I took a picture off the TV tonight. Hubby noticed this crossbow.

How the heck is she supposed to fire this thing?

This is from a preview for the new NBC fall series Revolution. The show looks great but this crossbow is both backwards and unarmed.

This is an armed crossbow facing the right direction:

It’s my birthday today. I was born on Fathers’ Day a half-century ago. I don’t feel a day over 21.

My daddy and me about my first birthday:

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One of my best buds has started up new blog and you should be sure to go visit!

Housewife How Tos

Yesterday I received a collection letter from A.R.M. Solutions, Inc. out of Camarillo, CA informing me that my

…account with our client First Lien Term Lenders Liquidating Trust, the legal successor to Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery, has been sent to us for collections due to its severe past due status. Below are the specific titles that contributed to this debt. Your total amount due may include some titles not listed here.

Date	Title
10/01/2009	DVD-Battle for Terra (2009/WS)
01/30/2009	DVD-Spy Kids 3D-Game Ove(WS/2D
01/30/2009	DVD-Speed Racer Next-Fast Trac
10/01/2009	DVD-Observe And Report (WS/FF)
02/04/2009	DVD-Repo!-Genetic Opera (WS)
01/30/2009	DVD-Duchess  The (2008/WS)

and that somehow I owe them $44.59.

I never, ever received anything from Hollywood Video indicating that my account was in any way other than in good standing as of the local store closing. I had paid for the $15 a month “Power Play” subscription that allowed me to take out a couple of DVDs at a time without paying a rental fee. I was a customer who would go in on Tuesdays (release day) and pick up a few DVDs and we would end up watching them on Friday and Saturday and return them on Sunday. DVDs rented on Tuesday were due by closing time on Sunday. Any DVDs over and above the amount on the Power Play (I think it was two) I would pay the regular rental price on.

We always returned our DVDs on time. If we didn’t get to one over the weekend I would still return it and then take it out again to see it. I had accrued no late fees. I didn’t owe anything to Hollywood Video at all. I still don’t.

Putting First Lien Term Lenders Liquidating Trust into Google returns some articles about them.

A Daily Finance article from May 11, 2011 says that the company entered into a settlement with the Attorneys General of all 50 states and Washington, DC to settle allegations of misconduct. Apparently Bankruptcy First Term Lenders Liquidating Trust was reporting these collection actions to the credit reporting agencies and negatively affecting consumers’ credit ratings.

A link from there goes to a press release from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office which lists the settlement details as follows:

As part of the agreement, the bankruptcy trustee, Movie Gallery, Inc. Bankruptcy First Term Lenders Liquidating Trust, agrees to:

? Cancel all previously submitted consumer credit reports.
? Not submit any future consumer credit reports.
? Not charge collection fees or interest on principal amounts consumers owe.
? Not charge consumers double for late fees.
? Protect consumers from future abusive practices in collection of the accounts.

The settlement was filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division. The Court approved the settlement by order dated May 5, 2011.

There are a number of collection agencies used by this company as well. I’ve seen National Credit Solutions, West Bay Acquisitions, and Universal Fidelity LP, to name a few in addition to A.R.M. Solutions letter that I received.

At consumeraffairs.com there are many complaints about these letters.

One of the articles I found was at Boston.com from last month in answer to a question sent to their Consumer Alert columnist Mitch Lipka questioner had received a letter from Universal Fidelity LP and Lipka told the writer:

On Universal Fidelity’s website is an email address to file an appeal of the debt. Object to the collection notice and that’s it. It isn’t usually that simple.

I Googled A.R.M. Solutions and found their website at armsolutions.com. There’s a nice large button that says “Hollywood Video Customers Click Here“.

Hollywood Video

The settlement agreement with the states generally permits the continued collection of valid amounts owed by former customers of Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video. There are, however, some limitations in the settlement agreement on what kinds of charges may be collected. Fees not to be collected are: 1. Any collection charges, including interest, in excess of the principal amounts incurred by the customer, 2. combined late fees and product charges for the same rental transaction and 3. stand- alone product charges related to a single rental transaction. Other than these limitations, the settlement agreement does not contain any determinations regarding the validity of, or the amounts of specific claims asserted against individual customers. Customers, like you, still retain the right to dispute whether amounts sought from them are in fact owed. If customers have questions or concerns regarding the settlement agreement, they should contact their state’s attorney general general’s [sic] consumer protection section for additional information

FAQ:

Q: “Why haven’t I heard about this earlier?”
A: These accounts are part of the bankruptcy estate of Hollywood Video/Movie Gallery. If we have contacted you now, it is on behalf of the trustee. A trustee has been assigned by the bankruptcy court to liquidate the assets of the debtors including delinquent customer accounts.
Q: “Is this going to be reported to my credit report?”
A: These accounts will not be reported to the credit bureaus.
Q: “I had a power play membership that didn’t charge late fees, how do I
have a balance due?”
A: Power play didn’t cover unlimited rentals for everyone. It was only good for certain titles (new releases were excluded, as were games for various programs). Also, you could have had a “2 out” program and rented a 3rd or 4th movie. The additional movies would have been subject to fees just like anyone else’s rentals.
Q:“I was an employee of Hollywood Video and didn’t get charged late fees, how do I have a balance due?”
A: Hollywood Video/Movie Gallery had no such policy allowing employees to rent for free or have no late fees.
Q:“My credit card was on file with Hollywood Video, why wasn’t my balance paid via auto debit?”
A: There was a debit program for power play memberships, however, late fees were never debited automatically.
Q:“I wasn’t allowed to rent movies if I had outstanding late fees, how do I have a balance due that includes multiple rental dates?”
A: There was no company policy stating you could not rent if you had outstanding late fees. The sales associate would typically say “you have some late fees, do you want to pay these today or on your next transaction? All a customer had to state was ”I will handle them next time” and they were allowed to rent their movies. It is possible that the associate never mentioned your late fees on the next visit. Floating late fees from one visit to the next resulted in balances being due at the time of closing.

Resources:

Hollywood Video Agreed Order

There is nothing here about how to dispute the charges. No email address to use, no link to a form. There is a notice on the back of the collection letter however.

Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume this debt is valid. If you notify this office in writing within 30 days from receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, this office will obtain verification of the debt or obtain a copy of judgement [sic] and mail you a copy of such judgment or verification. If you request this office in writing within 30 days after receiving this notice this office will provide you with the name and address of of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.

I do not owe this. I owe nothing to Hollywood Video. I did not incur any late fees let alone leave them unpaid.

The FAQ referenced above only seems to try to shut down any objections one might have and doesn’t really explain anything. For example, question number one above: “Why haven’t I heard about this earlier?” The answer given doesn’t explain anything to me. The agreed order linked to above is dated May 6, 2011 – over a year ago. Yet only now am I receiving a letter.

Back to that Boston Globe Consumer Alert column from above:

About 4,000 have complained to Universal Fidelity after getting notices, according to Paul Farinacci, the company’s chief executive. About 40,000 of the 400,000 accounts that Universal Fidelity is pursuing have paid outstanding bills, he said.

How many of those 40,000 just paid this without question? How many accounts are they looking at total? That 400,000 figure seems to be only the accounts Fidelity Universal was pursuing.

The contact page at armsolutions.com has a fax number and a contact email. As the notice on the back of letter specifies “in writing” I will write a letter and fax it to them today. I have an excellent credit rating and even though the agreed order states that they cannot submit this to the reporting agencies, receiving this letter informing me for the first time about alleged debts over three years old doesn’t fill me with confidence.

May the Fourth be with you!

This Rosengate issue – with Hilary Rosen saying that stay at home mom  Ann Romney “never worked a day in her life” has me thinking about all these monolithic voting blocks: Hispanics, Blacks, Minorities, Women, etc.

The political class (both sides) has categorized certain groups of people and then they purport to tell us what our issues are.

I’m sorry, but those categories/issues don’t necessarily match up.

I am a woman. According to the Powers That Be (PTB) I should be for free birth control, “women’s health”, equal pay, doing it all, etc.

On the contrary, I am concerned with the economy and the slow erosion of my freedoms and rights.

I’ve been both a “working” mom and a stay at home mom (SAHM). I’ve been a married mom and a single mom.

As a younger mom, being a SAHM made economic sense. In those days an hourly office job (reception, secretary, customer service, clerk, etc.) paid about $8-10 an hour. For a 40-hour week that’s $320-$400 gross. Daycare for two small children was going to be $350 a week. Our family would be losing money if I were to be a “working” mom.

Later on, I was a “working” mom making enough money to cover some of the extra expenses of being a “working” mom; daycare, extra gas, convenience foods, office suitable clothing, etc. I had a job I liked. I accomplished a lot. But I was missing out on a lot of my children’s lives. I was out of the home for 10-12 hours weekdays and so was my husband. I’d get home and have to cook dinner. There was little time to spend with the children before bedtime, then there was pick-up and dishes and bedtime for mom and dad and then it started over again the next day. Hubby was – and is -a big help in the home.

In 2001 Hubby was laid off from his job the day before his company’s IPO. For two three years he worked temp jobs. I worked full time until my company was sold and the headquarters was moved. Parts of my job were transferred to three other people. I then worked temp jobs for a while as well. At one of my temp jobs the company was looking for a employee with Hubby’s skill set. Hubby got that job (he was overqualified and took an entry-level position) and has been there since. I had to leave another temp job because The Little Guy was expelled from pre-school. He was misbehaving and headbutted the teacher, breaking one of her teeth.

So, I left my temp job and once again became a SAHM. We had two cars at the time, but when the lease was up on mine, we turned the car in. We’ve made sacrifices with the loss of incomes. Hubby’s temp jobs weren’t paying what the old job did. It’s taken time for the new job to get close or match what the old job paid 10 years ago. My income was gone, but so were a lot of expenses such as the lease payment for the second car, daycare, clothes and dry cleaning, take-out, and the more expensive convenience foods from the grocery store. We used to hire a babysitter every Friday night and go out to dinner and a movie. We still go out to movies occasionally, but usually with the whole family.

The Little Guy was still having some issues so we took him to the doctor and found he has ADHD before he went to kindergarten. We had his ADHD under control before he entered the public school system so he’s never been pigeonholed and he’s currently in a brand-new enriched fifth-grade class that is composed of students from throughout our school district.

A Stay at Home Mom works. She runs a home. She provides 24/7 child care. She is a teacher. She is often a volunteer as well. I have put in many hours with the PTO, spending days and weeks at the school running book fairs and Santa Shops, Family Movie Nights, and Fun Fairs. Arranging Teacher Appreciation lunches. Helping out with twice-yearly picture days. I was also the Cubmaster for our Cub Scout Pack for three years. As The Little Guy is moving into Boy Scouts I’m cutting down to serving as Treasurer of the Cub Scout Pack and Webmaster to both the Cub Scout Pack and the Boy Scout Troop.

Even “women who lunch” aren’t sitting at home with a box of bon-bons. They volunteer. They serve on boards. They’re involved in their communities.

Women aren’t a monolithic group who all think and feel the same way. We are a naturally diverse group. Sure, some women are concerned about what the PTB think they should be concerned about. Others of us have different concerns. I’d like to know that my children and grandchildren won’t be paying for the “entitlements” of today. I see what’s happening in Greece and see where this country is heading and I don’t like it. I know that “it didn’t work before, but it will work this time” is a load of crap.

Fairness is that everyone have a stake. Everyone pays something. Currently 47% don’t pay any income taxes at all. But they receive the bulk of the “benefits”. They don’t necessarily pay the payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) either. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a “rebate” of all or part of those taxes withheld from each paycheck. This is how people who don’t owe any income taxes can receive a refund of more than was withheld (for income tax).

And with these rebates of Social Security and Medicare taxes is it any wonder the “lockbox” is running dry? Add in the recent “temporary” payroll tax reduction and it’s even worse.

Added: During my SAHM time I’ve completed my Bachelor’s degree (Bachelor of Science in Business/eBusiness) and I am one class shy of my MBA. I am a small business owner of Schratwieser Consulting, and a disabled veteran. My oldest child, a daughter, is 21-years-old with developmental disabilities, a moderate conductive hearing loss, epilepsy, and lupus. I also have two sons, one is 17 years old and the other is 11 years old.

I miss you.

Today would have been his 78th birthday.

My mom and two of her sisters went to visit their other sister in Florida this weekend. They all flew down together but one sister came back on a different flight than my mom and the other sister.

My 72-year-old mother went through the x-ray machine at the airport in Jacksonville. They found “artifacts” and said she had to go for a wanding and pat-down.

Mom wasn’t very happy about it. It was early, she hadn’t had much sleep, and the lines certainly weren’t short. Here was TSA giving my mom a hard time. They showed her the picture with the artifacts. Two were her armpits. She was wearing the same clothes she wore on the trip down to Florida and there weren’t any artifacts at O’Hare when she went through the machine there.

After the wanding and the pat-down they insisted on seeing her hands too, and wiped them down for explosive residue.

Mom was upset enough that she got the supervisor over. She was then disgusted that the supervisor praised the TSA employee, “Good job Mary!”

As noted above, my mom is 72 years old. She is not a terrorist nor does she look like a terrorist.

She feels somewhat terrorized by the TSA though. She doesn’t have a choice but to submit their “tender ministrations” if she wants to get from Chicago to Florida in a few hours versus a few days. Especially when she’s travelling with her sisters, one of whom was already taking a few days off from work. Driving to Florida wasn’t really an option for them.