Kindness does count
STARTING THE NEW YEAR ASHAMED: Ashamed probably isn’t the right word to use. “Humbled” is better, much more descriptive and accurate. It’s New Year’s Day 2018 and I’m writing my column for this coming Thursday. Early this morning, one of my regular readers called and left a message. She is an elderly lady and was “plowed in” and couldn’t get out of her driveway. In addition to going out to bring in her mail, she needed to pick up a much-needed prescription. I was glad she called me for help. I called her back in about an hour and a half. What she told me literally brought tears to my eyes. Before I had been able to call her back, she called Ken Roberge of Specialty Tree Services (specialitytree.com). He answered her call, and volunteered to come out and help her. By the time I called her back, Mr. Roberge had already solved her problems, including driving her to the pharmacy to pick up her medication — all on New Year’s Day! Thanks Ken, you’re the kind of person/business owner who makes our corner of the world a great place to live.
We all need to take a moment and think about the individuals and companies in this area that really make a difference: Mr. Ron McIntire, owner of Super 1, The “Christmas for All” program of the Coeur d’Alene Press, as well as “Anonymous in Athol” all come to mind. Serving the people of our community IS what’s it’s all about — thank you all!
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BILL’S No. 1 RULE: It’s simple. It’s common sense, and it’s something we all, sometimes, forget to do: READ THE CONTRACT BEFORE YOU SIGN IT. This morning
a consumer from Spokane called me regarding a car he had purchased from a large dealership in Spokane. He purchased on New Year’s Eve. Initially, he felt he was legally entitled to return the vehicle for a full refund, because, it was what he thought was a “Three-day right to return.” Wrong — the three-day right to cancel a contract only applies when a merchant or sales person makes the first contact. Door-to-door sales people are usually covered. When you, the consumer, make the first contact, the three-day right to cancel doesn’t apply. Next, the consumer told me that the vehicle didn’t drive well on snow. I asked if he took the car for a test drive. He said no. He then complained about the interest rate the dealership was charging him to finance the vehicle. Usually, dealerships don’t finance what they sell. The consumer actually contracts with a finance company. If you’ve agreed to a “pre-computed loan,” you’re obligated to pay back the principal plus the full amount of interest that will accrue over the entire term of the loan. To sum up, interest on a pre-computed loan is calculated in advance and you’re on the hook for every penny of it when you sign. Be careful. Read the ENTIRE CONTRACT.
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THINKING ABOUT DYING: Not to be morbid, but as an adult, with children, I often think about what I will leave them when I “shuffle off this mortal coil.” Or as I like to put it, “catch the big bus.” Regardless of what you call it, we’re all going to die. I believe an important question is — what are we leaving our survivors? Not money. I’m talking about the information necessary to settle our estate. Here’s a quick list you may want to start with:
- Your will or living trust
- Medical directives, powers of attorney
- Birth, death and marriage certificates
- Military records
- Social Security cards
- Car titles, property deeds and other ownership documents
- Insurance policies
- A list of all financial accounts
- Contact information for your attorney; tax pro, financial adviser and insurance agent
- Photocopies of passports, driver’s license and credit cards
Don’t leave a mess for others to clean up.
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WOOD FLOOR WOES — UPDATE: In my last column I wrote about a lady who called regarding a problem she was having with the installation of a wood floor in her home. Within minutes of submitting the text of my article to my editor, the owner of the flooring company called me. It turns out, like many consumer issues, the problem was a misunderstanding. The owner of the company called the consumer and both hit the “reset button.” They agreed to get together, the week after New Year’s Day, and resolve the problem. Almost all the consumer complaints about local businesses are a result of misunderstandings. This problem will be solved because of the good will of both parties.
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CDA VA CLINIC: Recently, I went into the local Coeur d’Alene VA clinic for a routine appointment. A checkup. My “tune up” always begins with the usual visit to the weight scale, a blood pressure check, some questions, and then a visit with my doctor. My doctor is Alan Seely, M.D. He reviewed my medications, we chatted for a couple of minutes and the appointment was over. That evening, long after most all doctor’s offices are closed, let alone Veterans Administration doctors, Dr. Seely called me at home to advise me not to take my common prescription to prevent heartburn. He explained that there was a possibility of it interacting badly with another med I was taking. The result could be a heart problem. As soon as I got off the phone, I noticed that it was almost 7 p.m. (A couple of days later a new prescription arrived by mail.)
The Veterans Administration, within the past few years, has come under some very harsh criticisms from many quarters, much of it justified and long overdue. In our area we’re very fortunate to have the Coeur d’Alene VA Clinic (CBOC) on Emma Street in Coeur d’Alene. If you’ve had problems with VA health care in the past, I’d recommend you give the people at the Coeur d’Alene clinic another chance. I think you’ll be delightfully surprised. As a former hospital administrator, I was impressed.
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REMEMBER BILL BROOKS: “He’s On Your Side”
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I have many more tips and interesting cases that I’m working on. Call me at 208-699-0506, or email me at BillBrooksAdvocate@gmail.com or fax me at 866-362-9266. You can follow me at www.billbrooksconsumeradvocate.com. I am available to speak about consumerism to schools, and local and civic groups. Bill Brooks is a consumer advocate and the broker and owner of Bill Brooks Real Estate in Coeur d’Alene.