We are having amazing weather for the kids' spring break this week! (Other than the almost-tornado winds yesterday) Mr. Man has most of the week off to be with them. The kids really needed this mental break from school and friends.
Lefty has been having problems with his best friend. He said he didn't know why the kid was so mad at him, thankfully they resolved it somehow and have been calling each other again.
Over the weekend the kids and I played "Just Dance" on Wii for hours on end - I am a tad bit sore but man oh man did I have a blast with them! Mr. Man reclined his chair and watched for most of it but he did get up and do a 70's song with Lady Bug (she killed him in score!)
Since we painted Lady Bug's room last month we decided each of the boys would get a turn in "updating" their room a bit. We are starting with Lefty because his will require the least amount of updates. We found a bed on Craigslist for dirt cheap and will throw up some paint later in the week or maybe the weekend.
For Spirit's room we will basically have to gut it and start over which means new carpets and all. When we bought the house this room had a built in desk which we never really liked but tolerated until we were ready to gut it. I guess we are ready to gut now! His bed is falling apart, the built-in desk is falling apart and coming away from the wall and he has no storage space. When we get that far we will get him a new bed, tear out that desk and be forced to get new carpet in there. We will also throw up some paint for him too. I am looking forward to re-doing his room, I am not looking forward to the construction and the financial side of it!
As a close to the spring break week we are planning a camping trip for a day or two! I can't wait!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Word of Caution!
I am writing this for anyone who may encounter something similar.
About 2 years ago in December I got a phone call from a lady who said she was with a collection agency which freaked me out because although there was a time in my life when I was behind in bills often enough to get these calls I was no longer in that stage when I got the call. The lady and I spent about 30-40 minutes on the phone, but within the first 15 minutes she had me in tears telling me that I was a horrible person for not paying my debts and when I asked her what it was for and if she would get me a copy of it she responded with "YOU incurred the debt, ma'am you should know what it is for." Through tears I told her I had no idea what it was for, on and on we went. She then said if I did not pay $875 immediately they sheriff would be coming to my office with a warrant for my arrest. She also said that an attorney was already at the courthouse getting ready to file a judgment against me.
{NOW, keep in mind I work for an attorney and have worked in the legal field for 15 years so I should have known better but she got me to a point that I was so vulnerable and so scared that I honestly believed her!}
I continued to cry and tell her there was no way I could her that full amount and so then she turned on her "nice voice" and said calmly "Let me see what my manager will do." she came back to the line and said that they would take $450 immediately. So I gave them my debit card information and paid them.
For a brief moment I felt relieved - but then it hit me. It hit me that she had just completely lied to me! I called my husband and explained what happened. We tried to call the bank to cancel the charge and they said they wouldn't be able to do that, but that I could wait until it cleared my account and then fight it. Which we did, but couldn't fight.
These scammers know how much they can collect without it being a felony and also how to work the system!
I filed a complaint with my state's District Attorney's office, they investigated it and found them to be scammers but they could not force them to return my money and they told me I could hire an attorney to fight it - BUT again, for $450 I would spend more than that in legal fees PLUS the scammers were out of Florida and I do not live in Florida! The District Attorney sent them a letter that they could no longer practice business in Colorado, but I'm sure the scammers didn't care!
I'm sure what I have written is not news to you, I'm sure you have heard plenty of stories like this but what I want to warn you about is that I have now discovered that the scammers have either SOLD my information OR have just started a new business and hope to catch me when I'm weak again because the calls have started again.
One way to tell that they are scammers is that they don't want to give you copies of the debt information. By law a bill collector has to give that to you if you request it. Recently, I had a call from a bill collector for a doctor and I knew she was legit because as soon as I asked for documentation she said "sure, give me a couple weeks and I will get it to you by mail." and within a couple weeks I had all the papers proving I had not completely paid that doctor's bill.
Scammers also are very rude and try to intimidate and they tell lots of lies (warrants being issued, wage garnishments filed in your name, attorney at court house, etc.). Make sure you know your rights and hold your ground, if it is a legitimate debt the bill collector will be willing to work with you, a scammer will continue to be rude.
So now that I have figured out my info has been sold to other scammers I am on high alert. I even got a call at my office (which was the giveaway that my info had been sold because they came in on a back-line and I don't give out that number but I did call that first scammer from my office back line!) and the gentlemen who called said almost word for word what the first scammer said to me. I told him to remove this number from his call list and if he would mail me the debt documentation I would look it over. His response was "I've mailed it several times and you've ignored it. I also have mailed you a motion." {being wiser now and using my legal experience I said "what kind of motion?" and his response was "A motion for your arrest." -- There is no motion for an arrest that can be filed. When I told him I didn't believe him he said "Fine, I'll see you in court" I took great pleasure in saying "YES you will!!!" knowing full well he had no court date, no motions and no grounds to collect any debt from me!}
Anyway, I just want everyone to be very careful of any bill collector calls and be sure you do not pay scammers - remember to ask for copies of the debt if you are unsure of what they are referencing. Sometimes even scammers will use names of debts to try to lure you in, but a legitimate debt collector knows exactly what the charges are for and what company and if they don't know it they will find out for you. You will lose your money most likely and they are hard to track down and they know it! So just be very, very careful!
About 2 years ago in December I got a phone call from a lady who said she was with a collection agency which freaked me out because although there was a time in my life when I was behind in bills often enough to get these calls I was no longer in that stage when I got the call. The lady and I spent about 30-40 minutes on the phone, but within the first 15 minutes she had me in tears telling me that I was a horrible person for not paying my debts and when I asked her what it was for and if she would get me a copy of it she responded with "YOU incurred the debt, ma'am you should know what it is for." Through tears I told her I had no idea what it was for, on and on we went. She then said if I did not pay $875 immediately they sheriff would be coming to my office with a warrant for my arrest. She also said that an attorney was already at the courthouse getting ready to file a judgment against me.
{NOW, keep in mind I work for an attorney and have worked in the legal field for 15 years so I should have known better but she got me to a point that I was so vulnerable and so scared that I honestly believed her!}
I continued to cry and tell her there was no way I could her that full amount and so then she turned on her "nice voice" and said calmly "Let me see what my manager will do." she came back to the line and said that they would take $450 immediately. So I gave them my debit card information and paid them.
For a brief moment I felt relieved - but then it hit me. It hit me that she had just completely lied to me! I called my husband and explained what happened. We tried to call the bank to cancel the charge and they said they wouldn't be able to do that, but that I could wait until it cleared my account and then fight it. Which we did, but couldn't fight.
These scammers know how much they can collect without it being a felony and also how to work the system!
I filed a complaint with my state's District Attorney's office, they investigated it and found them to be scammers but they could not force them to return my money and they told me I could hire an attorney to fight it - BUT again, for $450 I would spend more than that in legal fees PLUS the scammers were out of Florida and I do not live in Florida! The District Attorney sent them a letter that they could no longer practice business in Colorado, but I'm sure the scammers didn't care!
I'm sure what I have written is not news to you, I'm sure you have heard plenty of stories like this but what I want to warn you about is that I have now discovered that the scammers have either SOLD my information OR have just started a new business and hope to catch me when I'm weak again because the calls have started again.
One way to tell that they are scammers is that they don't want to give you copies of the debt information. By law a bill collector has to give that to you if you request it. Recently, I had a call from a bill collector for a doctor and I knew she was legit because as soon as I asked for documentation she said "sure, give me a couple weeks and I will get it to you by mail." and within a couple weeks I had all the papers proving I had not completely paid that doctor's bill.
Scammers also are very rude and try to intimidate and they tell lots of lies (warrants being issued, wage garnishments filed in your name, attorney at court house, etc.). Make sure you know your rights and hold your ground, if it is a legitimate debt the bill collector will be willing to work with you, a scammer will continue to be rude.
So now that I have figured out my info has been sold to other scammers I am on high alert. I even got a call at my office (which was the giveaway that my info had been sold because they came in on a back-line and I don't give out that number but I did call that first scammer from my office back line!) and the gentlemen who called said almost word for word what the first scammer said to me. I told him to remove this number from his call list and if he would mail me the debt documentation I would look it over. His response was "I've mailed it several times and you've ignored it. I also have mailed you a motion." {being wiser now and using my legal experience I said "what kind of motion?" and his response was "A motion for your arrest." -- There is no motion for an arrest that can be filed. When I told him I didn't believe him he said "Fine, I'll see you in court" I took great pleasure in saying "YES you will!!!" knowing full well he had no court date, no motions and no grounds to collect any debt from me!}
Anyway, I just want everyone to be very careful of any bill collector calls and be sure you do not pay scammers - remember to ask for copies of the debt if you are unsure of what they are referencing. Sometimes even scammers will use names of debts to try to lure you in, but a legitimate debt collector knows exactly what the charges are for and what company and if they don't know it they will find out for you. You will lose your money most likely and they are hard to track down and they know it! So just be very, very careful!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
My Teachable Moment
Over the weekend we decided to sit the kids down and increase chore duties around the house. We heard a complaint or two about how LONG everything takes to do. So I decided to share a story about how I used to absolutely dread unloading the dishwasher because I thought it took too long. One morning I put a cup of water in the microwave to heat up and set the timer for 2 minutes. I started unloading the dishwasher, thinking to myself that I could at least start unloading the dishwasher until my water was heated. Well, turns out I unloaded the entire dishwasher before the timer on the microwave went off. So, I say to the kids, "my point is that sometimes we dread something but really it doesn't take long at all."
My sweet little Lady Bug looks me straight in the eye and says "Wow! That had to be embarrassing for you!"
My sweet little Lady Bug looks me straight in the eye and says "Wow! That had to be embarrassing for you!"
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