Dental Denouement? Comments Solicited

In the never-ending story of the dentist, another irritation. We received notice of a certified letter about a week ago. We filled out the little slip, requesting the the letter be left in our mailbox. A few days later, we found the slip squished underneath our mail. The carrier had not seen it.

OK. We clipped the slip to the box, only to find that we needed to PRINT our names in addition to signing. We did that, and....nothing. We fear the letter has been returned to sender. So angry is the dentist with us, that we assume she will take the return as a hostile action on our part!

I guess we could go to the post office and inquire, but that will take close to an hour and I forbade Mr FS from doing that. I figure the dentist will have to re-send it.

Anyway, here is a letter we are going to send to the dentist. Is this a good idea? And, if it is, do you have any suggestions for revision? Any tone problems?

We received notice of a certified letter from you more than a week ago. We signed the form left in our box and requested delivery, but have not received it. If the letter was to inform us that we were dismissed from your practice, you can take this letter as acknowledgement of that fact. If there is other information in the letter that we need to see, we request that you send it again. Thank you.

	Mar 17 (6 days ago)

Last spring 2013, you recommended treatments for Mr. FS costing approximately $5000. T told you he would have to wait till January 2014 to begin treatment because he had to set money aside in a medical savings account. He did so. As I told you in our chat in January, we were eager to continue working with you because we appreciate your work as a dentist.

Tom called several times over the past few weeks to 1. get a list of the recommended treatments and cost breakdown and 2. make appointments to begin treatments. He did not receive the list of treatments or an appointment. He stopped by your office since we live down the street and were taking a walk nearby. He was hoping to get the treatment list and to make an appointment. At that point, you told him that our family was dismissed from your practice. He was quite stunned by that pronouncement. 

In addition to the list of treatments you recommended and an appointment, we had two other requests, neither of which we received. 

1. We asked Marilyn to give us the contact information from the Collection Agency so we could check on the records. Marilyn said she did not have that information.

2. We also asked for a letter outlining the events that led up to the bill being sent to collection. We told your office that we would pay Em's remaining bill in December. We called several times in December, but the office was closed. We left a message with your service stating that we wanted to pay and to call us for credit card info. We did not receive a call back. In early January, we called again to complete the payment. We gave Marilyn our credit card info, after which she stated that the bill had just been sent to a collection agency and that she would try to stop it. 

Marilyn then checked the email records from your answering service and said that she had overlooked the message about payment from December. She apologized and said that it was her mistake. We were appreciative of that statement.

A few weeks later, our daughter received a call from the Collection Agency. We were distressed to discover that the Collection Agency was given her name, since Em was a college student and the bills were guaranteed by US, her parents. We are afraid that a spot on her credit rating could have repercussions in the future, long after your office might be closed. 

That is why we requested a letter showing that we had made an effort to pay BEFORE the bill was sent to collection and that your office made the initial error. 

Even though we are no longer your patients, we would appreciate

1. a list of the treatments recommended for T.

2. the contact info for the Collection Agency

3. The letter with a timeline as outlined above.

Thank you for your consideration,

Dental Disaster!

This story gets stranger and stranger. I hope I am not in trouble--though for what I do not know.

Mr FS called the dental office on Thursday (third effort) to get the recommended treatment from a prior visit. We never got any call backs. Then, when we went on a walk, I said "Why don't you go into the office and ask them to make us a copy?" We live right down the street.

Mr FS returned a few minutes later. The dentist had emerged from treating a patient and told him that we needed to seek treatment elsewhere. We were fired.

We called a teacher of our acquaintance whose husband is a dentist and got some recommendations. We planned on calling some next week.

Today, we returned home to find notice of a certified letter in our mailbox. FROM THE DENTIST WHO FIRED US. What could it be?

Does anyone have any ideas? I am kind of nervous about this.

Believe it or not, I don't blame the dentist. Her receptionist/bill person made the initial error and, except for one cordial chat with the dentist in January, we have perforce dealt with the receptionist.

When I saw the certified notice, I was hoping the letter contained our records, but it is a LETTER and not a LARGE envelope. I am hoping the dentist is merely terminating our relationship--only officially. Could it be anything else?

I hope Mr FS and I are not banned from the dental world in our small town. Rather worrisome, since we put several thousand dollars in our flex account to cover the treatment recommended.

ACKKKK!

HELP! Frugal Spine Needed DENTIST ENCORE

So many customer service issues of late! Help me stay strong!

 DENTIST ISSUE still ongoing: The office "withdrew" the charge from the Collection Agency. I have no idea what that means. Even though MR FS and I were receiving the bills, the charge was put under the name of our 22 year old daughter. I know this because she got a call from the Agency! Does anyone know if this will affect her credit rating in the future?

Mr FS has said that he is willing to stick with this dentist. She IS good, though her receptionist/bill person is awful. We have asked for an itemized list of the procedures the dentist recommended before the debacle. They totaled $5000 (no insurance for this). We have asked three times and not received one.

We have also asked for a letter to be signed by the dentist attesting to the fact that the receptionist sent the $200 bill to collection AFTER we had attempted to pay by phone and left a message. She did not read the messages. We are afraid that years after the dentist retires, my daughter may be haunted by this charge. However, the receptionist has not followed through on this either.

We have also asked that the Collection Agency send us something to the effect that the charge is not part of my daughter's record. the receptionist said there is no way to get in touch with the agency.

As I type this, I cannot believe that we are putting up with this service. The dentist herself is excellent.

There are only two good dentists in the area. I have been appalled by the quality of very expensive service provided by dentists in the area. Our previous dentist was--we now realize--negligent in many ways. So we have been willing to try to stay with a very good dentist within walking distance of our house.

Are we crazy?

Dental Decision and A Silly (Frugal!) Recipe

Thanks for all for comments on my dentist distress. Perhaps because of unacknowledged anger on my part, I made the dentist seem awful. In fact, ours was a cordial discussion and at the end the dentist promised that the collection issue would not recur. I feel kind of sorry for the dentist: hers is a small practice and she is a brainy and conscientious woman. She is not surrounded by people of her caliber, however. She probably can't--or isn't willing to--pay for a receptionist/manager with better skills.

Why do I want to continue to see this dentist? She was one of two recommended by my oral surgeon, who has been enriched considerably by the errors, incompetence, and negligence of my previous dentist and her crony, the endodontist. The oral surgeon was loathe to recommend anyone at first ("We work well with all dentists") but relented when I started crying (from constant pain and frustration) in his office!

Some readers recommend I consult Yelp and Angie's List. Interestingly, both my current and former dentists have all positive reviews. The former dentist is noted for her wonderful attitude and beautiful smile. UGH.

Thanks again to all.

As a break from expensive dentistry, I present a weird recipe, which I may try tomorrow. I took the visiting Mr C to Big Lots, where I got stuff for me (with my $15 off $45 coupon!) and a few things for his harried student kitchen. Right by the entrance, I spied a cart filled with bags of potato chips marked down to 10 cents! I don't think I have ever bought potato chips (though I do buy corn chips on occasion), but how could I resist?

When I got home, I did some searching and found this recipe. I have GOT to try it. Would you dare make a frittata with potato chips?

Potato Chip Omelet
2 SERVINGS

Courtesy of Ferran Adrià originally published in The Family Meal: Home Cooking With Ferran Adrià

6 eggs
2¾ oz. salted potato chips
1½ Tbsp. olive oil

• Break the eggs into a bowl and beat with a balloon whisk until very frothy.
• Add the chips, being careful not to break them, then let soak in the egg for 1 minute.
• Place a 10-inch nonstick frying pan over medium heat, then add 2 teaspoons of oil.
• Pour the mixture into the pan and stir gently with a rubber spatula.
• Use the spatula to loosen the omelet from the edge of the pan.
• After 40 seconds, when the bottom of the omelet has set, cover the omelet with a plate. Hold onto the pan with one hand, then carefully turn the pan over, so that the omelet slides onto the plate.
• Remove the pan and return it to the heat. Add another 2 teaspoons oil.
• Slide the omelet from the plate and into the pan, so that the uncooked side is in contact with the heat. Cook for another 20 seconds.
• Serve the omelet on a plate.

Reprinted with permission from Phaidon Press

Dental Distress Over or Not Over?

Thanks to all for your comments, many of which I used when I spoke to the dentist herself.  I would like to stay with the dentist, if possible. We had an incompetent dentist for many years and the new one is good. As far as I can tell, there is but one other good dentist in the area. It is a field with a lot of incompetence, I'm afraid, and little recourse for patients.

The receptionist (who took payment AFTER--unbeknownst to us--sending bill to collection agency, which is perhaps illegal and definitely unethical) insists that the bill never got to the agency. I called the agency and they have no record with Mr FS's name. However, they did say to keep checking back. How long should I do this for?

I had a long chat with the dentist. She kept repeating two things: "I think $200 is a lot of money" and "I'm sorry you feel that way."

As for the first, I refrained from responding with the obvious riposte: "If it's so much money, why did you send it to collection, which takes half the money??"

As for the second: this one burns me up. There are times when it IS appropriate. But it has become a customer service cliche that--like the passive voice--absolves the speaker of responsibility. So every time she said that, I said "Are you saying that my feelings are without cause or justification?"

Finally, she did relent on this and said that she would make a personal call to patients before sending a bill to collections. I don't know how much her feelings are shaped by the $5000 in upcoming treatments we have mapped out.

I do have a lot of hostility remaining. A decent dentist a short walk down the street...that may be worth dealing with my anger.

My last (I hope!) question: how many more times should I check with the credit agency? Should I ask for something in writing from the agency and from the dentist's office before scheduling any work?

And once more: THANK YOU.

More Distress from the Dentist! Advice Solicited.

Thanks to all who provided a script for dealing with the Collection Agency issue I wrote about. I was going to call the dentist to recount the story today, but did not have the energy. Good thing, because I had some of the facts wrong.

Mr FS called the office to pay. He did so, by giving our card number. AFTER he paid, the receptionist/manager said "I sent this to a collection agency. I will try to get the extra fee removed." (!!!!!) So--she took the payment after the bill had been sent to the Collection Agency.

I had assumed that Mr FS had not paid BECAUSE we were told the bill had been sent to the Collection Agency. I am hoping the receptionist tried to get the bill back. But I am concerned because we are entirely without leverage of any sort now.

I will use some of the scripts and advice provided by my most helpful commenters. Many, many thanks. Any additional tips or advice?

Was I Wrong to Rant?

I am only an occasional blog-ranter, though I am my family's designated ranter in real life. I am pretty good at it, but it takes a lot out of me. Sometimes, however, I over-rant. Worse, I sometimes rant unfairly. These rants, I should say, are generally customer service issues and are not part of my dealings with my dear students.

My most recent rant. We tried to pay Miss Em's $200 dental bill by phone, but the phone was never answered. Eventually, we got through and left a message. Since we never heard back, we called the office a few days ago.

The receptionist/money person (who is not very competent, I'm afraid) said "Oh, we sent that to a collection agency. You will have to pay a fee." Mr FS reported this and I felt my rant coming on. So I called back.

My comments are in bold.

1. We CALLED to pay the bill two weeks ago. Response: we never got the message (the messaging service this dentist uses is also incompetent and we once did not receive a response to a semi-emergency. Dentist promised to change services.)
2. Did the doctor get a new service? Answer: No.
3. Why did you send this to a collection agency (the bill was recent!)? Response: Oh, "they" come in now and then and take all the bills.
4. We spent between $4000-$5000 over the past year, all paid for. Is it really worth it to send a bill representing a tiny percentage of that to a collection agency. Especially given the fact that the dentist has prescribed another $5000 in dental work for Mr FS????



I asked for the dentist to call me, since I am pretty sure she does not know what's going on at the front desk--most medical professionals remain blissfully and purposely ignorant of the money side of their businesses. She did leave a message.

Question: was I right to get upset over this? And, if so, why? I think #4 above is the most upsetting to me. I believe the office showed  a serious lack of consideration for a very good--let's face it--CUSTOMER.

The front-desk person called us also and said that she looked through the emails from the answering service and that there was an email about our call and that it was TOTALLY her fault....

Also, how can I make sure the Collection Agency did not put this on our Credit record? My in-laws had to pay a disputed $15 charge more than 20 years after the fact when they needed a bridge loan...

What should I say to the dentist when I call back on Monday? Mr FS said I was right in content but that my tone was probably too harsh.

TIAA-CREF vs Goodwill: Customer Service

I mentioned yesterday that I had two dispiriting--nay, upsetting--customer service experiences with TIAA-CREF (my retirement people) yesterday. I could just feel the reps reading from their scripts and I didn't like the scripts. How about some empathy, people? Empathy about over-complex systems that make things difficult and time-consuming for the customer or client or whatever it is I am. Well, let's just skip the details. Bad customer service.

Now a true tale of good customer service from Goodwill, of all places. Miss Em and I had an errand near Goodwill (yay!!!) so we had no choice--had to go. There hidden amongst the "designer" purses was something I wanted, but seemed so unlikely a find that it wasn't even on my karmic prayer list: a push mower. Frugal Son wants one, actually. I couldn't get the mower to push; neither could the young woman working. But Matt the manager emerged and showed us how to do it. I was nervous because it was $25.00, squeaky, and I wasn't sure if it REALLY worked. So I asked Matt if I could return it. He called HIS superior, who said NO--one can only return electronics.

Matt then reduced the price to $20.00 but was firm on no returns. Miss Em and I were unsure--did it only need some WD-40 or was it a piece of junk? Miss Em had the genius idea of testing it on the lawn outside. We asked if she could try it. Permission was sought from the manager in the back room. A big fellow emerged and said I'll do it for you. We all traipsed outside where, instead of Miss Em, the big guy mowed the lawn. He was fast!

We bought it. Thanks for a good customer service moment Goodwill. Mowing the lawn was definitely not on this guy's job description.

Instead of a Rant about TIAA Reps, An Uplifting Story About Small Frugalities Adding Up

I just got off the phone with TIAA, where 3/4 of my net worth resides. Two out of three reps made me upset (with the first, I cried). They must have terrible training scripts!

But instead of writing about that experience, I will share a happy story about small frugalities. I am a pennywise person. I don't think I'm pound foolish, but I'm definitely not poundwise. Every time I try to save on a big ticket item (insurance, for one thing), I end up confused and frustrated.

Generally it's hard to figure out what effect these small frugalities have. Sometimes I feel like I'm nuts: I will NOT spend that for a jar of peanut butter! That kind of thing. Finally, though, I have some evidence of how things add up. Miss Em graduated last May. She just got her final settlement check from her university. Yes, a check FROM her university. It was pretty hefty for a recent grad.

$1600 of the check was for Dining Dollars. Each semester, students are required to buy $300 in Dining Dollars. This is mostly for coffee and snacks at the campus Starbucks, but can be used in the dining halls and at some off-campus venues. Miss Em reports that many of her friends blew through the money in a few weeks. Miss Em obviously spent some--out of $2400 (8 semesters), she spent $800. She said, I used it to go out with friends, not to get caffeine. She pointed out that--in addition to her dorm room where she had a coffee and teapot--she had access to the free coffee in various organizations and offices, in her case, the Honors College, the University Fellows Program office, and Creative Campus. She also carried her little thermos everywhere. In fact, the Starbucks was rather out of the way for her so the thermos was a time- as well as a money-saver for the most organized and time-efficient member of my family.

You go girl!

P.S. The check covered her new laptop and she still has some left over.

P.P.S. Should I move my money to Vanguard when I retire?

Getting Rid of Stuff and Getting Your Money Back: Return Items Within the Rules

My late father, who studied market research, was interested in consumer behavior. And he loved stores that stood by their wares. So part of being a good consumer is to return things you don't want. I can't tell you how many items with tags I see at thrift stores. I enjoy getting such things, but think the purchaser should return--and maybe donate the full price to charity!

Miss Em and I just boxed up a few things and sent them back to our usual retail sites: Garnet Hill, LL Bean, and Nordstrom. We kept the good things and returned the rejects. We love that these shops have no-questions-asked returns and we are careful not to take advantage of their policies.

So far, we have donated a bunch to the Food Bank thrift, taken books to 2nd and Charles, sold 2 things on Tradesy, and returned mistakes to stores, But the biggest declutter....

Moving Stuff: Fairly Cheaply and Safely

Yes, we have been busy. That's why we took a while to fix our broken door handle. Thanks to all for their scary stories and concern. We are usually not such slackers in matters of safety and maintenance.

The main event that got us behind on work and life was the necessity of going to California to help clear out the home of Mr FS's late--and missed--parents. Aside from the emotional stress in this case, moving anything is stressful PERIOD. I read that movers receive a huge percentage of consumer complaints--more so since the moving biz was deregulated and many companies practice scams. To wit: you get your estimate, the truck shows up at your new house with all your stuff and the movers tell you there is a $1000 UNPACKING FEE not included in the estimate.

While almost nothing in the parental home was valuable on the open market, almost everything was valuable to the 3 children: handmade furniture, fabric creations, eccentric collections.

Mr FS took on the research. He eliminated ye olde rent a U-Haul because we live far away and had already missed some school because of Hurricane Isaac. We eliminated the traditional moving van service because we got ridiculously low estimates and had read too many complaints about scams. We looked into Greyhound--suggested by a reader--but that would have involved many, many packages and trips to Santa Rosa. It is a good deal for a few bulky items, however.

The cheapest suggestion was to build a giant crate on a pallet and fill it with the goods. These would then be transported by truck. This was suggested by our brother-in-law who is a contractor. However, this involved serious logistics and heavy machinery. Too scary.

We ended up using a U-Pack service. A big truck rolls in. You fill your designated space--we had 5x6x8. A divider is rolled up. the truck gets the rest of its cargo and eventually the truck arrives at your abode, where you unpack.

I was skeptical. I kept telling Mr FS that we could only fit a few pieces of furniture in. Spatial relations are my low point on standardized tests and in life. Mr FS insisted that everything would fit in like a puzzle. He was right. It ended up being like the little car at the circus from which emerge 12 tall clowns. We could even take things that we thought we would have to leave behind: like the cast iron frying pans that belonged to the grandmother of Mr FS's father, who was born in 1918. Frugal Son, a committed cook, had requested them for his new apartment.

We used ABF U-Pack. The cost was about $1700.00. There were no surprises.

The best advice we got was from ABF. The rep said the cheapest way to move is to get rid of all your stuff and buy new stuff on arrival!

Remember: Return the Duds

I am a big believer in saving little bits of money; over time, they add up. Lately there has been a lot of cleaning up and out in our frugal home, both for happy reasons and sad ones. Many transitions.

Miss Em is getting ready to return to school soon. As the neatest and most organized member of our household, she gets it done. Today, she got together stuff that needs to be returned.

I am always recommending sticking to shops with unconditional guarantees. To wit:

Garnet Hill: two sweaters (she's keeping the shoes)
Nordstrom: some shoes that, alas, did not fit well
LL Bean: her backpack ripped at the seams

These guarantees are great, but only if you make use of them. I am always quoting my late frugal dad: You're paying a lot of money for that guarantee, so use it.

Additionally, she is returning items to two stores that you may not know stand behind their merchandise: Sephora and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Yes, if the eyeshadow doesn't please, bring it back.

Being a good consumer can yield more than a few dollars back. The total for the above is going to be SOMETHING, even though everything was bought on sale.

Have you been a good consumer lately?

Shout Out to Nordstroms: Price Adjustment

I'm still on vacation (in mind only, alas). Still, I wanted to remind everyone to ask stores to adjust prices. Miss Em bought three pairs of shoes at Nordies in late May. The other day, we got a "Final Markdowns" notice--and there were her shoes, minus $18. I called and--true to their reputation--we were given an immediate $54 refund.

I spend so much time saving pennies and dimes. It's nice to have an occasion to save dollars. Also nice to have a GOOD customer service tale for a change.

Can You Return Anything to Walmart? Kettle and Chicken!

I hardly set foot in the dreaded WM as we call it chez nous. That is because I suffer a nervous collapse after each visit and have to lie down for an hour. But last year we bought Frugal Son an electric kettle there for his final year of college. He wanted the WM version because it was made by GE, of which he is a partial owner (i.e. he owns a few shares of stock).

Imagine our annoyance when the appliance stopped working! Less than two years old. One of my former colleagues used to say "You can return anything to Walmart." So, since we were passing by, we put it to the test.

Even though we had no receipt, we were able to exchange for a new one lickety-split. WOW.

Meanwhile, an older fellow at the adjacent register was returning a giant package of partially frozen chicken breasts. From the looks of things, he had forgotten to freeze the meat in time and it was rotten. Seemed to me like he may have been negligent in the chicken department. Nevetheless, they gave him his money back (and he did have a receipt).

So I suppose I must add Walmart to my list of stores with good customer service.

Would you return chicken?

Thai Peanut Sauce plus Customer Service Rant UPS and USPS

OK. I was going to start with the rant, but you don't really care. On my other blog, I wrote about a dinner party I'm planning for my daughter and her college friends. Part of the menu: Thai peanut sauce, which we will serve on tofu and whatever else we can think of (vegetables?).

There are many complex recipes for the sauce, but, owing to my lazy and frugal ways, I searched for the easiest. It is soooo easy. Just made it. It's good.



4 TBS peanut butter
4 TBS vegetable oil (NOT olive)
4 TBS soy sauce
4 TBS sugar
4 TBS vinegar
1 tsp Asian sesame oil (if you don't have this, leave it out. That's what a Thai grandma would do)
a little hot pepper, if you so desire


Now when you crave Thai food, you can pick up a rotisserie chicken and make this sauce. That will save you about $20.00 right there.

OK. I HATE UPS CUSTOMER SERVICE. Of course, hating UPS is like hating the sky: through 3 levels of customer service, I received ye olde "There's nothing I can do about that. I'm sorry you feel that way."

While I'm at it, I also hate the postal service. My p.o. has managed to hold my mail ONCE out of FOUR requests. Oh, and the passport person doesn't feel like processing passports. So no matter what day you go in, you are told, we do that only on ANOTHER DAY. They say this even though the sign says M-Th. Actually, the USPS has much better customer service, because something was done when we complained.

But isn't that peanut sauce good? Check out collegecookingcrashcourse for the rest of the menu.

Things I Completed, Some Involving Money Back

Before I left for Nantes--how I love deadlines--I completed three things that have given me back some cash.

--returned unsatisfactory items to LL Bean. Love their guarantee. Miss Em wanted a pricey backpack from the Signature line and found it uncomfortable (as did others in comments).

--returned unsatisfactory items to Lands End. This took several phone calls, but I finally worked things out. The CS reps must take nice lessons, because I was always smiling after the calls. I really should take nice lessons.

--Filed my taxes, which will result in a refund. Part 2: I owe state taxes as a result of the refund. Oh well.

While the tax refund is the big ticket item, the returns total around $200. Nothing to sneeze at.

Do you return unsatisfactory items or do you let them languish (as I did)?

Decluttering and Moneymaking: Return Things to Lands' End

The next in my series on decluttering that brings in money! Not everything will be as exciting as St John. This one is more prosaic. And don't even talk about yard sales. If you are contemplating one, read Funny's heartrending tale.


Strictly speaking, returning unsatisfactory things to Lands' End is not a money maker; it is a get money back on unsatisfactory purchases. Why am I mentioning this? Everyone knows Lands' End is Guaranteed Period (trademark!), right? I know it, which is why I feel pretty confident shopping there: you can ship items back (for $$) or return to Sears.

Yet I know people don't do this. How? Because I see things with tags hanging at thrifts all the time. Evidently it is easier to drive to Goodwill with your cashmere sweater than to return it. Sometimes I see almost new things with broken zippers. Really, you should return things. As my late father--consumer extraordinaire--pointed out: "The guarantee is built into the purchase price."

I am writing about this to gird up my loins for my THIRD effort to return things to Lands' End. First try at Sears: the cashier wouldn't take back items WITH RECEIPT because I didn't have the little plastic bags items were shipped in.

I called LE. They said to try again. I did. Most things were taken back, but I did fail on one item. I called LE. I got a wonderful supervisor, with an upbeat attitude. I told her that we seldom drove by Sears. She said she would send me a prepaid return label--so I wouldn't have to pay the $6.95. GREAT! THANKS! Except that it was never sent.

I will call again this week.

Interestingly, Sears lost some business because of these issues. The first time, we tried to return coincided with our search for a new washing machine. We talked to a nice guy, picked one out, and then left without buying. WHY? Because 30 minutes trying to return LE items took it all out of us. We bought the washer online via Home Depot.

Second time. We needed a teeny computer. While I was trying to return, Mr. FS scoped one out. After 45 minutes, with eyerolling, sighing, and so on from the cashier, we left without buying. We eventually got it at Best Buy.

Wish me luck on my next effort at returning.

Victory, Panic, Reprieve

Like Funny About Money, I had a customer service win recently: the email I sent to Asics about Frugal Son's fallen-apart shoes was successful! I sent in the old shoes and they will send a new pair! Savings: about $60.00.

I didn't post about this because of a financial panic, also involving Frugal Son. As you may know, he spent 2009-2010 in Nantes, studying French. Upon return, he had to get credits from the home insitution. Hello, Bureaucracy! Hello, Procrastination! In the meantime, his scholarship was affected by the delay in not getting credits.

"Oh, by the way, I just got a bill for $9200.00, retroactive. I'm sure it will work out."

Yeah, maybe. So Mr. FS and I called various places at the university and the state offices. So far, we have gotten a partial reprieve. As of Friday, the bill is down to $5200.00.

The problem with bureaucracies is that you don't know if you've done something wrong (or not done something) until it's too late. I've heard horror stories about students losing scholarships (in one case of about $16000) because of neglecting to fill out a piece of paper. I almost made a mistake myself.

Now that the total reprieve is in sight, I can be happy about the replacement of the defective shoes.

It seems that the little financial victories are often accompanied by panic-inducing dangers also of the financial sort.

But it's worth taking a chance with Asics I guess. Just be mindful of the scary bureaucracies that hold so much power over us.

Any good customer service lately?

Customer Service and two bits of Consumption News

MAny moons ago, I wrote about writing to the Asics shoe company about some shoes my son had that fell apart. Then I wrote about how they never responded (neither did the other company--Asian Food Grocer--I had a gripe with about short-dated food).

Eventually, Asics did respond. The rep invited me to return the shoes for inspection with the caveat that the company is the sole and final arbiter on the issue of whether the shoes fell apart too quickly. And no, they would not send me a pre-paid mailer. And no, they will not return the shoes (shredded as they are) if my plea is turned down.

Well, of course I am wary of spending $8-$10 to ship the shoes under such conditions. Companies set such terms so that you won't return an item.

So, in memory of my good consumer father, I'm sending the shoes back. What do you predict Asics will do?

Just in case you want to spend some money, the OTHER company that gave me bad customer service is having a good sale via a code. I am, of course, talking about Chico's. With code 4505, you get $25 off $50 and FREE SHIPPING. I don't think I'm getting anything, but they may have some of their ponte left. You can use it on sale items too, which makes for a tempting deal.

LL Bean is trumpeting its free shipping to US and Canada. I've gotten free shipping with their Visa--the visa lets you return for free.

That's it on consumer news for the day. I'm going to do a little spring closet cleaning instead.

Psychomachia: Another Good Deal (from Chico's this time)

Sorry readers. I KNOW I have too much stuff. I KNOW that I don't need anything. I KNOW that spending does not really involve saving. I KNOW that temptation often puts super bargains in my path. I KNOW it's hard not to peek at emails offering good deals, even though I should delete.

You know: the little angel and the little devil from Tom and Jerry? That's a modern version of psychomachia, or the battle for the soul, from a medieval work of the same name.

If you took a British lit course in college, you may know it from Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, where the good and bad angels make frequent appearances, and where Doctor F always chooses the WRONG PATH.

OK, I've given you enough time to choose the right path. But in case you need anything from the dreaded Chico's (where I have been subject to poor customer service both in store and on-line!), there is a good deal around. First of all, as stylish blogger DejaPseu noted a few days ago, the Chico's ponte pants that I like are on sale for $39. NOT BAD.

But, if you spend a total of $50 at Chico's (and they just reduced some of their sale items), you can use this code: 4373, which will give you $25.00 off a purchase of at least $50.00.

You do have to pay for shipping, if you are not in the Passport Club (which requires spending $500, a level I have not yet reached in 5 years). But WAIT! My mother is a Passport member, so if I use her number, I get free shipping. If you have a friend in the blessed Passport sorority order for you, you get free shipping too. I think the shipping charge is worth it though. I hate driving to stores.

OK, I succumbed. And I succumbed last week to the other good deal (though everything I got was for other family members).

It is fun to get new things, even if we don't end up looking like Helen of Troy (or a succubus version of her), as presented in these famous lines from Doctor Faustus:

Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.
Her lips suck forth my soul: see where it flies!
Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again.
Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips,
And all is dross that is not Helena.

The code is only good till 2/27. btw.