[Zeke]

2nd payment for the annual tax is due Friday 4/10. Of course this has always been convenient given income tax payments (self employed) are due on the 15th. I have sent checks to L.A. County (lost) and been charged the 10% penalty. I sent an E-check that never arrived, again, the penalty. BTW, there is no one to call about where an E-check is, so 3 years later it's still out there and never been debited to my account.

So, what do you do? You use a CC and pay the service fee which is tens of dollars. At least you get an instant digital trail and confirmation to argue your case it they say they didn't get it. I got a digital receipt just like the last few times. It's worth the extra fee. Every time. The tens of dollars is piece of mind and nowhere near 10% of the tax payment.

So what is my problem now? I get online, get it all lined up, and in the check out cart (where they add the fee), enter my card and it's declined. I have no problem with my card so I do it again — declined. OK, fookers, I get a Master Card out that has no rebate and enter that one. Now we're good. They took that one with now a 3rd fee. 3 fees, one payment.

I then look at my phone. The first card has been charged fees 2wice with the 2 attempts!! Now that's a system for you. Lost my check, lost or didn't process the E-check option they offer (no fees) and can't get a perfectly good card to work but can process the fee.

How do I know my first card was OK? I called immediately and asked to decline the charges. They see them and say yeah, OK, and there is nothing wrong with your card. Use anytime. Fees refunded. They did the rest. Thank you Discover, always have my back.

That's just one major mess, along with the pharmacy screw up, and my phone insurance balking at repairing my phone for a cracked screen because I had it repaired once before during an emergency at an independent. I needed it right now and I got it done in 10 minutes. I paid the premium or $160, but worked fine. Even the Assurant INS does not use factory iPhone screens.

I did break that new screen with in a week, no new tempered glass cover. So I go where t-Mobile says to go. In the process they deleted all my data, 5 years worth, I back it up locally, no cloud but they don't know that. They didn't fix the screen and handed me a dead phone with an error message on the screen. I had just called the assH on the phone while on my way. He said he needed days t fix it. I just got is fixed it 10 minutes. He's up selling some software corruption BS. Dude, my phone was working when I handed it to you. I had to have it back I'd go trade it in within the hour. Dude a T-Mobile wakes it up in a minute but no data, full factory reset with no discussion of date preservation.

So working but empty phone, medicines are being sent to another CVS miles from me but I got my taxes in and in the end got the bogus fees reversed, This is four hours of my day.

BTW, I did contact T-Mobile and talked to a great CS guy. All he can tell me is call Assurant. That's exactly what Assurant told me to do, call my provider. It was a flook that the ins was on my hand me down iPhone 10 XS Max that was my wife's. The ins was suppose to be rolled over to the new 17 Pro. She's been unknowingly uninsured on a thousand dollar phone for 3/4 year. She does damage or lose them. I never have until now and it could have been a blessing that they failed to move the policy. Maybe not if she had one of her episodes. With dementia anything can happen.

Now realizing how worthless this INS is (would you like an extended warrantee on you new LG washer? Maybe) not me. The phone still works but I have work around screen issues like no facial req or pass keys.

I will get a new phone but meanwhile I'm documenting, using AI to build my demand letter and locating all the offices and legal persons of service and filing a demand. Lost phone, cost of forensics and diagnostic fees all estimated and proposed by nationally data recovery companies. I am keeping the XS as evidence because all actions are recorded in the history. I hope those show what I suspect the tech tried to pull on me. He did disappear behind the wall where the service desk was and made me wait a full 5 minutes where he could have erased all of the recent activities. Hoping deep forensics can pull that back up. He could have changed my CPU in 5 minutes to cover his tracks. Well, the judge can decide.

Like Long John Baldry said, "Don't try to lay no BOOgie WOOgie on the King of Rock 'n Roll."

How's your day? I think I'm head to the store for some Jack. Been dry for 24 months.