  and all  house bills coming in to make sure the charges are correct. If not they get a call from me about crazy charges believe me they will not be happy.

6. I love to gamble. I now have a gambling allowance of $20 for the month  instead of  the  $200 I had when I was working. All my winning from gambling when I do win goes in to saving and back into my gambling fund.($20)

7. When I go to flea markets and garage sales I look for things to re-sell and I look for gifts to give. I have a garage sale budget of $20. Going to garage sales and  flea markets is also my entertainment and my exercise. So I am killing 3 birds with one stone, looking for resale merchandise, entertaining myself with people and the stuff I see  plus I am working a lot.

8. My entertainment cost is zero I don't go to the movies I have a ton of movies  that my co- worker gave me while I was working. I read a lot and I use my computer for games, TV shows, reading and movies. Everything all in one. The cost of our computer being on the internet is less then $20 bucks a month.

9. Traveling I will say I spend money on.  But  I look for good bargains, discounts and whatever  I can get for free I go for it. For example this year I am going to Canada for $800 I will get on board credit of $200 and save on air fare because the boat leaves from New York.

    So that's my saving story, what do you think?

Now I Am Really Pissed OFF!!!!

Hello everyone,here's the story for today. I am pissed the H*ll off!!! Here is why. I sold some radio's through my website this tuesday. It was a $140 dollar sale. I shipped the next day and everything was fine. Did I tell you these were brand new factory sealed radios. Well the buyer decided that he did not want the radios anymore( buyers remorse) so he disputed  this sale through paypal. Since that is how he payed. He wanted me to refund his money without me getting my merchandise back. Picture that. He also wanted me to send him extra money for him to ship my merchandise back to me. I think not. So now paypal is holding $140 until we can settle this problem.

The only thing I can say is this buyer is a crook. This is not the first time he tried to get an item for free by saying something was wrong with it and him wanting a  full refund while he kept the merchandise. He told me how he got a free printer and his money doing this same stunt. ( that should have been a red flag for me when he told me that) That  printer seller  let you get away with that crap  but I am not the one! I want my merchandise back.  If  my merchandise is not how I sent it to him when and if I get it back Then I will deduct the damages and the shipping charges from his refund.

 I spoke to Paypal about this and they said not to worry I have so much evidence against  this buyer like how we talked about the merchandise and my phone message recorder picked up our whole conversation about it. This whole thing is just pissing me off. This is not the first time something like this has happen to me and it probably won't be the last.  It's hard being a seller now a days because of people like this. Thanks for letting me vent. So what do you think?

Not A Good Day!!!

                                                                                              
Hello everyone well today is not a good day. First  I got a called this morning from a mystery shop that I had did a shop for just this past Monday. The shop payed $25 with a $10 bonus. Nice $30 bucks for a easy phone shop. Yes the shop was detailed but it was still easy. So I did the shop Monday and  that was it. Until today! The mystery shop company called to say that I was not getting paid for the shop. Goodby $30 bucks. because I was suppose to make 7 calls in 5 days in order to reach a certain person. Instead I spoke to that person on the first day. That was no allowed. Anyway what they wanted did not make sense to me. So I told them that  I will  not be doing any  more shops with them. Goodby $30. I have dealt with this company before and they tried this on my partner who also use to work for them. After you complete the shop they want to stiff you for the money.

Thank God I did not need the money that bad or I really would have been pissed. Nowadays you can not make a living just off of mystery shopping because of companies likes this.

Second I had to cancel my Atlantic City Trip because right now I have to much on my plate to really go. Goodby beach, good eats and gambling. Well for now anyways.
I am still trying to look for work that will make up my $200 a month but I am failing badly got any suggestions?? So what do you think??
            

You Crazy!!!!!

 

Hello everyone, Here's the latest, this morning around 10:00 am my door bell started ringing off the hook. I was in the middle of doing something so my partner got it. In walks my handy man for my rental home. He tells us that there are a few things that needs to be fixed. I just listen to him not saying a word. First he tells me that the roof on the rental needs to be  recoated with this special pant so I will not have any problems with my roof leaking.( I am not having any problems now) Then there is the hose in the front of my house the hose is broke and the water is now coming out  from the cement wall. I know that I saw what he was talking about earlier last week. My little fence in the front  of the house needed to be painted again, since is  peeling off and it looks bad.. My handyman wants to cork 3 of my windows in the back of my house and spray for termites. Which  we sprayed  3 times last year. Also he wanted to re-cement my front steps since he said the steps are cracking. I had this done last year to. All of this work and he wants $1500.00 to do it. I told him he was crazy .

 I asked him what can I get for $500 and that's my top offer, he was mad and started saying that he could not  everything so cheaply. I said ok, $1000. what can I get for $1000. and this included buying the materials and labor cost.  He looked at me and told me I was asking for to much for such a little price. So after he left  I  talk to my partner about it.  He told me that we will buy him the  materials  that he needs and have him fix the major stuff  like the roof and the steps.( he feels the handyman is trying to rip us off) We will paint and do the spraying for the termites our self. Which he feels that since we sprayed last year we should not have to spray this year again so soon. In  the end  by doing some  of the  work  ourselves  and  buying  all the materials  that is needed  all we should be really paying for is his labor cost  which should be well under  $1000.00 but we will see. So what do you think?

Making a Livinging Not!!

Hello everyone, Well here is the story for today,  I am trying to make a living off of Mystery Shopping and to date I have not gotten paid. I did a shop in June and the company still owes me. Let's not talk about  the shops I did in the beginning of July.  I am still waiting on  payments from those shops to. If  your trying to make a living with mystery shopping I say don't!! You can not get or shall I say make enough money to pay your basic bills.  Let's say your monthly  bills are small like $600 for the month. First you have to find good companies who will pay you a decent amount to shop for them.. Basic  payments on shop fees are between $5-15. Once you get enough shops  to  cover your monthly expenses.

Now you have to wait to get paid and hope that your landlord, energy company , cable company and telephone company  are willing to  wait  with you. Most  mystery shopping companies  pay  you  within  4-6 week  if your luck. I have had mystery shop companies  who went out of business before I got paid and some  who just didn't want to pay me so they didn't. Yes these are some of the problems you can run in to. So I say this to you  get a part time job or keep your full time job to pay your bills. Let the mystery shopping job money that you get be extra money for you, because if your looking for these mystery shopping companies to show you the money. Trust me when I tell you they won't!  P.S. I even have to do surveys to try and make some money and you know how much they pay pennies on the dollar.  So what do you think??

Oh Shoot!!

Hello everyone. This is what happen yesterday. I was driving along minding my business in my fairly new car, and all of a sudden a cheese bus( Yellow School Bus)  drives by car  and takes off my driver side window!  I was shocked and pissed the hell off. This is a brand new car and now it's not so brand new anymore.

The driver of the cheese bus was sorry and he apologized 100 plus times. We called the police they came and took a report   which will cost me $10 to pick up at the percent in 7 days no less.. 

Now for the fun part I called my insurance agent he told me that first I need the police report. My insurance company will only pay $500 for the repair. As you can see it will cost me more then that to replace my rear view mirror and to paint over the scratches on door that the bus made. Then my insurance company told me I have to go after the bus's insurance company to get my money back. I tell you if It was not  required to have insurance I would not have it. What do I pay insurance companies for if I have to do all the work and they don't pay me the full price to get my car repaired!!!  

My total bill estimation will cost me about $1000 or more and let's not talk about me not going on vacation because this is the car that I was using to go on vacation with in a week. Sometime life just Sucks! 

So what do you think?

Free Is Not Free

Good Morning Everyone.  Well here is the story for today. I got  card in the mail from Norwegian Cruise Line and you see where it says Book a Complimentary Stateroom by Aug 28 2015. When I read that I got on the phone quick fast to get my free stateroom. After being on hold for almost an hour. I finally talked to the women from the cruse line, she told me that yes they are offering complimentary state rooms but........... These rooms are windowless and with port charges and taxes it would cost me $300 per person.

Now if  I get a room with a window then  the  cost goes up to $400 per person. I want a room with a balcony like I had before then......... That  cost would be $700 per person this is just  for the port charges and tax  Tips are not included and airfare to get to the ship would be extra. The cruse is either  going to  Mexico or the Caribbean for 7 days  and it's  leaving from Florida. My question is what happen to free stateroom??  The cheapest I could go for would be the windowless cabin at $600 for the both of us, But have you seen  a windowless cabin on a ship  it's like living in a box for 7 days no thank you. I want a balcony... for free no less. I told my partner and he said I can get the same deal with added incentives like $200 on board credit, dine anywhere you want for free kinda thing for the same price and I would get my balcony room in this deal. So the story to this is sometimes free can cost you..
What do you think? 

Happy Tenants

Good afternoon everyone. I am happy and want to share that happiness with you today. OK,  here  goes I have a home that I rent out. Actually it's my childhood home that I purchased from my mother about 10 years ago, anyway I have had a total of 3 tenants in that home. these tenants stay on average about 1 year then they move on. The first tenant was a tenant from hell. Oh, she was sweet in the beginning because she needed a  place but toward the middle I had to chase her down for the rent every month. Stupid me was paying the utilities on the place because I keep the utilities in my name  thinking that she would pay me back, Which she never did.  That was stupid on my part. After it was all said and done she walked away leaving my house a mess and owing me 2 months worth of rent plus $500 in utilities.

Tenant  No 2 were also nice but desperate to find a place quickly me being nice I let them rent the place. They started paying late and then refused to do the home maintenance. Plus one time the toilet in the house backed up and they called me yelling and cursing at me to come and fix it. Needless to say it was their kids who stopped up my toilet. That was a $100 that I paid for. I  was tired of them  and they had to go  so  I  got my lawyer to send them a letter stating they had to leave. In return they sued me for the security deposit. it took two years for  us to go to housing court in new york. The outcome was out of the $2000. they gave me for  security  deposit I had to give them back $1000.00. To fix the the damage they did cost me just under  $1000. I should have gotten the whole $2000 for repairs and aggravation .

Tenant No 3 the current ones. They have been checked and rechecked by my real estate agent before they moved in. They are a nice religious couple and when I visited them yesterday to sign the new lease . The wife offered coffee and lunch. They are keeping my house clean and neat. I have a good feeling about my present tenants let's just hope that I keep that feeling.   So what do you think??  

It's Hard!!!

 Good morning everyone. Well here's my rant for today. It's hard being a mystery shopper in todays time. First you have to look for the jobs on various companies job boards. Then you have to request the job this is after you take a test to quailfy for that job. Once you get the job you have a time frame to complete the job.When the job is finished you must now submit a  report  regarding that job.What makes it hard to be a shopper in 2015 is that your time is not valued money wise like it use to be. When I was a shopper 5 years ago I use to get all kind of  money incentives to shop. I use to shop banks, fast food, upscale stores, amusment parks, movies, hotel, casinos, restuarants. If you names it I probably shopped it and the pay was good and besides that


I would get free food, entertainment, merchandise all paid for by someone else. I loved it.. Now most of the good mystery shopping companies are gone. The 2015 shop pay is lousy $5-10 if your luck and then they want your first born before they pay you. They require so much more from you then they are paying and some of these companies feel that they are the best game in town. So If you don't do exactly has they say they will   drop you from  their company . Goodby $5 dollar jobs. I use to make a good $600-800 a month when I was mystery shopping back in the day. Now that I am back doing it  I am luck if I can make

 $50 bucks a month.

It's hard being a mystery shopper and god bless the people who do this this full time.

                                               

So what do you think??