Webigail

Every weekend my husband, a good friend of ours and I work really hard on projects around the house. For the past several weeks, we have been working to build a fenced in vegetable garden. We’re not done, but all of the posts are in the ground, including those for my concord grapes.

On Saturday, I had been feeling excited, and anxious, as it seems although we make progress, it’s just not done. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled to have the guys work so hard, but I just feel like a child on the way to get an ice cream cone. The best part is the ride there.

As the day was winding down, the fellas were putting in the very last post, while the rascal and I pulled weeds. The boys hurried us to get into the house as lightening was striking rather closely.

Just as I walked onto the porch, I smelled gas. “Does anyone else smell gas?” I yelled out to the boys.

My husband had not noticed the smell, but out friend had and said that he had smelled it the week prior, but thought that perhaps it was nothing, as the odor was extremely faint. I decided to call the gas company. They said they were on the way and instructed that no one “light up any cigarettes.”

That’s when it occurred to me just how potentially serious this situation was. As I hung up the phone, I recalled several times I walked on or off my porch and noticed a faint whiff of gas. However, I suffer from such extreme seasonal allergies, I cannot rely on my sense of smell.

When the technician arrived, he immediately confirmed that we had a gas leak coming from the connector to the house. He quickly looked for the service shut-off. As he poked the ground the gas odor became stronger and more pungent.  “Don’t ever, ever wait to call us again,” he insisted.  “Even if you are not certain that it’s gas, call. It’s our job to ensure your safety,” he continued.

When he pointed out that city houses received 7 ounces of gas, while we received 7 POUNDS of gas pressure, I nearly passed out!!!

There have been a few houses and families that were lost recently due to gas explosions. It sends chills up my back just thinking about what could have happened to all of us, including our helpful friend, had I not called to have someone check the gas. To make matters worse, I cannot count the number of times our buddy would step out on the porch to smoke a cigarette…Saturday night would have been no different, except for perhaps, the ending.

I’m kicking myself, because I vaguely remember the smell of gas in my basement, but doubted it, due to my horrible allergies. My fence posts now have added meaning. They are each a blessing. Had the boys not been out working to put them in, perhaps I wouldn’t even have noticed the odor and only God knows how things would have turned out.

I will never hesitate to say something next time I even think I smell gas.

Last week, my mum and I were chit-chatting when she mentioned a collection letter that my brother received. She went on to state that the letter contained my brother’s previous address, his social security number, but the wrong date of birth.

I thought perhaps it was a typo, but as the conversation continued, she revealed that the collection agency was calling on behalf of Verizon. The debt was supposedly for a land-line. That’s when things started to become interesting. My brother has never owned a land-line. He’s a natural-born-geek, was into technology and cell phones well before I relented and has always been a mobile type of fellow.

I was curious, so I asked my mother to get the phone number of the company trying to collect the debt and googled it. My brother, granted he is definitely above average, with regards to technology, is still a guy, when it comes to following through on important issues. He would probably never get around to investigating this matter and I was concerned that if they had information on him, that perhaps someone had “borrowed” his identity.

Hey, don’t laugh! It’s happened to me already and I had to work feverishly to get things back in order.

No sooner than I type in the phone number of the company, does the name AFNI appear and the link is to http://www.ripoffreport.com. Boy, did I open a can of worms! There were countless reports involving AFNI. I reported this to my mum and brother and nearly considered the issue done, on my part anyway, but decided to keep reading. I’m glad that I did.

One consumer reported an almost identical story, save for the fact that AFNI insisted that they had opened an account with Verizon when they were 8-years-old. Yep! You read correctly. Eight. Years. Old. Well naturally, anyone with half a brain knows that a child could not possibly open that account, right? It should be a done deal. Um…no! AFNI informed this individual that they still had to pay, suggesting that perhaps his parents would assist.

And the plot thickens…

This person did what I would have done; they contacted Verizon, thinking that surely they would see the absurdity of paying a bill that one doesn’t owe. Surprisingly, Verizon added insult to injury by passing the poor kid from department to department, before finally blurting out that there was nothing they could do. The bill had gone to collections and all negotiations had to take place with AFNI.

Someone else, who had fallen victim of the same “scam” offered a suggestion.

Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.

I am waiting to hear the outcome, will update this post when I find out.

I suspect that Verizon and AFNI are in the same bed and also suspect that unless a consumer becomes their own advocate, a supersleuth of sorts, then the pocketbook will always be at risk for being a littler lighter.

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6/12/2008 - UPDATE

My mum notified me that she dropped a letter to AFNI in the mail last Friday. He received a response 4 days later, stating that after “an extensive investigation” they have decided that he did not owe anything. Imagine that? He didn’t owe anything?

I was not in the least bit shocked. The entire thing smelled of a scam from the first minute.

I hope that anyone reading this post will be diligent, as there are a number of companies that tack on questionable fees and rip consumers off, but nothing is done if YOU don’t protect yourself.

Last year I purchased a huge lot of dormant plants. My focus was on flowering trees. I had at least 16 white dogwoods, and some other colorful plants. This was my first time working with dormant plants, but I wanted to be able to shape my trees from the onset. Plus, there’s a huge savings, as opposed to dealing with nurseries or other stores that sell plants.

My package arrived in May. I was careful. I read the directions, as to ensure that my babies would thrive and stay alive.

It could take two weeks before you begin to see new growth.

I healed my plants in and waited. I waited for two weeks. Then three.

Then, I called the company back to inquire. “Wait a couple more weeks and if no change, call us back.”

A couple more weeks pass and what I think is a bud on one of my 16 dogwoods is a bug. A green bug. Le sigh. So, I call again and inquire about a full replacement and was told to wait until “next year, when we’re ready to start shipping plants out again.”

Apparently, there’s a very tight window, when it comes to shipping dormant plants. No problem. I’m patient. After all, the growth of a tree is a slow, but lovely journey.

Let’s fast forward to March of this year. I call the company back and initially they tell me that I can replace my original offer for, get this, 50% off. Um…what?! After maintaining composure and pointing out the absurdity in paying for something that arrived freeze-burned and that their records of my phone calls would serve to show that these plants were problematic from the beginning, they decided to be courteous and replaced the entire order.

The box arrived about 3 days later and I saw an immediate difference. The roots were still moist; the leaders were in great shape and everything seemed to be alive. I immediately potted everything this time, as I thought that perhaps healing the plants in is what lead to the problem.

Again, I waited two weeks. No leaves. Three weeks, nothing. Four weeks, my creeping flox showed some signs of survival, as did my burning bush, but my dogwoods were still bare.

I watered every day, checked to see for growth. I even did the “scratch test” making sure that there was still green. They all had green underneath the outer coat, so why aren’t they growing. My husband said, “I hate to break this to you, but I think that your trees are a bust.” When an experienced landscaper says this, it’s time to use the branches for firewood.

I was about to pull everything out of the pots, but didn’t have time, as we went away for the weekend. Wouldn’t ya know that each dogwood had, not just buds, but open leaves?! Even a few of the trees from last year, that I had been meaning to toss, or whittle down to use as toothpicks had signs of growth!

I don’t know what caused the unusually long slumber for my dormant plants, but I’m happy that almost all have survived. However, I don’t know if I will go this route again. Waiting for these plants to grow was like watching my son clean up his toys; it was sloooooooow and painful.