Country Living Magazine Subscription Scam

Ok, so Country Living - nice ideas - TERRIBLE customer service. Let me start by saying that I never intended to sign up for the magazine - I am on their free email newsletter list and must have clicked on something because all of a sudden I started getting an invoice in the mail.

Considering I did not want the magazine - I ignored the invoice. Let me note that there is NO phone number listed or a check box to indicate you are not interested in the subscription ANYWHERE on the invoice.

Also note that we have never even received one issue. Ever.

Over time (a month or two) our supposed "account" was sent to a collections department and finally a phone number was listed on a letter we got in the mail.

My husband called the number and was rudely informed that we were obligated to pay for the subscription - even if we didn't want it, did not intend to ask for it and even though we had not received a single issue and were not interested in receiving ANY issues.

I hope Country Living tanks like every other magazine that is going under right now.

I cannot believe they would stoop to such tactics to get one measly subscription.

Throughly miffed. And will promptly cancel both my email subscription and my supposed "magazine subscription" that I was so nicely forced into.

Why couldn't they cancel the invoice? I didn't want the magazine and wasn't receiving the magazine. Why force me into a $12 year long subscription by threatening me with collection letters and a collection department?

Because now, dear Country Living, I hate you. I cannot stand you. I cannot see past the wrong you've done me - no matter how charming your spreads and ideas.

Nope, now I am going to tell all my friends and readers how awful you are - and I may just burn every issue you send me without even taking a peek.

Yup, that is right - I would rather burn $12 of my hard earned money than read your crummy magazine.

So instead of a satisfied customer - you now have one pissed off subscriber. Was that your plan?

If so, GREAT JOB!

Stupid, Cold, Stinky Bus

What? The picture is a little blurry? Oh, yes..that is because I took it while I was parked at a red light - how could I not?! Look at that price! $1.76 a gallon for gas! Sheez!

Makes me feel a little better about missing the bus for the upteenth time in a row yesterday. Apparently we have new drivers and they like to be early (ok, ok...on time) - but after getting used to our old drivers and their loosey goosey schedule - on time WAS early.

Now, with our new AM drivers, if you are not early you are way late...the bus pulled away as I pulled into the lot this morning and I was there by 7:35 at the lastest! I sat there in shock thinking for sure he would wait for me since I had drive right in front of him to pull in to the lot so he had to see me - and no one parks in the lot unless they are riding the bus - so HELLO...I was TRYING to catch the bus. Could you not have waited 30 more seconds for me to park my car and get out??

I should have known something was up when the driver (pretty sure it was the same one) closed the door and starting pulling away AS I WAS WALKING UP TO THE BUS on Monday morning...thankfully my dutiful co-riders yelled for him to wait. Sadly, their calls went unheeded Tuesday morning...sigh. (I was two feet from the door when this happened - NOT all the way across the parking lot or anything.)

Whatever. Stupid, cold, stinky bus....who needs grouchy drivers who don't give a hoot when you have heated leather seats and a pass to the parking garage? And gas is $1.76...

Sigh. Don't worry everyone...my clock is set a half an hour earlier for tomorrow - I am still going to TRY to catch the bus, I haven't thrown in the towel - I am just ranting. It's what I do. :)

The Ugly Bill Blues

Sigh. There is nothing like a bill you thought you paid but didn't to bring ya down - its like a good old kick in the chest. Already exhausted after work and just ready to kick back and relax and I get this call from a funny number. Ah, I knew something was up.

And remember that little week-long drop-of-the-hat vacation I just took. Yeah. It was right before this bill was due or I got back right after or something. But I swear I paid it. But they said I didn't - having hubby look into it now to make sure we don't double pay.

Anyways, this particular bill drives me nuts because there is no autopay option unless you print out this sheet of paper and fill it out and take it to your bank to sign and then mail it in - ya ok - not going to happen that is just one too many steps. I want to set up an auto pay so it is easier to pay my bill not so I can jump through even more hoops. Granted, I have been paying it for 4 years now (car payment) and only been late one other time when (again) I swore I paid it but it was around finals time in college and it just slipped my mind.

Get with the program Chrysler and let your customers setup a freaking autopay system and this would NEVER have happened and my evening wouldn't be ruined!! ARG!

Nothing like talking to an animated machine about a late bill and logging on to pay the said bill and finding an Internal 500 Server Error to make your eyelids feel like lead.

Thankfully it is now paid and hubby is home to make things good again. He is good at that.

P.S. Wow, I am having quite a few "grr" moments this week.

Toally Random (soggy) Tuesday

Arg! Today is a soggy day. Woke up to lightening, thunder and lots and lots of rain. Not that I am unhappy about the rain - my yard was getting rather crunchy so I know we needed it. I just like it much better when it storms at night - when I can curl up on the couch and read a book and listen to the storm - not be out in it.

And Tuesdays are the day that I give my parking pass to my intern. She comes in on Tuesdays now but not until the afternoon after her classes and since I ride the bus we broke a deal - she drives in after her class and uses my parking pass but she has to drive me back to my car at the end of the day (we live on the same side of town). Works out most days - except that today was horribly rainy and I would have rather just drove in to begin with and avoid getting soaked.

And of course I could not find my gosh darn umbrella . And OF COURSE it starts pouring as soon as I pull up to the bus this morning. So, here I am fumbling around my car trying to find the umbrella - which I swore was in the back of the car which requires getting out and opening the back hatch and guess what? It wasn't back there - it was in the back seat the whole time - I didn't have to get out to get it - but I did and I got soaked.

And the AC was definitely working on the bus this morning so I was frozen....

I am now drinking hot chocolate complete with marshmallows - in August. :)

Arg, ants!

So, we've got ants.

The first step to overcoming a problem is admitting it right?

Now what?!

I called Terminix but am skeptical. For one, they want to discuss everything over the phone and sign me up for a service plan before they even come out and assess the situation. I had requested what I THOUGHT was an in-home consultation - what I got was some smart ass calling me up at 7:15 in the evening. I was, in no-way-shape-or-form going to merely let some sales guy smoosh me over the phone into some service agreement.

When I asked if someone was going to come out, he kept insisting that we could discuss it all over the phone. At one point, the snarky man said, "You know you got a problem, that is why you called so why do you want someone to come out and SAY you have a problem?"

O.K. [enter expletive here] (yup I am almost getting R-rated here) I know NOTHING about ants. If I am going to shell out money for a service I want someone to come out and look at the actual insect and tell me what kind of ant it is, how it got into my home and how they plan on removing it from my home. Is it a carpenter ant that is eating my wood, is it a pharoah ant...come on here. I am not going to shell out hundreds of dollars to let you do your thing without giving me some information or peace of mind. Ass.

I AM NOT going to give you my bank account number and give you permission to waltz into my home with your sprays, baits, powders and poisons and just start shooting away.

For one - I have pets in the house. So we are going to need to discuss the process. I want to know what you are doing and how you are doing it. And I need to know that whatever you do won't harm my pets.

For two - how do I know that what you are going to do isn't any different than what I can do on my own? Yeah, got ya there don't I? That is the REAL issue isn't it?

Well, forget you. I'm going to Lowes and baiting up!

Readers, do you have any ant elimination tips I should take into consideration? Let me know!