CA Property Tax Rant and more....

[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.

[Dantilla]

Yikes.

Twice a year, I walk into the county assessor's office, where I'm greeted with a smile.
I give them a check, they date stamp and sign the receipt. All good.

[Zeke]

Walking into the L.A. Taxes office means a full TSA shakedown, lines and rude people. $25 to park. 15 minute walk. Hour drive each way. They accept checks at one location for a county land area of 4000 Sq miles.

[wildthing]

Must be your county website that sucks. Have not had a problem with Santa Clara County property tax website. But yeah, wasted time on your end...

[Dantilla]

When I lived in Washington, the assessor's office had a mail slot in the side of the building.
Drop the check in the slot, and it was guaranteed to be posted on time.
No need to go inside, yet there was always a long line of people waiting for way too long to pay in person.

[WPOZZZ]

I got a HNL tax bill the other day for $23. I dropped off all the prop taxes in the City's drop box on the due date. They all went through no problem, except for one. I told the girl six payments were in the same envelope and she checked them all and said all were posted 2/20 except for that one payment. Someone in the office messed up, but she said it was the burden of the taxpayer to prove it was paid on time.

[Zeke]

@WPOZZ, "....but she said it was the burden of the taxpayer to prove it was paid on time"

Exactly. They screw up, you pay.

[Zeke]

Different day, same siht. UPS supposed to take meds to the local CVS from CVS Specialty. They arrive at the CVS lunch time, 1:30 to 2. Every fiiking CVS is closed one half an hour at that time. UPS doesn't know? Have they fired all the drivers and hired Amazon drivers?

The T-Mobile thing? Thugs. I bet the cartel owns it. Or they put witness protection people in hidden management jobs. A perfect crime syndicate.

At least I don't have to deal with the taxes until Dec. I never did get a receipt but I'll trust my CC debit as payment until I find myself on the foreclosure list.

The core of the working people now are the product of the failed schools. Don't look at this link unless you want to get depressed. All it says is one-third of high school students can't read. 20% of those graduating can't read.

Here in the sewer I think the number is more like 1/2.

[john70t]

Certified letter with lots of photos?

[DWBOX2000]

CA is one of the worst from a corporate income tax perspective. San Francisco blows too.
Sorry for your troubles.

[bugstrider]

It’s so bad here, I pay property tax on a county owned hangar that I RENT!! It’s about the size of a shoebox. They changed it to “possessory tax” after I called them out on it.

Phucers


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[Bill Douglas]

Here in Wellington NZ I have a small unit in a commercial complex. Man cave and somewhere to put the 911. They upped the property tax (we call it rates) from $1,600 per year to $11, 200 per year saying it was commercial and commercial rates applied. Seriously.

I explained to them I paid $58,000 in sales tax due to the fact it wasn't commercial so I'm sure not paying the $11,200. We had an email war for a month or two then they said as far as they were concerned the discussion is over and it's $11,200 so I asked for the boss of department's name so I can take him to court and the court decide what "Is fair and reasonable" (a legal term here in NZ). They wouldn't tell me his name so I said to the clerk never mind I'll take you to court instead. Then they said OK not commercial but your old category no longer exists (quite untrue) and your new category costs $3,000 and something. I can live with that I suppose.

[masraum]

Dealing with the govt can be a royal PITA, but it sounds like some of you guys are or have dealt with the worst.

Made me think of Joe Pesci as Leo Getz



And someone on the Internet thought the same thing from what I can only assume was a similar rant because in the same thread that mentioned the Lethal Weapon Joe Pesci rant, this was featured.

[Randolph]

You can't pay property tax through a website in CA?

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

You can't pay property tax through a website in CA?

You can access your bill online and then go to the third party portal to make the payment. As I mentioned, a couple times I used an e-check (no fees) and the last time it never went through and there is no way to trace it. So 3 years later it's still in a system somewhere.

Or you can use a CC and the CC company will have the record you need to prove you were debited. Whether it went to your account (property) is up to you to go back and check because the county doesn't respond with a "paid" notice.

The last thing you can do other than show up in person at the ONE office in downtown L.A. is to mail a check with a stub provided with the tax bill. Again, I have mailed many checks but one didn't get there and I was dinged 10%. The check was never found but I did put at stop payment on it for another $35. So that one was pretty expensive too at somewhere under $200 extra.

The 2 point something fee for the CC seems to be the best way even though it adds 50 bucks. DMV is easier online, goes through every time. State vs. county.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Zeke

You can access your bill online and then go to the third party portal to make the payment. As I mentioned, a couple times I used an e-check (no fees) and the last time it never went through and there is no way to trace it. So 3 years later it's still in a system somewhere.

I'm surprised that once you finalize the payment, you don't get a confirmation screen with some sort of confirmation number. I normally take a screenshot of those confirmation numbers with the whole browser window that shows the site and URL. That way, I have some way to show that the website says that the payment was completed. I would think that "they" should be able to trace to some extent, the confirmation number. It should at least enable you to get out of late payment fees.

[Randolph]

Originally Posted by masraum

I'm surprised that once you finalize the payment, you don't get a confirmation screen with some sort of confirmation number. I normally take a screenshot of those confirmation numbers with the whole browser window that shows the site and URL. That way, I have some way to show that the website says that the payment was completed. I would think that "they" should be able to trace to some extent, the confirmation number. It should at least enable you to get out of late payment fees.

Thanks for adding this for me. Property tax and water bill, I also take a screenshot of confirmation screen that the bill has been paid and have an email folder just for confirmation emails.

I can't believe anyone wouldn't do these simple steps too.

[Cairo94507]

The USPS is inherently unreliable her in Auburn, CA. I walk the tax bill into the County and pay it in person and get a receipt. In the 5 years we have been here, I have never had anyone in line waiting to pay. Takes me about 1 minute at the counter.

Don't get me started on the stupid property tax amounts we pay in CA thanks to our greedy governor.

[id10t]

No water bill (well and septic and rural-ish), property taxes get paid by my bank from escrow on the "early discount" date. Even if I had to pay them, it would be like renewing my tags - stop in my little local City Hall M-Th before 630 pm, maybe wait for all of 5 minutes (3 tellers/workers and I've rarely seen all 3 busy at once), and be done.

[gregpark]

You never own your own home in CA. My annual property tax divided by 12 is over $900. Twice what I was paying in monthly rent before I owned a home. That was 1970s rent, but still