I can think of two Savings Advice forum topics that won't die. I become the Incredible Snark when I read updates on the active one. I haven't posted there because: I don't want to contribute to the topic's lifespan; people have contributed cogently and respectfully thoughts that I would be prone to express in a way such that would at least get me a warning from an SA forums monitor; I've hit my limit on alienating SA people.
A local political action firm has been calling me six-seven times a week since August 22. Debt collectors don't call that often. Both debt collectors and local political action firms use restricted phone numbers and don't leave messages. I know it's not a debt collector because we are current on all our bills and I've chased away those looking for people who've used this phone number on their credit apps by citing the Fair Debt Collection Protection Act in mail and by phone.
The correct protocol is to answer and say "remove me from your list." I know this. Last year I was bullied by a caller from this political action committee (there is only one that contacts me) into agreeing to send money, even though I said how long I'd been out of work and the money left at the end of the month was little. The canvasser said they had quite a few members who used food banks. She didn't say how many had children.
Ungh.
Given a choice between expensive medications to slow my eventual blindness and the political action firm contribution, I'd take the meds; between a week at the already-stretched food bank with my family to preserve $$ for the PAC and buying fresh farm food, I'd buy the fresh food; between outfitting my child for a three-day eco-learning required school activity in the Olympic National Forest and giving to the PAC the PAC loses out. The political action firm isn't working for my benefit if they're making money off the indigent and unemployed. If "remove my data from your list" doesn't work, I'll give them a list of the vagrants living under viaducts and a list of freeway offramp panhandlers as "contribution prospects." At least the vagrants and panhandlers without children.
I don't answer the phone because I want their time wasted. The more elusive and inaccessible I am, the more they'll perceive me as a highly valued tantalizing treasure. Then I can answer and say, "The Man From Del Monte he say... 'oooh sod off.'"
Badaba DA da DA da, feelin' snarky...
59th Street Bridge Song: Feeling Snarky
September 10th, 2013 at 06:29 pm
September 10th, 2013 at 06:50 pm 1378839011
September 10th, 2013 at 11:51 pm 1378857082
206-867-5309 ....
Or my personal favorite for people who bug the he!! out of me:
206-622-0460
September 11th, 2013 at 03:24 am 1378869845
September 11th, 2013 at 05:49 am 1378878580