Post Your Financial Fails

[disneysteve]

I'm trying to decide if this is a win or a fail. I broke my arm (slipped on ice) and had an overnight hospital visit and surgery. (I don't know how much it is going to cost, yet)

The reason it might be a win is because I was going to purchase D23 convention tickets in the pre-sale yesterday and they were all sold out by the time I logged in today. So, I guess I saved the cost of the tickets. (Although I do get a second chance today. )

So, be careful out there.

Oh no. Wishing you a speedy recovery. Sorry you missed out on the D23 tickets. We’d love to go some year. Good luck getting them today.

[kork13]

Yesterday my wife's cell phone (Pixel 3XL) decided to take a figurative dive off the deep end. Her phone suddenly stopped charging, and is now a brick. We tried taking it to a repair place, they replaced the battery & charge port, but to no avail. Diagnosis: motherboard fried itself. Gratefully, they didn't add insult to injury, and didn't charge us for the labor & diagnosis time.... But the phone is only 2.5 years old, so pretty disappointing and random failure to have suddenly happen. The Pixel line has otherwise served us really well... I had my original Pixel for almost 4 years and it was still doing fine (just slow & losing compatibility with some apps) when I replaced it.

So DW is now in the market for a new phone.... Ugh.... Trying to talk her into a $450 Pixel 5a, but she's leaning toward the newest Pixel 6 ($600). Sure, the cost difference is small in the scheme of things, so I'm not overly concerned either way... It's just the difference between "best" and "good enough" (and a pretty good option either way).

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I got a pixel 6 and dh a pixel 6 pro. I haven't had such a nice phone in years. I typically am too hard on my phones. However I will say that if we become FI to the extent I want, I'm totally never going back to my Moto G phones of $100 and only buying pixels.

I don't need a new fancy phone I want one. I need a phone and the moto g is enough for what i need but i prefer the pixel. And it's so nice having more than 32 GB of ram and space to actually install apps!

[riverwed070707]

I got a pixel 6 and dh a pixel 6 pro. I haven't had such a nice phone in years. I typically am too hard on my phones. However I will say that if we become FI to the extent I want, I'm totally never going back to my Moto G phones of $100 and only buying pixels.

I don't need a new fancy phone I want one. I need a phone and the moto g is enough for what i need but i prefer the pixel. And it's so nice having more than 32 GB of ram and space to actually install apps!

Ugh. I fell in the trap recently of upgrading my iPhone 8 plus. It was a 5 year old phone and performance was slow after recent updates. Sprint/T-mobile had a deal where I could get an iPhone 12 (not the latest model) for $12/mo after a monthly bill credit if I turned in my old phone. Just got a notice yesterday they did not find my phone to be "in good working condition" even though it worked fine albeit slow. They retracted the credit essentially taking my purchase price from $288 to $999+tax. Called and they basically said sorry you're out of luck and no we can't return the old phone. Would have never upgraded, or at minimum not sent in my perfectly good phone, if I'd known this would be the case. Feel like it was a bait and switch tactic. If I didn't need to be connected to email and such for my side businesses, I'd switch to a flip phone. The costs are absurd these days.

[ua_guy]

Ugh. I fell in the trap recently of upgrading my iPhone 8 plus. It was a 5 year old phone and performance was slow after recent updates. Sprint/T-mobile had a deal where I could get an iPhone 12 (not the latest model) for $12/mo after a monthly bill credit if I turned in my old phone. Just got a notice yesterday they did not find my phone to be "in good working condition" even though it worked fine albeit slow. They retracted the credit essentially taking my purchase price from $288 to $999+tax. Called and they basically said sorry you're out of luck and no we can't return the old phone. Would have never upgraded, or at minimum not sent in my perfectly good phone, if I'd known this would be the case. Feel like it was a bait and switch tactic. If I didn't need to be connected to email and such for my side businesses, I'd switch to a flip phone. The costs are absurd these days.

We did a deal like that last year and were worried about the same thing happening, because we had heard other reports of that happening to people (turning in a good/working phone and then being denied credit). But, it worked out OK for us and we received the credit we expected. Our phones had lived in cases all their lives and were basically flawless.

What you experienced isn't an uncommon story. I'd hate to think their was ill-intent in the way they set up the program but it seems ripe for some kind of class-action.

[riverwed070707]

We did a deal like that last year and were worried about the same thing happening, because we had heard other reports of that happening to people (turning in a good/working phone and then being denied credit). But, it worked out OK for us and we received the credit we expected. Our phones had lived in cases all their lives and were basically flawless.

What you experienced isn't an uncommon story. I'd hate to think their was ill-intent in the way they set up the program but it seems ripe for some kind of class-action.

What's even crazier is I was rereading the agreement they made me sign and it specifically states I waived my right to participate in a class action suit. Is that legal?

[disneysteve]

Ugh. I fell in the trap recently of upgrading my iPhone 8 plus. It was a 5 year old phone and performance was slow after recent updates. Sprint/T-mobile had a deal where I could get an iPhone 12 (not the latest model) for $12/mo after a monthly bill credit if I turned in my old phone. Just got a notice yesterday they did not find my phone to be "in good working condition" even though it worked fine albeit slow. They retracted the credit essentially taking my purchase price from $288 to $999+tax. Called and they basically said sorry you're out of luck and no we can't return the old phone. Would have never upgraded, or at minimum not sent in my perfectly good phone, if I'd known this would be the case. Feel like it was a bait and switch tactic. If I didn't need to be connected to email and such for my side businesses, I'd switch to a flip phone. The costs are absurd these days.

I hope you're pursuing that up the ladder. That's unacceptable. We've done trade-ins before. The policy has always been that the phone needed to power up. They check it when I hand it over and that's the end of it. They can't change their mind later. The phone has never been in "good working condition" or else we wouldn't have been replacing it. There's always something wrong with it. That's the whole point.

[QuarterMillionMan]

My experience was similar to Riverwed selling an old iPhone to a company called "Sell your iphone" or something like that. Upon receipt of my old iPhone in their possesion, they said it had a small scratch, etc. Originally they quoted $150, but with the scratch it was worth only $60. They negotiated up to $70, then $80. I negotiated $125. They said that the highest they could go was $85. I requested they send it back which they did at their expense and they paid for shipping it back to me. At that point I decided never to deal with those online companies that buys used phones. I find that I can do a lot better selling it on eBay.

[disneysteve]

My experience was similar to Riverwed selling an old iPhone to a company called "Sell your iphone" or something like that. Upon receipt of my old iPhone in their possesion, they said it had a small scratch, etc. Originally they quoted $150, but with the scratch it was worth only $60. They negotiated up to $70, then $80. I negotiated $125. They said that the highest they could go was $85. I requested they send it back which they did at their expense and they paid for shipping it back to me. At that point I decided never to deal with those online companies that buys used phones. I find that I can do a lot better selling it on eBay.

That's a different scenario than an in-person trade-in. I'd avoid that sort of thing where I have to mail them the item. But walking into a Sprint or AT&T or Target or Best Buy store to do a trade-in, they see the phone right away and can decide whether or not it meets their criteria. If they accept it, then they're agreeing that it qualifies. They can't decide later that they were wrong. I would definitely fight that.

[disneysteve]

My daughter noticed a few months ago that her car registration card was expired. My wife and I checked our copies and they were expired. I pay the bills (her car is not in her name) and I sent the check 4/8/21 and it was cashed. With COVID and everything else, we just never did anything about it. I knew they got the payment and figured the card just never made it to us.

DD pointed out that her inspection is due this month, but she needs the card to do that. DW and I went to DMV the other day (car is in her name). My plan was to just renew it since it's almost due anyway. Clerk tells us that it expired a year ago. I showed her the cancelled check proving they had gotten the renewal payment, but all she knows is what her computer tells her. She's not there to think. I could have asked for a manager but visiting DMV is a painful experience already so I just wanted to get out of there. I repaid last year's registration and this year's so we're now paid up through 5/23. It cost me an extra $46.50. Clerk did give me the number to call to try and get a refund but my sanity is worth more than the aggravation that will come from trying to get a competent person on the phone at DMV. Not worth my time.

[ua_guy]

What's even crazier is I was rereading the agreement they made me sign and it specifically states I waived my right to participate in a class action suit. Is that legal?

Yes, because it is a legal contract and there is consideration for accepting the terms. They are expecting that most people won't actually read it. That doesn't mean you can't file a complaint with your state's consumer protection agency, however.

[scfr]

My daughter noticed a few months ago that her car registration card was expired. My wife and I checked our copies and they were expired. I pay the bills (her car is not in her name) and I sent the check 4/8/21 and it was cashed. With COVID and everything else, we just never did anything about it. I knew they got the payment and figured the card just never made it to us.

DD pointed out that her inspection is due this month, but she needs the card to do that. DW and I went to DMV the other day (car is in her name). My plan was to just renew it since it's almost due anyway. Clerk tells us that it expired a year ago. I showed her the cancelled check proving they had gotten the renewal payment, but all she knows is what her computer tells her. She's not there to think. I could have asked for a manager but visiting DMV is a painful experience already so I just wanted to get out of there. I repaid last year's registration and this year's so we're now paid up through 5/23. It cost me an extra $46.50. Clerk did give me the number to call to try and get a refund but my sanity is worth more than the aggravation that will come from trying to get a competent person on the phone at DMV. Not worth my time.

In the future, do you have the option of renewing online, insuring the payment gets credited to your car for the correct year?

[disneysteve]

In the future, do you have the option of renewing online, insuring the payment gets credited to your car for the correct year?

I think you can do it online for an added fee. I've always done it by mail to avoid that. First time in forever that we've had a problem so I probably won't change unless it occurs again.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Disneysteve this is riverbed’s quote, “Would have never upgraded, or at minimum not sent in my perfectly good phone, if I'd known this would be the case. Feel like it was a bait and switch tactic.” Simlar to my case where I had to send mine’s. It’s not an in-person transaction. I agree with riverwed where I felt like being baited & switched.

[disneysteve]

Disneysteve this is riverbed’s quote, “Would have never upgraded, or at minimum not sent in my perfectly good phone, if I'd known this would be the case. Feel like it was a bait and switch tactic.” Simlar to my case where I had to send mine’s. It’s not an in-person transaction. I agree with riverwed where I felt like being baited & switched.

Gotcha. Yeah, I’ve only done trade ins in person. No chance of this happening that way.