I'm here...

For those who may have worried as I didn't post yesterday... I'm sorry! I woke up with a massive headache, and really didn't want to look at the pc screen. It subsided slightly after breakfast and a double dose of Claritan, but came back in the afternoon. It didn't really stop again - even after a dose of Excedrin. So, I pretty much ate dinner, and went to sleep on the sofa. No headache this morning - thank heavens.
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The car - My car started acting up the last 1/4 mile to work on Thursday morning - again. The odometer started bouncing all over the map while I was driving at approx 30 mph, and then the engine started revving with my foot steady on the gas pedal -like it was dropping into neutral and out again. Well, the good news is it wasn't the transmission this time. The bad news is it was further electrical problems. The mechanic couldn't even getthe damn thing started yesterday. They think the sensor for shifting may have been shorted out by the electrical problem.

The tow - I've never actually had to have a tow before. I have tow coverage through my insurance which covers me to the nearest approved mechanic for my car make. The insurance company called the tow company to arrange for the tow, and get an estimate. It was estimated that I would be paying for approx 12-14 miles at $3 per mile, and they accepted only cash or credit card. Fine - I have enough cash on me to pay approx $42. Would I be riding with the truck? Well, that depends on when they get here because I don't leave work 'til 5:30pm. (I really can't afford to pay for a tow, AND leave work for the time that would be replacing the money...) I'm told they will be here topick up the car at about 3:15pm.

At 3:20pm I get a call from a guy about the pickup stating he won't be here for about another 30 minutes. He then gets huffy because I won't be riding with him, and refuses to take the $42 cash. He insists rather rudely that I HAVE to have a credit card to secure the tow. I explained that this was not what I had been told by the insurance company, and I do not have a credit card - to which he gets even ruder. I even tried to explain that IF by some chance the milage was a mile or two over the garage would pay the difference, and he refused to believe me. I finally told him I'd have to talk to my father and call the company back... I call Dad, and he gives me the card number for his debit card. I try to call the guy back at the cell number he'd called from, and get a busy signal so I call the company number that my insurance company gave me. When the owner answers I explain that I am calling back with my father's card number, and state that the "driver" I'd spoken with before was very snotty. Guess what??? It wasn't the driver - it was the owner. Who then proceeds to become even more rude and snotty. I explicitly stated to him no less than twice during this call that I expected a call with the exact charges if it was any more then $42 - to which he blew me off stating "that isn't how I do business". So I called my insurance company, and filed an explicit complaint against him.

At 4:10pm the driver finally shows up to get the car (50 minutes later), and he tells me there is all ready 13 miles on the tow! According to him the company policy is to charge from their garage to the tow pickup to the tow dropoff... That has just doubled my charges... I state to the driver that I expect a call on my cell (and provide the number again) if the charges exceed $42. I also explained to the driver that I expected a receipt for the tow to be left with my mechanic stating milage and amount charged. Yup, no problem, he understands. So I called Dennis at the mechanic's shop, and explain the bs that has been occurring. I let him know that a receipt should be left with him.

Fast forward to 2pm Friday - still no call from the tow company. So I called the insurance company again to check what their contract for milage charges is with this guy as the driver is telling me it will be almost twice what I'd been quoted via the insurance company... I managed to get an agent on the phone who immediately sounds concerned because to the best of her knowledge no - it should only have been charged from pickup to dropoff. I also explained how I'd requested several times to be called with the total charges as this was my father's card, and that the service had refused to call me. She had to talk to her supervisor, and they were going to have to look into it - fine I expected that. She calls me back a half hour later. They'd called the owner who at first tried to blow them off because he was driving, and then (suddenly) remembered what tow they were referring to. Supposedly the final milage after my 5 mile exception came to 11 miles so the final charges were $35 and change due to tax. (So yes, it was under $42, but they had led me to believe I was going to be charged for approx 26...) The good thing is that this agent has noted all of this into my account so IF the jerk tries to charge any more I have a recourse.

Then Dennis calls... He gives me the news above, and then states, "And, at this point I'm pretty pissed with this tow service too." Oh lord,... it just keeps getting better. He made sure to reinforce to the driver that a recipt was to be left with him - yup, yup... The guy was going to just leave the car in the middle of their lot. Dennis had to point him to where they needed it. It did get left there, and then because Dennis was helping another customer when the guy was done the driver "left the stuff" on Dennis's desk inside... Keys - no receipt. Friday morning when Dennis goes to pull the car into the garage to check it out... my driver window had been left completely down - all night... It snowed... So I guess it is time for call number 4 to my insurance company. At this point I hope this guy loses his contract with them. What a butthole.

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Title: Fo-cus!

Credits:
Papers and elements from the Coral Florals kit and addon by Kara Jones of K-Joi Studios.
Photo by my dad.
Fonts: CK Academia
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Title: Playland Fun

Credits:
Papers and elements from the Foresight kit By Eva K.
Photos by me.
Fonts: CK Buddies
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Sorry for the gloom and doom rant above... Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!