Daily Dose of Sultnpapper 10/15/18> Those reminder slips are for a reason… but did I listen?
For those of you looking for the “Will Eat BBQ 4 U” Texas BBQ review come back tomorrow, the fire went out.
By writing checks…
So, unlike most people, I still pay some of the monthly bills by writing checks. Knowing that I don’t write but a few checks a month I seem not to pay much attention to exactly how many checks I have on hand. Well that came to bite me on the rear this weekend as I have some bills due today and not one damn check left in the checkbook and no more books of checks in the spot I keep the reserves.
Guzbucking idiot might be in more in line right now than the previous claim of genius I made a couple of weeks ago or so. I never ordered new checks, despite seeing the reminder that said “re-order checks now.”
Setting up one time…
So, on Sunday afternoon I spent some time online setting up some “one time” online payments so that I wouldn’t get hit with any late charges. I know that it would be much easier to just set it up for the automatic bill pay and let things just get taken care of like clockwork but the old man in me isn’t going to do that.
Have you ever read all the terms and conditions with all these banks and services that are used for paying bills? Don’t lie to me, you know damn well you didn’t read them, and if you did it was probably just like me and just gave them a cursory glance and didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to them.
I remember one company…
I remember one company that did a little experiment one time with “terms and conditions” and buried about one page from the very end of their terms and conditions was a note that said something to the effect of, “if you have read this far there is an extremely likely chance that you have just won $1,500 in store credit with our company.”
Then it went on to tell the folks how to submit for said store credit, which involved sending an email with some letters and numbers that were given in the instructions.
Damn near two years…
If memory serves me correctly that little blurb buried in their terms and conditions had been in there for damn near two years and had not ever been read, or if it had been read, no one ever acted on it. Finally after that length of time, one person did and they actually claimed the prize and received the credit and the company then removed that offer from the terms and conditions.
Their goal was to see just how many people would agree to the terms and conditions of using their website without ever fully reading what exactly they were agreeing too. Let me tell you it was in the thousands of people who had clicked the “agree” button before ever even reading those terms and conditions, or least hadn’t read with any degree of interest.
What reminded me of…
What reminded of that story is because I am just a guilty of not reading the terms and conditions as you are and nearly everyone else who uses a computer.
So after I set up for a one time bill pay on one of our utility accounts I went and check the online records for my checking account and saw where the bill had been paid, damn near instantaneously if not faster. The other thing I noticed was a separate transaction for $1.52 from a company I didn’t recognize, it occurred right at the same time as the utility transaction and sure enough it was from the company that processes the utility companies payments.
I didn’t see anything in what I had read about a separate charge for using the online system, I might have if I had read the terms and conditions though, since it was in there.
So the next one…
So the next one I needed to pay was the mortgage payment, damn sure didn’t want to get hit with any late fees on that account. This time though I did read the terms and conditions with regard to the bank that I have the mortgage with, at least I read most everything within the terms and conditions. Which, by the way, is a hell of a lot more than I did the utility company.
A real eye opener…
So the terms and conditions with this particular bank include having to give up certain legal rights in exchange for the convenience of using their website. That right there, giving up legal rights, is an eye opener and I have to tell you I will be at my bank getting a cashier’s check today in the amount of the mortgage payment and then driving a few hundred feet down the road to the bank that holds the mortgage on our place and making the payment.
Give up my right to…
Turns out, the bank wanted me to give up my right to a trial by jury in the event we have some disagreement that would end up in a lawsuit being filed.
Their idea of justice in such a case would be to use an arbitrator to resolve the issue and never have to see the inside of a courtroom let alone having a jury of people make the decision in the dispute. It also says that they would select and pay for the arbitrator, well hell yes they would, and I guarantee you that 99.9% of the time that the bank will have a favorable outcome in such disputes.
They maybe guilty as hell in front of jury if it ever got before one, so they conveniently get you to sign that right away without you ever even realizing you have done so by agreeing to the terms and conditions of using their website.
Not to be trusted…
The banks especially are not to be trusted, those of you who have read enough of these Daily Doses know how I feel about banks and just exactly what they are doing and have done with regard to our financial system and our money.
That sad part is that despite knowing that I am correct about it and preach about it all the time very few people couldn’t care less than they do. So that clause in the terms and conditions just goes to show you even more, that what I have been saying all along just might very well have some merit to it.
Why else would…
Why else would they want you to agree to give up YOUR RIGHTS? I didn’t see a damn thing in their terms and conditions about giving up any rights that the bank might have, oh wait, LIVING BREATHING PEOPLE HAVE RIGHTS, corporations don’t have rights that are protected by the constitution.
The UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) and statutes and regulations are what govern business and how they operate and so now these banks and other businesses are trying to drag us into their world of “justice” where we don’t belong by getting us to agree to it through terms and conditions.
So the expense of a cashier check and the inconvenience of having to make a couple extra stops today is a small price to pay for keeping my rights and since that mortgage is the only thing I have with that bank I think I can get by without having to use their website.
Before you click…
So the next time, before you click “agree”, you just might want to read what you are agreeing too. Who knows, you might just win some type of store credit, which isn’t likely, but you just may protect some of your rights which is very likely by not clicking the “agree” button.
The devil is in the details is always what my Dad used to say and that sure holds true. It doesn’t help that the devil has a bunch of law degrees and a computer that types in very small font size either.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
Oh yes, I will order new checks while I am picking up the cashier check, it is on my “to do” list today.
Note: Thanks for reading the Daily Dose.
Photo Credits : All photos are the property of @sultnpapper.
Guilty as charged, I never read the fine print!
We rarely use checks here (or we call it cheques) because of cheque fraud, many companies will not accept it unless it's a bank guaranteed cheque which is a real hassle to get.
I don't blame you for not trusting banks, I told you a long time ago about my unauthorised debit order debacle and how the banks were not interested in putting a stop to it! Well they make money from it as they charge a fee to reverse those debits on request by the account holder!
I surprised they have come up the "fee fee", where if you get charged a fee , you automatically get charged a second fee for incurring the first one.
Yep a fee fee is the right term!
Same here - I am a huge fan of Credit Unions. However they are not as developed in the UK as in the US, and although my Credit Union does online payments, they can only be sent to your own registered bank account - as I found out when I set one up to pay a large bill. Their system allowed me to set it up, but it wasn't paid.
I think this has something to do with the Banking regulations in the UK, which stipulate very tough conditions for any alternative forms of banking.
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I do occasionally read my terms and conditions. I'm kinda strange that way. But, then again, I have helped write some terms and conditions and understand that most companies try to make it as jumbled and long as they can get. The people I worked for actually wanted their terms and conditions to never go over a single page and to be written in plain English. Not your normal company.
I pay almost everything electronically. Not automatically, but electronically. And for the record, I have one full book of check blanks, at least a couple years worth at current usage levels.
When I moved to Arizona I chose a very small local bank that my Aunt owned some stock in and also used. Over the years I've gotten to know the officers of the place, even as it has grown.
They sold out to a 'conglomeration' bank about a year ago. It's not a national bank, but a group of smaller chains that have thrown in together to compete with the big dogs. So far I haven't found anything that just makes me crazy... And let the record that this company is based in Missoula, Montana. A point in their favor :)
Anyway, I deal directly with the companies when paying. No transaction fees that way. And only my phone is on auto pay. I have to remember to do all the rest.
Well, I'm waiting on the Q. I always look forward to that ever month.
Love your Daily Dose, God bless you.
Clicking on agree or signing documents without reading is a big NO for me, always has been. That is something my mom and dad (luckily for me) taught me when I still a kid. I am very grateful for that :)
I rarely read through the Terms and Conditions (I have done on a couple of occasions when really big or important transactions were involved).
What I sometimes do is click on the Ts&Cs and then do an online search for "fees". This quickly highlights any additional or unexpected fees that might be included.
I can't remember the last time I signed a cheque - it was probably back in the last century! But I avoid paying by direct debit or even standing order at all costs, because they can put you into overdraft and incur fees. If I do have to pay by these methods, I try to schedule it for the end or beginning of the month, when most of my income goes into my account. I pay most bills by bank transfer.
I pay mostly by bank transfer by there are a couple I use checks for normally. None of them are set up on an auto pay schedule for the exact reasons you pointed out.
I am also a fan of credit unions. I have never had a problem with them in the 30 plus years I have been dealing with them. Banks I have had problems with and arguing with them is a royal pain.
It depends on the site I go to whether or not I am likely to read the terms of service, but I think from now on I really need to take a closer look at them.
I had an account with a credit union back in the 80's and I never had any problems with them, I may just need to take another look at those.
I think from now on I am going to look at the t &c's of any site where I might be using for some type a financial transaction. Other than that I don't much care, they are going to track you and sell your data and information regardless of what they say.
Hi @sultnpaper. Sorry to intrude on your replies but I need to get a message out to my friends about what is happening here. I hope you understand.
I am typing from a borrowed computer in a cyber cafe. My computer and both phones died on Saturday as well as our poor 17 year old kitty, Sally. Then on Sunday the grandfather of the family that is staying with us in the compound passed away. We had his funeral on Monday afternoon. Organizing a funeral in the midst of a war is horrendous. We have also had two tropical storms sitting over us dumping a tremendous amount of water causing flooding and mudslides. Tuesday my son and I were both sick to add to problems.
The country is in a terrible state. The central bank is bust and people are still being shot and being imprisoned with no hope of release as they have been deemed terrorists. Everyone's safety is in peril. We don't dare leave the compound after noon on any day. Going to the cemetery was a risk. I can't replace my phone or my computer until I don't know when so I will not be on here or steemit much if at all. I all ready miss all my friends on both platforms and on discord. If I plan it right, I may be able to keep in touch with people through discord. Until We chat again. Take care. ♥💔😢
Oh Ceci I have no problem with you getting the word out in this reply and I will try to help figure out a way to spread that word to the communities I know you are in on here. I have been so focused on my own problems which in the grand scheme of things are tiny compared to what you and your family are experiencing.
My thoughts and prayers are with you and I hope things straiten out in your country.
howdy sir sultnpapper! great advice and I bet some people will take the time to read the terms and conditions from now on!
I still use a check book for almost all the bills.
Like I said the devil is in the details of those "terms and conditions" giving up rights isn't something I am interested in doing.