Agave Mountain

Since I normally pay off my balances in full each month, I haven't been paying much attention to the "credit crunch" that so many small business owners lament and cry about.  Most of those business owners foolishly financed their businesses with high interest credit cards.  That was, until last Friday, when a collections agent called me from Advanta called to remind me that I was past due "60 days," and if I didn't immediately pay over the phone, my personal credit "would be damaged because I guaranteed the business credit".  

I sifted through my records and couldn't find a statement from last month, and couldn't I find a statement for the current month either.  When I called the Advanta customer service and fought through the automated attendant, I was told that the agent couldn't send me a copy of my current statement because it was "in process--" because the billing period had just closed. 

I was less than 30 days late and was turned over to collections.  I lost several billable hours sifting through stacks of papers, searching for a statement I apparently didn't receive.  I'm sorry, but that kind of frustration for a meager cash back rebate (which was wiped out by the late charge) is simply not worth it.  I electronically submitted payment and canceled the account.  I will be using my debit card from now on.

Less Credit for Only 37% A.P.R.

Well, it looks like I got off lucky.  There are numerous reports of Advanta jacking up interest rates as high as, get this: 37% A.P.R.  Advanta has been quietly resetting customer's interest rates from 1-3 points above prime to 15-20 points above without the business owner knowing it (unless they carefully check their statement).  In some cases, business owners are seeing their interest rates skyrocket to 20 - 31% A.P.R. overnight without any notice.

Credit card companies are jacking up fees, slashing credit limits, and increasing interest rates due to "market conditions."  Unfortunately, this new a trend is running throughout the credit industry -- an industry that is allowed to capriciously rewrite it's agreement with cardholders at will.  And they are: 

"[J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s Chase unit] will also start charging a new $10 monthly service fee to some cardholders who have been carrying large balances for at least two years, while raising their monthly minimum payments to 5% of their outstanding balance, from 2%. Citigroup Inc.'s Citibank unit and American Express Co. have been notifying groups of cardholders that they will be raising their regular interest rates by two to three percentage points. In addition, Amex is raising its rates on cash advances, late payments and defaults, increasing its foreign-exchange fees to 2.7% from 2% on its consumer and small-business cards and eliminating ways to earn rewards on one of its popular cards."

Nice.  I think 2009 is going to bring more of the same: you are going to see more rewards/points devaluations, more fees, and more rate jacking as the credit card companies have to live with their bad financial decisions. 

At this point, I have to agree with Dave Ramsey's philosophy: cut up the credit cards and live debt free.  

References

• Credit-Card Users Face Higher Fees.  Wall Street Journal.
• Credit card rates jumping.  CNNMoney.

Labels: Business, Personal Finance

Posted by Joe Turner at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments

The economy is hitting retailers hard this year and some are going out of business (or filing bankruptcy) after January 1st.  Many of these stores are still selling gift cards and have no intention of honoring the gift cards after the first of the year.

Below is a partial list of stores that you need to be cautious about:

Circuit City (filed Chapter 11)
Ann Taylor- 117 stores nationwide closing
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug ,and Catherine's to close 150 stores nationwide
Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January
Cache will close all stores
Talbots closing down specialty stores
J. Jill closing all stores (owned by Talbots)
Pacific Sunwear (also owned by Talbots)
GAP closing 85 stores
Footlocker closing 140 stores more to close after January
Wickes Furniture closing down
Levitz closing down remaining stores
Bombay closing remaining stores
Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January
Whitehall closing all stores
Piercing Pagoda closing all stores
Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.
Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ ( New Brunswick )
Macys to close 9 stores after January
Linens and Things closing all stores
Movie Galley Closing all stores
Pep Boys Closing 33 stores
Sprint/Nextel closing 133 stores
JC Penney closing a number of stores after January
Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.
Wilson Leather closing down all stores
Sharper Image closing down all stores
K B Toys closing 356 stores
Lowes to close down some stores
Dillard's to close some stores

Labels: Personal Finance, Scams

Posted by Joe Turner at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Joe Turner at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

Let me tell you when this suddenly happened to me, it was unnerving.  In my case, I accidentally must have pushed the secret hotkey combination to rotate the display 270 degrees.

The fix: Right click on the desktop, select Display.  On the settings dialog, go to advanced and navigate through the tabs to find a rotate display option.  This card may be on a tap inserted by the graphics card driver that you have installed.  The option will allow you to rotate the screen back to normal. 

On mine, I simply disabled it. 

Labels: Nerdy

Posted by Joe Turner at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tonight, I spent several hours tonight attempting to synchronize my Palm Pilot Tungsten E2 with Entourage (Microsoft's Mac version of Outlook), in such a way that would allow me to preserve the categories so I could implement GTD.  Unfortunately, I wasted several hours in the attempt and never succeeded 100%.

First of all, much of the information on this on the web is no longer correct.  Microsoft no longer distributes a palm conduit that allows you to synchronize your Palm directly with Entourage.  Instead, you must synchronize  your palm with iSync.

So the process is pretty simple:

1. Install the palm desktop software and synchronize with your palm.  This will validate that your HotSync utility is working.
2. Next, run the iSync application and select "Enable Palm OS Synching"  The Apple iSync package contains a Palm conduit.  Got back the Palm HotSync and change the conduit settings to synch with iSync.  Synch and you should see your calendar and tasks populate iCal.  
3. Finally, set Entourage to synchronize with iCal, etc.,

You are now done, except for one major problem: all of the appointments and tasks on your Palm are dumped into a single category ("Home").  Likewise, if you execute iCal, you will see that it has a new Entourage category.  If you make a change in Entourage, it will show up in iCal under the Entourage calendar.  Changes made to any other categories will not get synchronized with Entourage or the Palm.

In my opinion, that is simply retarded.  Of course, Apple blames Microsoft for not having a conduit of their own for Entourage, completely oblivious to the fact that all Palm data gets funneled into a single calendar category in iCal.

While their may be a workaround that involves plunking $40 down to purchase a third-party condiut, I'm not investing any more time in trying to get this to work.  It's back to Palm Desktop until I can get Outlook running under VMware Fusion to synchronize with the Palm.

Labels: Mac OS X, Time Management

Posted by Joe Turner at 9:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

Not sure if this is legitimate, but according to the blurb I just read, Intuit's MyCorporation is offering free incorporation service next week:

On Tuesday, November 11, 2008 from 6am to 6pm (pacific time), MyCorporation is offering a special promotion titled FREE FOR A DAY. For one day only, MyCorporation will process a new Corporation or Limited Liability Company for FREE. That’s a savings of $149 off regular service fees (note: document shipping, state fees, publication fees, and additional product fees are additional). This is the first time this promotion has ever been offered!

Posted by Joe Turner at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments

Four months ago I began the process of opening both a Complete Savings and a Max-Rate Checking account at E*Trade Bank.  I ignored the fact that E*Trade has had some financial problems in the past, because I was lured by the promise of high interest rates.  Now the rates have been slashed and I have been slapped with a $15 "ACH Handling fee".  I'm moving my accounts elsewhere. 

Herein lies my tortured tale of woe in trying to get the accounts set up.  My advice: don't bother; it is the classic bait and switch scheme with a added bonus -- poor customer service.

Four long months ago, I filled in a multiple page online application for both accounts. After I painstakingly entered in a prodigious amount of data on myself and my wife, I immediately received an email assuring me that my initial deposits would be transferred from my regular checking account the the new E*Trade accounts, in "2 or 3 days".  It never happened.

A week later, I called to see what had happened.  I didn't see any outgoing transfer at the regular bank account.  The CSR had no record of my applications.  He suggested I call back when the banking department was open.  I didn't; I figured they were just backlogged.   

Later that week, I received a phone call from someone claiming to be from E*Trade to verify my identity.  I was asked several easy multiple choice questions like "which of the following addresses have  you ever lived at?", and others.  The questions were easy questions, until she started asking me about someone else entirely -- namely, "Michelle Turner."

I failed the verification because I was asked personal financial questions about someone I never heard of.   

Immediately, I thought the worst-- that someone had compromised my identity.  I peppered the rep with questions on which credit reporting agencies they got this information from so I could investigate.  After 30 minutes on hold, I spoke to a supervisor who said it wasn't a big deal, and finally gave me the contact information for Equifax.

Further, the supervisor told me that I would have to email, fax, or mail a copy of my drivers license and identification.  I complied, sending the required copies via first class mail.

Another week went by and I called the customer service number.  The rep had no record of the bank accounts.  He tried to transfer me to the "banking department" but it was closed.  Another few days pass and I called again.  The representative was able to pull up the information and said bluntly, the account was "on hold, but it looks like they received your documents."

A week later a get a box of checks with my name only.  I called the customer service line and was told that the account was still "on hold."  The representative couldn't answer why I received a box of checks for an account that wasn't even open yet.  The CSR ordered a new set of checks printed with my wife's name on it as well as another set of ATM cards.  

A few days later I received a box of checks and separately, ATM cards.  My wife pointed out that her name is misspelled on the ATM card.  

Another call to E*Trade Bank, and we find out that the account is opened.  It has taken a full month to open the account.   The Complete Savings account was never fully opened, and the interest rate has been cut.  The account now pays 2.9% APY (It was 5.0 APY in January) which is less than my previous savings account. 

To add insult to injury, I have been slapped with a $15 fee on the third statement cycle.  Additionally, if I close the account within 120 days, there will be another $10 closure fee.  

I am now finding many, many similar stories on the Internet about how incredibly bad E*Trade Bank's customer service is.  I sincerely advise anyone interested in a high interest bank account to avoid E*Trade at all costs.

I have also noticed that E*Trade no longer has their phone number prominently displayed on the website.  You have to drill down a couple of pages to find it now. 

Given the large number of complaints online, I think that this is the classic bait and switch game:

• Advertise a ridiculously high APY to draw in customers. 
• Next, drag the application process out a month, so you don't have to honor the original offer.
• Cut the interest rate.
• Surprise the customers with maintenance fees, and closure fees.

I think it is time some of these financial institutions failed.  For far too long, we have allowed financial institutions to change the terms of agreements, add fees at will, apply universal default, and modify interest rates at will. 

These are the very credit card companies and banks that Paulson wants to give $700 billion in tax money to.  Personally, I would love to see Paulson publicly admonished and fired.

Labels: Personal Finance

Posted by Joe Turner at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments