11/17/09

Random Tuesday Thoughts


I'm not having much luck on the job hunting, though I did have an interview yesterday. It went fine, people were quite friendly, laid back. The place was large, beautiful and seems financially stable. What's wrong you ask? It was a funeral home! Weird, huh? An admin position in the office....no DB's in sight! Three problems with it; pay is lowish, everyone must work every other Sunday and they don't close on holidays! Thanksgiving, Christmas, just another day in the death world. Hmmm. Love to work from home but I sure don't want to sell Avon or Tupperware! See my problem?


I was shopping several weeks ago and I offered a gift card to the clerk along with my debit card for the balance. I knew I had approximately $15. on that card. NOPE! Not any more. Apparently the balance had been eaten up by maintenance fees! I've heard about some of the problems with gift cards but this is the first time I have had a problem and it really burned me. Now during the big shopping extravaganza, I'm going to be very aware of what I'm buying and what kind of fees are attached! I guess you need to ask questions. Is there an expiration date and when is it? Is there an issuance fee and how much? Yes, an issuance fee, which I encountered once while buying a gift card of a major credit card co. Like the insane service fees when you buy concert tickets! Balance inquiry fee? Transaction fees if there is a high number of small transactions? Maintenance or inactivity fees? Crazy right? These practices should be illegal! It SOUNDS ILLEGAL for pity sake!


Here's an idea...how about if our elected officials stop playing solitaire and checking facebook and instead they can put a stop to the giant corporations finding legal ways to steal our money? What do you think? Should I call somebody and let them know how we feel?

15 comments:

Frugal Vicki said...

I think you should go on a mission to get that fixed. It makes me angry too. Who cares when it is spent? We gave you a set amount of money, you didn't supply the goods. Isn't that theft? I am with you. Where is the petition?

Lee said...

Fees on gift cards?? What's the point in having the dang card then??

Daisy said...

Merchants love selling those gift cards because they can make money on them when they are lost, aren't cashed or with the maintenance fees. It seems very wrong!

I think a funeral home would be a nice place to work, and you know they would likely never go out of business!

Me-Me King said...

It's an injustice I tell ya!

Who do we call?

Ann said...

I say go for it.
The gift card thing is outrageous. If you give someone a gift of say $50 they should not have to pay fees on that when using it. I'm tired of corporate America ripping us off every time we turn around.

Anonymous said...

The powers that be are discussing gift card fees even as we speak according to today's New York Times

Jen said...

Call somebody! I hate all those fees and feel completely helpless when I get them. I had a gift card with abut $30 on it until I tried to use it and it had simply expired. The card was three months old! I wish I could go by the same rules that banks get to go by and charge people for all sort of outrageous things. My all time favorite is the charge for making the payment. You know when you call the company and make the payment over the phone, they charge you $15 to do so. You'd think that one would be free since they know the payment is made and they took it. Argh!

Anonymous said...

I have an AMEX gift card and it seems like no one will accept it. I've managed to use it at certain places, but once you get down to the $9.67 balance, it makes it much harder to spend lol.

Jac @ Wuzzle Makes Three said...

I had that problem with a gift card that Hubby and I got last Christmas. I hate that they have fees on them, seriously! Someone paid good cash for that gift card, which they've long since written from the books.

vange said...

I think a funeral home would be a nice, quiet place to work, surrounded by flowers.

The Bee said...

Yes mother, please write a letter to President Obama and tell him you got screwed out of your Target giftcard. I'm sure he'll move that to the top of the list.

Cruise Addict said...

I heard people are just dying to get the job, let alone an interview. If you do get the job thou, at least none of the customers would complain ;-). OK OK enuff bad jokes.

I have my funeral all set up. Just before I kick, I am going to pay for the whole arrangement on my highest interest credit card. Should be interesting to see my first bill. They probably have offices in heaven and hell too.

Jude said...

I don't think I would want to work in a funeral home the smell of all those flowers would be overwhelming. I don't recall ever having a problem with gift cards like you did. Doesn't sound very ethical make some calls and see what happens. Buggy girl is so adorable above and looks quite the chef.

MikeWJ at Too Many Mornings said...

Can you believe that retailers are allowed to charge maintenance fees on gift cards? They should be paying us for holding onto them, because they get to make interest on the millions of dollars they sit on until we use them. Dirty rotten bastards is what these people are.

Oh, and good luck with the job hunt. Hard to find a job in this economy. Death keeps marching on, though, so that could be a good field to plant yourself in, I suppose.

Maria @ Conversations with Moms said...

I had no idea there were maintenance fees on gift cards. I don't think that exists in Canada. At least not at the places I've shopped.

Good luck with your job hunting.