Friday, 11 April 2014

By on April 11th, 2014 in personal

08:17 – Yesterday was one of those days when nothing goes right. I tried to print our federal tax forms duplexed. The printer sat there with the receiving data LED blinking for about four or five minutes and then just did nothing. I checked the print queue. There was nothing in the queue and the printer status showed ready. So I sent the job again. Same deal. So I sent the job to the other laser printer. Same deal. So I tried sending it non-duplexed to the first printer. Again, five minutes of waiting and then the job just disappeared with nothing printed. So I tried printing just the first page. Again, I waited five minutes or so with the receiving data LED blinking. This time, the printer actually printed a page but when I looked at it it was just a box with a data overflow error.

So I called Barbara at work and asked if she could print the forms there if I emailed them to her. I did that, and she sent them off to her printer. The printer spat them out, but when she looked at them they were just the blank forms, with none of our data filled in. Okay, obviously the problem was okular, the PDF reader supplied with Linux Mint. So I installed Acrobat Reader on my computer and called up the completed 1040 form. No user data were visible in the fields, so I started over using Acrobat Reader to fill in the blank 1040 form. I saved the form and sent it to the printer, where it printed normally. Geez.

By this time it was almost 5:00. I checked my email and found a message from AmEx alerting me to suspicious charges on my card. So I called them and learned that someone had tried to put a $2,700 charge on my card at Best Buy. I told them that I hadn’t made that charge, along with a couple of others that had been made that day. They said they’d refused those charges anyway, but my card had been compromised (yet again…) and so they were voiding it and sending me a new one.

I decided to bag work for the day. Barbara got home from the gym and we had dinner. Then Frances called about 8:30 to say that she’d gotten a message about the tests that the doctor had done Monday on their mom. Sankie has a Streptococcus pyogenes (hemolytic streptococcus) infection, and the doctor had phoned in a prescription, presumably for penicillin. Frances had already had a long day, and wondered if she could wait until this morning to pick up the prescription rather than going to the pharmacy to pick it up and take it over to her mother immediately. I told her that, given her mom’s very frail physical condition and the potential severe risks of an S. pyogenes infection, she really should get her mom on the antibiotic as soon as possible. So Frances drove over to the 24-hour pharmacy to pick up the prescription and take it to her mother. She called back a little while later to say that the doctor had phoned the prescription in to the wrong pharmacy, one that was already closed. So she’s headed over to that pharmacy this morning and then delivering the prescription to her mom. At this point, I’m thinking about applying for a DEA number so that I can write my own damned prescriptions.


34 Comments and discussion on "Friday, 11 April 2014"

  1. bgrigg says:

    Just leaving a comment to see if there is a little black dot or if it’s just confined to Thursday’s comments.

    edit: no little black dot. Maybe the little black dot on Thursday was Bob’s tax form condensed and distributed around his website?

  2. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    Hmmm. No black dot. I have no idea what caused that.

  3. OFD says:

    That sounds like the days described by Jerry Pournelle, as “devoured by locusts.” We had similar here yesterday, too; lots of stupid things gone wrong and creating problems and time lost.

    Meanwhile this morning the job search just got kicked into high gear; I now have three good possibles on the fire and phone calls/interviews scheduled again. Two thirty miles south back at Big Blue again and one again local, just three miles. Unusual for a Friday; normally no one does a lick of work on this day, in my experience. Ditto for the summers up here; try and get anything like this done then.

    56 and sunny with blue skies, no wind. 64 tomorrow, they say. Postmistress had informed me that it doesn’t warm up here in the bay village until ice-out anyway.

  4. Jim B says:

    I had a similar problem with Okular on Mint 14 KDE. Read that it stores the fill data separate from the form file. If I move the filled pdf file to another folder or to another computer, the linkage is broken. Moving the file back (in my experience) does not fix things. For practical purposes, the fill data are lost.

    I also solved this by using the hated, proprietary Adobe Reader, which I have’t used on Windows for over a decade. It can apparently make a proper pdf file, which can be stored and moved anywhere. It also supports signatures, which Okular does not.

    This is another reason why my Windows-using friends tell me desktop Linux will never be widely adopted. As Jerry reminds, freedom is not free.

  5. Lynn McGuire says:

    So Frances drove over to the 24-hour pharmacy to pick up the prescription and take it to her mother. She called back a little while later to say that the doctor had phoned the prescription in to the wrong pharmacy, one that was already closed.

    Yup, this is why I use Walgreens now. 9,000 locations across the USA and most of them open 24×7. Ours is busy, busy, busy and they usually have three people running all the time.

    At this point, I’m thinking about applying for a DEA number so that I can write my own damned prescriptions.

    Tell me why we have a DEA again?

  6. Lynn McGuire says:

    By this time it was almost 5:00. I checked my email and found a message from AmEx alerting me to suspicious charges on my card. So I called them and learned that someone had tried to put a $2,700 charge on my card at Best Buy. I told them that I hadn’t made that charge, along with a couple of others that had been made that day. They said they’d refused those charges anyway, but my card had been compromised (yet again…) and so they were voiding it and sending me a new one.

    I have no idea how to fix credit card fraud but it needs to be fixed. Now. Issuing you a new card is not a fix, that is a patch. And those smartcards don’t work over the intertubes so that is not a fix either.

  7. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    I asked the AmEx guy why they didn’t issue one-time-use card numbers to prevent this kind of thing. He said they used to do that but stopped because the security issues were even more of a problem.

  8. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    Black dot test…

  9. OFD says:

    “Tell me why we have a DEA again?”

    Or most of government. I’m with Bob on this one; cut it down to the marrow and then cut it some more.

    Oh but “muh roads!” Read Walter Block on roads.

    “… desktop Linux will never be widely adopted.”

    Agreed. Sad but true. Too many frigging problems and issues for the average user, although it must be said that Windows has/had its share. We are seriously considering rolling back this machine to Win7 Ultimate. I had that for two years before with nary a problem and now with 8 we’re running into more issues and “challenges” and losing functionality that we had before, as with our all-in-one printer, really basic stuff. It started out OK but has deteriorated for some reason, so I’m in the process of backing up .exe files (mainly for reinstalls of apps) and documents and media now.

    But I now have two laptops, two desktops and a netbook all running Linux, plus the Kindle Fire HD. And Mrs. OFD has the Droid, which also has had problems, but then so has my iPhone, the latter, though, easily solvable so fah.

    The Mrs. will be off later to once again retrieve daughter from Montreal for the weekend; the latter is wrapping up her year and exams; what are her summuh plans? Dunno yet, but it sure ain’t gonna be another tour of the Continent at our expense and fun and games all over hell. Mom already told her she’s gotta work. We’ll see how that pans out.

  10. Lynn McGuire says:

    Dunno yet, but it sure ain’t gonna be another tour of the Continent at our expense and fun and games all over hell. Mom already told her she’s gotta work.

    That is just mean.

  11. rick says:

    I have no idea how to fix credit card fraud but it needs to be fixed. Now. Issuing you a new card is not a fix, that is a patch. And those smartcards don’t work over the intertubes so that is not a fix either.

    All online financial transactions should have two factor authentication. My bank, Ebay and Paypal use the Symantec VIP smartphone app which provides a 6 digit code on my smartphone which changes every 30 seconds. They offer similar key fob devices. I have to enter that code to log in. Google has a similar app for their services. Bank of America sends me a code by text message. The inconvenience is worth the added security. Somebody could have my user name and password, but could not log into my account unless they had my phone as well. While I suspect there are ways around this, it adds an additional layer of security. I think that any site that doesn’t offer more than password authentication is negligent and should be liable for any losses.

    In the last 30+ years, I have been the subject of financial fraud twice. In the early ’80’s, my wife and I went to Miami. The only time we used our card on the trip was to rent a car at the airport. When I got my statement, there was a $400 charge for perfume. I called my bank and told them it was fraudulent. They asked me if I was sure. I told them to look at my charge history. I had never (and still have never) bought $10 worth of perfume, let alone $400. I told them that the fraud happened at the rental car counter. I also called the Miami police to report it. Neither the bank nor the police were interested in following up. About ten years ago, two charges appeared on my card for train tickets purchased at an automated machine in Italy totaling about $50. I called the bank and, again, they asked me if I was sure they weren’t mine. I told them the last time I was in Italy was in 1971, but I would gladly pay the charges if they wanted to pay my way to Italy to investigate. The bastards declined my offer.

    Rick in Portland

  12. Lynn McGuire says:

    I asked the AmEx guy why they didn’t issue one-time-use card numbers to prevent this kind of thing. He said they used to do that but stopped because the security issues were even more of a problem.

    So instead of 16 digits we would get 32 digits for one time use? Yuck for usage on the intertubes. And I guess that they would give us the one time use card generator device.

  13. Ray Thompson says:

    I have been the subject of financial fraud twice.

    I have been victimized several times. In all cases the charges were blocked because they fell outside of my pattern or were in a foreign country. Not sure how the CC companies determine my pattern. Foreign is easy to block and had that happen several times as none of my cards will work outside the country. When I travel to Europe I have to have the cards unblocked for the specific countries and the dates I am traveling.

    I also have a text message sent to my phone for every card transaction, approved or not. I know when there is suspicious activity. One card I had not used for six months and charged some show tickets at a resort. Within hours had a transaction blocked from some foreign country whose name escapes me. I went back to the resort and pitched a fit that someone in the resort was stealing card numbers. The resort did not care in the least. I told them that whoever did my transaction stole my card number and should be terminated immediately or reported to the police. They just said that is not going to happen and I had no proof that the card was stolen as my text message was not relevant.

    I use Discover almost exclusively. Largely because they overnighted me a card with Saturday delivery when I reported a card stolen at about 10:30PM on Friday. Did that for no extra charge. VISA took a week. Discover used to issue one time numbers and I used those any time I ordered on the web. For some reason Discover stopped issuing the numbers and stated that no one would liable for any fraudulent transactions.

    I do have a card with a chip in the card to use in Europe. Not a solution to the CC problem but certainly helps when using a terminal. Using the card online works just as easily as a card with a stripe so I see no real benefit.

    Two factor authentication is the way to go. Either some type of security key such as Paypal uses (I have one), or a text message to a phone with a response required using the PIN. There could even be an app on the phone that gets the request and answers with no intervention. Having both the card and the phone is probably fairly high probability that you are the person owning the card.

    I also check the terminals at gas pumps and ATMs to see if there is a skimmer. Many pumps now have blinking lights so you know that the terminal is real. No skimmer would have enough battery power to run a light for very long. I don’t use ATMs much and prefer to just go to Walmart and get cash back to avoid exchange fees.

    Unless something is done CC fraud is only going to get worse, not better.

  14. Ray Thompson says:

    So instead of 16 digits we would get 32 digits for one time use?

    When I got a one time use number with Discover it was always 16 digits.

  15. JLP says:

    “… I’m thinking about applying for a DEA number …”

    In the past I worked on developing a line of DOA (Drugs of Abuse) tests. The company had a license to possess all the fun and nasty stuff for research and to make positive calibrators. We were regularly visited by the DEA for inspections. It would always be two guys, one older one younger. They would walk in guns holstered but prominently displayed and say “Take me to your drug safe”. We were not to delay and would take them directly to the drug safe so they could look at the logs and check the inventory. Very matter-of-fact, no joking. Serious business.

    The company I now work for (we make biologic pharmaceuticals) just had an FDA inspection readiness meeting. Since we have some new filings we expect an FDA visit sometime soon. During the meeting we were told don’t be surprised if the agents are armed.

    Now I can understand DEA agents being armed. Things could get nasty if someone was found to be personally sampling that inventory, but FDA agents? It seems like every federal agency is busy arming as many of their employees as possible.

  16. OFD says:

    It truly is amazing to see which Fed agencies and organizations now arm their employees; while also ordering up zillions of rounds of the usual crunchenticker cop ammo: 9mm and .40.

    Well, they say an armed society is a polite society; howzabout all us civvies out here arm up just as good if not better than the Feds from now on? AR rifles, 12-gauge semi-auto shotguns, sniper rigs, etc., with selective-fire capability on the rifles.

  17. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    I wish I could, but I’ve lost all of mine.

  18. Jim B says:

    I seem to have lost all of my guns about the time I lost my mind. Guess this was prophetic, because nowadays being insane is grounds for forfeiting the right to own firearms 🙂

    Re Linux: I really like Mint, especially the community. Problems with the OS are usually dealt with quickly. Bravo, Clem. Before Mint, I used to use Mepis, another good but underappreciated distro. Main difference is the size of the community. Popularity equates with more eyeballs and brains, leading to quicker solutions. Too bad for Mepis, I really used to like it. I do keep an eye on it, and will probably try the next major revision.

    I still have most of my troubles with applications, on both Linux and Windows. When I search for solutions to Linux app problems, I often come up with years-old postings with no effective solutions. When I look for solutions to Windows app problems, I usually find very recent posts with effective solutions. Many of the posters are in business, and it seems they have a mandate to make things work.

    I am also a volunteer, and sometimes try to figure out how to motivate people who serve for pleasure. Without a profit motive, it is really hard. This also must apply to the Linux volunteer community. I really admire the energy and dedication of those who contribute so much. Wish there were more of them.

  19. OFD says:

    “…nowadays being insane is grounds for forfeiting the right to own firearms :-)”

    Also being a combat vet with any diagnosis of possible PTSD. But they can kiss my combat vet ass.

    Agreed on all counts, Jim B. I would just add that the Linux solutions and communities are out there, but mainly on the enterprise-level stuff; with desktops it seems to depend on the distro; Fedora community has been good, as have the RHEL groups. Ubuntu and clones less so, with problem/issue solutions all over the map, and as you say, often pretty old. RH has to maintain and grow their business and Fedora is their playpen/sandbox, so I’ve found people are really up to date on stuff. Beyond that, actually.

    Mrs. OFD finally off to retrieve daughter, only five or so hours past when the original lift-off was scheduled, pah for the course here. So now they won’t get back here until at least 9 PM, and then everyone will be exhausted and fall out. Then there will be a whirlwind of mandated activities all weekend, followed by driving her back to Montreal, all of this to be repeated next weekend.

    Today has also been devoured by locusts…

  20. ech says:

    I use Discover almost exclusively.

    They are rat bastards. They caused my mom a bunch of headaches after my dad died. Like sending her to collection with no warning whatsoever. First we heard of it was when a collection agency started calling. We managed to stall them and eventually they got what they deserved. Nothing.

    I took the first call from the collection agency. I asked why I should believe they were legit and was told “but we’re a law firm”. I replied that since they were a law firm I had more reason to suspect fraud. They got really huffy. I told them never to call again since we had no debt with them, just an allegation that they were collecting a debt from a third party. I told them that if they called again I’d file complaints with the FTC for violations of the various credit laws. I also said I’d call our friend, an editor at the local paper, so they could write a “poor widow being harassed by shady collectors” story. And see if we could get it on TV for sweeps. Eventually we got a letter from Discover saying they had handed the debt off to this law firm. We then told them to deal with the estate attorney. In the end, the estate attorney deluged them with documentation demands (for free! He had dealt with them and hated them.) and they gave up. If they had done nothing, they would have been paid off within a year.

    A friend has a software company that sells a package for debt collection by attorneys, mostly for small firms that handle lawsuit judgments. He knew of this firm, said they were well known and gave the industry a bad name. He also said they probably paid Discover 5 or 6% of the debt amount for the account.

  21. SteveF says:

    It truly is amazing to see which Fed agencies and organizations now arm their employees; while also ordering up zillions of rounds of the usual crunchenticker cop ammo: 9mm and .40.

    As they say, one problem is a problem, but sometimes if you have enough problems, they solve each other.

    Problem: It’s more and more difficult for “civilians” to obtain firearms, between unavailability, price increases, and burdensome licensing requirements.

    Problem: It’s more and more difficult for “civilians” to obtain ammunition, between unavailability and price increases.

    Problem: More and more “civil” “servants” are walking around armed, usually with insufficient training and almost always with insufficient respect for the rights and dignity of the “civilians”.

    Solution: Kill any government employee you can get your hands on and loot the corpse.

  22. pcb_duffer says:

    [snip] She called back a little while later to say that the doctor had phoned the prescription in to the wrong pharmacy, one that was already closed. [snip]

    IMHO that’s a serious error on the MD’s part. After 7 PM, say, or two hours before the normal closing time of the usual pharmacy, the doctor (or the software) ought to default to the nearest 24/7 pharmacy, if possible. There are too many cases where 12 hours delay could spell really bad news. A quick check of the local chains reveals one, a Walgreens, that has a round the clock operation, in a county of 175,000 folks. And it’s not particularly close to either of the hospitals. I suppose that if there were enough demand there would be another one available.

    AMEX is my credit card of choice to hate, and has been for 20+ years. My dad carried one, and used it for business purposes only. When he died, and I took over the business, my mother decided that since she was very unlikely to have to pay any business expenses there was no need to keep the card. So we physically cut the card in half, mailed it back to them with the last statement, and said ‘Please cancel Mr. X is deceased.’ For more than two years we got (A) a stream of entreaties to come back to AMEX and (B) the usual cardholder offers. I understand the notion of lead time in production of the Very Special Offers Only For Special Customers, but that doesn’t extend for six months, let alone for two years. And when I reminded them that my dad was dead, and unlikely to renew his membership, they continued to spew forth their crap. When at last I’d had enough, I send them about a cubic foot of sand, with the business reply envelope taped to the outside of the box, and a note that said ‘Stop, dammit!’. When that didn’t work, I send them about a cubic foot of dog feces, along with another note. Finally, the mailings ceased.

  23. OFD says:

    “Kill any government employee you can get your hands on and loot the corpse.”

    There it is, and that day is coming. They keep pushing and pushing, evidently to see how far they can do so. Pretty effin fah so fah. But sooner or later, as could still happen in the Nevada and Texas situations, some folks will fight back. Then the State will retaliate, to make examples. And this will both scare and anger more people, inviting more of the same. Various totalitarian regimes in other parts of the world got away with, and still get away with, these outrages; it remains to be seen how much people here will eat, but we have a whole different history than those other places.

    It is one of massive ownership of firearms already; that bird has already long since flown; millions of trained veterans; millions of hunters; and who knows exactly, just how many bitter and pissed-off combat vets from all the wars. And more cops than we know who’ve left in disgust, also bitter and pissed off at what’s been done to their careers. Those last two categories include me, of course. The history involves violent resistance at times to overbearing authority, but even from the earliest periods, that resistance was crushed; the Shays’s Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion. It’s a different ballgame now, but we’ll be seeing pretty soon just how much Americans will take from their own overbearing government.

    I’d only loot their corpses to sell off the usual standard-issue firearms but I’d keep any shotguns or selective-fire rifles. Also their radios and laptops and cell phones. Any fiat currency in their wallets, naturally. Keep any decent-looking females, though.

  24. SteveF says:

    Keep any decent-looking females, though.

    Good-looking female government employees are pretty thin on the ground. (And you may read as many puns into that as you like.) Aside from the holy grailish nature of that quest, my own Viking ancestry approves of killing the men and carrying off the women. Though I’m guessing that armed female government employees count as warrior maids, and I’m not sure of the protocol there. Bop them upside the head, disarm them, and carry them off, I suppose.

  25. Lynn McGuire says:

    When that didn’t work, I send them about a cubic foot of dog feces, along with another note.

    OK, that brings a few questions to mind. Mastiff? Many dogs? Why was the note on the outside of the box? How much does a cubic foot of dog feces weigh and did the USPS examine the contents before computing the postage due?

    When at last I’d had enough, I send them about a cubic foot of sand, with the business reply envelope taped to the outside of the box, and a note that said ‘Stop, dammit!’.

    From
    http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/density-materials-d_1652.html
    , the density of dry sand is 80 to 100 lb/ft3. Lets say 90 lbs for a cubic foot. That was one heavy box?

  26. Lynn McGuire says:

    Solution: Kill any government employee you can get your hands on and loot the corpse.

    Not giving a judgement on that statement but watch out for the snipers. Barrett rifles have been unusually popular as of late.

  27. OFD says:

    Point taken; I’m guessing that there are so few decent-looking fem gummint workers that it’s hardly worth the bother; kill them all. Even the most attractive I met during my sentence in state gummint were, at best, average. Zero knockouts. And the ones running the matriarchies were/are absolute *beasts*.

    I also probably have a smidgen of Norse ancestry, also Celt and Algonqian, but the most DNA is almost certainly Anglo-Saxon, i.e., German. But Mrs. OFD is all Celt.

  28. Ray Thompson says:

    They are rat bastards.

    and

    I took the first call from the collection agency. I asked why I should believe they were legit and was told “but we’re a law firm”.

    I would say it was the collection agency “law firm” that are the rat bastards and not Discover. The firm probably gives Discover the better rate and Discover figures anything is better than nothing.

    I have never had a problem with Discover. Of course I have yet to die and when that happens my opinion may change.

  29. Lynn McGuire says:

    The firm probably gives Discover the better rate and Discover figures anything is better than nothing.

    The IRS will not let you write off receivables unless you sue the entity or you sell the receivable to somebody else. Lawsuits under $25K are expensive so it is often cheaper to sell the debt.

    That is one advantage that a cash basis taxpayer has over an accrual basis taxpayer. At least you don’t pay taxes on the income until you actually receive it. In fact, I keep my business books on an accrual basis but convert to cash at tax time.

  30. MrAtoz says:

    Speaking of the IRS. The story below is scary. Not only does the SSA not have to prove anything, they hold you responsible for your parents debts if they *think* they overpaid. Then use the IRS thugs to grab your money.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/social-security-treasury-target-hundreds-of-thousands-of-taxpayers-for-parents-old-debts/2014/04/10/74ac8eae-bf4d-11e3-bcec-b71ee10e9bc3_print.html

  31. Chuck W says:

    I have not had any bad experiences with credit cards. All resolved quickly and favorably. However, never had overnight delivery of a new card when any needed to be cancelled due to fraudulent activity — usually sent by priority mail, so 2 to 3 days after the compromised card was cancelled. Fortunately, I have more than one card. A couple years ago, I rented a car from Enterprise near Tiny Town. Paid with my Amex Optima, which I had not used for a few months. Next day, Amex sent me an email, asking me if I had made a several hundred dollar online purchase at Walmart.com. I have never bought anything from Walmart.com, and it is pretty clear where that shady charge came from — especially since the car rental was the first use of the card in months, and the fraudulent charge occurred almost immediately after a hold was put on the card for the rental amount. If Amex and others do not start putting pressure on the companies that quite obviously participated in the fraud, then they can only expect that such things will continue.

    My next car rental was consequently from Hertz, which has an office in the Allstate office in Tiny Town. Have gotten to know the folks who work in there, and never a problem with rentals there.

    The only real financial hassle I have ever had, was during the first year I got back from Germany. I have atrial fib, and the Germans never saw fit to bother with it, as I am not even aware I have it (it comes and goes). But once back here, they just HAD to do the shock treatment. At the time, I was too young for Medicare, and I objected, because I had no medical coverage at all. Hospital owned by the RC church, and they said I qualified for a plan that would take care of “all charges”, except the first $150. I still did not want to do the procedure, but they insisted the docs and hospital would be liable if I did not accept the prescribed treatment plan, and my health would quickly deteriorate without the procedure. LOTS of pressure from everyone in the process about going ahead with it. What they did not tell me, is that the essentially ‘freebie’ plan did not cover ANY of the doctors involved — only hospital charges, — and it turned out I owed the docs thousands.

    After telephone conversations expressing my utter shock, one of the girls I talked to, admitted that quite a number of patients were surprised by this unexpected outcome. I told them I would make monthly payments as I was able. And I did — never missing a payment. Nevertheless, the hospital (who also handles the doctors’ accounting), kept sending past due notices. One day, I got a call from a collection agency located in Tiny Town, who seems to handle only that hospital’s needs. Collection agency was not nice. I called the hospital with WTF? I was now dealing with a new person. They claimed there was no history of any communication between me and the hospital accounting office, even though every contact is supposed to be logged, and I had called them several times. They did admit that there was a clear record of my accepting the ‘essentially free’ treatment plan and my income and job status, but they said there was no way to recall an account, once it was sent for collection. (I later found this was not true.)

    After 2 years of payments (I was not even employed fulltime, and they KNEW that), I had paid off everything owed. Another year passed, and the collection agency called, asking where my payments were? I told them I had paid it off, but the guy said oh, no, there was over $400 outstanding. I was super-pissed. Contacted a lawyer friend who told me that Indiana has a law that allows anybody to stop all contact with any collection agency in the US. He gave me the legal citation; I wrote a letter disputing the charges, demanding a halt to all communications from the collection agency under that legal provision, but affirming that I would deal with the original creditor as provided by the law. Never heard anything more from the agency or the original creditor, — the hospital, — and the first of year bills for doc appointments with the Medicare deductible, shows I am paid up in full except for the deductible. No past due owing.

    BTW, the shock put me in rhythm for 90 minutes, then back to atrial fib. But docs do not reduce their bills when their prescribed treatment fails. They should be required to — especially when the patient objects to the treatment in the first place. From my video work which is almost all medical malpractice, it is pretty clear that disobeying a doctor’s treatment orders may not be against the law, but it insures that you will never win a lawsuit against the doctor.

  32. ech says:

    I would say it was the collection agency “law firm” that are the rat bastards and not Discover. The firm probably gives Discover the better rate and Discover figures anything is better than nothing.

    Both are rat bastards. Discover is a rat bastard company because they turned an account over to collection with no notice. None. Not a single demand letter. The account was current – we were making monthly payments, on time and for more than the minimum required. Had been for several months after my father’s death.

  33. Lynn McGuire says:

    I have atrial fib, and the Germans never saw fit to bother with it, as I am not even aware I have it (it comes and goes)

    You are lucky. I know the minute that afib starts up for me and when it morphs into tachycardia, wow! Very unnerving feeling for the afib as I can feel the beats out of sync. Then tachycardia make my heart go 150 to 200 beats per minute. So hard that my sternum is sore after a couple of hours of it. I have given in and am taking Rythmol now.

    Rythmol seems to be working ok as I have been on it for six weeks. No tachycardia and very little afib. But Rythmol shuts down all the little muscles in your body (think colon) and causes peripheral neuropathy in a very few cases. I’ll know when I cannot feel my feet anymore. I am getting hot spots in my feet which bothers me.

  34. Thank you for this informative post. I just want to share a good source for Tax forms and tutorials – PDFfiller. It has a ton of Tax Forms. It helps me fill out a needed 1040 form neatly and gives me the option to esign. http://goo.gl/ipC1jF

Comments are closed.