BEWARE: TIRE SCAMMERS TARGET SENIORS

A hot summer Sunday afternoon is not a good time to see this warning on your dashboard: Check left rear tire pressure. Yikes! Who wants a flat tire in this heat? I take a few deep breaths. Auto repair and tire shops are closed on Sunday. That leaves the big box discount store out on the highway as my only alternative. I drive into their garage and tell them about the warning. The mechanic looks down and says, “You need a new tire. This one has a nail in it.” An alarm goes off in my head: Beware: tire scammers target seniors.

A nail in your tire doesn't always mean you need a new one. Beware of tire scammers who target seniors. — DON’T PANIC IF THERE’S A NAIL IN YOUR TIRE; IT CAN OFTEN BE REPAIRED

And yet, I’m afraid he could be right. I ask how long it will take, and he tells me there are several ahead of me. I say I can’t wait, and he agrees to give me some air, which should last until morning, but a new tire is a must.

Now, my left rear pressure is back up to 35 psi. I get home and look at my tire. Sure enough, I see the head of a nail. The guy wasn’t lying about that. My husband and I agree we must do something by morning, before the tire goes flat. But hey, wait a minute We have a trusted tire dealer who always pumps up my tires for free after I hit a pot hole. Why not get a second opinion?

Next morning, I pull into the dealership. Service man looks at my tire, sees the nail. Since my pressure hasn’t gone down, he thinks it’s safe to wait a few hours, when they can work me into their schedule. He thinks the tire can be repaired, not replaced.

They put the tire up on the rack while I sit in the waiting room. Service man returns in half an hour , says they removed a two inch nail and patched the tire. I reach for my purse, and he smiles. ‘No charge, ma’am.” He walks me to my car and shows me the treads are still good. The repair job should last as long as my tire. Ihttps://www.yourmechanic.com/article/my-tire-has-a-nail-in-it-what-should-i-do I thank him profusely, and drive away.

I drive home on a cloud. Yes, there are some are some good, honest people in this world! Then my mood turns south. What if I had waited a couple of hours yesterday, while they installed an unneeded new tire at the discount store? Why didn’t that mechanic suggest a repair? I can’t say for sure, but I think I was being scammed.

Beware of tire scammers who target seniors.

June 20, 2019June 20, 2019

VETERANS ENDURE LONG WAITS AT VA

Although veterans are entitled to free medical care, most don’t take advantage of it because they have private insurance. On the other hand, many vets have no other choice.. My husband drives 2 hours to the VA only for hearing aids, which aren’t covered by insurance. Unfortunately, the Audiology department has gone from an A Plus to a D Minus duringthe past year, in terms of scheduling. Their new policy dictates that patients can’t make appointments at all. Patients have to walk in and sign onto a waiting list. All patients, no matter how old or handicapped, must endure long waits in crowded hallways at the Indianapolis Veterans Administration Hospital That’s after they’ve circled the parking garage about 10 times before finding a place to park.

VA patients in Indianapolis audiology department endure long waits — VA PATIENTS CAN NO LONGER MAKE APPOINTMENTS IN THIS DEPARTMENT

Wasn’t patient care supposed to get better under this administration? And the last? And the one before that? It seems like every presidential campaign includes a promise to straighten things out with the Veterans Administration.

I don’t blame the staff in this department for the terrible decision to stop scheduling appointments. All of them are highly competent and caring individuals. They have to know it isn’t working. They see hundreds of elderly and disabled vets sitting on hard folding chairs in the hallways for hours on end. But someone Upstairs must have decided to fix something that wasn’t broken.

Did I mention hard folding chairs? I sat next to a 94 year old veteran who said he’d fought in the battle at Iwo Jima. He hadn’t been able to find a chair at all because there weren’t enough to accommodate everyone. Finally , a younger man offered him his seat. Many old vets stood in the aisles on crutches until someone had the grace to give up their own chair. I left my chair, thinking I could wait in the front lobby. Alas, all couches and chairs were occupied. So, I wandered around for awhile to see how things were going in the other departments. Most only had one or two patients seated comfortably while waiting.

Our doctor explained the situation would improve, once they replaced two staff members who had just quit. If they are short staffed, why not send an automated call to all of their patients, letting them know what’s going on? Better yet, tell them to see a local doctor and the VA will pick up the bill. I guess that just sounds too simple. Anyway, the new policy started several months ago, before these recent vacancies–and it never worked. to begin with.

While walking around the hospital, I noticed a bulletin board in the lobby where you could post suggestions and complaints. I was pretty mad by this time, so I scribbled the note you see and tacked it up on the board. By the time we left, someone had removed it. Also, I took pictures of people waiting in the hallways, but a staff member sternly warned me that this is not allowed in the hospital. I figured I’d better not mess with the feds, so I deleted those photos. I hope freedom of speech is still legal there, but maybe not.

February 4, 2019February 4, 2019

DON’T LET ANYONE MESS WITH YOUR MONEY

Most seniors do business with the same places over the years. The same insurance company, auto dealer, plumbers, etc. We’ve spent decades buying goods and services from folks whom we have come to trust. But should we assume that they’re always 100% honest? Be wary. Don’t let anyone mess with your money.

Trusted salespeople may try to sell seniors things they don't need. — YOU COULD BE BE A VICTIM OF DECEPTIVE SALES PRACTICES

Last month, we received a call from our insurance agent We weren’t sure why we’d been called in for an interview, and wondered if some policy was being cancelled. Turns out he wanted us to buy an annuity. After a lengthy sales pitch, he gave us the most salient feature of this type of investment—we could leave it to our beneficiaries tax free. That rang a bell, since I had inherited a small Payable On Death certificate years ago, and had not had to pay taxes on anything except the subsequent accrued interest.

When I pointed out that we could receive that same benefit with a CD purchased from our bank, with a Payable On Death beneficiary, he smiled at my ignorance, and assured me that I was misinformed. I felt my confidence wavering. After all, that inheritance was 30 years ago. The tax laws had probably changed, and maybe I was too old to realize that. And yet, I wasn’t quite ready to sign on the dotted line. We told him we’d think it over.

At home, I went on the internet and found that the tax laws hadn’t changed. A payable on death CD is considered an inheritance. And, unless you have an estate of over 11 million dollars, it is not taxable in my state.

Was the agent poorly informed, or was he purposely deceiving us in order to make a sale? Either answer is disturbing. We’re satisfied with our insurance coverage, so this won’t make us change companies. But, we won’t be buying an annuity.

Although I was disappointed in that person, I put the incident out of my mind until last week, during the polar vortex. . The heat in our house was not coming up to where we had set the thermostat, and since we have a service contract, we called our contractor. They arrived promptly, and I went upstairs to check my computer, confident that they would take care of things. About half an hour later, my husband called me downstairs because the serviceman needed to talk with us. Uh oh. That didn’t sound good.

He said we need a new inducer motor, and that it would cost about $400. That seemed reasonable. However, before we could agree to the purchase, he pointed out that our furnace was getting old, and now that we were starting to incur expensive repair costs, it would probably be wiser to buy a new furnace. When I asked what that would cost, he said about $5.000 to $10,000. He assured us we could have a new furnace within a few days. I said, no, just go ahead and order the new part.

Once again, I turned to the internet for advice. First, I learned that an inducer motor is not even a part of the furnace—it’s just a booster fan . And its breakdown does not indicate the need for a new furnace. Also, I found that the average cost for a new furnace is somewhere between $4,000 to $6,000. (not $10,000)

It appeared that the person representing the company we trusted for years wanted us to buy an unneeded , overpriced furnace.

Two similar incidents with salespeople in a one month period makes me wonder. Are seniors targeted for deceptive sales practices? Do they think we’re too senile to check things out?

.These incidents didn’t come close to being fraudulent, and I’m quite sure no lawyer would have advised us to take legal action had we fallen for these sales pitches. . Nevertheless, it’s disappointing to know that even the most reputable of companies might attempt to deceive the elderly..

Seniors: Don’t let anyone mess with your money.

December 19, 2018December 19, 2018

THE DEMISE OF THE CHRISTMAS LETTER

Remember when everyone sent Christmas letters? That probably peaked about 20 or 25 years ago, when we all got desktop computers and printers. Drive to Staples, get a box of Christmas stationery, sit down, compose a letter, and print out a huge batch of your very own, original, newsletter. But now, we are seeing the demise of the Christmas letter.

Some of those letters were irritatingly boastful. Each child’s achievements, trophies, marriages. (Divorces not to be mentioned) . Our own triumphs, job promotions, successful children and grandchildren. . Then, or course, a complete itinerary of every trip we took to the Smokies, Europe, Costa Rica. This was our chance to tell the world that we were doing great. Sometimes the letters went on for two pages.

Then, along came Facebook in 2004. Now, we could share family pictures, births, deaths, and achievements every single day. The sending of the annual Christmas letter was no longer necessary. That is, assuming everyone was into technology and had a Facebook account. Believe it or not, many seniors, don’t use email, & don’t post on Facebook. And Facebook has taken a beating lately, with many people afraid of being hacked and losing their privacy.

Our grandchildren won't send Christmas Letters — REMEMBER WHEN EVERYONE SENT CHRISTMAS LETTERS?

I was still in the workforce during the explosion of computer technology, and became comfortable with the internet. Each year, I tried to discourage my husband from composing the annual Christmas letter. But yet, he plowed on. How else could he touch base with all the friends and family from his home state of Nebraska, Air Force buddies, and the students he had known when he was a campus minister at Indiana State University?

And so, he would write the letter for me to edit, and I would dutifully churn out a batch of Christmas letters. We went through this process again this year.

At first I decided not to send one to the people on my list. But as I sat down to write my cards, I looked at that letter again and decided it was a good idea, after all. No bragging, just a casual way of telling people that we weren’t going South this year, and a few things we had been doing.

I realize that Christmas letters are an anachronism., and can’t imagine any of our grandchildren sending out a Christmas letter. Not with Instagram, texting, Facebook, and perhaps some other apps I’ve never even heard about.

But if we’re still around and in good health next year, we will probably write one again.

Viva the Christmas Letter!