SHOW HIGHLIGHTS JULY.9.2018
Our special guest today was Mark Shamansky, owner of Genesis Total Exteriors. He is a home improvement contractor. He confirms that the market is going crazy with work! And that brings up a very important topic, that is: “SELECTING THE RIGHT CONTRACTOR”. Every day on my show I hear from people who selected the WRONG contractor. Why? They usually based their decision on who is the cheapest or who could start the soonest - or both! They are probably the worst reasons for selecting a contractor. So, in this blog entry, I will go over other mistakes people make. Call this the "10 BIGGEST MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE WHEN SELECTING A CONTRACTOR”. See my list and keep in mind, not all of the methods outlined yield bad people … but I can say for a certainty … that using these methods will definitely increase your chances of rip-offs! This article is based on my data and I am the only one in the world who has been talking to consumers every single weekday, for more than 40-years, three-hours a day … not-to-mention … social media, email and phone calls off the air!
Debbie’s ex-husband can't find a place to rent due to a minor criminal charge in his background check. It also shows a bankruptcy. Both items are making it impossible for him to get a place! She says he has changed and turned his life around. He is a dedicated father and veteran. She was hoping if someone heard this story they would email us and offer a place to rent. He is looking to lease a place in the Fort Collins area.
Blaine has hail damage on an old 1987 Ford pickup. He has full coverage and fears he will not get full value for his vehicle should it be totaled. He is right and wrong. He will probably get “full value” but not necessarily “full value in his eyes”. This happens whenever people have old vehicles that they’ve taken care of. While it is insured, it is not insured for what owners may think it is worth. In other words, older cars are almost never worth full coverage! Our insurance experts at Compass Insurance said if a specific value is important to you - as in antique or specialty cars - then you should get an “agreed-value” policy. This is where you pay for a specific amount of coverage based on a contract with the insurance company. Those policies are usually based on the real marketplace for that specific vehicle. In Blaine’s case, it was just an older truck. In our opinion, the best thing he can do is collect the money for damages, keep the money and drop comprehensive and collision coverage. Getting it fixed will not be of sound economic value.
Angela was a caretaker for an older man who left her a lot of money in his will and on “P.O.D.” accounts (Payable on Death). The man’s brother protested in court. The judge found that she was entitled to the money and stocks left in the will but not the P.O.D. accounts. In fact, the judge ordered Angela had to pay back all of the money she had already spent from those accounts! That amounted to more than $700,000! That resulted in her using all of the money and stocks (from the will) to pay back the estate. She also lost her home. Our estate expert, Attorney David Salsbury, said this case sounds very, very strange. He said the P.O.D. accounts are contractual agreements between the bank and the account holder. He is shocked that a judge inserted himself into the equation and diverted money to the brother. He said there must’ve been some evidence that the caretaker had undue influence or some other factors. We are gathering court records to investigate the case.
Debbie bought a bay window and a sliding door from Discount Glass and Window. She said it was a bad job with exposed insulation and missing, unfinished trim! She paid $7,400 and now wants them to finish the job. We are reaching out to Discount to investigate her claims.
Derek called about the Kirby Vacuum “scam”, or at least that’s his opinion. Our opinion is that is is a bad deal (at best). Those in-home vacuum salespeople try to sell those machines from $1,000 to more than $4,000! Our opinion: DO NOT LET THEM IN THE HOUSE! With today’s technology and big-box stores you can get much better vacuums at way lower prices. Dyson and Shark are just two (of the many brands) that are better values, in our opinion.
Kenny has a host of health problems stemming from alcoholism. He claims Banner Health and associated docs made his health worse by not properly diagnosing, then mistreating a massive lung infection. He also claims they gave him a serious health condition called “central pontine myelinolysis” because they salinated him too much through hydration. Sound complicated? It is. The problem is, we think he’s way off base. He brought on all of his health problems, then used mediaid to nurse him back to health and now ios looking for someone to blame to collect a paycheck. JUST PISSES ME OFF!
Shae said she bought a car at Maximum Auto Search, then changed her mind overnight. When she returned the car, they said she’d have to take a $4,000 hit if they “bought it back”, plus keep her traded vehicle! But then, thank goodness, the owner found out about the deal and said THEY DO NOT DO BUSINESS THIS WAY! He offered a full refund and gave her back her trade. The only problem is that she still hasn’t gotten all of her money back and they did not return her title. I think it is an oversight. I mean, why would they go through all the trouble to “unwind the deal” if they were not going to go through with it. We are contacting them to see what’s up.
April got a $42,000 bill from her HOA to reimburse them for fire damage. The fire started in her unit, according to the fire department. Was it her fault? The HOA thinks so. But wait! She was out of town on vacation. So, how could it be her fault? Don’t they have to prove negligence? Or even causation? We are investigating. This could be very interesting.