Ken S.

I'm an electrical engineer, but that does not make me an expert on all things electric or electronic. And it seems that no matter how much research you do on your own, you can't really tell which product is the best for your particular goals and situation. And do you really want to spend many hours or days researching a purchase? I don't have time for that.

That's where Crutchfield comes in. I recently got recommendations on 6x9s, subwoofers, and an amplifier in an online chat with a Crutchfield agent. It was a 100% better experience than visiting my local CarToys store, where they basically wouldn't say anything except "bring the car in".

There is value in product knowledge and recommendations, and Crutchfield is good at that, yet they still manage to be price competitive. I've upgraded an F250 to a new CD player for less than $50 total with Crutchfield - and I'm still enjoying it. They have wiring and instructions that make installation really easy. I'm very impressed.

I never heard of TD Bank and their branded Samsung credit card until spotting a new account on my credit report. A thief used my name and good credit to buy $3868 of stuff from Samsung.

I get that lenders walk a fine line between making their applications too onerous and making it too easy to open a fraudulent account. However, you would think they could have verified that the address, phone number, and/or email on the application were known. Any one of these things would have been an improvement.

I'm still cleaning up the mess made when a criminal stole my identity and TD Bank allowed it to happen with their toothless identity verification. So it's safe to say I'm not a TD Bank fan.

I got a "you're in default" letter from Bread Pay, regarding a loan used to buy $1100 worth of Nikon stuff. I have the loan number, and the order was placed in my name. So I can easily prove who I am and that I got the bill for the order. But would Nikon tell me where the order was shipped, the phone number used, what was ordered, or anything useful at all? They would not.

My wife is an avid Nikon camera enthusiast. I'm not a Nikon hater, but I do not agree at all with protecting thieves!

I got a "you're in default" letter from Bread Pay, regarding a loan used to buy $1100 worth of Nikon stuff. I have the loan number, and the order was placed in my name. So I can easily prove who I am and that I got the bill for the order. But would Nikon tell me where the order was shipped, the phone number used, what was ordered, or anything useful at all? They would not.

My wife is an avid Nikon camera enthusiast. I'm not a Nikon hater, but I do not agree at all with protecting thieves!

I got the bill for a $3868 order placed with Samsung, and financed with a Samsung credit card. And the credit card is on my TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax credit reports. So I can easily prove who I am and that I got the bill for the order. But would Samsung tell me where the order was shipped, the phone number used, what was ordered, or anything useful at all? They would not.

FWIW my current phone is a Samsung Galaxy A21 and I'm reasonably happy with it. Not a Samsung hater, but I do not agree at all with protecting thieves!

In my neighborhood it is well known that OnTrac is terrible. As of right now I am going through trying to get reimbursed for a package from Home Depot that they lost. The status is shown as "delivered", with the note "behind gate". To which I ask, "whose gate?". It sure wasn't mine.

You don't really know what you've got in an insurer until you need them. Well, now I know. I needed to find a primary care physician that accepted Oscar, so I used Oscar's site as a starting point. I'd find a doctor that Oscar listed as accepting new patients, then call the doctor to make an appointment, and they'd be like, "there's no doctor with that name here". It happened multiple times, so I abandoned Oscar's site and found a doc on my own.

I go see said doctor, and he writes me a prescription for a pill that I need to take twice a day. The pharmacy submits it to Oscar, and they're like "no, we'll only approve it for once a day". But here's the best part - the prescription Oscar would not approve was for TWELVE DOLLARS AND NINETY ONE CENTS. So I paid for it myself without their approval. And I'm paying Oscar like twenty thousand dollars a year for coverage that basically makes me pay for everything out of pocket.

In short, I'm not impressed.

I'm just going to post the exchange I had with their customer service; I think it speaks for itself:

FOX Nation Bot (7/7/2022, 9:05:41 AM): Hi! I'm FOX Nation Bot. I can help you with the displayed options or feel free to type your question below
FOX Nation Bot (7/7/2022, 9:05:41 AM): What help did you need regarding Billing & Payment?
Ken (7/7/2022, 9:05:55 AM): I was charged the wrong sales tax.
FOX Nation Bot (7/7/2022, 9:05:59 AM): Please wait while I transfer you to an agent
Cassandra C (7/7/2022, 9:07:16 AM): Thank you for contacting FOX Customer Care, my name is Cassandra. How may I assist you today?
Ken (7/7/2022, 9:07:58 AM): Hi Cassandra. I was reviewing my credit card statement and noticed that Fox charged me the wrong sales tax on my Fox Nation subscription. Should be 3.7%, was charged 7.7%
Ken (7/7/2022, 9:08:41 AM): Difference: $3.96.
Cassandra C (7/7/2022, 9:09:49 AM): I am truly sorry but sales tax is based off location and not FOX. I am truly sorry for any frustration. Is there anything else I can help with?
Ken (7/7/2022, 9:10:32 AM): Yes, based off of location, I agree. I don't want help with something else, I want help with THIS, and my $3.96 back please.
Cassandra C (7/7/2022, 9:11:51 AM): Again, I am truly sorry but FOX has nothing to do with sales tax percentage. Please reach out to your financial institution to get assistance with this matter. If there is nothing else I can help with, I will need to end chat.
Cassandra C (7/7/2022, 9:13:34 AM): Thank you for contacting Fox Nation. If you would like to give us feedback on your Customer Care experience, you can select Give Feedback from the chat window prior to closing the window. Have a great day.

Basically, they hung up on me! One star is really better than they deserve.

I'm just going to post the exchange I had with their customer service; I think it speaks for itself:

FOX Nation Bot (7/7/2022, 9:05:41 AM): Hi! I'm FOX Nation Bot. I can help you with the displayed options or feel free to type your question below
FOX Nation Bot (7/7/2022, 9:05:41 AM): What help did you need regarding Billing & Payment?
Ken (7/7/2022, 9:05:55 AM): I was charged the wrong sales tax.
FOX Nation Bot (7/7/2022, 9:05:59 AM): Please wait while I transfer you to an agent
Cassandra C (7/7/2022, 9:07:16 AM): Thank you for contacting FOX Customer Care, my name is Cassandra. How may I assist you today?
Ken (7/7/2022, 9:07:58 AM): Hi Cassandra. I was reviewing my credit card statement and noticed that Fox charged me the wrong sales tax on my Fox Nation subscription. Should be 3.7%, was charged 7.7%
Ken (7/7/2022, 9:08:41 AM): Difference: $3.96.
Cassandra C (7/7/2022, 9:09:49 AM): I am truly sorry but sales tax is based off location and not FOX. I am truly sorry for any frustration. Is there anything else I can help with?
Ken (7/7/2022, 9:10:32 AM): Yes, based off of location, I agree. I don't want help with something else, I want help with THIS, and my $3.96 back please.
Cassandra C (7/7/2022, 9:11:51 AM): Again, I am truly sorry but FOX has nothing to do with sales tax percentage. Please reach out to your financial institution to get assistance with this matter. If there is nothing else I can help with, I will need to end chat.
Cassandra C (7/7/2022, 9:13:34 AM): Thank you for contacting Fox Nation. If you would like to give us feedback on your Customer Care experience, you can select Give Feedback from the chat window prior to closing the window. Have a great day.

Basically, they hung up on me! One star is really better than they deserve.

THE GOOD:
I've been an Ally Customer for years - via acquisition first - and then became a "double customer" when they acquired my brokerage. For basically-free, interest-earning checking and savings accounts, they are the best I have found.

THE BAD:
Their website and (especially) their app have bugs and aren't nearly as easy to use as they should be. When I've reported the bugs, they've politely blown me off. Also, the brokerage's clearing firm, Apex, makes mistakes when reporting your taxable activity to to government. I mean, taxes are complicated, but not THAT complicated that their accounting bugs cannot be fixed over a period of years. I've never understood why they can't get it right.

When your minor is no longer a minor, Ally literally doesn't know how to convert the custodial account to a stand-alone account. Two different reps gave me VERY different instructions. I've spent hours on it and gotten nowhere. Apparently, my 18-year-old can open a bank account at any bank on the planet EXCEPT Ally.

THE UGLY:
When I needed to withdraw funds to buy a house, Ally let me down badly. I started trying to wire the money to the title company on Monday morning. Ally Invest won't allow "third party transfers", so I had to wire it to my Ally Bank account. It took fully two days to achieve that step. And from when I requested the wire from Ally Bank to the title company, it took well over 24 hours, even though I had told them of my closing time and asked for anything they could do to help me meet it. They didn't even call to verify the wire until 24 hours after my request. I looked like an idiot at the Thursday closing, because the funds weren't there. I was really embarrassed and am now looking for a new bank.

Another time, I was trying to pay off a loan. Set up a bill payment on the Wells Fargo loan for $50,000 (yes, fifty thousand). Didn't show up for weeks. I called Ally. That's when I learned that they MAILED the payment - seriously - Ally didn't do an electronic transfer TO ANOTHER U.S. BANK; they mailed a fifty thousand dollar check. So I asked them to stop payment on the lost check. They said they had. I sent a new payment. THEN THE "STOPPED" PAYMENT WENT THROUGH, and I had written a FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLAR HOT CHECK because of it. Talked to Ally again, and a "typo" had been made that allowed the supposedly-stopped check to go through. Inexcusable.

Most recently, I bought an auto part - a transmission seal - for my daughter. I went to pay myself back from her savings account. Put in the notes for the transfer, "Advance Auto Parts - rear tranny seal". When I submitted it, Ally threw up an error message: "We've flagged one of the words you used in your response as abusive language. Try again without that word." OMG - I've been offensive toward transmissions without even knowing!

Best case, Ally is incompetent. Worst, they're evil.

Although 4LifetimeLines doesn't have any online reputation to speak of, their lifetime warranty on all of their products is outstanding. Every business has to get started sometime; I thought I would give them a chance. Ordered a bunch of copper-nickel line and various fittings. Everything arrived as described. So far, so good...

So what? Well, I ordered a flaring tool on the basis of some pretty big claims. In particular, there was a claim that it could flare stainless steel lines. So I ordered it. I had a regular-steel line to flare, which on the difficulty scale is a bit below stainless. I followed the instructions, even watched videos on how to flare, etc., and for the record I've done a number of successful flares with other tools. Well, the new flaring tool couldn't do it. And I had tried very hard to make it work. So I decided to return it.

The returns page doesn't provide any instructions, but it does list their main number and email address. So I emailed them. Waited several days, and no response. FInally I filed a dispute via my credit card. Soon after I got a response to my original email. Ended up both trading a few emails and talking to them on the phone, and I have to say they were nice about it. I got the return address and sent the flaring tool back. And then... nothing. Again. They never did issue me a refund, and instead the credit card kept the dispute open for a long time before closing it and telling me to keep the temporary refund they (the credit card company) had given me.

This is a real business. They really did ship me every product that I ordered. The only trouble I had was when I did a return. But what's the value of a lifetime warranty when returns are this difficult?

For several years in a row, I have used FreeTax and my wife has used TurboTax, and we don't quit until we come up with the same number. The interesting part is when we sit down and try to figure out our differences. Based on this I can say with certainty that FreeTaxUSA is better (and cheaper).

Having said that, FreeTaxUSA has some issues that I find almost unbelievable. Things like having to enter information from a single K-1 up to three times. And far too many times, if you don't click the little question mark to get more information about something, you'll enter a wrong value. Taking an example from the Colorado deductions page, this sounds very clear: "Enter your total charitable contributions made during 2021:". But it's not. If you clicked the question mark, you'd find out that they really meant "Enter your total charitable contributions made during 2021 AND NOT ALREADY DEDUCTED ON THE FEDERAL FORM:".

Wire And Supply was, for us, a great place to get the exact colors of 10-gauge copper automotive wire that we needed to match our wiring harness. We received the wire quickly, got exactly what we expected, and would definitely order from W&S again.

How can I be the first person to review this incredibly useful site? For the specialized task of adding connector pins to automotive wiring harness connectors, I had been ordering pins from Amazon and eBay. I always had to order way more pins than I needed, and it was expensive. Recently I discovered CustomConnectorKits.com. I was able to order any quantity - even 1 - of the exact pins that I needed, and by spending just $25, shipping was free - plus they shipped my order quickly. They'd get an enthusiastic 5 stars but for one thing; apparently they didn't have one of the pins I ordered, so they refunded the correct amount (good) but didn't communicate (bad) - and later emails about my order continued to show that all parts were coming. It wasn't until I received the package and went though the order line-by-line that I was able to figure out which pin had been omitted.

It's a good thing Camaro Central is around. Sometimes we need something for our 1980 Camaro restoration that the other guys just don't have - and kudos to CC for having it. And they sometimes will estimate shipping much higher than it actually turns out to be; when that happens, they only charge you actual shipping. So that's the good. The bad is (1) prices that often aren't competitive, and (2) they have always gotten my sales tax wrong (more than 2X what it should be). I have a hard time understanding it; YES sales tax is stupidly complex because of the many jurisdictions, but if I Google "what should my sales tax be", the first two sites give the correct answer, instantly, for free - so it can be done! (Not to mention that all the other Camaro parts places get it right.)

I can't believe nobody's reviewed this site before; it's my best discovery in years. I ordered 4 battery cables for a project car that we're completely rewiring. Each cable had the gauge, length (in 6" increments), color (red or black), and terminals (hole size for each end) that I specified. And they're quality copper cables. They shipped 'em out quickly, and when they arrived I confirmed that I got exactly what I had ordered. For all of this, the price was less than what I'd have paid anywhere locally - even at Walmart - for cables of worse quality and a much poorer fit. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I ordered two Holley LFRB135 headlights on 12/25/2021, and my credit card was charged then. As of 3/10/2022, not only had they not shipped, I was told that the parts were "still on special order nationwide", and "and your [sic] on the list due to ship in 2-3 weeks". Then I checked; the headlights were in stock at Holley, Summit Racing, Jegs, and other sellers. So I asked "why 2-3 more weeks?", and the answer was "we can't control that" - which does not answer the question. I cancelled my order and wrote a review here.

Within minutes, my phone started ringing. In the span of 8 minutes, they called me 9 times, seven from *******797, then twice from *******373. The 20-minute "conversation" that happened when I answered was quite remarkable. "Unprofessional" doesn't even come close; it was threatening, profane, and 100% unapologetic. Specifically, the guy said he had my address, that he was going to "put Legal on me", and that bad things were going to happen to me (several times). He also called me an a**h***; in fairness, I called him a p**** after the second time I asked for his name and he still would not identify himself. (It was 15 minutes into the call and I was not a happy camper.) He said they would come after me for "slander" and "defamation". I challenged him - repeatedly - to tell me even one word that I had written that was false, and he had nothing except claiming (inaccurately) that I said it was a scam website. He also said that I was "putting 50 people out of a job". I don't have that kind of power; I share my own experiences - accurately - to help inform others. Period. And I WILL NOT be intimidated out of doing so.

At this point, I have received a full refund, and I thank MBenzGram for that. However, it's not proof of legitimacy, as Mr. I-Won't-Indentify-Myself seemed to think it was.
FACT: Bernie Madoff would cheerfully give you your money at any time - until his Ponzi scheme ended.
FACT: The "God Wants You To Roll" guys would quickly give you a refund if you asked.
FACT: Classic Industries, a legitimate parts website, does not charge you for back-ordered items until they ship.
FACT: ScamAdviser.com gives mbenzgram.com a Trustscore of 36 out of 100.

I do not want to put 50 people out of a job. I do not want to hurt legitimate small businesses. But anybody who had my experience would have to wonder. I can prove everything I have written, even about the call, which I recorded. So, MBenzGram, let's see if you will carry out your threat to go after me legally. You will end up paying your legal fees, my legal fees, and a big bill for harrassing me. Will you also go after the other reviewers who described similar experiences? And ScamAdviser.com? And other similar sites? Will you take on the whole world?

*Information redacted by admin

I ordered a K*******U-HP Universal Dipstick And Tube ("fits almost all 1998 - up 4L60/65/70E transmissions") for a 1980 Camaro with an LS3 and a 4L70E transmission. What I received was well made, would bolt up the bellhousing perfectly, but unfortunately was much too long for our application. At that moment I didn't know what FitzAll's return policy was, or even if they had one. Well, turns out they do accept returns, and I got the full purchase price back. Shipping (both ways) was my responsibility, and that's not unreasonable. I even talked to them a bit on the phone; nice people!

The Good: Other parts stores mostly seem to have the exact same parts; NAPA often has stuff they don't.

The Bad: Online order pricing. My recent order showed three different prices, depending on whether your believed the email from PayPal, the email from NAPA, or what PayPal showed when the dust had settled. All other businesses get this right, so I don't want to hear the excuses. Also, they often fail to send a "Your NAPA Order is Ready" email, no matter how long you wait. It's happened to me multiple times, so it's a real issue that needs to be fixed.

The Ugly: Sometimes the site is wrong about which parts will and won't fit your car. Attached photos show a tail-light socket they said wouldn't fit fitting perfectly, and they weren't offering any other option.

I bought CDs from PenFed multiple times, because they offer great rates - sometimes the best in the nation. Some of their processes are a little bit old fashioned, but that's OK. What is NOT OK is secret transfer limits. That's right; they limit transferring YOUR money out; the employees know what the limit is, but are literally not allowed to share the info with customers! I was able to figure out that the secret transfer limit was $30,000 per month, resetting on the 13th of each month. Separately, they have not-secret limits; for me, the limit was $5000 per day. Depending on the amount of your CD, it can take a LONG time to get your money out of PenFed, unless you wire the money out. I would be giving a lower rating, but a helpful employee's good attitude makes me feel that 4 stars is the right score.