Sometimes Bad Credit Happens To Good People

Jack and Dianne.

Tommy and Gina.

David and Anna.

Small town couples with bigger dreams. Little houses and picket fences just like you and me.

The only difference is David and Anna* are real. *not their real names

This is their story.

They had decent jobs when they got married around twenty years ago. Lived in rented spaces with happy faces. Along came the kids and they wanted a house. More space for the happy little faces.

The little house they found was perfect for them.

With a lot of sweat equity they managed to double the value of the little house over the course of time. Mortgage free by 45 was the plan.

A bigger house would be nice, but this was theirs. Their little house.

David and Anna went back to school so they could get better jobs.

Anna quickly found full time work as an Administrator. David found part time casual work in Construction. Frequently he would be on longer projects. When they were both working, the money flowed and bills were paid and life was good.

The door was always open on their little house and everyone was always welcome.

The kids were growing and the little house was always alive with activity.

They even found time to volunteer in the community to give back.

Life tottled along quite well.

Then David got hurt.

Not at work.

Anna's benefits covered his meds, but he had no sick pay. David worked when he could, and Anna tried working a second job for a while, but her health began to suffer too.

They paid the bills with credit. And when the credit ran out they consolidated.

But, they never missed a payment on their little house.

David still worked as much as he could, but that depended on how well he was feeling, and on the phone ringing.

Again the bills piled up. This time, they took out a second mortgage on their little house. All the work they had done earlier paid off now. They had less than 5 years left on their first mortgage. All they had to do was make it another 5 years.

Then David got sicker, but still worked when he could. He never gave up. Anna did what she could. Worked overtime when she could, and cut corners where they could be cut. They would get by.

The money may have slowed, but the bills didn't. The phone did ring, but it was bill collectors. They didn't answer the phone if they didn't know who it was. The stress made David sicker. Anna became depressed.

Soon, everything they made went to paying the debt. Nothing left over for food and utilities. Vacations and cars were a dream. It seemed bankruptcy was inevitable.

They would lose their little house.

But even with two mortgages, they still never missed a payment on their little house.

The bankruptcy laws would allow them to keep X number of dollars based on how many people were in the little house. But it wasn't enough to pay the bills and and keep the little house. Also wasn't enough for rent and utilities on someone else's little house.

That's right, they couldn't afford to go bankrupt!

The next solution was called a consumer proposal. This is where you just go bankrupt on unsecured debt. Credit cards, consolidation loans, personal loans and the like. This seemed like the only way they could keep their little house.

Dave and Anna could breathe again. The bills were paid, the harassing phone calls stopped, and in less than three years the first mortgage would be paid!

Dave was feeling somewhat better and could work more, and did when he could. He was still dependent on the phone ringing, but at least he was in better shape, and less worried about the bills.

Then the roof caved in. Literally.

A series of crisis piled up.

A winter storm felled a branch on their little house, and the insurance didn't cover it all.

Catastrophic illness and death of family members coincided with a slip in David's health.

Another family member became homeless and David and Anna took him in.

The car and the truck both broke down. The car couldn't be repaired.

They got through.

There's a roof on their little house and food on the table.

They still never missed a payment on their little house. They now had less than a year to go on the 1st mortgage.

David was well enough to work more and was ready for the phone calls.

Except the only calls were from the bill collectors.

Now a new plan. The first mortgage on their little house is so small, that if they could refinance and roll the two together, they could live on Anna's income alone.

They talked to the bank. Bad credit, no dice.

They talked to a mortgage broker, same story.

They talked to the existing mortgagors. Nope. Because if Dave and Anna default, they'll get their money back easily. There is 10 months left on the first mortgage!

So there they sit, in their little house.

The mortgage vultures circling overhead...

...and they never missed a payment.

DJW

Life

Sorry I haven't been out to play for a while.

I've been up to my neck in life, and I'm not that good a swimmer.

I will be back.

Just when you think your life is a trial by fire, you hear of someone who is worse off than you are.

Tanis Miller is the author of one of my favorite blogs, Attack of the Redneck Mommy.

She writes about her life a the mother of two teenagers and a severely challenged son, as a grieving parent, and as a forty-something wife in B.F. Alberta. She writes with humour, insight, tongue in cheek and a brassiness that only reveals that she is real.

She shares all in the stories of her dead son, life in rural Canada, tribulations of adoption, and sometimes a little cheekiness. Some postings require proof of age.

She is enduring yet another unfathomable crisis, something I've never been through, and hope I never will.

Give her a read, and if you can, some compassion and support.

And remember,

...There but for grace..

DJW

Caveat Emptor

Buyer beware...

Curbsiders are unlicensed dealers in the business of selling cars, but who pose as private sellers. The vehicles they sell are often misrepresented, accident-damaged, odometer-tampered, stolen, or have liens against them.

Source: http://www.omvic.on.ca/

A few years back, when we had to replace our beloved Red Dwarf (1996 Windstar), we turned to internet classifieds to find a new ride. My Darling Bride spotted what appeared to be a good deal on Kijiji, an internet classified site with local pages. We met with a Lady selling a 2000 Grand Caravan for her in-laws at a local garage. It showed well, was certified and emissions tested and was a good price.

When we saw the ownership our hearts skipped a beat.

We knew the person selling it.

We went to High School with him.

We worked with him when we drove taxi's.

We knew him when he was a shady used car salesman working for fly by night dealers.

We knew he was a Curbsider.

We also knew where we could find him. And he knew it too.

When the 'new' power steering pump blew up 20 minutes after picking the van up we should have walked away then. But we gave him a chance to make it right and he did.

Within a year after we bought it the rust started to pop out like pimples before the prom.

Anyhow, I digress.

Last week, after a few years of minor wear and tear problems with that van, the death knell sounded when the timing belt let go.

So M.D.B set out on another Kijiji quest while I searched dealer sites. I wasn't doing well with the cash we had to work with, but she had a find. Newer, well optioned, safety checked and e-tested. I called the number, and was called back by a woman who said we could come look at it after her husband got home. She gave me her name, and then her husbands name and somewhere in my head there was a 'DING!' I asked for a last name and wasn't given the same one as the Curbsider of a few years ago. M.D.B. heard my ding and when a few checks on Canada 411 didn't set off any further alarms, so we decided to do a drive by in the daylight and headed for the address given.

When we pulled in the driveway, I was looking at the van, and M.D.B. spotted the name on the mailbox.

It was him.

We never even put the car in park.

How bad is it when you feel the need to give a false name over the phone when selling a car?

Later that same day...

...When the woman called us back (number blocked) to say her husband was home and we could come by, I told her they had burned us before, but not again.

I have heard other stories of a similar nature on Kijiji, but, I imagine it's much the same on most Classified web sites. Ads are usually free and you can hide behind some anonymity.

According to The Ontario's Motor Vehicle Industry Council's website, "Curbsiders account for approximately 25 per cent of used - vehicle classified ads..." They frequently have you meet them in a public place, use cell phones, don't have the required used car sellers package, and sell as-is.

Of course you get no guarantees.

If it smells bad, it probably is.

In the end, we bought from reputable dealer in business for more than 15 years, and got a warranty.

And we reported the curbsider.

Caveat Emptor....buyer beware

Operor non adepto dementis adepto vel...

...Don't get mad, get even.

DJW

So long, Bulwinkle.
Stand by for the naming of the new van.

Holding Pattern

As I write this, I have been on hold for 33 minutes and counting with the customer service department of a major corporation.

If I don't get a human being to help me by the time I'm done writing, I will reveal the name of the company. I will tell you that they are a major oil company.

I have endured now, 36 minutes of an endless Musak loop of Elton John's Daniel. I wasn't fond of the song before, I am even less enamored with it now.

Why is it that so called "Customer Service" lines aren't anymore? Most of them have you go through an acrobatic charade of "Press 1 to be ignored, 2 to be sent back to 1, 3 for another useless menu, 4 to repeat this menu and 5 to be inexplicably disconnected.

43 minutes now...I'm almost ready to kick a puppy. 'Daniel my brother, do you still feel the same?' No, dammit! I feel neglected!

I went through a similarly frustrating experience a few years ago with my former cell provider. I had overpaid my final bill, and lo and behold, wanted a refund. They said that because I had paid via web banking, I would have to go through the bank. Didn't sound right to me, but who am I?

48 minutes...find me a rope!

So I did the phone calisthenics with the bank, explaining what the cell people told me. I was right the first time, the cell people had to issue the refund. The bank isn't a collection agency.

It took another 6 phone calls. On the second to last call, I again explained my problem (to 3 people over 45 minutes), that I had overpaid my bill and wanted a refund. If they couldn't issue me a refund, could they at least apply it to my cable bill? "Your cable bill? Sir, you've been talking to the cellular division, let me transfer you." NOOOOOOOOO000000ooooooo....

55 minutes...Elton John is OFF my playlist forever!

One service line I contacted recently at least had the decency to tell me up front that it was a 45 minute wait on hold. That, at least gave me an option. I hung up and called back the first thing the next day, only a 20 minute declared wait, which was actually 5.

62 minutes...the other people in my house are forming a lynch mob and the dog is whining.

I have had other, similar experiences, as I'm sure most of you have. Feel free to vent and share with Uncle DJ, and be sure that I won't put you on hold.

66 minutes on hold...Sunoco has horrible Customer Service. If you can call it that. I give up, you can keep your damn 'Performance Points'. They sure don't perform on the phone!

DJW

There, I feel better now.

A Pittance of Time....repost

Reposted by request.

November 11th.

Of course at the Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month I will be holding a salute for two minutes to honour the Fallen.

I hope to gather afterward with my Brothers at Arms to remember good times.

Singer/songwriter Terry Kelly wrote a powerful and poignant song a few years ago called A Pittance of Time. If you've never heard or seen it, please take five minutes out of your life to watch it. Just click on the blog title to see it.

I certainly can't add anything to his words and feelings except to repeat a sentiment I've heard recently...

...Some are born brothers, others earn it.

Lest We Forget.

DJW

Truly One of a Kind

There is a fine line between tenacious and stubborn, and he didn't seem to know where that was.

In 1982, Doctors told him he would be in a wheelchair within 5 years.

A few months ago, he would use a walker whenever he could, and try to get away with using no help at all when he thought no one was looking.

"I'm only going from the chair to the bed," he would say.

He was stubborn like that.

His tenacity showed almost daily.

Perhaps it was because he was resourceful by nature, growing up in a small town in 1930's Nova Scotia. During the Depression you had to make do with what you had on hand.

Perhaps it was due to his quiet genius that he was compelled to find ways to figure things out.

I've told the story of how he built a motorcycle out of spare parts and rode that from New Brunswick to Ontario, but that is only one example of his ingenuity and resourcefulness...

...In the early 1950's Pa and Ma had 4 small children and bought a large house in a small village. It had almost everything they needed, lots of bedrooms, large yard and a small garage. Everything but indoor plumbing. An artesian well at the end of the driveway provided water for all surrounding homes. Pa simply tapped into the wellhead and ran the pipe into the house. He converted one of the bedrooms into a bathroom, installed a septic bed and plumbed the entire house.

Eventually, he drilled a well to supply the house. With the clearest water being below the hard pan, this was difficult. Drilling was expensive, and money was always tight on mechanics wages.

I can remember two well events. One involved driving a pipe down to the rock, dropping a point into the pipe, and following that with a half a stick of TNT. The blast drove the point though the rock into the water. That well lasted several years. For the next well, he built a pile driver. The rig used 3 long poles set up as a tripod, block and tackle and the driver run by the drive wheel of a 1964 Mercury with the tire removed from the rim.

...When music became amplified, his violin wasn't. He took the pick up from an electric guitar, fashioned a clip to hold it to his fiddle, and Viola! His first electric violin!

...When my Brother's constant pounding on the piano interfered with the TV, a series of jacks were installed on the side of the cabinet and headphones were adapted. Taa- daa, personal viewing in the 1960's.

...In the 60's and early 70's he worked for an AMC Dealer. When the 1971 Javelin came out with its rear valve cover bolts under the firewall, AMC's solution to get at them was to drop the rear cross member and tilt the motor back. Pa's solution was to design and build a wrench bent in such a way to get at them. AMC eventually made these wrenches available to all their mechanics.

...In the 1970's Pa went to work for the City. Every year, plow operators would forget where the manhole lids were, and with the first snowfall, would tear chunks out the plow blades. His solution was to put 1" high 'skids' on the bottom of the blades, saving them from extreme damage. This is now a standard attachment on all snowplows everywhere.

...The garage where we fixed our own cars was at my Aunt and Uncle's house nearby. When it burned down in 1981, everyone chipped in to rebuild it, bigger and better. The new garage lacked an air compressor, and those were prohibitively expensive at the time. The Old Man cobbled together a unit comprised of 2 HP electric motor, a 2 stroke lawnmower engine, a small water tank and a limiting switch. It wasn't strong enough to run air tools, but it could fill tires and run a paint gun. It still works.

Over his lifetime, he became the go to guy to solve all types of mechanical, electrical and general engineering difficulties.

If it could be built, he could build it.

If it could be fixed, he could fix it.

He wasn't Mac Gyver...Mac Gyver studied him.

If I've learned one thing from him, it was to never give up, there is always a solution. Tenacity was his chief virtue.

There is a fine line between tenacious and stubborn, and he didn't seem to know where that was.

They told him years ago he only had months to live.

Months ago, weeks.

Weeks ago, days.

He proved them wrong again.

He was stubborn like that.

Somewhere, the sweetest fiddle music plays again.

DJW

Can You Believe This?

I don't make this stuff up.

The link (including TV ad) is here.

Thing 2 wants 8 of them.

DJW

DJ's Sea Mokey's didn't survive the great toilet flood of 1973.