An area that is hitting me personally is the cost of being handicapped.  Before I was forced to use a wheelchair, I would play $5 slots at a casino in upper Michigan.  However, the $5 slot machines have been isolated up three stairs on a platform.  I can not drive my electric wheelchair up three stairs!  For the past two years I have complained and waited for a response.  Perhaps they wanted me to get so upset that I would tell the entire world!

See Handicapped not wanted at Chip-In's Casino Chip-In's Island Resort and Casino for more information.  Why couldn't they at least respond and give me an excuse?  Ignoring me makes me feel that either they have no compassion or think the handicapped are not worth being their customers.  If I do eventually hear an excuse, it will have to be a whopper to explain why they did nothing for over two years!

E-mail:    Mike@nicemike.com

Wendy from the Discover Card service center said that the notice allowed me to "opt out", make my card inactive, and pay it off at the lower rate.  If I had received the notice, I would have opted out.  So, I asked about opting out now and paying off the card at the lower interest rate.  Wendy said that it was too late, that the offer ended at the beginning of October.  She said that there was nothing more that she could do.

Here is their website:  DiscoverCard.com

I will still try to get them to act in good faith.  They can not expect that the mail is a reliable means of notification, because I have received neighbor's mail on several occasions.  My relatives experience similar problems with misdirected mail.  If your mail is delivered to the wrong address, and they think it is "junk mail" and throw it away, is this reliable?

Why not allow me to "opt out" once I see my rate go up?  By failing to accommodate my request, I do not plan to use any Discover service again.  I will pay off my card and remember it as a bad experience with another company which did not care if I was a customer.

I switched from SBC at $35 to $40 a month (including long distance) for a claimed $30 by VarTec Telecom, Inc. (including long distance), and was billed for $45 a month!  True their basic charge was $29.95, but they also charged these additional costs:

Federal USF Reimbursement                  $ 1.31
Relay Service Charge                       $ 0.02
FCC Approved Line Charge - Primary Line    $ 6.50
Local Number Portability Fee               $ 0.28
FCC Approved Line Charge - Additional Line $ 7.00
                                           ======
******************* Total extra charges = $ 15.11

It appears that they can legally charge the Primary Line fee, but I am not sure about the Additional Line fee.  The operators at VarTec Telecom seemed to think that it was for an additional line that I do not have, and said that they were removing it on 9-17-03.  However, on my next bill dated 9-25-03 the Additional Line Charge fee was still there - and they did not refund the previous fees as they had told me!

Instead of putting up with this BS, I have changed back to SBC today, 10-02-03.  I believe that VarTec Telecom Sucks!  I guess that I will be lucky to get back any of the "Additional Line" fees.

If you want VarTec Telecom's official website:   www.vartec.com

Why does it seem that banks and telephone companies hide the real costs of their services?  I have been screwed by both, and would sooner not give either of them any business if I could avoid it.  It seems that a better bank or phone company is simply the least of available evils.  In my experience, the ethics of either sucks!

What are the real costs of the following services?:
. FastCashCard.com
. EquityOneAuto.com
. ExpressGoldCard.com
. UnitedCashLoans.com
. LexingtonLaw.com