Why Do I Have to Opt Out?

I didn't opt in for all the junk email from these so called 'Social Networks' like Grouply that are trying to get members by having new members spam everyone in their address books.

So why do I have to opt out? It is almost like all of the spam we receive that tell you to 'opt out' if you don't want to receive any more spam.  All of those are just trying to find out if your email address is valid.

I keep getting phone calls from various 'service' companies wanting me to have my carpet cleaned, etc. I can opt out of those calls, but I am forced to listen to the entire spiel before I am given the choice to 'opt out' by pressing a number on my phone keypad.

I didn't ask for these calls, so why do I have to 'opt out'?

I still get a lot of snail mail for stuff I don't want.  In order to stop it, I have to go through a long process. I have to write letters and then wait who knows how long before the snail spam will stop coming, if it does stop.

I didn't ask for this waste of resources that keep coming into my mailbox, so why do I have to 'opt out'?

I suppose there are some legitmate reasons for sending all that junk to me, but I don't want that junk. Why do I have to 'opt out'!

I don't want any more mail from American Express wanting me to apply for their card.

I don't want that Grouply spam or any of the other 'Social network' spam that tricks new member into sending 'invitations' to everyone in their address book.

(These uninvited invitations are sent out because most of the wording is such that new members don't realize they are giving these jerks permission to go into their address books. Why they don't realize it I don't know; they gave them their user name and password! What did they think was going to happen? Why would anyone of reasonable intelligence give a strange website their user name and password for their email? I think these are the same folks that reply to  Mrs. Eki Omorodion in Nigeria.)

Martha

Signup for Medicare Part D

It sounded easy.

Go to the Medicare website and find a plan that suits your needs.  Then go to that plan's website and enroll online. What could be easier, a no-brainer NOT!

I went to the plan's site and signed up. Like a good document person, I printed everything.

Three weeks later I got a letter saying everything was approved and what my monthly premium would be.  In the meantime, before I receive the card I can use this letter as proof of coverage. Except......this was not the plan I signed up when I enrolled.

After several phone calls navigating the infamous phone menu hell more than once,  someone answered.  After explaining the problem, I was told I could call another number and re-enroll in the correct plan. Now since the plan I was told I was enrolled was about $30.00 a month higher than the plan I actually enrolled, I had to resolve this and fast!

So I called the last number given to me and waited on hold. And waited. And waited.  All the time I am waiting my eardrums are being blasted by the same music. Over and over and over again, for over an hour.  After about 40 minutes an irritating beeping started. The beeping was intermittent and what it was for I have no idea unless it was to irritate me so much I would hang up.

Finally someone answered and I refrained from snarling.  I explained my problem and was told the same thing had happened to some other folks.  (Bait and Switch?) The operator took my enrollment again after I made sure she was enrolling me into the correct plan. (I only have her word for it.)

So hopefully when I receive the next letter it will be for the right plan. If it isn't, the snarling will surely begin in earnest. This time the snarling will be to the local watchdog, my US Representative, US Senators, Medicare and anyone else I can think of.

I am perhaps a little more patient than a lot of folks. I am also more familiar with using a computer than the majority of seniors. I keep hearing about how frustrated a large number of seniors are about signing up and some don't sign up, and now I know why.

The providers for Medicare Part D have from January to November 15th to make sure their websites work properly for folks who sign up on the web.  If they can't manage to do this, then they shouldn't have the option available to signup on the web.

Surely if I had chosen to call and enroll it would have saved me quite a bit of frustration and agravation.

Rant over,

Martha

Butt Glue

I kid you not, there is such a product. There are websites that sell it. I couldn't figure out why anyone would need it, but the explanation given is so beauty pageant contestants won't have to use staples (Ouch!) to prevent a section of their swimsuits from disappearing into a body crevass.

I guess there are some folks who will do anything, but I absolutely cannot imagine why anyone would have used staples on their behinds.  So I guess butt glue is a real advancement for those folks.

Just in case you are wondering how I found out about this product, it wasn't because I was looking for it.  I found it in Dave Barry's column; 'Why do we give gifts during the holiday season?'

There are more wacky gifts in his column, all of which I can't believe anyone would ever buy. (Except butt glue, I can see why a girl wearing one of those beauty pageant swimsuits might need that. However, I have a better solution.  She could wear a swimsuit that actually covers her fanny, then she won't need any butt glue.)

Happy shopping!

Martha

Spam in My Gmail Account

I have more than one G-mail account and use them all. I really like G-mail's spam filters because for all but one of my G-mail accounts very seldom (read almost never!) does a spam email hit my Inbox. Until about three months ago, this was true for all of my G-mail accounts.

I very foolishly used one account to sign up for something from a corporation I thought could be trusted not to sell my email address. I should have known better! Upon reading the privacy policy in depth, I found the following:

A. Strategic Partners
"From time to time we may enter into a special relationship with another company that is not owned or affiliated with the (edited) Company. These special relationships may include business partners, sponsors and co-branded sites (referred here as "co-branded pages"). Any information, including personal information, that you provide on one of these co-branded pages will be shared with these third party partners. By participating in activities or providing your information on these co-branded pages, you also consent to our providing your personal information to those third parties. Since these third parties will use your information in accordance with their own privacy practices, you should check their web sites for information regarding their privacy policies."

No place does it tell me exactly 'who' these third parties are or how I can find out. So in effect by signing up, I gave them permission to give my email address to anyone they choose who may decide to sell my information and/or actively spam my email address!

So the fact that this account is now literally a spam account it is mostly my own fault for trusting! Folks, on the Internet you can't trust major companies to respect your privacy. I suspect if you read the 'privacy policies' of any major company that offers a free service you will find it is a 'privacy NOT policy'.

But I am wondering why G-mail doesn't seem to be able to determine that all of this junk email is spam when the other accounts don't have this problem!

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