Only Child and her parents in another time and world when life was simpler and better
Thanks to the crap from 2013 carrying over I’m feeling those three D’s. Some, such as getting the Ontario Photo ID card, I knew about. But if I thought moving into 2014 would stop any new 2013 issues cropping up, I need to think again.
Friday I opened my bank accounts online to pay the gas bill when I saw the monthly deduction from Dell for my old laptop dated January 2. Like those annoying McDonalds commercials ask, “What?”
I found the lease return agreement, the date of the email it was attached to and the email my son sent me when he had couriered the laptop back to Dell. According to the former, I owed two months’ lease money – for November and December 2013, as long as the laptop was returned by December 6, 2013. My son sent it out November 28, 2013. I also checked the courier tracking link my son had emailed me and it showed they had delivered the laptop to Dell November 29, 2013 and it was received by someone named B. Thatcher.
I phoned Dell and they couldn’t find the laptop. I read out the lease agreement, the courier tracking info, and the info when my son returned the laptop. Someone named Mia said they would get their Resolutions Team on it and they would get back to me in 48 hours. I said that wasn’t good enough and wanted someone from Resolutions to call me back that day.
Of course it didn’t happen.
I also called the courier and had them fax the signature of the Dell person who signed for the laptop – they had to fax it to a UPS store (my cost to pick it up) because I don’t have a fax machine.
Monday I was on the phone trying to sort out the other unsolved issues dragging over from 2013 when someone from Dell called and left a voice mail message to say they had found the laptop, the issue had been resolved so the file was closed.
Wait a minute. What about crediting my bank account for this extra payment? And I checked my bank account again. Amount still there. So, I called them and after getting transferred to a Resolutions Team person, I was told they would send me a cheque for the amount. They wouldn’t just credit my bank account – they have my account number to take their monthly payment for the new laptop (same as for the old laptop). Apparently, this computer company doesn’t do that – it’s old fashioned cheques. Go figure.
One thing I noticed – all these people from Dell finance and resolutions sound the same – same voice timbre, etc. One person or the Dell sound for working in that area of their lease/finance dept?. When I ordered the new laptop, at least the people I talked to had distinctive different voices.
As far as I’m concerned that file is still open until I receive my cheque.
So is the file for the Guaranteed Income Supplement application which as a senior on low income I am entitled to. This month apparently is the earliest I can apply for it as I get my first OAS pension cheque later this month – you have to be receiving that to apply for the GIS.
One big problem exists as I found out from the GIS people when I phoned with questions on filling out the form. I had suspected there would be problems with CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) with their Notice of Assessment that I owed more because I missed the new 2012 government ruling about paying taxes on CPP contributions. I did pay but this Notice of Assessment has my Net Income as different from what I filed originally and so is the deduction. No clue where they get these amounts and I need that background info for the GIS application as I have to list my income from various sources – same as on the Tax return – and mine are correct – I checked the T-5 etc. slips and even my calculations. I do not want to go to jail and/or get fined for claiming something that is $6. different. Yes, folks, we’re not talking big finances here. I’m fed up with the little person getting the brunt of all this financial crap.
I phoned CRA and the line is continually busy. Thanks to Premier Stephen Harper and his cutbacks in service, the CRA tax centres where you could go in to get things sorted out are now all closed. All in the name of decreasing Canada’s debt. On the backs of poor taxpayers, of course.
And southern Ontario is in a deep freeze and we cannot even go out – unless you want to skate around and fall down. I’m waiting for it to warm up enough so the salt I put on my driveway on Sunday night melts some of the ice. Tried hacking at it yesterday but it only worked in a few places.
2014 is starting out bad like 2013. Have we shipped that psychic who predicted this out to Pluto yet?
Cheers.
Sharon A. Crawford
Only Child Writes
