For the first time in my life I am feeling hope — at least as far as our presidential race goes.
As a more liberal sort, I wasn̢۪t finding much to enjoy in the upcoming presidential race. Aside from a couple bottom-runners, it̢۪s the same old song and dance.
Then I began to hear about Ron Paul. How often is there a candidate where the more you hear about them, the better they sound?
I can̢۪t sway you to Mr. Paul with a letter in a newspaper, but perhaps you can sway yourself. Do some research, because without support you won̢۪t hear about him much in mainstream television media.
If you̢۪re comfortable on the Internet, visit Youtube and watch his interviews. See his ideals. Find hope for a candidate that isn̢۪t simply the lesser of two evils.
I have switched to the Republican party this year to vote for Ron Paul in our state primary, and I hope I won̢۪t be the only one.
Have hope for your country — that it can be what it was supposed to be when ink and blood wet the parchment of the Constitution and created the greatest country in the world.
Robert J. Anaforian
English
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garry • Feb 4, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I am a retired citizen who lives on a limited income. In January, 2008, I purchased $45 in gas at Costco. A $100 hold was put on my account by Costco because I used my debit card to make the purchase. My retirement check, which was to be deposited 1/1/08 was not deposited until 1/2/08. Because of the hold, which can be there for 3 to 5 days, I was overdrawn by about $14. I was charged a $5 overdraft fee which was removed at my request (credit union). Many financial institutions will not remove the charges and many people won’t deal with the hassle. Now, it seems, all gas stations are putting holds on debit purchases of gas which range from $70 to $100. I believe banks and credit unions are forced (although salivating over the profit potential of the fees) to put the holds on accounts by the companies (like Temco) who process debit and credit card transactions for these institutions.
By putting holds on peoples accounts in excess of the actual purchase made, the people being hurt the most are the young, the poor, the elderly and all those living from pay day to pay day on limited incomes. This practice is a means by which the stations can pass on to us part of their loss prevention costs associated with drive offs; i.e. they encumber an amount of your money in excess of your purchase to protect themselves against loss and, if their actions cause overdrafts in your account, you pay the fees.
I am sending this information in hopes that you would alert your student body to this situation so that they can protect themselves against these abuses. Also alert them to the fact that if they select “credit” even when using their debit cards, they will have only a $1 hold put on their accounts.
Thank you for reading this. I hope you will consider alerting your students and spreading the word for the benefit of consumers everywhere.
garry bobbett
P.S. Experiment. Take your laptop to a station, make a gas purchase and check your account to see if a hold was placed on your account. My institution makes it obvious a hold was placed on my account. If yours does not, call them and ask. Also, experiment with the “credit” selection option.
garry • Feb 5, 2008 at 12:47 am
I am a retired citizen who lives on a limited income. In January, 2008, I purchased $45 in gas at Costco. A $100 hold was put on my account by Costco because I used my debit card to make the purchase. My retirement check, which was to be deposited 1/1/08 was not deposited until 1/2/08. Because of the hold, which can be there for 3 to 5 days, I was overdrawn by about $14. I was charged a $5 overdraft fee which was removed at my request (credit union). Many financial institutions will not remove the charges and many people won’t deal with the hassle. Now, it seems, all gas stations are putting holds on debit purchases of gas which range from $70 to $100. I believe banks and credit unions are forced (although salivating over the profit potential of the fees) to put the holds on accounts by the companies (like Temco) who process debit and credit card transactions for these institutions.
By putting holds on peoples accounts in excess of the actual purchase made, the people being hurt the most are the young, the poor, the elderly and all those living from pay day to pay day on limited incomes. This practice is a means by which the stations can pass on to us part of their loss prevention costs associated with drive offs; i.e. they encumber an amount of your money in excess of your purchase to protect themselves against loss and, if their actions cause overdrafts in your account, you pay the fees.
I am sending this information in hopes that you would alert your student body to this situation so that they can protect themselves against these abuses. Also alert them to the fact that if they select “credit” even when using their debit cards, they will have only a $1 hold put on their accounts.
Thank you for reading this. I hope you will consider alerting your students and spreading the word for the benefit of consumers everywhere.
garry bobbett
P.S. Experiment. Take your laptop to a station, make a gas purchase and check your account to see if a hold was placed on your account. My institution makes it obvious a hold was placed on my account. If yours does not, call them and ask. Also, experiment with the “credit” selection option.