Debt Dumpers - 2016

[Dentam]

Sometimes, you just need to. And shoes that you'll wear aren't really a splurge in my book, though I do get where you're coming from. Great job on the cc!

Yeah, everything I got was stuff I will put to good use - but I still got a bit of anxiety with spending the money. I have been really good for months and really focused on my goals. I look at my debt dumping spreadsheet almost daily to keep myself on track.

 

[Ava]

Well, I finally finished our taxes, and we will be getting back just over $2700! Less the $158 I had to pay to file the darn things - had to upgrade to TurboTax Premiere due to my property sale, plus file in 2 states. Yuck. I haven't worked it out for sure yet but I will likely use part of it to buy the girls bunk beds, and put the rest towards DD2's preschool for the fall.

 

[dayvewc]

Well, I finally finished our taxes, and we will be getting back just over $2700! Less the $158 I had to pay to file the darn things - had to upgrade to TurboTax Premiere due to my property sale, plus file in 2 states. Yuck. I haven't worked it out for sure yet but I will likely use part of it to buy the girls bunk beds, and put the rest towards DD2's preschool for the fall.

YAY!!! It's always a good feeling to finish taxes. Or at least it is for me.
And yeah, having those extra things that cause an upgrade is always a pain, but at least you can claim the cost next year when you file.

 

[Eureka]

Murphy may have hit this morning. We have an old minivan and a newer car. DH and I generally have opposite work at home days so whoever stays home uses the van. Today I work from home and noticed he took the van. When I called him, he said the headlights on the car aren't coming on, though the high beams are fine. Just dropped it off at the place we go to and they'll check if it's just burnt out bulbs or something electrical. Please hope for the bulbs! I have been putting aside $25/week for car repairs since the last time we needed work done on the van, and have needed to raid it one time since then for an oil change and filters, but still have a little over $200 in that fund. Was just saying this weekend how that fund is building nicely. Would like to not spend it all today, although they said a 30-min assessment of issues is $62 (that must be a new thing since they've never told me that before, but they have changed hands recently). Sigh.

Edited to add: the guy just called and said it was just the bulbs...but they are halogen and with the diagnostic fee, it will be a little over $100. Oh well, could have been worse and I do have it saved up....but still. What a pain for a Monday morning.

 

[Shmily1]

Well. I heard back from the senior consultant at the law firm, and mixed news. The lawyers did agree that they could win a cancellation of my contract, which would require that Diamond report to all 3 credit bureaus that the account was closed and marked "paid in full", but they did not think they could win litigation against Diamond for additional funds (I wasn't interested in that, so wasn't too upset at hearing it) AND they will not guarantee that they can get a refund of what I have paid. All for a flat fee of just $3500. If they could guarantee a refund, I'd go for it, as the refund would be more than the fee, but I don't have the ability to pay that much without getting the refund. The consultant also suggested that I contact the credit card company I used for part of the down payment and contest the charge. He said that most likely, they will suspend the amount for a couple of months as they investigate, but then return that it was a valid charge and reinstate it along with any interest that might have accrued. So, not really seeing a winning solution there.

I emailed the hospitality management contact and informed her that I had received a package that contained a partial copy of my contract. I explained how I knew it was incomplete, and asked that a full copy be delivered to me. I also mentioned that with the growing list of errors and mistakes, that the entire transaction was crossing over into fraudulent business practice territory. Not sure that it will have an effect, but I just couldn't resist. I did manage to tone down the snarkiness of the email quite a bit. *sigh* And it was such good snark too. I saved a draft, just in case I need it for later.

While I was writing the final draft of the email, I did some research looking for the exact correct phrasing I wanted to use, and discovered (or realized?) that the ARDA has a website and a consumer information contact. I am thinking of sending them a comment as well and seeing what happens.

On the forward looking front, Diamond has until 12 April to respond to the BBB complaint. Don't know what good it will do in the long term, but at least it will be out there and public.

Hopefully it will go well for you. I filed a complaint on a company that took a payment from my account twice and credited one to me and one to some random stranger and they sent my money back after I filed the complaint. It had been almost a year of me calling, emailing, and mailing to try to get it done before I thought of that though.

 

[DisneyMandC]

I wish we would get DH's tax return back already. He's checked it, but it still just says processing with no end date in sight. I guess maybe because it's really busy for the IRS now? I got mine in a little bit earlier than he did. I'd really like to throw that money at his car though!

Good news though- when I send my student loan payment this week, my balance will now be under $7000!

 

[Ava]

I got e-mails that both my federal and MD tax returns have been accepted. No word on NY yet, although NY is always slow so I'm not surprised.

 

[dayvewc]

Hopefully it will go well for you. I filed a complaint on a company that took a payment from my account twice and credited one to me and one to some random stranger and they sent my money back after I filed the complaint. It had been almost a year of me calling, emailing, and mailing to try to get it done before I thought of that though.

I really hope that it helps, but I'm not feeling too hopeful about it. They have 1 more day to respond, so they still have time, but the only other time I've filed a complaint with the BBB the company called me within 2 days to work out a settlement. I really get the feeling that Diamond just doesn't care, they have a contract, and even though they have not followed the law they expect me to continue making the payments. We'll see.

I did file an ARDA (American Resort Developers Association) complaint last night, got a response this morning that they do not mediate disputes and have forwarded the information to Diamond.

So, this is now complaints filed through the BBB, AG in AR and MO, and ARDA, in addition to disputing the transaction on my cc for the deposit. Plus the ongoing phone and email I have had with them, and I'm not feeling any movement to reach a resolution. Planning to call the Branson PD this afternoon and file a report for fraud. Nothing may come from that, but at least it will be a public document and available.

 

[stayhomemom77]

I wish we would get DH's tax return back already. He's checked it, but it still just says processing with no end date in sight. I guess maybe because it's really busy for the IRS now? I got mine in a little bit earlier than he did. I'd really like to throw that money at his car though!

Good news though- when I send my student loan payment this week, my balance will now be under $7000!

I got e-mails that both my federal and MD tax returns have been accepted. No word on NY yet, although NY is always slow so I'm not surprised.

 

[dayvewc]

Got a letter today from the Missouri AG about the complaint I filed last week. Basically said that they are not allowed to act on my behalf as an attorney, but they will assist by contacting Diamond and requesting an explanation of the matter. But, I have to wait up to 30 days to hear a response.

Oh well. I guess the wheels of justice rotate very slowly.

 

[Dentam]

Got a letter today from the Missouri AG about the complaint I filed last week. Basically said that they are not allowed to act on my behalf as an attorney, but they will assist by contacting Diamond and requesting an explanation of the matter. But, I have to wait up to 30 days to hear a response.

Oh well. I guess the wheels of justice rotate very slowly.

You have a lot more patience with all of this than I would!

 

[dayvewc]

You have a lot more patience with all of this than I would!

Thanks. At this point I am waiting for the return receipt that my rescission letter has made our it and then I'm canceling all payments. I figure that keeps me in the high ground. I also checked through the parts of the contact I have and it says in one place I can cancel until closing, and in another I can cancel if they don't fulfill all the obligations in the contact, and in another that closing isn't compete until all pieces of the agreement are executed - and one of those is that they deliver a copy of the agreement.

I feel decent about winning the cancellation, less so about getting the refund on my own. That would be the best argument for a lawyer, but the one I talked to won't guarantee it.

 

[DisneyMandC]

It's a sad day, guys. One year ago, right now, mine and DH's plane had landed in Orlando and we were waiting in line to get on Magical Express to take us to AKL for our honeymoon

Waaaaaah I don't want to be at work

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Waaaaaah I don't want to be at work

I feel ya!

We're supposed to be looking forward to our trip this Friday, but MIL's health took a recent turn for the worse, so we may have to cancel altogether. Gah! Being a grown up sucks sometimes.

 

[dayvewc]

So, on different good notes for debt dumping ....

I had a dental visit yesterday, and last fall I had pre-paid a few visits so that I would qualify for the 0% interest financing with my Care Credit card. Turns out, this visit was one that was pre-paid still, and according to the reaction of the intake person, I should still have a credit good toward my July visit as well.

Also, not so much new new news, but a couple of weeks ago I got a letter from my physical therapist from last summer that if I paid half of what was left, they would write off the rest. I had enough in my HSA account, so I did so. Then I got a bill for the part that was supposed to be written off. I called today, and sure enough, it has been canceled. They had just printed and mailed the bill before someone had had a chance to remove the remainder. So, that is $215 I don't have to come up with afterall.

 

[Gena001]

Ok....Hubby turns 50 next week. Our youngest turns 7 in a couple weeks. Kinda feel like I need to do something for hubby. Trying to decide if we just go out and friends come if they want. They pay for themselves. Or I could make it a little special for the day and get a hall. When he turned 30 I had a party for him at this little hall. It's $250 for a kitchen and seating for 40. Add a refundable deposit of $100.... Beer is $1.50 each, well drinks are $2 & top shelf drinks are $2.75. They will bring in cases of soda and ice them down. I pay their price (Sam's or Costco prices). This includes a bar tender and clean up. I would just need to bring food, music, and a cake.

Music: DBIL, if available, could use his ipod & his awesome speaker.

Drinks: maybe I supply soda & beer? Cash bar for other items? Give everyone 2 tickets and then they buy? ????

Cake: DSIL makes awesome cakes (and very beautiful). Maybe she can make the cake?

Food: I would need to find some decent items at good prices. Make my own and supplement with some wings from his favorite restaurant?

Decorations: do we need them? Wonder if I can get his mom to handle decor?

Good thing I have an extra paycheck this month. What do you guys think? Wonder how much this would cost...

Then DD party, too. She mentioned skating or Bounce U. I think both have prices on their website. Gotta start looking at that.

 

[Shmily1]

Ok....Hubby turns 50 next week. Our youngest turns 7 in a couple weeks. Kinda feel like I need to do something for hubby. Trying to decide if we just go out and friends come if they want. They pay for themselves. Or I could make it a little special for the day and get a hall. When he turned 30 I had a party for him at this little hall. It's $250 for a kitchen and seating for 40. Add a refundable deposit of $100.... Beer is $1.50 each, well drinks are $2 & top shelf drinks are $2.75. They will bring in cases of soda and ice them down. I pay their price (Sam's or Costco prices). This includes a bar tender and clean up. I would just need to bring food, music, and a cake.

Music: DBIL, if available, could use his ipod & his awesome speaker.

Drinks: maybe I supply soda & beer? Cash bar for other items? Give everyone 2 tickets and then they buy? ????

Cake: DSIL makes awesome cakes (and very beautiful). Maybe she can make the cake?

Food: I would need to find some decent items at good prices. Make my own and supplement with some wings from his favorite restaurant?

Decorations: do we need them? Wonder if I can get his mom to handle decor?

Good thing I have an extra paycheck this month. What do you guys think? Wonder how much this would cost...

Then DD party, too. She mentioned skating or Bounce U. I think both have prices on their website. Gotta start looking at that.

Does your DH like those kind of things? My DH would be very unhappy as he doesn't really like us to do a specific party like that for him. He does enjoy going as a group to dinner then hanging out afterwards. If he does like parties, then I would say you have a great plan for one and since you can do it like this, I would do it.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Ok....Hubby turns 50 next week. Our youngest turns 7 in a couple weeks. Kinda feel like I need to do something for hubby. Trying to decide if we just go out and friends come if they want. They pay for themselves. Or I could make it a little special for the day and get a hall. When he turned 30 I had a party for him at this little hall. It's $250 for a kitchen and seating for 40. Add a refundable deposit of $100.... Beer is $1.50 each, well drinks are $2 & top shelf drinks are $2.75. They will bring in cases of soda and ice them down. I pay their price (Sam's or Costco prices). This includes a bar tender and clean up. I would just need to bring food, music, and a cake.

Music: DBIL, if available, could use his ipod & his awesome speaker.

Drinks: maybe I supply soda & beer? Cash bar for other items? Give everyone 2 tickets and then they buy? ????

Cake: DSIL makes awesome cakes (and very beautiful). Maybe she can make the cake?

Food: I would need to find some decent items at good prices. Make my own and supplement with some wings from his favorite restaurant?

Decorations: do we need them? Wonder if I can get his mom to handle decor?

Good thing I have an extra paycheck this month. What do you guys think? Wonder how much this would cost...

Then DD party, too. She mentioned skating or Bounce U. I think both have prices on their website. Gotta start looking at that.

If he likes parties, then 50 is definitely a milestone and a good reason to have a party. I like your 2 drink ticket idea and then additional drinks are on them. We have several grocery stores in our area that make fried chicken in the deli and 100 pieces are about $65. We usually get fried chicken, make mostaccioli (or some type of pasta with red sauce), and shaved roast beef in au jus in a large crockpot and then we supplement with sides and salads. We can usually pull off food, drinks (soda, beer & water) and decorations for $250-$400, but we don't have the added cost of hall rental (+$250).

Or you can invite a few friends and family members out to celebrate. We like to go to our local pizza place for family celebrations. 3-4 pizzas usually cover everyone's tastes and I'm not stuck with the clean up.

 

[stayhomemom77]

Does your DH like those kind of things? My DH would be very unhappy as he doesn't really like us to do a specific party like that for him. He does enjoy going as a group to dinner then hanging out afterwards. If he does like parties, then I would say you have a great plan for one and since you can do it like this, I would do it.

This was going to be my question too. My DH would be fine with a small party at home but would not want to be the center of attention at anything larger. But if you did it for his 30th...I assume he's cool with it.

Sounds like you've got a good handle on delegating the tasks (definitely get your mother in law involved!) and keep it simple.

Are you set on having it as a surprise party? If not, why not get him involved? Ask him what he wants and he can tell you directly. I think you have a good idea worked up here though...for what it's worth!

Good luck!

 

[Dentam]

My dad is turning 60 this weekend and my family is having a barbecue for him at home and just inviting close family members. I'm bummed to miss it (I live in a different state) but will see him for our DL celebration 2 weeks from today. If that wasn't planned I'd fly home for the bbq.