Frontier Ford

Frontier Fraud

What follows is the text of letter I sent to the service and general managers at Frontier Fraud...

Tripod.com

Part of the Lamos Network

The Energy Cartel

Dubya's Buddies

The energy cartel is made up of George Dubya's buddies in Texas: Dynegy, Reliant, Duke Energy, Enron and others. It seems obvious to the most casual of observers that they have colluded to withhold energy supplies until the price is right. California's budget surplus is gone, used to buy power for the insolvent utilities. Wholesale electricity prices have gone from an average of $.04 kWh to $.25 kWh in less than a year. Peak prices have hit $1.90 kWh! A 600% increase cannot be justified by their increased operating costs. They are greedy, they know people will pay whatever it takes to keep the lights on. They know that the current administration will not do anything about it.
Ro and I are fortunate that we live in Santa Clara, with non-profit, municipal power. We are currently somewhat insulated from California's electrical deregulation fiasco, of course our time will come too. In a way we are getting screwed since our tax dollars are going to buy electricity for companies that we don't buy electricity from.

EMINENT DOMAIN is the best solution for California's crisis. Take over the power plants and build more of our own. Public power is the only way to go. It works in LA, Sacramento, Palo Alto and Santa Clara. It could work for the whole state. (Example: Santa Clara's Power rate ~ $.08 kWh, PG&E's electric rate ~ $.14 kWh and rising)

Wireless Solutions

Wireless Snafu

This is where I signed up for two new cell phones. I thought I was dealing directly with Verizon but it turns out they are just a broker for Verizon's services. When I went in, I asked to have all our cell phones on one bill. The plan I selected had a discount for multiple phones. The agent said: "No problem". After a month, I received three separate bills, one for each phone, each with it's own plan. I went back to Wireless Snafu to have them fix the problem, they could not fix anything ! They can only sign up new customers. After an hour on the phone to Verizon and two trips to a REAL Verizon store, I finally untangled the mess. (I hope)

American Spa Store

Un-American Non-existent Spa Store

This is where we purchased our spa. The guy who runs the place is just like a used car salesman. Once the check is in his hands, you're SOL as far as customer service is concerned. The problems started the day the spa was delivered. There was some very minor damage inflicted, during delivery, to a little piece of moulding on the spa. The delivery guys said they would call the store and have them order a replacement. When I called a few days later, they store had absolutely no idea who I was or what I was talking about. I decided to let it slide since the moulding doesn't show. The next problem was with the filters. I go into the store and ask for some replacement filters; The filters have been "due in next week" for over a year now. Next, we had a little drain plug on one of the spa pumps crack. We called the spa store, got the answering machine, left a message, no return call. The store was close to home so I just drove over to get the replacement part... no problem. THEN a few weeks later, another drain plug cracked. (There are a total of six of these plugs in the spa.) I went to the spa store to get enough new plugs to replace them all. The spa store is GONE ! No forwarding address, the phone number still works, but it's just a voicemail box that is full most of the time anyway. On the off chance that there is room to leave a message, it is pointless and futile since the guy NEVER RETURNS HIS CALLS.

RDL

Rinky Dink Labs

It is fortunate that most of you will never need to deal with this outfit. They make a thing called a phase noise analyzer. (For the layman, it measures the frequency delinquency of a signal) According to RDL, it is a programmable instrument. This is good, since that is what I need.  In their manual, it says that all front panel commands are available via the programmer's interface. This is a boldfaced lie! They left out most of the useful commands, including one major omission. It makes me wonder why they even bothered to even make this half-assed attempt at making a programmable instrument in the first place. When I called their "tech support", I got answers like: "The guy who knows the answer is on vacation" or "I don't know, we'll call you back" (they never call back) or non-sequiter answers to questions I did not ask. or  "...we recommend that you upgrade...six thousand dollars...". I interrupted that with "WHY should I need to buy an upgrade to make it do what it should already be able to do?" the answer... "I don't know, the guy who has the answers is on vacation."  I'll give legal a call and see if it's worth going after these guys. I want to do it just out of spite. These east-coasters have real attitude problems. It must be that the water is on the wrong side of the dirt.

Memorex

Memo Wrecks

They Suck

The TCI Sucks page

ValueAmerica.com

ScrewuAmerica.scam

These guys advertise pc's and laptops for real low prices in the SJ Mercury News...

On 7/12/98 I ordered and IBM ThinkPad 765 for $1999.00 (A real good price)
On 7/13/98 I called customer service and confirmed my order. I was told that my ThinkPad would ship in 2-3 weeks.
On 7/16/98 I e-mailed customer service with a few questions about my purchase. No Reply.
On 7/21/98 I e-mailed customer service (again) with a few questions about my purchase. No Reply.
On 7/27/98 I got my credit card bill. Value America charged my account for the computer.

I called them to ask when it would be shipping. I was told that my order could not be filled and I should have been notified. I was never notified and had I not called I would still be waiting. I asked why my card was charged if the order could not be filled. The reply: uhhhhhh... must be a problem with the computer. They did offer to send an upgraded system -- for an additional $100.00! I gave the phone to Ro who asked for a credit to be applied to my card immediately. The reply: Uhhhh... the person who does that isn't here right now. Ro used a few phrases like mail fraud and credit-card fraud, within a few minutes the person who does credit cards "showed up early". We got a "refund reference number". After a week I finally received a credit to my account. Strange that they can instantly charge my account on a Sunday night, but refunds "may take 1 to 5 days... it depends on your bank."

Here's a rundown of the problems with this outfit.
1. You can order things they can't deliver.
2. They take your money instantaneously. (Some places don't post the charge until they ship)
3. I was not told that they cancelled my order.
4. I did not get a refund when they cancelled my order, I had to ask !
4. 20 minutes or longer on hold waiting to talk to a customer service person - the SAME and probably ONLY customer service person.

Kraftmaid

Crapmade

This is one of the outfits you can get cabinets from if you go to Home Depot. They screwed our kitchen order up not once, not twice, but three times !!!! The first time they delivered our cabinets, the shipment was missing the entire set of base cabinets we paid for. The second time they delivered our cabinets, the shipment was missing the divider trays for the cutlery. The third time they finally got everything right... except my name. Some of the cabinets had screw holes too large for the screws, when you would open a door, it would fall off. We paid two levels of up-charges to make sure we didn't have any particle board used in the construction of our cabinets. They still managed to sneak it in several places. They use a lot of what seems to be first year high-school woodshop students in their workforce. One of the large, very expensive cabinets had shelf-clip holes that did not line up. When shelves were put in, they sloped down from back to front about an inch and a half.

Other than that they are pretty to look at.

Montgomery Ward

Monkey Wart

We ordered a Washer, Dryer and Refrigerator from these boobs, we paid for it all and waited for the delivery date (12/24/95). This was after only two days in our new house so we really needed a refrigerator. The date of delivery, the washer and dryer arrived. No refrigerator because, "well, it wasn't on the truck". We called MW right away and were told our refrigerator was on backorder, but we would have it, "for sure" on 12/31/95, but it wouldn't be in the color we wanted. The delivery time came and went, no refrigerator. We called MW again and were told, "the driver couldn't find your house" -- we explained that we "HADN'T MOVED THE HOUSE SINCE THE LAST TIME THEY WERE HERE!" The driver apparently drove his truck all the way from the warehouse in Stockton, drove around Santa Clara lost for a few hours, didn't bother to call us, then drove back to the warehouse, This time we were promised "for sure" on 1/18/96.... We said forget it! We would go somewhere else to get the refrigerator.

We went to Circuit City that night, found the refrigerator, in the color we wanted, in stock, they promised to deliver it in two days AND they showed up -- early!

Then we went to Montgomery Ward to get the credit for our cancelled order. None of the salespeople who hovered over us when we first went to the store would make eye contact with us, let alone talk to us, no one would get a manager, so finally, Ro threw such a fit in the middle of the store and threatened that she would stand in front of the store stopping people from entering telling them that the store was a rip-off! We got our credit immediately. We were also shorted $112.00 - a mistake that had we not have noticed and pointed out, would have been screwed out of, however, after Ro threw ANOTHER fit, we got the full credit.

A week later, we found a note on our door. It was an old Sear's ticket, with a marked out line through Sears and MW written in. They found our house and wanted to deliver our refrigerator. We called the number on the ticket and had to have them read that the order was "cancelled" -- the gal wanted to know if we still wanted the refrigerator anyway! We were honest and said, "No, thank you." We should have taken it anyway -- just because they were so stupid.

Pixel USA

Pee Yew Assholes

This is one of those mom-n-pop computer chopshops in the south bay. They sold me a tower case with a power supply that had the connectors wired backwards ! The feeling of horror when I turned on the computer and saw a chip on the hard drive explode ! I took the case back to the store where I told the salesman what happened, he thought it was funny ! He also offered no restitution other than fixing the connector on the power supply (Which I had already done) I proceeded to throw a fit that caused about seven or eight prospective customers to leave the store. I felt satisfied that I had screwed them out of a few bucks and left. This story has a good ending... although that had absolutely nothing to do with PU. I called Seagate to see what could be done with my hard-drive.

Fry's

Fries

They got a lot of good stuff but... I REALLY HATE THE SEARCH AT THE END OF THE FRY'S SHOPPING "EXPERIENCE"

The Good Guys

BadGuys (Only the Mountain View store)

I bought a VCR from these guys, a month later, it died. I returned it to the store where they opted to repair it since the model was out of stock. OK fine. Two weeks later, I called the store, they said "were waiting for a replacement part." Two weeks later I called, and they said "we're still waiting for the part." Two weeks later I called, and they said "we're still waiting for the part." (That's not a typo) TWO WEEKS LATER I called and asked for the status of my repair. I was put on hold... during the FORTY MINUTES I was left on hold, people would pick up the line and ask "have you been helped." I replied... "I WANT REPAIRS PLEASE !" By this time I could have driven to the store and taken my own call. I was LIVID and THEN they hung-up on me, no "Hello?" no "Have you been helped?" just ...click... I got the address of corporate headquarters and turned over the problem to Ro. Her fire and brimstone letter was a true classic. She detailed the whole incident. She included observations such as "Since it was purchased, The Good Guys has had our VCR in their possession three times longer than we have. And asked if they had just lost the VCR or what? TWO WEEKS LATER... I get a phone call...

Me: Hellllllloooooo ?
Dude on Phone (DOPe): Hello ? I'm looking for Mr. McCurdy ?
Me: Speakinnngggggg
DOPe: I calling in reference to the letter we received regarding your VCR.
Me: Is it finally fixed ?
DOPe: Well... We cannot seem to locate it at this time.
Me: ............... WHAT ?!
The rest is paraphrased but accurate none the less.
DOPe: May we kiss your ass Mr. McCurdy ?
DOPe:We are so sorry the the inconvenience Mr. McCurdy.
DOPe:Is there any way we can have a satisfied customer Mr. McCurdy ?
DOPe:We can offer you full credit on your old VCR if you just come on in ??
Me: ............... OK

So, they finally made good, But still... THEY LOST OUR VCR !

Pacific Bell

Pathetic Bell

They gave up on providing competition to TCI in the cable game. Their rates for high speed lines are outrageous and you are lucky to get one in your neighborhood even if you can afford it. Waiting 2 months for a new line is truly ridiculous and overlaid area codes suck.

Siemens Energy Products

Semens Pestering Persistently

I wasn't going to put them on the suck list but...

OK, we installed the spa and then found out the GFCI was recalled. I make a call to semens and ask how to get a replacement. I was told that I could not get a replacement sent to me, only installed by an electrician. LIKE I NEED AN ELECTRICIAN. I informed them that in California, you don't need to be a licensed electrician to do electrical work. I installed the original, faulty one. So why not replace it? I asked the operator to get a supervisor, posed the same question to him. After being on hold for a long while, the reply was "lawsuits, liability, litigation yetta, yetta, yetta." So I said: "Oh well, send out an electrician and have him do it." Dorks reply: In 8-10 working days an electrician will call to make an appointment. In the mean time, we urge you to turn your spa off. (Yeah, right) We had to call them again after the 10 days passed without a call from an electrician. Went through the whole thing again, it was like they never heard of us. Had to tell them all the info all over again... More waiting, no action. Now Ro sent a fire-fax to Semens, the CPSC and the BBB. After that we had electricians calling us almost daily wanting to make an appointment. We had already set up an appointment with the first guy that called. He did the work the next day. We kept telling the others that it had been taken care of. Another fire-fax to Semens. Then we got a real nice gift basket from Siemens filled with popcorn, chips, salsa, candy and other goodies. That was the reason I wasn't going to post this. But now the boobs are calling all the time to see if the work has been completed. We keep telling them yes, it's done, thank you. Now they are calling me at work after hanging up on the answering machine at home. I told them, after laughing at the lady on the phone, that If they are so worried about litigation, they should have just sent ME the replacement to install myself . Then they won't have to worry about a harassment lawsuit if they don't stop calling.

Camino Medical Group

Camino Scam Artists

I took Ro to this clinic when she was feeling sick back in May of 1999. They refused our insurance (after taking our insurance ID numbers) so I paid them with a check. A week or so later, I received a statement from my insurance company stating that they had paid Camino. I wrote a letter demanding a refund, I received a refund a few weeks later. So here it is, September 2000, more than a year later. I received a phone call requesting my insurance information, I ignored it. Note that the phone call was received after a flurry of hang-ups on both our home phone and my work phone. Then, I received a bill from them. I called the customer service person, she kept saying there is no record of payment, and no record of a refund. They had incorrect insurance information, incorrect billing and payment information and somehow the onus is upon me to prove that they have been paid. I will probably pay them AGAIN just to get them off my back. It will cost me more to get copies of the cancelled checks, insurance statements and stuff to prove that they have been paid twice already. Of course a nasty letter included with the check will, at least, make me feel better.

Update: I just can't write the check. Not until I am satisfied that they have not been paid. Some lady saying that "her screen doesn't show any payment" is not good enough for me. It's the principle of the whole thing now.  I called my old insurance company, they are looking in the old records to find out, but I won't know for a few days.

Another Update: We received another bill from them, I sent them a nastygram stating that I will not pay until I receive proof that they have tried to bill our insurance. If our insurance does not pay, I will be obliged to pay for their "service".

Another Update: Ro asked me to move this to the bottom of the page since Camino Medical is related to her employer.

Another Update: I received another bill from the idiots. They refuse to bill my insurance and will not communicate in writing on the matter. I believe they are afraid of leaving a paper trail of their misconduct. I gave up and sent them the damn check since our credit rating is more important than "the principle of the whole matter" Of course, I included an "UP YOURS" letter with the check just to make me feel better about it.

Saturday, May 23, 2009 02:48:14 PM