The Complaint Thread

Have I mentioned lately how much I fuuuucking hate insurance companies? My mom and I are dealing with a double whammy of overnight prescription coverage cancellation out of the blue. My Mom, who's on Medicare/Medicaid, was forced to switch coverage back in January; she really loved her old coverage, but they just decided out of the blue she doesn't qualify for it anymore. So they chose this new coverage for her, who've been running her ragged with denials and coverage cancellations and switching medications. They switched her psoriasis/arthritis medication a few months ago (after forcing her to go without it for months), and forced her to start a new medication that she didn't want to because it's a gnarly sized needle, but it was the only one they'd cover. Well, after getting it filled last week, she got a call from her pharmacy saying she owed them $1220, so she called her insurance to see what was up, and they told her the drug was no longer covered and she owed them $13,000 to reimburse them for the cost of the prescription in the first place, or else she wouldn't be able to get the medication again. So now she's just gonna say "fuck it" and go back to no medication, which will undoubtedly worsen her conditions even more.

Mine is nowhere near as bad- my ADHD meds being no longer covered, boosting the cost to over $500 for a month's supply, so still pretty bad. Mind you, we both have letters from our doctors saying we need these meds, and letters from our insurances saying they were approved for coverage. The only reason given to us both was "the drug is no longer covered under your plan". I guess Big Pharma just changes its mind with the seasons now.

I'm not even so worried about mine (even though it frickin' sucks), but I worry for my Mom. It's been a struggle getting her to care for and prioritize her health in the first place, only for all this to happen. She's so close to giving up, and watching it all from afar is really taking its toll.

Anyway. Fuck Big Pharma. Free Luigi. All that.
 
January 2024, I was sitting at a stoplight & was rear-ended which totaled my car. This injured me, on top of chronic lifelong pain issues including Fibromyalgia, which naturally affected my job attendance for a couple months while I got medical therapy to recover from it, despite me not missing a single minute of in-office work from April to August.

Because of this, I was fired in August after months of an increasingly hostile environment from an abusive bully because I had recently been diagnosed ASD before the accident, but not the stereotypical kind of nonverbal helplessness of his autistic son.

I was able to support myself through my job search from August to February for my car payment & utilities, and March for my rent. In March, with still no luck in the job market, I created a GoFundMe to help keep me afloat a little longer. It didn't fund fast enough, and I sank further into debt. When I was fired in August, my credit score was almost up to 700. Now, it's almost down to 400.

My car loan was thankfully able to be pushed from March to May, but I just missed May's payment, and they've already started hounding me (and "are unable" to offer me another extension). I got county help for a few months of rent, and just started a part time job for less pay than I was barely scraping by before, for fewer hours. I might be able to handle rent going forward, but am so desperately in the hole, not only to ComEd, Nicor, and credit card companies that I had to rely on for help, but also a few very generous friends.

Even if I find a full time job for more than I made previously (I'm still looking), I will still be drowning financially unless this fully funds.
I am offering artwork for a certain level of donations. The second video in the GFM explains it more thoroughly.

I hope it's okay to post this, as I'm not getting any traction on my Facebook profile, YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok.

I literally just need 380 more people to help with $10 each. 😰

 
So sorry you're going through such hard times, @TENIME . I have a friend who's in a similar boat due to long Covid, and their life has been completely upended. I'm sorry I can't help more right now, but I'll see if I can't share the fundraiser on some socials for you. Wishing you the best through these tough times!
 
It's not like there wasn't huge, bold, colorful letters telling them not to open the box until a certain date; if they missed it, then they should just honor the mistake, especially if it's just a few days difference.
Going back to this: not to defend this admittedly stupid and frustrating practice, but it's likely the workers at each Target never see the shipping box because it was opened at a warehouse and then sent piecemeal to each individual store. I always see and inspect the trolleys full of the most random assortment of toys, so I'm guessing this is still happening.
 
Going back to this: not to defend this admittedly stupid and frustrating practice, but it's likely the workers at each Target never see the shipping box because it was opened at a warehouse and then sent piecemeal to each individual store. I always see and inspect the trolleys full of the most random assortment of toys, so I'm guessing this is still happening.
It honestly depends with my stores. For the smaller, more "express" stores, yeah, they usually get a little tiered cart filled with random stuff, but the big Targets still seem to get the boxes. Can't tell you how many times I've gone to my local store and seen a big cart back by electronics filled to the brim with the original shipping boxes just chilling there, taking up half the aisle. Ultimately, it's not thaaat big a deal; a total first world problem, but I gotta have something to complain about. 🤪
 
I get so frustrated at stupid Amazon reviews. Does anyone else turn into a rage head when they see someone drag a product because of their own stupidity? I was looking at some cups and there was a 9oz size. There's clear pictures of the dimensions in the description. And yet, some lady gives it 1 star, holding a cup saying, "this cup is smaller than I thought! returning it for a larger size." Christ, take some personal responsibility, YOU bought the wrong size, you should be thankful they're letting you return it. I see this a lot, personally I keep a ruler right next to my computer desk so I never make this error, it makes me feel like a goddamn genius when I see reviews like that.
 
Walmart's site is full of reviews on products from people who are angry that the store pickup people got their order wrong. I was trying to read reviews on some grocery items to see if it was any good and it was all 1 star because those people had all gotten the wrong thing.
 
I get so frustrated at stupid Amazon reviews. Does anyone else turn into a rage head when they see someone drag a product because of their own stupidity? I was looking at some cups and there was a 9oz size. There's clear pictures of the dimensions in the description. And yet, some lady gives it 1 star, holding a cup saying, "this cup is smaller than I thought! returning it for a larger size." Christ, take some personal responsibility, YOU bought the wrong size, you should be thankful they're letting you return it. I see this a lot, personally I keep a ruler right next to my computer desk so I never make this error, it makes me feel like a goddamn genius when I see reviews like that.
That's why I rarely, if ever, actually read reviews. If I do, I only look for ones that have to do with the quality of the item itself, and even then I only let the most egregious ones sway me. Everyone has different things they want from any given product, and giving something that works perfectly well a low rating simply because it wasn't what you were looking for always seemed silly to me. Like, I'm sorry that this thing was more indigo than purple, Susan, but since you admitted it worked perfectly well, your 1 star, all-caps review seems rather passive aggressive.
 
Walmart's site is full of reviews on products from people who are angry that the store pickup people got their order wrong. I was trying to read reviews on some grocery items to see if it was any good and it was all 1 star because those people had all gotten the wrong thing.
Right? Like if I'm looking at 1-star reviews, it's to see if the item is absolute garbage. I'm at the point where, if I'm trying to read critical reviews, I read the 3 and 4-star reviews in particular, as those people usually have better points than 1-star rage reviews.
That's why I rarely, if ever, actually read reviews. If I do, I only look for ones that have to do with the quality of the item itself, and even then I only let the most egregious ones sway me. Everyone has different things they want from any given product, and giving something that works perfectly well a low rating simply because it wasn't what you were looking for always seemed silly to me. Like, I'm sorry that this thing was more indigo than purple, Susan, but since you admitted it worked perfectly well, your 1 star, all-caps review seems rather passive aggressive.
Generally same, in this case it stood out because it was a picture review, which I do often check. Which is funny, if she left the same review but 5-star, I would have no issue, because her picture showed me that the cup was the size I wanted. It was an ironically helpful review that sold me on the product.
 
Random complaint: tried to send a box with five BAF parts to a friend in Sweden (he tells me every wave there's ONE figure that seems to never reach retail), and it got sent back to me because the descriptive details weren't sufficient. Years of sending stuff overseas and this has never happened before. Do I need to literally spell out "one sasquatch head, one armadillo head, a sabertooth tiger leg, and..."
 
I'm rewatching X-men 97 because I just got the ML Rogue and Wolverine.

So far, in a half hour show, I'm on commercial #3. 1:30 of commercials for every 2:00 of actual show. At least I'm not paying fo..........oh, wait........I AM.
 
I'm rewatching X-men 97 because I just got the ML Rogue and Wolverine.

So far, in a half hour show, I'm on commercial #3. 1:30 of commercials for every 2:00 of actual show. At least I'm not paying fo..........oh, wait........I AM.
They've made the streaming services absolutely unbearable if you don't pay for the 'no commercials' option.
 
I could go on a 400,000-word rant about Hollywood constantly shooting itself in the foot.

You know what's profitable? The theater model. You know what's profitable? DVD sales. You know what's profitable? A cable bundle with commercials. You know what isn't profitable? Streaming.

Somehow Hollywood's best and brightest gave up their most lucrative revenue sources and left us with the worst of all worlds.
 
Sorry for yet another wall of text. Been a rough couple days; got me a double complaint today, mostly about my dwindling faith in humanity.

Firstly, my mom went to the doctor the other day for yet another test. It's been nothing but tests for the past month or so- new doctors and specialists and everything, trying to pinpoint the reason (or reasons) for all her ailments. Well, we're starting to narrow things down, but in the process discovered something totally unexpected, which is Leukemia. My family has a history of cancer (no one type, oddly enough), and she'd mentioned it before, but the doctors she was sent to always brushed it off and tested for other things (to be slightly fair, my mom has a horrible fear of needles, so they often opt out of any sort of blood test). Oddly enough, right before we got the diagnosis, I saw a post online mentioning that there'd been an odd rise in the number of cancer cases recently, especially stage 3/4, and the comments were almost exclusively about folks sharing their medical gaslighting stories- doctors telling them they were crazy for thinking a certain way or wanting to test for certain things, and that's how I'm feeling right now. My mom is in too much shock to be concerned, so I'm more than making up for it for her. Her next appointment- the first at her local cancer center, isn't for over a month, which feels way too long, but it's the earliest they could get her in. We don't know what level it's at just yet, but regardless, even if it's not serious, part of me is just so mad that so many doctors over the years have brushed off her concerns and tried to play smart, and here we are, in what (I think) could've been avoided.

Secondly, after Mamdani's win here in NY the other day, I noticed a pretty disturbing (but not entirely unsurprising) heel turn in my neighborhood. I'm in one of those neighborhood groups on Facebook- just posts telling you about upcoming events, concerns people may have, etc. There's always been the odd political or racist comment, but I'm in (what I thought was) a pretty progressive area. A lot of the folks supported Mamdani before, but after his win the other day, the group is almost nothing but not-so-subtly racist posts saying the most vile shit you've heard, even from other minorities. They're making jokes about turning in their immigrant neighbors to ICE, making jokes about what happens (or should happen) to immigrants in detention centers, celebrating kids being taken away from their parents, etc. Just horrible, vile things. And knowing that I'm surrounded by these people on a daily basis- it just makes me sick. Mind you, a lot of the population near me are older folks- primarily Jewish and Italian, but some other ethnicities as well- many of whom had relatives that no doubt immigrated here not that long ago themselves. Seeing as how a handful of these folks just last week were quite supportive of Mamdani and other immigrants, the message I'm getting is that they're fine with them until it seems like they might hold even the slightest bit of power.

I had to stop by the store a little bit later, and there was a mother with her baby at the register who was having issues with her WIC card and having to put items back in order to afford what (little) she was trying to get. I usually kinda stay in my own world when I'm out and about, and it took me a minute to realize what was going on, only because it was holding up the line and people were starting to get pissed. Something about the look on her face activated that part of me- my mom really struggled after my parents separated and I remember those embarrassing times at the store where we had to put items back because there wasn't enough on the card and that look of shame on her face. So I offered to buy the items for her; it really wasn't much at all- not even $20. I was more than happy to do so; the only reason we got by some days was because of the kindness of others. I only mention it because, all through the transaction- from before I offered to help, to during, to after- some of the other folks in line were making passive comments about "immigrants using up government money for food", "maybe this means you should get a job to help your child", "maybe if America is too expensive, you can go back to your own country", etc. And of course people trying to dissuade me from helping her. I really tried to keep my cool, since it's the store I go to all the time and didn't wanna be known badly there, but god damn- have we really fallen so far that even helping someone out with groceries is considered a bad thing? Would they have cared as much if the woman was white? It's not like this lady was trying to get a five course feast- it was literally a box of cereal and some fruit, and while I feel bad assuming, it didn't look like this woman had eaten well in a while. Really broke my heart to see.

I've really been so disillusioned these past few days. I knew that the area I lived in wasn't perfect, but I didn't think it was this bad until yesterday. But between that and my mom, I don't know- the growing lack of sympathy and empathy for others is just getting to be too much for me, man.
 
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