First Sprint Now Verizon–Another Identity Theft

I don’t own a cellphone.  However, given all the problems I have had with cellphone companies, I never plan to either.

I mentioned a few months ago that Sprint was sending me bills through my Gmail account for somebody else’s cellphone account.  After several months, I finally got this straightened out and am no longer getting billed from them.

Now, this week, through this same Gmail account, I started receiving notices of cellphone charges from Verizon.  After going through nearly a week of emailing back and forth with them, they finally said that they will be “taking care of the situation”.  Of course, I will believe that when I stop getting emails from them. 

It seems that somebody has been using my Gmail account as their point of reference to send their e-bills to just so they think they wouldn’t be responsible for the bill.  What’s worse is that in both of these cases, identity theft is prominent.  Yet, the biggest problem is that there is NO WAY to contact Google to let them know that this is happening.  I eventually did send an email to Google about my email problem and got back the canned response that sometimes accounts that have periods in them confuse accounts and thus route email incorrectly.  This wasn’t even what I was asking!  Of course that was over 6 months ago and I never heard from them again over this form of identity theft.

As I mentioned in a previous post awhile ago, Staples also used my email account (a different account,though) linking it to a credit card purchase that my mother made in one of their stores last year during the holiday season.  Unfortunately, after contacting the Better Business Bureau (a waste of time, by the way), Staples WOULD DO NOTHING even though they were guilty of identity theft.  Of course, Staples is king of the lying and identity theft.  Thankfully, other companies are a little bit better than they are when identity theft is called into question.  Sadly Staples will never learn.

New Home Up and Running..

This is a great day for those who follow this blog…my new site is up and running.

For those familiar with my other WordPress site, the layout is exactly the same.  The reason for this is that I wish to have consistency between my blogs.  I will mirror entries to this site as long as it remains feasible, but I expect it to be phased out eventually.  However, I have no timetable as to when it will end.  Until then enjoy the new site.

The link to the new site is louisbrowntruths.wordpress.com.

You may also notice that the title has changed slightly as to reflect the new site.

Important Change–Move/Expansion to new site

Within the next week, this blog will be expanding/moving to a new home.  The new home will be with Wordpress.  The biggest reason why is that this site just has not had any comments since it started over a year ago.  I feel that moving the blog to Wordpress will allow for a much larger audience and will spread the messages that I want to tell. 

I have yet to decide if this site will continue on or just be discontinued completely.  My thought was to mirror the two sites while feasible then at some point ending this blog site.  This is not in the immediate future however.

My disappoint with Blogger is compounded by the fact that the current version of Windows Live Writer has been not as cooperative as I would like it to be.  It is still a better editor than many of them out there and most importantly it is FREE.  Until I find a free alternative to WLW, I will continue to use it to post to this site.

Again, my plans are not to shut down this site for now but mirror it until further notice.  I will be giving the URL as soon as I get it active.

Let me remind everybody that comments are always welcome and hopefully the change will reach a much larger audience.  I feel it is the best for everyone.

Q & A

I love the site where it is.  Why the change?

People.  I want more people to read the blog and I feel it is the right move.

What happens to the old posts?

I will be moving the old posts to the new site possibly, but this site will remain an archive for all the old posts.

What will the new layout look like?

If you have read my other Wordpress blog, then the layout will look familiar.  They both will use the same layout to standardize my approach to blogs.  I was never really happy with the Blogger layout, but it was the best from what there was to choose from.

Can I comment on this change before it goes into effect?

Yes.  The comment period starts now and will continue through the end of September.  However, the new site will be active before the end of the month.  Comments will be in consideration of whether to continue the site here or mirror the two sites.

Why such short notice of this change?  Shouldn’t it have been a longer period of time?

I have been giving this a lot thought for a long time and with the overwhelming success of my other blog, it was a no-brainer decision.  I wanted to implement the change as soon as possible.

Can I still follow like I did on Blogger?

Most definitely as I expect even more followers within a few months.

Can I become an author of your blog as I have a lot to say as well?

Just send me an email at the address on the right side or send me a message on Facebook and we can discuss it.  I am always open for the input of others on retail topics.

Will there be more frequent updates?

My plan for this blog and my other blog is to write at least one post per week sometimes more depending on what comes to mind.  Hopefully, I will get that one per week at least accomplished, but things do happen which may delay some postings.

Can I use any information I get from your blogs for my own use?

I do not limit the use of information of my blogs.  All I ask is that if you use the information give me the respect to credit me to the information used.  However, information that I use from others will be used anonymously as to protect the identities of their providers.

Can I cry now?

Go ahead and do it.  Its going to be a rough road ahead for years to come.

Bad Time to Be a Staples Employee?

In the last 3 years, the stock has fallen by 50%.

In the last 3 years, 401 (k)s probably have lost at least that amount.

Now the rumor is that Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital wants to buy Staples and turn it into a private company.  Anybody thinking that with all the problems that the company has had in the last few years that this buyout will be yet another Bain buy and shutdown approach.  I believe it is and I think it is a very scary time to be a Staples employee.  Sometimes small miracles do happen when you least expect them (at least for me)…

Oh the Merchandise We Carried!

Editor’s Note:  I know it has been about a month and a half since we continued this story, but I felt other topics were as important to discuss and will continue to discuss other topics between set topics that are pre-planned.  Hopefully, I won’t have such a long stretch like this again, but if I do I will do another note like this.

Instead of being an exhaustive list of everything that all the places carried, this is basically a short list of items along with a short bit on some of the more interesting items.

Woolworth:

Besides candy, jewelry, cosmetics, cigarettes, toys, housewares, curtains, sewing supplies, video/audio items and clothes, the store also had its share of odd items.

ODDEST ITEM::

Nintendo Virtual Boy – for those who remember this joke item will recall that it had a bright red screen that you looked into like binoculars and tried to play the games on it.  Sadly, it added more to headaches and really didn’t work very well.  At about $100, it was Nintendo’s worst seller and was only in our stores for a couple of months.

ITEM I REALLY SHOULD HAVE PURCHASED:

The Sega Genesis or the Nintendo Super Nintendo were both great bargains when they Woolworth went out of the video game business. 

While other stores were still selling these systems for over $100, Woolworth worth selling each of these units for well under $50. This was a stupid move on my part.

Home Quarters (HQ):

Everything for the home could be found here, just like as Home Depot and Lowes still does today.  The only difference is they are still around and HQ is long gone.  HQ’s biggest problem was that much of its merchandise was loose and never tagged such as screws.

Screws were matched up to a drawing in a flip book to determine which one it was and what to charge for it.  Usually it took more than one person to figure it out and sometimes even the front-end supervisor took a guess on some of the items.  The difference of prices in some of the screws were priced from about 10 cents up to almost $2 a each.  Certainly a big difference in price that could cost the company a lot of money and I believe it cost them quite a bit.

Staples:

It would easier to list the items that they didn't carry during my time with the company.  However, one product stood out far and above as the worst product I have ever seen.

Worst Product:

Flexplay DVD discs were simply the worst product ever carried by Staples.  The lifespan after opening the package was just 48 hours which meant that after that time the disc was no longer usable.  The item started out around $5 per disc, but eventually dropped to under $1 each. Unfortunately, these discs didn’t conform to the DVD specification so they were not as high quality as real DVDs, nor were the movies in widescreen format or have any extras on the discs either.  Sounds like 3 strikes and you are out, Staples.  If only that really was the case as this joke item was ignored by virtually everyone.  Sort of makes that Virtual Boy a great item now.

Up Next:  Pricing the Merchandise

9/11–Are We Any Safer 11 Years Later?

Here we are on the eve of one of the most destructive events in the history of the United States, yet are we any safer today than we were before that tragic day?

If you listen to the government, you would think we were.  However, the truth is we are not any better off.  In fact, we are probably worse off today because of everything that is in place to protect us.

As some of you may know, Staples and I played a part in the 9/11 terrorist plot.  Yes, you read that right.  If you don’t know the story, I will not explain it here as I don’t feel it is the time or place or time do it.  Let me just say that Staples still has the ammunition to recreate yet another terrorist act and its doubtful that anybody would ever stop it.

Even though I have never visited an airport, it seems that the TSA agents are nothing short of overpriced unionized idiots.  They seem to offend everyone and do things that are simply uncalled for.  Let’s face it: they have only stopped one person since the TSA was formed, not a good track record and certainly not worth the cost of the agency.

What this country should be doing is keeping immigrants out and being more careful with who gets citizenship.  More importantly, we must stop companies like Staples from selling products that allow terrorism to occur in the first place.

As sad as 9/11 was, it is hard to believe that it all started by a few people letting their guard down even though they never even knew it.  We will never forget 9/11 especially myself given my own guard being let down only because rotten Staples allowed for it.  I and 3000 others could not thank Staples enough for their assistance—live long and prosper Staples at the expense of the American blood spilled on 9/11. 

Let us now pray that Staples will die as a company like everybody else did.

Amen (on this topic until next year).

One Year, One Month, and Two Day Anniversary

Yes, it has been that long when I began this journey.  Those of you who came along for the ride may be wondering when something earth-shattering will be said.  Actually, I have been hinting at some of the stuff all along if you have been a regular reader of all these posts.  Naturally, if you missed one, I recommend going back and reading the ones that you may have missed.

You may also be wondering if we are anywhere near getting to all the good stuff.  If this was a road trip, we have hardly got the first suitcase packed yet.  Yes, you read that right.  The road to the end is a very long journey.  I have no timetable in mind as far as what topic will occur on what date.  I just write as things come to me, but hopefully putting some things in a reasonable order.  There have been and will continue to be many detours along the way as I believe in keeping this blog both current while also commenting on the past. 

I feel that it is just important to discuss important current events along the way that may or may not relate to the big picture of this blog.  But keep in mind, I never said at any time that this journey was ever going to be a short drive. 

I have also heard from a few people that they were offended by the way that I talk about people.  These people who I discuss in this way are jerks or do jerky things and therefore deserve the treatment.  As I say right in the banner that I name names, I keep that promise.

Over the last year or so, I have talked to several people who agree with me that Staples is a VERY bad company and what they did to me was an outrage.  However, they got the short form of a story of which I have not even really discussed at length yet.

My goal for the next year is to further the topic to a deeper story, but that depends on everything that happens in the world.  You may wish to follow my other blog as well to keep up with other topics that I discuss there. 

Overall, let’s remember one thing: STAPLES IS EVIL AND MUST ELIMINATED AT ALL COSTS – DO NOT SHOP WITH THEM, DO NOT RECOMMEND THEM, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY SPREAD THE HATRED!

I now return you to our regular blog next week! and enjoy the Happy Anniversary!

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Change to My Twitter Account

Effective immediately, I have changed my Twitter account to protect my tweets.  The reason for this is that there has been some harassing to me from people that I do not follow.  Therefore, for my protection and the safety of other followers of mine, I have had no choice but to protect my tweets.

Please be advised that I will still accept anybody who wishes to follow me by approving them and I will block anybody who shows any harassment to me.  I have ZERO tolerance to people who harass me at all.  Thank you for your understanding and please continue following.

Stupid Maine State Agencies

In the last couple of weeks, there seems to be a rash of Maine agencies that have made some very stupid moves.

Consider first, the Maine Turnpike Authority has had its share of problems.  Now with a new head of Peter Mills, the agency was supposed to put itself in order.  It seems that instead of order, they are creating disorder.  The agency held several meetings across the state to get input from Mainers on alternative suggestions on how to raise revenue for the MTA.  The agency had an idea to raise the rates significantly in some area and after several meetings decided to keep their initial plan in place.  So was this all just an act to make it look like that the agency was really listening?  I highly doubt it and just think of the money that could have been saved by NOT having these meetings in the first place.

The Maine Republican Party had decided to throw out half of the Ron Paul delegates and hand them off to Mitt Romney instead.  Talk about not playing fairly.  Certainly the delegates deserved to raise a stink on the National Convention floor last week and certainly a meeting was in order of the party people afterward.  However, this meeting did nothing more than tear people further apart by not coming up with any solution at all, but just listening to the people’s blah-blah-blah.  How much was wasted by having these delegates travel to Florida for no good reason and then go to this stupid useless meeting afterward.

Then of course we have the Department of Health and Human Services.  I know many of you are as shocked as I am over the 10 year old girl who murdered a baby.  To add insult to injury was the fact that this was not the first time that this girl attempted murder using the same technique.  The biggest issue in this is that the child had access to their ADHD pills and fed them to the two babies.  Why in the world would any parent who is sane keep pills in someplace where a child could access them?  Does the parent not know to keep medications out of the hands of children as mentioned on every medication in existence!?!  Ironically, the DHHS said that the parent was “partially responsible” for one baby’s death.  Seriously?  This is like saying that John Wilkes Booth was partly responsible for Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.  It is apparent that DHHS doesn’t want to take any real action against the parent, but instead blame the child.  With so many problems that DHHS has, why can’t they get a real caseworker who was willing to see the problems in the first place and get this child the help that she needs and for that matter issue a conviction against the mother.  This is just more proof of sloppy justice we have in this state.

Finally, as I have already mentioned a few times before is the stupidity of the Maine Human Rights Commission.  The MHRC usually rejects most all of their monthly cases without actually doing any investigating at all as I will prove in future posts.  Imagine how much money these meetings are costing just to assemble with the goal of rejecting everything put in front of it.

It should be apparent that not only does Lady Justice have one eye covered, she has both covered as well.  Along with that, she is also wearing earmuffs and has a gag in her mouth.  Sadly Maine agencies have turned from helping people to hurting people by not waking up and seeing reality around them,  Sure, the excuse of “procedure” could be said as being used, but there comes a time when logic should come into play instead.  But whoever said the state was logical, just look at dumbass Paul LePage.  As if we needed anymore proof than that!