Switching from Verizon to Spectrum, Part 3

 After the mess with Amazon was finished, I got back in touch with Spectrum. 

I come to find out the right wording is that they do not allow 'short codes'. Yet, a few people now I have spoken to said they could get those short codes no problem and Spectrum even uses short codes themselves?! 

I went thru the chat on a Saturday on the off chance they might be able to help answer that question, if there was any way they could allow the short code?

So took a while as the chat module is for home services not mobile. The lady said I would have to go to the mobile section on the site and blah blah. I cut her off and asked if she could just transfer me from that chat to there? She was like oh yes, I can do that! 

I get this guy and he said yes, that was true, no short codes. Not all of them, just some of them. I asked him then about possibly rearranging the free line that was part of the deal and he said he wasn't sure. So I realized I would have to call them on Monday but yes, he did say it would be better to call Spectrum first then call Verizon about the big phone device bill.

That's exactly what I did. Spectrum was first in line. But before I called them, I tried once more to get Amazon notification and guess what? IT WORKED! So now I don't need to transfer my line back to Verizon, thank the Gods! And I got super lucky when I called Spectrum as I got ahold of a great guy from Maine! Awesome! He was brilliant and we talked over different options and ideas I had as to how to sort this mess out. 

He said I could not move the account to my daughter because she doesn't have an internet service with them only a phone line and she is the free line. And if I were to change anything then I would lose the special deal we had when we signed up which was get one line for $29.99 and the 2nd line is free for a year. Plus, he said my internet with them was giving us a $10 discount and when we move, our phone service would go up to $39.99 then. Good to know!

But my son's account with them would not go up the $10 when he moves back and we can all keep our phone services with Spectrum but just at the new place, they are not there yet with internet.

 

Next stop was Verizon to call. They were a nightmare. 

 It took me 6 people before I finally reached a Financial supervisor. The other people I talked to kept trying to set up a promise to pay for payments on the two phone bills. The total of the bill is $1,900. They told me at first I could only make 2 payments (still ouch!) and then I had another lady tell me I could do 3 then another told me I could do 5. I had one lady a few weeks ago set up a promise to pay but it was not for the phone devices, it's for the phone service itself!

Once I realized what they were doing, I had to stop them there as the 2nd lady who tried to set this up, got an error message that she couldn't because the accounts are closed. So after that I had to teach the next few ladies that no, they can't set me up with a promise to pay because that does not work with closed accounts, only active ones and it's for the service not the device. 

When I finally got to the supervisor, she was more forthright and clear but she was also saying that I could only do two payments and each one had to be 15 days apart. But she said I could wait til the 18th when the bill is due to set up the first payment to be due on March 5th and then the 2nd on the 20th. Whereas the lady or two before her said I had to make the first payment on the 14th of Feb and even if I wait and called back later my first payment would still be due on the 14th. Say what?

So they really don't know what they are saying or doing there in the financial dept at Verizon. It was horrible. 

I told the supervisor I would call back then when it was closer to the due date and figure something out then. I didn't try harder or at all by then as I was fed up with the run around and they obviously have no clue.

Even making payments, they would be charging me a $10 service fee and a $5 late fee. The supervisor was even trying to threaten me that they could always take this bill to collections at any time. She backed off when I informed her the bill wasn't due until the 18th of February tho', so I have until then anyway! 

 My solution is to put them off for now as the bill isn't due yet and then as soon we move and that is all done, get an American Airlines cc and just use it to pay off the bill for the phone devices and then I would earn frequent flyer points for that whole thing. Makes better sense yes? Pay it off from there on my own.

Bottom line---lesson here are:

If you are making monthly payments with a phone service provider, do not change your provider until you have paid off the phone because they will send you a bill for the total balance left, due all at once!

Verizon is expensive compared to Spectrum and their financial dept is a mess.

Suggestions for Verizon and any other phone service company, is to be sure and tell the person when they go to switch to a new phone service provider that if they have not paid off their phone device then don't switch or make sure you are ready to pay it off.

Also, the phone device payments SHOULD be able to be transferable. But since they are not, then for example, Verizon could have been creative about this. They could have done all sorts of things when someone is willing to pay them too!

Set up payment plans, charge interest, charge a set up fee for the payments, make it so that there is an autopay for it too. That way, they could feel more assured to get the account paid.

I even was going to go ahead and set up another line with them just so that I could go back to payments but they informed me that nope, I would have to pay off the balance before they would set me up with another line. That is stupid. They lost out on money that way.  

Switching from Spectrum - Verizon: Part 2---Amazon Fun!

Amazon has been doing this two step verification to sign in using both your email and your phone. I added my phone but each time they tried to send me the text to my phone, I got nothing. I tried multiple things and yet nothing. 

So I went to the chat on Spectrum and got sent over to the mobile tech chat and a guy there told me that Spectrum blocks short texts. I was like what? Oh damn! Well that explained things but it opened up a whole other issue now.

I called Amazon about an order I had made in November for some apple cider where the one bottle came broken and I had emailed about it but didn't see a reply until now.What a nightmare! The first person I got on the phone kept trying to verify my account by sending me a code to my phone. I laughed and said no, you won't be able to do that because I am not getting those. She then tells me she can't help me if they can't verify my account then, sorry. I was like can I talk to a supervisor then? She tells me that a supervisor will not be able to help me at all because they will have the same trouble as her in not being able to verify my account. I laughed and I said I didn't care, I wanted to talk to one anyway. She said ok hold please. I am on hold for a few minutes only for her to come back and say for me to call back in 5-10 mins and they would be able to help me then. Asked me if that was ok? I said no, it isn't. She assured me that her supervisor would be able to resolve this problem etc etc. I knew it was a mistake to hang up at that point. But I did.

Next call, I get a guy and I immediately ask for a supervisor. He ignores me and tries the verification text bit on the phone and I tell him, no, you can't do that, it won't help. He keeps interrupting me and trying to tell me he can't help blah blah blah unless he can verify, blah blah, I explain what the last lady told me and he then tells me I could go on the site and ask for them to call me and then I wouldn't need to go thru the verification process. I told him it's not on the site, I can't find it. He goes silent. I think he hung up on me and he finally comes back on and tries to explain again and as I am saying I thought I lost him, then he goes silent again. I had a feeling he was just pushing his mute button not wanting to hear me. I finally hang up on him when he goes silent for the 4th time. Yup, I am persistent.

So then, I call again. I get this nice lady named Queenie and I immediately ask for a supervisor, she politely asks if I could give her a chance to help me and I am short at this point and frustrated to no end and I cut her off and say no, you can't, the other two couldn't, I need a supervisor. They told me to call back to ask for one as everyone keeps wanting to verify me via my phone and no one is listening that my phone service won't let me. 

She listens to me and then asks me what my original question was. I told her about the broken bottle of apple cider and how I just saw the reply now and I have the order number etc. She says she has to verify my account but what she can do is call me back. So asked for my phone number and I gave it to her and we hung up and she called me right back! Then she looked up the order and in no time, bingo-bammo it was done! Refund issued! YAY!

 Love Amazon!!

www.amazon.com

Now that the Amazon issue was resolved, I know I still need to be able to get those texts should I need to log in again with Amazon or if I have an issue. I decided to call Spectrum back to find out if there was any way they could flip a switch or maybe pay for a more premium service or something to allow those short texts to go thru?

 

 To be continued...

 

 

Switching to Spectrum from Verizon---Part 1

 Strap in for this one!

I've had Verizon for years on end. They've always been pretty good to me, although it was a bit expensive. Seeing the great deal that Spectrum had and got my son moved over to them for his own account and how little he was paying versus what I was paying on Verizon with my daughter and my line, I decided to switch her and I over to Spectrum.

For me having an Iphone13, it was easy peasy to do with the eSim and not having to use an actual physical sim card. Brilliant! To move me over and activate my phone was pretty simple.

My daughter with her Samsung, not so much. She needed to use the physical sim card. So it came in the mail and when we went to try to get her moved over, her phone became a brick! Oh noooo!

Well after hours of pulling my hair out with the customer service people, we got her phone activated.

And then the fun began.

I kept getting emails saying I was paying for a line that I was not using or wasn't activated? I checked on line logging into their site and it said my line was activated but hers wasn't?

So I thought to avoid the frustrating phone call, I would chat online with one of their representatives instead. Oh joy. Not.

The person I got didn't even read what my issue was, they just did c&p job with a script. By now, I should warn you that I've lost most of my patience with this kind of thing after years n years of having to deal with people who will not go off from a script. You have to think outside the box and these people even get discombobulated when I simply ask them how they are doing! Usually, I am nice about it. This time, I am calling them out for it. The person insisted they did type it. But didn't matter anyway because telling me their policy of having to wait 24 hours for an activation had nada to do with my problem not to mention it had been over a week! So I told them they needed to READ what the person writes is their problem instead of this c&p'ing business. They were like oh sorry. I repeated what the issue was that I was getting these emails and texts about the line not being activated so they said, ignore it. LMAO!

Of course these notifications continued so I had to call them up and I actually got a really good lady who looked into it and said yup, it was activated already and she would fix it so I didn't get the notifications anymore and it would reflect the right info on the site then. 

Great! I thought it was all solved. Nope!

I found out that since I was making monthly payments with Verizon for the phones and now have since moved those lines to Spectrum, thus closing the account, that Verizon would be billing me for the balance still unpaid for those phones! I tried to call them to see about a payment plan and each person I talked to seemed to be confused as to what I was wanting to do as they tried to set me up with a payment plan for a phone service bill that I would not be getting anymore. 

Took me a few times of reaching the right person who told me this was all too soon and that I had to wait for the final bill to come in and then call the financial dept to see what they could do.

 

But the issues didn't end there...

Silicone Candy Bar Molds

 I had such a great time making these custom made chocolate candy bars! 

What fun and they came out so great!

I did learn a few things however when doing these that I thought I would share.

First was the kind of melting chocolate to use. Wilton is usually the go-to however they were not that great for dipping or making the chocolate bars. I found that the Melt 'Ems were much better. The only Wilton brand that was good was the large bag of milk chocolate that was also good for the fountains. The white chocolate Wilton brand came out way too thick in my chocolate pot.

I definitely recommend Wilton's chocolate pots however with the silicone pot that fits into the warmer itself. You can also get a pot that is divided and that one is great when you are just wanting to melt a little bit of different colors. I loved these pots because you can put them on high to melt quick and then turn it down to low so that it will just keep it warm.

 The silicone pots clean up great! A great tip is to let the melted chocolate harden and then when you collapse the pot, the chocolate will break apart and easier to throw away instead of rinsing it all down the drain that could clog up your pipes. That would be bad!

 

Also, when using edible luster dust, don't brush the dust onto the silicone mold itself. It will adhere to the chocolate but it also gets stuck in the crevices of the mold and it is hard to get it out. 

 I found all of these items on Amazon of course and you can get the Wilton items on their site too as well as in some Joann's and Michael's stores. The candy and cookies were found in the grocery stores or Walmart. Some of the sprinkles were specially ordered from one of my favorite sprinkle shop online.

https://www.wilton.com/

 

https://sprinklepop.shop/ 

 

 

This was great fun however as I made them for each person according to their favorites. Definitely a blast to try to locate and find all the different types of candy and baking chips that match up. 

Beyond Bankruptcy

 It’s been a few years now since the bankruptcy and it was the best thing we could have done to have gotten out of the hole we were in. To start anew with a fresh, clean slate has been awesome. We got to take what we learned and apply it, understand how it all works and move on from there.

It was not easy at first as the stigma of it can really stick in your craw like it does with me. But, we are human, we make mistakes and it’s okay. You have to forgive yourself. It’s what we do with those mistakes that counts, how we learn and move on, get better, improve, that’s what matters most.

In order to improve the credit scores, we had to get a new credit card. I know that seems contradictory to go into debt to make your credit scores higher, but yes, that’s the case. The reason why is to show you can handle your bills again, you can handle debt. This is so that future creditors will be able to see that and trust to lend you money again.

What to choose? Well, first is the type of card. No store cards that we really wouldn’t use anyway. I had one just before the bankruptcy with Pier 1. I loved them greatly and shopped there a lot until they went out of business and closed their physical brick and mortar store. You can still buy from them but it’s all online now. So sad! They also got rid of their credit card. So much for that! Once the balance was paid in full, they closed the account. Rats! 

Pier 1: https://www.pier1.com/

We looked at a few but chose Care Credit as I had good experience with them. They have no annual fee which is super important. The interest is high but only when you keep a balance as they do have a special interest free program for when you charge a certain amount you get so many months free of interest so long as you pay it off by a certain time. This is a promotional program that I love! So when you charge on it a good amount say $1,000 or a few hundred, the entity you are paying will place the promotional time frame on there. When you get your statement afterwards, you can see what the date is that you have to pay it back. This is super important because if you don’t pay the balance by that time, you will get charged ALL that back interest they didn’t charge you. Ouch! Yep, they do keep track of it. 

Why is this a good thing? Because it makes you pay that balance off. What I do is figure out how much a month I have to pay before that time is up. Subtract the last month and add on that amount to the other payments. Then you know you will easily pay it off before the promotional time ends. 

Sometimes I’ll just pay extra or double it so I can pay it off rather quickly. Each pay day when you have a little extra, just send it on over! You don’t want to cut it too close cause you have to allow for processing time on their end.

We chose Care Credit because let’s face it, dental insurance is not good. You never have enough coverage when it comes to the dentist. Then as I just explained, they do those promotional interest free time periods and so it keeps us in check as the interest rate is high. No annual fee is great as well.

I used my online bank to set it up, adding Care Credit to the Pay Bills area and then I can schedule payments when I want them to go and how much and I can edit as need be. Then the bank will send the amount you chose and from which acct and going to who you selected to pay. All done for you at no extra cost. Brilliant!

Recently, our banker we’ve been talking to suggested we get one more card to use for more general purposes and just charge it, then pay it off again next pay period. Keep doing that and it would also improve our credit score.

Believe it or not, the scores bounced back from the bankruptcy very quickly. Up to high 600s and then right into the 700s! How awesome! Now most likely it’s cause we kept paying the house payments on time and more than required and then paid off the Jeep. Boom!

It was surprisingly easy to not have a credit card. Only the debit. It made life very simple and easy. Definitely a great feeling!

Bankruptcy---The Aftermath

So after a full year going by since the bankruptcy, I have to say it's been really nice to not have those big bills hanging over our heads. We have gotten many offers in the mail for credit cards and have thrown each of them away without even looking. We know that those offers will have high interest rates and some even have annual fees involved.

Also, those are offers, and it does not mean that you will have it approved should you apply.

You have to remember that each time you apply for credit on something, your credit score gets dinged on top of that.

That being said, we know we have about 7 years before the bankruptcy falls off although it will never really go away, it is there forever. But after a time you can show that you can be responsible and pay your bills and be on time and not have any issues. Not to say you weren't before especially if you were in my position where I unexpectedly lost my high paying job.

Last year in March, we went down to Hammond Tractor to see if we could apply to get a nice tractor with a snowblower on it and of course it came back with a no. I knew we would more than likely be laughed at, but, at least we would know and tried. So this year, we went back down there to talk to them to find out exactly how much it was going to be for what we wanted. This way, we would know then how much we needed to save.

We also were not putting anything down on the tractor last year whereas this year, once we sell the UTV that we were able to get with the tax return, we can look at putting that money down and asking if they would allow us to finance the rest. If the answer is still no, then we will just save up more money and try again next year. Keep doing that until we either have the money to pay it in full or until we are able to finance it. Once a year is not bad as far as dings on the credit report.

In many ways, not being able to finance anything is really great as it prevents you from getting into trouble with payments. We are sitting in a better position financially as well in not owing anyone anything beyond the Jeep and the house. The Jeep being paid for as of next year, if not sooner!

So that's all really great! The downside to it all is knowing despite your great credit scores, you are still very limited as to anyone wanting to lend you anything. I get that tho', I do, despite the reasons why we had to.

The other thing that was cool was not everything was included in the bankruptcy. There are a few accounts that were not listed and ones we had paid off and had zero balances but they are still open accounts and as such, we have been able to use them. I didn't know they would still be active and stumbled upon that nugget of wonderful last year. Because they were not included in the bankruptcy, they are still open accounts despite the zero balance.

So why would we use them? To re-establish credit! And without having to have high fees either, we are keeping the same terms as we had before with that company and yet, by keeping a low balance and paying on time, that all helps you to establish your credit again. So that was a bonus. Accounts like Pier1 is great to do that. They are a store I don't shop in too often nor do I get things from there hardly at all, and so easy to go shop a bit, pick up a few things and charge it and then make payments on time and keep the balance below 1/3 or a 1/4 of the total credit available and that keeps your credit scores up and not effected at all and in fact, actually helped by you being and showing responsibility. Love it!

Dell is another company that I still have a business acct with. I thought it was closed but nope. I don't use them too often really at all. Just when a computer takes a nose dive which none have as of yet in a long while. And they are ones that we always paid off before the interest free time period expired so then you don't have to pay all that back interest that they do keep track of and will bill you for it you don't pay off the item during the promotional period. It's a great deal but you have to be diligent and timely.

The only other thing about the bankruptcy is that it would make it a lot harder for a bank to want to allow us a loan or mortgage so moving is not an option for a few more years yet. Not just due to that but also the money issue and whatnot. Lots of factors into that. Not that we want to move at this time but it may come down to it that we may just want to do so later on in life. Time will tell there.

It's been an awesome feeling to not have those bills over our head tho'. It gives you a sense of freedom and gave us more wiggle room to be able to focus on the renovations and changes we want to do with the house and garage etc. We will be going slower since I don't have that job with the crazy silly money but at least it is all paid for! :)

Moving forward, you do need to be careful about what credit cards you choose to accept and how you spend your money. You have to be responsible and can't fall into the same issue you may have had before, can't live beyond your means. I can hear my dad in a lot of this. Cash over the barrel and he only did time payments, something they don't really have anymore unless it's a promotional item like Dell or such, that's as close to that as you will get aside from the car payments.

So now things have settled and it feels pretty good. I think back on the kind of money I had been making and how so much was thrown away to bills. Crazy for if I had that now, I would be a lot better with it and of course now, it would mean so much more since I would save it and put it to things we really need. It's funny because you hear of how so many people lose their minds when they win the lotto or such. I know I wouldn't as I've learned that lesson earlier. It is so easy tho' to slip into it and be silly with silly money. Why so many people hire someone to help them manage it better, keep a tight rein on themselves. I also like the idea of taking time before you jump to a purchase too. Really think about it if that is what you want or need. Helps prevent the impulse buy.

Anyway, this whole ordeal has been mostly a good experience. Lots of bumps and whatnot on the road but overall, it feels good to be free and clear of the debt. I hope if you end up in a similar situation, you will have the same good results! Start again, a lot wiser! :)

Bankruptcy, Part 2--Procedures

A date is set up for what is called the creditors' meeting. This is where you meet up with your lawyer at a courthouse or a chosen place with a bunch of other people who sit in a room and wait to be called to come before the judge.

Now you do have to pay for credit counseling online. Before the meeting and then a 2nd class after this meeting. Be sure and check with your lawyer as to which is court approved or recommended. Then that certificate has to be sent to your lawyer upon completion.

Both husband and wife need to be there at the creditor's meeting and you can only reschedule this date in an emergency or really good reason.
Sitting before the judge, he asks you a few questions, first stating your ssn and other personal data, name and address and he asks to see your state ID. He will then ask you a few questions pertaining to your case, reason why you are filing, making sure you don't have anything extra not stated on the forms that your lawyer filled out etc.

You will have to pay court fees as well and we set up the lawyer's fee in payments which was really nice.

What is funny is that it costs you money to claim bankruptcy which is saying you don't have money. What a conundrum that can be!

So then at this creditor's meeting, this is the chance for your creditors to show up or send a letter to protest or seek to get you to keep their debt or challenge you or whatnot. Usually they do not show up and did not for us. Although we did get one company that wanted us to pay for a few items we had purchased a year before and so we had come to an agreement with them about paying a smaller amount than what they were looking for.

After this, the lawyer will file the papers as the judge signed them and we signed them and that is that. It takes about 30 days or so afterwards and then boom, done.

Credit scores fell but within just less than 30 days, the numbers rose right back up again. And then the ads and offers will arrive in the mail looking for you to sign up with them and of course those interest rates will be very high. The reason they do this is cause they all know you can't file bankruptcy again for another 7 years.

This was a painful process mostly for me as I had a hard time not paying my bills. But the lawyer made it a smooth and easy process.

Now the phone doesn't ring from any of those companies and such a huge burden has been lifted off our shoulders and it feels so strange. I did feel bad a great deal for doing that to those companies and most of them I did like and hated to do it but with having been let go like that from my job with no notice or warning, I had no choice, sadly enough. I would have paid them all off this past year if I had had my job still, that was my plan. But like all good plans you know....it happens.

I look forward to the day I make more money than I ever did before. :)

This really sunk home what my dad always tried to instill in me and I heard him and felt his presence throughout this whole process. What used to be a shameful thing however, no longer is these days. I still hated it cause of how he raised me, but there was nothing else I could have done. It was a hard lesson to relearn. Now, it's cash or saving up for what we want and no more charging anything unless it can be paid for quickly. It has slowed us down a lot as to renovations and upgrading things here but it is nice to know we don't owe anyone for what we do at this point. It's a good feeling to be debt free aside from the house and car. I learned a good and valuable lesson.