Phil N.

I found these guys with an internet search, as I needed some background info on a potential client. They had some "deal" going where you could pay a minimum amount, but if you didn't cancel within a specific time you got hit with the full monthly fee. I think it was like 7 days or something. So, I signed up. Big mistake! I used the service, received pretty basic information. I cancelled the service within 24 hours. To my surprise, my account was billed 3 times to the tune of over $50 bucks! Avoid these guys, unless of course, you enjoy supporting the CEO's lavish life style...

Anybody been subjected to the changes at Hulu? The interface is more confusing and difficult to use than before, and advertisements - lots more advertisements, and for longer duration. Which is undoubtedly the cause of the "upgrade." They must think if they change up the interface enough, nobody will notice the increased advertising. I didn't see my bill decrease, though. Ugh! Hulu is definitely helping their competition. The new Hulu is absolutely horrible!

This site sells a monthly membership and the vehicle they use to sell that is a line of 'natural' supplements designed to cure various ailments. Of course, there's no way of telling wether they actually work or not, and most likely they benefit from the power of suggestion. I purchased a 3 month supply of product. Hat I didn't realize, that with that 3 month supply, came a monthly billing of $9.99. Apparently the billing of $189.95 included 3 months of product, and the first month's 'membership' fee. Keep in mind, I didn't realize I was agreeing to a membership... The following 2 months I was billed $9.99, for the membership - admittedly, I didn't see those fees, or I would have taken action. Now on the 4th month, I received another bottle of this witches brew... I figured, OK, I screwed up. I accepted the 49.95 fee, but sent an email stating I wanted my "account" to be cancelled effective immediately. I received a response stating, "Your request (8634) has been updated." To me, that means they have cancelled my account. But, noooo... This month I received another bottle of their ineffective crap, and upon checking my account, another $49.95 fee. Both bottles I have returned. As of this writing, I still have been unable to cancel my account. From here, I'll be filling a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the State's Attorney General. These guys have simply devised a scheme to separate you from your hard earned cash.

Their credit card is issue by Community, but here's what happened. Our daughter purchased a couple hundred worth of product. She moved, lost her card and traveled out of the country, all in a span of a couple of months. During that time a couple monthly bills were sent out. One didn't reach her, due to the move, we suspect. The next one came after she had lost her card, and was out of the country, and the bill arrived at her parent's home.

First, the interest rate is ridiculous - 27%! Plus, since she missed the previous bill, there was an extra $39 fee on there. Ok, whatever - we'll move on

The due date was just a few days away, and we wanted to get the bill paid before another late fee was applied. We took the bill, along with cash - (legal tender, I believe), to the local Victoria's Secret store. They would not accept the payment, without our daughter being present, or her driver's license?! The account number is on the bill, we have her birthdate, driver's license number, SS#, address, phone, location of her birthmarketc.

We weren't trying to use her account, but trying to give them money to pay the account in full. Nope. Can't do it!

Now if you go to Sears, Kohl's or just about any other store - as long as you have the bill and money, they'll take it.

We came home, and got on the phone. The first person we spoke to was a real bee-atch! The next person said, they'd accept payment if we provided all our banking information to them - which we weren't going to do. We figured they would end up associating our banking, credit information with the account - and that wasn't going to happen.

Finally after insisting on speaking to a manager we got Ryan. He gave us some mumbly excuse for why they couldn't accept cash payment, but finally agreed to take payment over the phone, if we used a debit card. After spending waaay too much time trying to give them money, my wife agreed.

Personally, I would have told them to send it to collections, were they'd get 20-30 cents on the dollar. But, they had worn my wife down by then, and she agreed to give them her debit card number. Ugh!

When you join as a base member for $39, you gain access to a lot of good information about the Cannabis Industry. But, to put that knowledge to work for you, you'll have to join other "clubs," where they unveil the secret sauce - so to speak. Many of their reports will tell you about a new company and explain what a great investment it is, and then tell you, to learn how to invest, join our exclusive membership for only $1,500 (or whatever), for the opportunity to snag a windfall practically overnight. It's really just one upsell, after another. There is some good information, but to make it actionable, it's gonna cost you. So, the $39 bucks is an entry fee, used to determine whether you're willing to pay to play.

I ordered a couple of the 3d type shirts they offer on their site. The pictures of them were kinda cool, but to be honest, my expectations were low, as they are made in China.

I ordered:
1) Mens 3D Swirl Print Short Sleeve T-Shirt XL &
1) New Fashion Concave and Convex Lattice 3D Printed Men's Short Sleeve T-shirt XL

First there's no way they would fit anybody in the US who wears L or XL - I ordered XL large to be safe... They would probably fit a small - maybe.

The shirts themselves were made of some sort of semi-stretchy material, and the print designs were crappy - nothing like the photos, and definitely not something I'd wear.

I mean you get what you pay for, so there's that. I chalked it off as a bad decision, and put the shirts in the Goodwill. Maybe somebody has a small kid, who would think they were cool...?

I read that if you wanted to compare automotive insurance rate, try this service. Supposedly, it not just a data gathering site, but would actually provide quotes. I input my info, and about 10 different companies popped with potential quotes. Of those, only one gave and actual quote. All this rest listed the exact same coverage and amounts, and if you wanted more details you had to click on "Quote". Well, then that takes you to that particular insurance company's site, where you have to input all your info again. You are able to change the amount of coverage on The Zebra, which affects the broad quotes - and I was able to improve the coverage, and increase the price, as expected. But - the price I was given, with the closest approximate coverage, was $100 more per month than I'm currently paying. I have yet to find any auto insurance company who has been able to beat USAA's prices and coverage.

If you plan to set up and sell merchandize through Etsy's or any other "store" platform, you are at their mercy, and they may or may not explain why they shut your store down. I'm a newbie with Etsy, and had only created a listings. Then with no warning what-so-ever, my account was suspended. When I clicked through to contact customer service, of course speaking with a "person" is not an option. I had to fill out their little form for an inquiry, and was told I'd have to wait up to a week for a response. So, there I sit...

What's scary about this is, what if I had succeeded and was selling regularly through my Etsy store, and boom - the store is gone. Not for minutes or and hour or so, but for days, or even a week?! Can you imagine the damage that would do to your momentum and credibility?!

Etsy did respond today to let me know all was well with my store, but didn't tell me why they shut it down. If I did something wrong I'd like to know, so I don't do it again. The more products I load, the more opportunity there may be for me to violate one of their policies.

Using a platform of this nature is the best and most cost effective means of getting up and running, but that easy comes at price - you're not in control. The folks who are, are too busy building their business to worry about how their actions may affect your piddly little store. If they suspend your account by accident or even legitimately... Whoops, it sucks to be you!

This site does background checks on people. Marketing itself as the best and most thorough.

Not so much

I joined the site with one of their trial plans, where I paid a nominal fee to have access to their site for a short period of time.

I did a search of myself. What I found was mis-information, and no way to correct it. Much like the credit repositories, they throw out a net and gather all this info on individuals and then it's up to the individual to find it and correct it. But, to correct it, you have to buy a premium membership. So, obviously, accuracy is not that important.

What MyLife does is assign a score to you - the higher the score the better quality person you are? - I guess?!

So, my score was pretty decent, but it was getting knocked down by my "sleezy" associations, I guess. So, I looked at who they were associating me with, and I believe only one was accurate. Almost all were neighbors. Of the neighbors listed, two are dead, and have been dead for a while, one I have never heard of and doesn't live on my street, one I wave to occasionally, and the rest I don't interact with at all. Yet, these folks are being used as associates of mine, and affecting my score'!

Just keep that in mind before you pay for any information.

OK, WOW is no different than any other cable service provider - they know the shell game really well, so they don't really care once you're a customer. They are currently charging me $45 per month, while providing me a whopping 65mbps service, even though their third tier service is $29.99 for 100mbps! And for $49.99 per month I could have 500mbps! When I called to ask about our crappy service, their response was - you have a contract. I said, "So, you're encouraging me to switch service providers - there's nothing you can do?" Their response, "You have a contract. Thank you for trusting WOW." Keep in mind my contract ends in a month... Oh, and I have been with WOW for for over 25 years. They're so focused on the shell game, they place no value on existing cuatomers.

I was shopping for an impact wrench, and up popped one of those foldable ladders. Something we were considering buying for my pa-n-law. I clicked on it, and it fit the bill, plus it was discounted from $149 to $89 - even better.

I added it to my cart, and proceeded to check out. Road block - I couldn't pick it up, it had to be delivered. I thought that was odd - I didn't even know they delivered, but OK.

In checking out, the request your phone number so they can nag you with offers, I gave 'em my landline (which I never use), and checked out.

I was delivered the next day - Great!

A week later, I checked my phone messages. Crap - Lowes had left a message verifying that I knew the delivery fee would be $59 bucks, for an $89 dollar item and to return their call if I didn't want it.

Then I thought I better check my bank account - they charged me a $94 dollar delivery fee!
Are you kidding me?!

Keep in mind the store it came from is 5.2 miles away, or 12 minutes. That 12 minute delivery equates to an hourly rate of $470 bucks!

For any of the big-box stores who can't figure out why consumers are flocking to Amazon it's because of bullsh** like this. I will never, ever buy anything from Lowes again - never!

After having 4 of these cameras in operation for about 10 months, I'm still relatively happy with being able to use them to see what's going on around m home. But, they tend to lose their connection, forcing e to power cycle them. Which makes using them to keep an eye on things when you're away, or recording events impossible. They're inexpensive and super easy to install. But, if they're unreliable all the positives slip away.

We have been ordering pet supplies from Chewy for several years now. And to be honest, there have been a few bumps along the road. But they have always resolved any issues with the intent of assuring the customer's concerns are addressed while minimizing any inconvenience to the customer. And when you place an order, they are on it! If you don't get notified that your package is on the way the day you placed the order, you will the next day! Their prices are generally very competitive. They clearly understand a happy customer is a repeat customer!

Never, ever - ever upload 'search.anysearchmanager.com' or 'anysearchmanager.com' as it is essentially a virus that you can't get rid of without 3rd party help. I accidentally uploaded it, when I uploaded another program, that this damned thing was attached to as an add-on. I absentmindedly was clicking through the upload process when I realized had I just clicked to upload this program. I couldn't stop it, and since then have been unsuccessful it removing it from my computer. I have followed their guidelines - which work only temporarily, and have found other steps to remove it, but have yet to succeed in getting rid of it. It keeps coming back!

Placed an order for delivery. The order arrived and we enjoyed the ice cream products. But, when cleaning up the paper bowls, I was surprised to discover they had placed a small container of ice cream inside a larger one. We didn't notice it because it was kinda messy, but we rinse everything out really well so the containers can be recycled. It's all good, as the smaller container had enough sugar to put one into shock, but it was just shady. Next time you order Cold Stone, make sure you're getting what you paid for...

Wow - after going back and forth with Xfinity for a couple of weeks, they see no problem billing somebody for services and failing to provide the proper equipment to access those services. From their reps perspective, streaming services were accessible through other devices whether they has the correct TV box and remote or not. They're not accepting any responsibility at all. Keep in mind we're talking about a couple 90 years old who don't understand streaming at all, don't have a clue about how to use a DVR and use their TV and only their TV to watch television programs. For over two years Xfinity has been billing these 90 year olds $300 per month, and never made sure they had the proper equipment to access streaming services on their TV. And I'm learning this lack of concern for their customers is fairly common - at least in our area. Xfinity/Comcast takes care of their officers and their shareholders - their customers seem to be a necessary evil they have to put up with.

After years of being an Amazon Prime member - buying and returning items with no problem, we have noticed a disturbing trend in the last six months. After issuing a credit, they have re-billed the amount credited stating they never received the return. Of course, the burden of proof is on us, and we have had to gather the pertinent information, make a call, and provided proof of our return. Coincidentally, it appears the returns that have been questioned have often been returned to Whole Foods, Kohl's, or the return was shipped to a local warehouse. The point of this post is to be aware! Amazon appears to be losing its focus on customer service.

We recently booked an inter-island cruise through Norwegian Cruise lines.

First, I should point out, this cruise was just my second cruise and I haven't cruised since COVID-19 struck. So I don't have a good basis for determining whether or not Norwegian is the only cruise line having issues.

My first cruise was very well organized, while this cruise on Norwegian seemed to be somewhat haphazard. The cafeteria food was not good. Some of the "restaurant" food was very good, but the wait time for seating and the service was super slow. Waiting to be seated was as long as 1 ½ hours. Once seated it usually took close to 3 hours to finish dinner.

In one instance, the salmon entree was described as white fish… When I asked if that was a type-o the waiter had no clue, but asked me what color salmon was. It did end up being salmon, and quite good.

Another thing we found unusual, was their tendency to close all eateries. We would go ashore for an excursion booked through Norwegian, and return to learn the cafeteria was closed from 4:00 to 5:30. Most cruises keep a pizza place ad burger place open at all times. There was one small cafeteria that we were told stayed open, but we never confirmed that. And it was so small, if a ¼ of the folks went there after an excursion, they would have been swamped.

We had the drink package but found getting a drink at most bars difficult. If you were lucky enough to place an order, you could wait another 10-15 minutes to receive the drink, which was usually quite weak. After waiting a good 15 minutes at one bar, I order a vodka-tonic. After another 10 minutes, I was handed the drink. I think they used regular water to make the drink. It was nasty. I returned the drink to the bar and told them to toss it. Usually, I wouldn't have done that, but after several days of receiving poor bar service, and weak drinks I was done.

The next day, we sat down at another bar. After 20 minutes, the bartender looked up and said he'd be right with us. Then we watched him leave to take his lunch break.

Most cruises assign a room steward to your room who generally identifies themselves and makes themselves available to help. Not Norwegian. We had no clue who our porter was - it saved us a tip, as we weren't going to tip a ghost.

The night before debarkation, we inquired whether or not the elevators would be operating. We were assured they would be, and we were free to carry our own luggage if we chose to. Which we did, rather than set our luggage out the night before. What they didn't tell us, is several passageways would be blocked. So, to get to the debarking level we had to take an elevator down below the debarking level, then switch elevators to go back up. This clearly caught many by surprise, as many passengers had to do the same thing as we were.

Oh, and the entertainment… That was painful. They had a singer who had an OK voice, but she was not an entertainer. She basically stood there and sang. The advertising said she would cover Celine Deon, as well as others. But, she didn't sing a Celine song. She covered a song that Celine sang in her Vegas show. So, she covered, a cover…?! The comedian wasn't funny, at all. Her timing was off, her storytelling was iffy and there really weren't any punch lines. We figured we'd give her the benefit of the doubt, as she was offering a raunchy comedy show, as well. So, we figured maybe she was used to that and had tried to tone down her first show. Eh, the raunchy show sucked too.

I was traveling with several people who have substantial cruise experience with other cruise lines and they were all complaining about how poorly organized Norwegian was. My wife and a couple of others on this trip will be taking another cruise in March, so we'll see if the staffing issues may be the underlying cause. Though we did hear several of the crew complain about how poorly Norwegian treats their crew. And we did run into several crew members with 30 days or less experience on a cruise.

My only recommendation is, for Norwegian to have their management staff take cruises on other cruise lines to learn how to organize a cruise. By the way, this was not an inexpensive cruise. Though Norwegian was definitely cutting corners. Again, the food, drinks, accommodations, staffing, and entertainment were all underwhelming!

As I previously mentioned, I received notice that my package was available for pickup, because it couldn't be delivered for some weird reason. So, I rearranged my work schedule so I could get by the USPS to pick up the package. When I approached the counter, I told the attendant that I thought there was a package for me, and gave here the tracking information. She rolled her eyes and said,"I'll go look, but I know it's not here. They do this all the time..." As she walked away. After about a solid 10 minutes or more, she returned to tell me the package was out for delivery. And she basically said, in the future just ignore those messages. The item I was waiting for I needed for work, and had a value of about $200. So, I really didn't want it laying around somewhere. Anyway, that late afternoon the package was delivered to my residence. Why it was flagged as an exception, and stated it was available for pickup remains a mystery...

I finally did get my printer to work, so all was good! For a couple of days. I woke Sunday and my WiFi was gone. After some checking, I verified the internet service was fine, but my WiFi was completely gone. I had to start from scratch and reinstall the Orbing. I discovered that the Orbi will only recognize the default WiFi that comes with the device. I had to add my network as a guest network, instead of the primary network. Which is irritating, because I assume that many purchaser of this product received the same Network Name, and password - but for now I'm just happy to have WiFi back. I had to install my WiFi printer using their default info, too. This experience has made me realize why I ought to continue to hard wire my primary devices. WiFi is too unpredictable.