8/17/08 Captain Jack's Repossession Repo Cruise to PC thru TPC #5

[discruiser]

Here are a couple of pictures from my rental cleanup.

Attic

Unbelievable!!

 

[goofyforlife]

I particularly like how adept DCL is at restating your question in their answer without providing an answer.

Quick fly-by posting.....

Happy Birthday to all our Peeps (even some i missed before... )

Well the mange has finally spread to me. Thanks DD & DH.

I sucked it up and made it to work for half a day. I am supposed to be resting but felt compelled to ketchup at least.

 

[discruiser]

Are these fares similar if we're trying to get from LAX to the Disneyland area (HoJo's)? One-way on the Disneyland Express is $84 for our family of 5 so these prices are about the same, but it would probably be more flexible.

I booked with SuperShuttle for $70 for 5 of us (total of 6 people, but the baby is free) from LAX to the Grand Californian. There is a $2 off per person coupon on the Anaheim Orange County website. This is for shared van service up to 7 passengers. Boy, will I feel sorry for that 7th person they stick with us, having to ride with 4 kids who've been sitting on an airplane for 3.5 hours and can't wait to get to Disneyland!

Kim

 

[PBader]

The house across the street went into foreclosure. My DH kept the outside looking good until it was sold. We went in once as we saw tons of traffic and no Sold sign. GROSS!! Mold everywhere- totally trashed! I was so discouraged that my poor DH would have to take care of it forever but the bank finally put some $ in and it sold immediately to a very nice couple. yeah!

Glad that worked out and you got some nice neighbors.

 

[arlenesp]

Here are a couple of pictures from my rental cleanup.

Attic

The kitchen

the Deck, notice my sink they took out

The basement

My steps

This is one of the floor ducts--they are all like this

And she called the police that I was throwing away her "valuables".

At least it is cleaned out now. Now to just repair it.

I had neighbors living next door and that is what they did as well. Had 2 kids they never let out of the house and trashed it, holes in the walls etc.. What possesses someone to deliberately do something as evil as that???? And how were they living?????What a clean up.Now I can see about the dumpster trips. You both deserve a vacation and a medal

 

[luvmy3sons]

Glad that worked out and you got some nice neighbors.

We have some new renters next door. They are verrrry noisy at night - late at night. They like to sit on the back deck and party. It's not even hot enough to use the swimming pool yet- I hate to see what it will be like during the summer. It's tough having noisy neighbors when you have to get up for work at 3am.

Penny

 

[KSDisneyDad]

We haven't flown in years, but we're booked on SW also. If you do see your flight at a lower price on the "dings", do you go cancel your original flight and then rebook with the credit? We bought 6 tickets so I'd be kind of afraid that when I went to rebook, we wouldn't be able to get all 6 seats.

Kim

Yes, you have to cancel your first reservation in order to get the "credit". Then you immediately rebook and use that credit to pay for the new booking. The credit is attached to the confirmation number of your cancellation. Any "excess" is saved under your confirmation number for 12 months and can be used to partially pay for a future trip.

Also, to ensure there are six seats available, just type in six passengers while checking prices. If a price shows up for six seats at the lower fare, there are six seats available at that fare. If it says that it's unavailable, all fares in that category are sold out.

There is a slight risk that fares could go up or disappear while you're in the rebooking process. The way I have found to prevent this is to only rebook using "ding" fares. I've never had an issue booking everyone in our party at the advertised "ding" price. Unfortunately, the "dings" only go out to about late May right now. We booked our Denver to LAX fare at $99 per person. In May and June, I'll carefully watch the dings and if they go down to $79 or less one way, I'll rebook at the lower fare. I've been watching and occasionally see "ding" fares for $69 one way to LAX from Denver.

If you don't travel a lot, this process may not save you anything as you have to use the credit within 12 months. However, as you haven't booked the leg home from the TOAL, you could rebook your leg to Los Angeles at a lower fare and use the savings to reduce the cost of your flight home.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

I booked with SuperShuttle for $70 for 5 of us (total of 6 people, but the baby is free) from LAX to the Grand Californian. There is a $2 off per person coupon on the Anaheim Orange County website. This is for shared van service up to 7 passengers. Boy, will I feel sorry for that 7th person they stick with us, having to ride with 4 kids who've been sitting on an airplane for 3.5 hours and can't wait to get to Disneyland!

Kim

Thanks! I'll look into this right away. I seem to be in a transportation booking mode today.

 

[msaseifert]

So....after that long and not so nice letter to Delta that DH sent this is the response we got from Delta - NOT HAPPY

DH is working on another letter to Delta and then our original letter will go to anybody who will listen!



Dear Mr. Seifert,

Thank you for contacting us.

When traveling on Deltas domestic system including Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Virgin Islands, we allow each ticketed passenger a maximum of two
checked bags free of charge. Each bag may not weigh more than fifty
pounds or exceed sixty-two inches in total dimension (length plus width
plus height).

Items in excess of the free allowance are subject to an appropriate
charge. If you have more than two pieces of baggage, or if one or more
of your bags exceeds the weight or size restrictions, you may be charged
an excess baggage fee. Some sporting equipment may be substituted
without cost for one piece of checked baggage. For additional
information on baggage allowance policies and fees, please refer to
delta.com and search for ?Baggage Allowance.?

Effective May 1, 2008, due to rising fuel costs and business decisions
reflecting today?s competitive landscape, Delta will begin charging
$25.00 for a second checked bag. This new fee will be applicable
systemwide to all passengers regardless of when the reservations were
booked or ticketed.

While we would like to offer special consideration in cases such as
yours, we are unable to honor the many similar requests that we receive
from others in equally deserving situations. We follow a consistent
policy to ensure that Delta is fair to everyone who travels with us.
Accordingly, we must respectfully decline your request.

Again, thank you for writing. We recognize this was not the response you
expected to receive and trust you will understand our position. We value
your business and hope you will continue to choose Delta.

Sincerely,

Daniel Tancak
Customer Support Desk

 

[KSDisneyDad]

We haven't flown in years, but we're booked on SW also. If you do see your flight at a lower price on the "dings", do you go cancel your original flight and then rebook with the credit? We bought 6 tickets so I'd be kind of afraid that when I went to rebook, we wouldn't be able to get all 6 seats.

Kim

EWE! How could they live like that? And with themselves treating someone else property in that manner!

Wow -- I've heard nothing but horror stories about renters. I don't know if I could ever become a landlord knowing how some people treat others' property.

I do mortgages and I have some customers that are buying foreclosures. This happens fairly often. What I don't understand is how people can blame the mortgage company (or landlord in your case) for their own personal problems. I would be humilated and leave as quietly as I could, I wouldn't destroy the place. UGH!

I agree, we have gone into some foreclosures that have been destroyed on the inside. The outside will look nice and then you open the door to a nightmare. I guess they try to keep up appearances so the neighbors don't think ill of them.

About a year ago, we moved out of state. We decided to look at some foreclosures and were shocked at what we found inside. Even though there were some so-called bargains, I don't think we could ever buy a bank-owned home. We were told by our realtor that many of these homes had "foreclosure parties" before they were evicted. They would invite a bunch of friends over and literally destroy the house and remove anything of value before leaving. It was the stories of what they would do to places that you can't see (behind the drywall, etc.) that finally steered us away from looking at any more foreclosures. We ended up building a new home and had to live in an apartment for six months during construction. That was another eye-opening experience for the kids.

The house across the street went into foreclosure. My DH kept the outside looking good until it was sold. We went in once as we saw tons of traffic and no Sold sign. GROSS!! Mold everywhere- totally trashed! I was so discouraged that my poor DH would have to take care of it forever but the bank finally put some $ in and it sold immediately to a very nice couple. yeah!

I guess the one-positive from the number of foreclosures on the market is that banks are starting to fix them up to sell them rather than holding on to them to sell "as-is".

 

[KSDisneyDad]

So....after that long and not so nice letter to Delta that DH sent this is the response we got from Delta - NOT HAPPY

DH is working on another letter to Delta and then our original letter will go to anybody who will listen!



Dear Mr. Seifert,

Thank you for contacting us.

When traveling on Deltas domestic system including Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Virgin Islands, we allow each ticketed passenger a maximum of two
checked bags free of charge. Each bag may not weigh more than fifty
pounds or exceed sixty-two inches in total dimension (length plus width
plus height).

Items in excess of the free allowance are subject to an appropriate
charge. If you have more than two pieces of baggage, or if one or more
of your bags exceeds the weight or size restrictions, you may be charged
an excess baggage fee. Some sporting equipment may be substituted
without cost for one piece of checked baggage. For additional
information on baggage allowance policies and fees, please refer to
delta.com and search for ?Baggage Allowance.?

Effective May 1, 2008, due to rising fuel costs and business decisions
reflecting today?s competitive landscape, Delta will begin charging
$25.00 for a second checked bag. This new fee will be applicable
systemwide to all passengers regardless of when the reservations were
booked or ticketed.

While we would like to offer special consideration in cases such as
yours, we are unable to honor the many similar requests that we receive
from others in equally deserving situations. We follow a consistent
policy to ensure that Delta is fair to everyone who travels with us.
Accordingly, we must respectfully decline your request.

Again, thank you for writing. We recognize this was not the response you
expected to receive and trust you will understand our position. We value
your business and hope you will continue to choose Delta.

Sincerely,

Daniel Tancak
Customer Support Desk

It looks like overhead bin space will become even more of a premium. Wasn't my least favorite airline, United, the first to implement this wonderful new policy of charging for extra bags unless you're one of their best frequent fliers?

We've already talked about having each of the kids use a carryon on our next flight if they begin charging for extra bags. Generally, we only fly with two carry-ons for all five of us.

 

[minnieandmickey]

Hi everyone,
Is there a plan to do a group dining at Palo? If so what night?

 

[msaseifert]

Here is DH response to Delta

Note: This reply will be copied to others beside Delta

As you stated in your reply, this is not the response I was hoping for and I
am disappointed. Obviously I will be contacting all parties I stated I
would. Additionally, believe me, I will, and I will encourage all who travel
Delta, to max out the carry on at this point. If the overheads become full
and you can't accommodate, what is next, make the passengers leave it
behind? But I assume Delta has failed to evaluate this potential negative
consequence as well as the additional delays it will cause in departure
times (while people stow overhead) and hence your already bad arrival rates
will continue to degrade.

Further, you never addressed the issue that as of yesterday your CSRs where
telling people (more than just me based on the discussion boards) that the
increase was clearly posted on your web site when in fact, after 30 mins of
searching it, I could not find it. Others who contacted Delta over the
previous few days have copied me on your responses and many clearly show
statements by Delta CSRs that state it is marked on your web site.

Nor did you address Delta's clear lack of being proactive to notify ticketed
passengers before they arrive at the airport. You seem to merely hope they
discover it before they are rudely surprised. It appears Delta could care
less.

Additionally, Delta appears to be OK with being less sensitive to its
passengers than other airlines. What do I mean by this? Most other airlines
in the industry who are implementing similar for the same reasons at least
have the common courtesy to grandfather those who have already paid and
their frequent fliers? I guess Delta could care less about retaining these
folks.

To everyone I copy on this, these are the exact reasons why Congress MUST
pass a Passenger Bill of Rights. The airlines simply cannot be trusted to
treat passengers fairly or with dignity. It is obvious Delta believes we are
merely cargo.

Congress needs to take note and action. Industries which have been given
this much freedom do not compete on driving value for the customer. As an
industry such as this, you operate a monopoly on the service, and
competition is merely driven by those who can be the best of the worst. You
just strive to be a little better than everyone else even if they are junk.
If the consumer must make a choice and he /she is given all bad options, he
/she has no choice but to choose the lesser of the evils. If I were your
executives I would be embarrassed to base my business on this and to work
for such a company.

Lastly, Delta never addressed the fact that I inquired of your CSR about
canceling the ticket, due to the change, and requesting a full refund. I was
specifically told no, "It is a non-refundable ticket." I believe the
statement by Delta was false and misleading and am consider potential legal
action on this. My claim is that you materially changed the terms and
conditions of my ticket with this change and that in fact you are bound to
release me if so requested by your original conditions of carriage. You did
not offer and in fact clearly responded I could not be released. I further
encourage all who read this to ask about this option with Delta (whether you
take the option or not) and if they state no to you, we should move to have
a class action initiated against Delta.

 

[Stepht5]

I just got a phone call from Chase about my Disney Visa card - apparently someone has gotten ahold of the number and has made over $600 in charges over the last 2 days. They are reversing all the charges, contacting the 3 credit bureaus, closing the account and issuing me new cards. I'm going to have to review the statement for our other accounts to make sure there aren't any fraudulent charges on them as well and pull a credit report to see if there are any accounts that have been opened recently. Does it never end?

Someone stole dh's identity this past summer and opened a ton of credit cards and bought a new Mercedes!
The funny thing was with the Mercedes the guy told him he was dh's son. DH asked the bank (that did the loan) whose son he could say he was for a brand new car?

 

[Stepht5]

Here are a couple of pictures from my rental cleanup.

And she called the police that I was throwing away her "valuables".

At least it is cleaned out now. Now to just repair it.

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! They were living in that??????

 

[PBader]

Wow -- I've heard nothing but horror stories about renters. I don't know if I could ever become a landlord knowing how some people treat others' property.

We have 3 of them and really this is the first time we have really had what I call damage. Rent has been skipped out on, but usually the damage deposit more than covers it. We have had them all about 10 years now. I figured they were some diversifcation from the stock market. I do remember when that movie Pacific Heights came out and Alan and I said we would never rent something out.



About a year ago, we moved out of state. We decided to look at some foreclosures and were shocked at what we found inside. Even though there were some so-called bargains, I don't think we could ever buy a bank-owned home. We were told by our realtor that many of these homes had "foreclosure parties" before they were evicted. They would invite a bunch of friends over and literally destroy the house and remove anything of value before leaving. It was the stories of what they would do to places that you can't see (behind the drywall, etc.) that finally steered us away from looking at any more foreclosures. We ended up building a new home and had to live in an apartment for six months during construction. That was another eye-opening experience for the kids.


I guess the one-positive from the number of foreclosures on the market is that banks are starting to fix them up to sell them rather than holding on to them to sell "as-is".

I don't understand why people see it as fun to destroy a home they are losing, I guess that is how they take their frustration out. Our neighbor lost his in the fall--I wish he would have told us (we would have helped him until he could have sold it himself). But he kept it up really well until the day he moved out.

 

[PBader]

So....after that long and not so nice letter to Delta that DH sent this is the response we got from Delta - NOT HAPPY

DH is working on another letter to Delta and then our original letter will go to anybody who will listen!

I got a very similar email from them also. I expressed my understanding of them cancelling my 3 direct flights and giving me layovers, but didn't think the extra luggage fee without a going forward date was very wrong on their part. All the other airlines have an exemption for when your ticket was purchased. Right now I have 3 trips scheduled with Delta.

This is the only trip it will really pose an inconvenience for us. Guess we'll each be carrying on for this flight. I just dislike dealing with the luggage while waiting for the next flight.

 

[poohssmum]

I agree, we have gone into some foreclosures that have been destroyed on the inside. The outside will look nice and then you open the door to a nightmare. I guess they try to keep up appearances so the neighbors don't think ill of them.

13+ years ago, DH and I bought a forclosure property. The bank DID put some cosmetic work into making the house liveable ... but we saw some of the damage done by the previous owners ... kids crayons liberally used at the site of the "top bunk", total disregard for letting pets do their business "out" ... and the biggest issue we saw (until later) was leaving the home in the dark of the night w/little to no fuel in the tank in the dead of winter That resulted in frozen pipes and tremendous water damage.

I was niaive and believed the realtor when she told me that all the house neede was "paint, wallpaper and TLC" ... I had no clue that TLC really meant "truck-loads-of-cash" We're now trying to sell this same foreclosure ... and we're being told that our asking price is too high for this neighborhood We've only been on the market for 30 days, and I don't think I'm ready to drop our price just yet

 

[PBader]

Good luck selling, after 30 days I wouldn't be ready to reduce either. Are you all just tired of the hassle of dealing with your rental? My other 2 have some great tennants---one runs a little behind on the rent around December of every year and then get caught up with their tax return. But they both keep things nice and fix the little things tthemselves.

 

[got2travel]

Hi everyone,
Is there a plan to do a group dining at Palo? If so what night?

Chris (GrandmaX3) is working on a ladies group brunch as well as a tea.

Some couples where the ladies didn't want to leave out their hubbys are going to try to schedule brunch all on the same day.

I don't think there were any plans to try to do a group dinner.

Although I am making a list of solo travelers (or those with spouses who do not want to go to Palo) and we are all going to dine at Palo together.