Bees, Smoke, Knitting, and Cell Phones

Did you know in addition to the garden at the White House, there is a Beehive, too? How cool is that?

Is it possible that big business doesn't own as much of the country as they used to?
Despite the influence of the credit card industry, we passed a law to protect consumers from unfair rate hikes and abusive fees. Despite the influence of banks and lenders, we passed a law to protect homeowners from mortgage fraud. Despite the influence of the defense industry, we passed a law to protect taxpayers from waste and abuse in defense contracting. And today, despite decades of lobbying and advertising by the tobacco industry, we've passed a law to help protect the next generation of Americans from growing up with a deadly habit that so many of our generation have lived with.-Barrack ObamaKnitting is happening....I've frogged and restarted yet another baby thing...this time a vest. Still working on the athletic socks for Third Son....plus all the other gently snoring items. I still don't feel settled in since returning home. No routine established as Youngest Daughter's hours change with the ring of the phone.

We did save $300 yesterday. I had a really nice Motorola Razor phone that got water damaged quite awhile ago. After income taxes came back this year, we paid our $50 to the insurance company in late March, got the new phone via FedEx, sent the old phone back, activated the new phone, took the new phone back to the store as it didn't work. They replaced it and everything was great. Till a bill showed up on our phone statement for $300 for the phone! Carrier said the insurance company never received the phone. We couldn't remember if we FedExed it or erroneously dropped in a mail box. So we were prepared to pay for the $300.

I had to get a paper copy of our bill at the phone store and the gentleman advised me not to pay for the phone until everything was settled. "It happens all the time, and generally it's not the customer's error." He gave me the serial number of the "lost" phone.

Yesterday, Youngest Daughter called the insurance company. Myrtle said, "Oh, yes, we have the phone, received it in early April." Next was the fight between the carrier and the insurance agency on who was billing us for the lost phone. Myrtle said they'd just bill our credit card. Carrier said they can't do that, and if we bill for a lost phone it's a standard $175, not $300. Another call to insurance company and Kaitlyn assured us that the paper work would be submitted to carrier so they could remove the $300 from our bill. Let's hope she's right.

It pays to fight back sometimes! One has to wonder if it was a simple clerical error, or as the carrier employee said, "This happens all the time," and it's a way for the carrier to make some extra money. Yes, I am cynical, and don't trust big business at all....