Monday, October 09, 2017

$$$ SAGA -- TRIBUTES-TRAGEDY -- RTE 66 CONVOY

CLAIM DENIAL UPDATE

Collecting monies we’re due often seems unduly complicated.  For example,  I sometimes wonder if there’s a legitimate rationale behind some claim rejections, or if a  denial is merely the first step of an automatic process deliberately designed to wear down a claimant’s will.    Often with a denial the claimant is told they may appeal as a next step.  Sometimes even that appeal may be denied and a further appeal may be necessary.    This requires even more action which some claimants may tire of expending their time and effort on, so they just don’t bother following-up.  
    
However, on general principle, I did appeal two denials when I was awarded only a partial amount of a full claim I filed after a first denial earlier this year as described in my June “Gift Card Saga” post.     
UPDATED RECAP GIFT CARD SAGA RESOLUTION

1)  I purchased $200 USPS insurance to cover several gift cards totaling $205; mailed to arrive before Mother’s Day; never delivered, received, or redeemed by anyone.

2)  I filed a claim in mid/late May for $55 – the amount of two businesses that could not or would not void the balances on the unredeemed cards and reissue replacements, unlike the other two businesses I had contacted, so I didn’t file those amounts but did report what I had done.                                                         
3)  June I received a check for only $17.67 USPS claim settlement which I appealed.

4)  July my appeal was denied but was advised I could appeal further up chain of command which I did, asking for either the difference or an explanation of how only the partial amount I was awarded had been determined. 

5)  Oct. I received a check for the balance of my claim $37.33; no explanation.

Note my time and effort required because the full amount of my claim wasn’t honored when first filed.  I might well have not pursued this due to the small amount when my life was so busy years earlier before I retired because.....

-- I successfully had to make multiple phone calls, await call backs over time, obtaining from two businesses transference of the full unused card balances to new accounts; unsuccessfully doing so with other two cards due to their systems. 

--  Meanwhile, also unreimbursed was my time, energy, postage to prepare the claim, copy required documentation.  

--  Indirect costs also were incurred for employee(s) processing the claim whose salaries are paid for from my insurance and postage monies – perhaps this contributes to postage rate increases.   

I wonder what sort of experiences others may have had claiming monies due them that they have been denied?  


TRIBUTES -- TRAGEDY

Fall is trying to make an appearance here in Southern California inland where I live.  What that means is our daytime highs are in the 80’s now.  Some dry winds, referred to as Santa Ana’s,   will be blowing in from the desert east of us.   I’d surely welcome some rain, but perhaps later. 

Lots of tributes in our Los Angeles area news to lives lost, those injured, loved ones sorrow,  stories of ordinary people becoming heroes  by exhibiting extraordinary valor during the Las Vegas atrocity (see previous post.)   So many folks attending the ill-fated Route 91 Harvest Festival were from Southern California.

I’m left to wonder what measures, if any, will be taken by our Congress and this Administration to address the stranglehold commercial gun interests have on our nation?   Action is avoided under the guise of protecting Second Amendment rights as the mindless killing continues in the U.S. – which we experience in greater numbers than in most other nations whose people also value life as well as freedom, but  have addressed the gun issue, unlike the U.S.  
     
Puerto Ricans continue to cope with life threatening situations for so many without power, communications, water and food reportedly due to distribution problems inland on the island.    Our Prez’s visit there recently and his behavior -- tossing token  paper towel rolls  to residents which had a “let them eat cake” quality – said and did little to cause me to think he had the slightest bit of empathy, compassion,  understanding, or caring for these U.S.  citizens dire situation.   Island residents are not eligible to vote there, so I couldn’t help wondering if this had any bearing on what has seemed to be an attitude of not even a modicum of concern for those in need ..... in addition to what some perceive as his disdain for those of some other cultures and people of little means?  


ROUTE 66 CONVOY

Living near U.S. Route 66 which extends from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California my attention was captured recently when I read a military convoy (MVPA) would be travelling that “Mother Road” -- as author John Steinbeck described this highway in his novel “The Grapes of Wrath” later made into a movie.   

That original Route 66 launched the nation’s first Federal highway system in 1926 by the Bureau of Public Roads.   Researching this Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA) I learned:

"World War II caused a marked decline in civilian and tourist traffic, but it stimulated new business along U.S. 66, when it acted as a military transport corridor moving troops and supplies from one military reservation to another.  Motels saw an increase in occupancy, as families of servicemen stationed at military bases stayed for long stretches.  But more significantly, Route 66 facilitated perhaps the single greatest wartime mobilization, as thousands of job seekers headed to California, Oregon and Washington to work in defense plants.” 

I recall my husband’s sometimes humorous stories about a driving adventure  he and a couple of his buddies made from Ohio to Chicago to head west across the country on Route 66.  Coincidentally, twenty plus years later he and I would move to California to settle just north of that fabled highway (called Foothill Blvd. here) and where I still live.   My husband said when they drove much of the area into Los Angeles,  citrus orchards abounded on both sides of the road – primarily oranges, lemons – long since replaced with housing construction, strip malls, businesses, burgeoning city populations, numerous nearby colleges and universities.

This convoy description reports: 

“Established in 1976, the non-profit MVPA is dedicated to providing an international organization for military vehicle enthusiasts, historians, preservationists and collectors interested in the acquisition, restoration, preservation, safe operation and public education of historic military transport.”   

Among the key points of this 2,300 mile Convoy is this statement: 

“No weapons (real or otherwise) will be allowed on Convoy vehicles.”

The military convoy travelling Route 66 through our city likely will pass through here Friday, October 13 following a “Rest Day” in Barstow, CA east of here Thursday, October 12.  Their next stop Friday is expected to be In Irwindale, CA west of here before continuing Saturday to their final destination in Santa Monica.    Apparently there is no planned stop in my city.    I haven’t even read about or heard any mention of their passing through here, so I’m curious to see what develops.     


Talented jazz musician Nat King Cole accompanies himself on piano as he sings "Route 66"

c



24 comments:

  1. A military convoy on Route 66 seems a bit odd. In my state they travel on major highways when they move equipment around for training every year. Is it a commemorative trip of some kind?

    I've never had the experience you've had with trying to get your money back on unused gift cards. But I could believe they routinely give partials hoping people won't bother to follow through to get the full refund.

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    1. This convoy is not made up of military troops per se, but people who collect military vehicles. They do periodically hold memorial convoys which are described on their web site link, such as one they held for the anniversary of the Alaska Hwy construction. The current convoy commemorates and follows the original Route 66 Hwy — our nation’s first Federal Hwy — described in my post and on that link.

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  2. I think you're exactly right that claims are automatically denied with the idea that maybe the claimant will then just go away. It's the old "Squeaky Wheel" Philosophy at work. If you had a social media account, a la Twitter or FB, you could also start damaging their reputation online, and that would get a response as well. Sigh.

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    1. I do have social,media accounts (FB & LI) but chose years ago to not use them further as the former, especially, lacked emphasizing the kind of privacy oversight I thought was needed in their rush to monetize. The latter lost appeal to me as I no longer was networking since I was retiring. Mentioning my recent experience on my blog is enough for me.

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  3. No Santa Ana winds here NEAR Santa Ana. Although it was breezy on Sunday. Loving this fall weather (cooler evenings, nice breeze.)...but will miss the summer weather when it's officially gone.

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    1. I haven’t noticed those Santa Ana winds here either, so far. Hope they lay low as TV news reports serious fires here in So Cal devouring homes in the Anaheim Hills area. Glad no concerns where you are.

      Understand Northern Calif. also experiencing serious fires in Wine Country due to their dry weather conditions.

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  4. What a wonderful entry. Yes, there are still many memorials here too. So sorry about the cards. I send checks or cash now.

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    1. With the final refund check I did recoup my expenditure. I just sent the cards on a whim since I knew they liked the eating establishments and I wanted to do something different. Live and learn.

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  5. You hit on a lot of items so I'll just choose the one about making a claim. A few years ago my kids put on a new deck for me. It was a Xmas gift to myself and from them... I would pay for the materials and they would do the work. When it was done I bought a stain that was recommended by Lowes and found it was terrible. I really didn't have a claim except that I hated the looks. Of course Lowes would not reimburse me so I took pictures of it and sent them and a note direct to the manufacturer and asked for help to get rid of how it looked, etc. I think I paid about $40 for the stain. I didn't hear anything for almost 3 months and then one day I got a check in the mail from them for $150 with no letter of explanation !!! I waited until I saw that the check went through and then sent up a silent "thank you" ...

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    1. That’s really interesting that the manufacturer responded with such a refund.

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  6. I have had similar problems, it's like they think you are trying to cheat them even though it clearly didn't track and you have proof.

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    1. That does seem to be the message conveyed since I did provide all the pertinent documentation in the original claim.

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  7. I am impressed you held their feet to the fire an got your money. They make the process so exhausting so that most people will just give up. You go girl.

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  8. I've only ever made two insurance claims, with very different results. The first was a claim for a written-off car. The claim took nine months, during which time the car was broken into and then stolen, which meant they ended up paying me a lot more than the original claim. Then by mistake they also overpaid me part of the claim. If they'd dealt with it in a few weeks, they would have saved themselves a lot of money. The second claim was for a replacement boiler flue, which was dealt with at top speed!

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    1. Quite a contrast in how claims are handled. I really have to wonder why some insurers make the process so complicated, then as you note, doing so cost them more because of their own delay. Meanwhile, the claimant can really be in a bind if the claim is a sizeable amount and they need the funds.

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  9. Well currently I have a car which I didn't order and a series of blogpost which I linked to Toyota Head Office. I had moved up 2 rungs of the ladder on the exec chain as per today's email from them. I'm not holding my breath but my fingers are poised over my Twitter button armed and dangerous to name and shame them.

    XO
    WWW

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    1. Hope Toyota powers-that-be listen and respond by seeing you receive the car you ordered.

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    2. Good luck!
      Cop Car

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    3. You are a very smart and observant person! I learn a lot from you!

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  10. stupid Trump will do nothing about guns. He's doing the bare minimum with PR, and yesterday said he met with the President of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Dumb arss, YOU ARE the president of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Trump will be the death of me yet. LOL

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  11. "I’m left to wonder what measures, if any, will be taken by our Congress and this Administration to address the stranglehold commercial gun interests have on our nation?"

    An eclectic post. The mere fact that you wonder about what a Republican congress and a Republican president will do about gun control suggests that you are more optimistic than I because I think that the extent of it will be that they won't legalize silencers, which is what they were preparing to do before the Vegas shootings.

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    1. I was being a bit sarcastic with such a query but considered it might be food for thought.

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