Home Depot (Lawrence, Kansas) Pulls Bait and Switch on Disabled Vet

We are moving to Lawrence, Kansas after losing my business, our home, and most possessions after the federal government and government contractors retaliated against me, illegally cancelling a $50,000 contract this past January and blacklisting my service-disabled veteran-owned small business because I "BLEW THE WHISTLE" AFTER WITNESSING AND REPORTING FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE ON A GRAND SCALE LAST YEAR.

After being forced to give up our 4,200 square foot lakefront home, we are moving to a 1,000 square foot "fixer-upper" in Lawrence . We desperately need to install new floors in the Lawrence house after years of neglect, so we went to Home Depot (Lawrence, Kansas) to look for flooring.

The salesman, Robert Jenkins, a seemingly nice person of British descent, told us they were having a special on installation ... JUST $399 FOR A WHOLE HOUSE! We could hardly pass up a deal like that, particularly in our present financial situation, so we picked out the flooring we wanted and scheduled a measurement appointment for the next day (8/6/2013 - we were charged $50 that would be refunded upon completion of our order). 

I called the day after the measurement, being told that I would receive a call "as soon as the measurements were taken" (which never came), wanting to schedule installation as soon as possible because Robert had told me that installations were running three weeks out and we wanted to have the work done before we move-in.

Here comes the old "Bait and Switch"! I finally got a call at 8:30PM last night (8/7/2013) from a salesman stating that he had my quote. One of the type (of salesman) that love to hear their own voice and cannot listen to save their life, he started rattling off prices for the job that I estimated, based on what I was told in the store on 8/5/2013, at $2,200 after military discount (10%) and taxes.

He said the flooring was actually $300 cheaper than I expected because I had overestimated the square footage by 100, so things were looking good ... UNTIL HE STARTED LISTING THE THINGS WE WERE NOT INFORMED ABOUT IN THE STORE!

He went on: "you're going to need sub-flooring at 25¢ a square foot" ... Hey, wait a minute, nobody ever mentioned having to put in a sub-flooring at the store; he continued: "the installation of the sub-flooring and the quarter-round baseboards are an additional $400" ... baseboards? "Yes, THEY ARE REQUIRED and will cost an additional" ... I tuned-out at that point due to the shock of what I was hearing. When he said "that brings the grand total to $4,500" and change ... What? What happened to the $399 installation? "Oh, your order does not qualify for that special pricing". And I have to pay for baseboards and their installation that I never asked for? "You bet, we do not install flooring without new baseboards". At that point I was so pissed-off that I told him to take his bait and switch tactics and put them where the "SUN DON'T SHINE" in so many words or less.

I called Mr. Jackson this morning (8/8/2013) and told him what happened. He said their was some kind of mistake and that he would sort it out and get back to me shortly, knowing we were on a tight schedule and needed the floor installed BEFORE we move-in next week. Six hours later, Mr. Jackson called me and said "I was able to have the installation reduced to just seven hundred and some odd dollars, so now we are at only $4,000". After asking him why installation WAS NOT $399 as I had been told and to please itemize the bid, he had some information wrong, had to "fix" our estimate, and would get back to me in a few minutes ... THAT WAS OVER TWENTY-FOUR HOURS AGO!

I have been a loyal Home Depot customer for decades, driving past Lowes on dozens of occasions to spend tens of thousands over the past 25 years. The new house, which is over 100 years old, neglected, and in a desperate need of repair, we will likely spend tens of thousands of dollars more in the near future (if we can afford it) AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I WILL NOT BE PASSING BY LOWES ANYMORE!

Lowes also has a 10% discount for military and retirees, so they will be the recipients of my business and hard earned money from now on ... UNLESS ... Home Depot has the integrity to DO THE RIGHT THING and honor the promises made during our initial visit on 8/5/2013, which I highly doubt based on previous experience with large companies who could care less about customers, focusing on short-term greed and profit more than repeat business.

You KNOW why they think they can get away with treating us like shit? Because they do ... ROUTINELY ... and because most people do not have the backbone, the discipline, THE NUTS, to follow through with a commitment ... EVEN IF IT COSTS THEM MONEY ... THEIR SELF-RESPECT ... THEIR DIGNITY ... THEIR INTEGRITY!

That is exactly why the airlines treat us like crap ... THEY KNOW WE ARE GOING TO BUY THE CHEAPEST, MOST CONVENIENT TICKET NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO ... NO MATTER HOW BADLY THEY TREAT US! They act with impunity because they can, because people let them get away with it ... IT IS CALLED Institutional Terrorism and is the reason I started this blog ...

WELCOME TO THE "HALL OF SHAME" HOME DEPOT, YOU HAVE A DISTINGUISHED LIST OF NEIGHBORS, INCLUDING:

Verizon Wireless

CenturyLink

KMart

Best Buy JE Dunn Construction

Greater Kansas City YMCA

The Diocese of Kansas City, Missouri University of Missouri - Kansas City YMCA Governor Jay Nixon, Missouri

Missouri Department of Higher Education

US Department of Education Congressman Sam Graves (MO 6th District) Senators Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt US Department of Interior MHN Government Services

Magellan Health Services Etc ... Etc ... Etc ...

Join me ON THE FRONT LINES IN THE BATTLE AGAINST INSTITUTIONAL TERRORISM ... THE FIGHT FOR OUR DIGNITY AND THE RIGHT TO STAND UP AND SAY "WE ARE MAD AS HELL AND ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!"  DO YOU HAVE THE BALLS TO JOIN ME? WITHOUT THE MUTUAL, ORGANIZED SUPPORT WE CAN PROVIDE EACH OTHER, LARGE INSTITUTIONS WILL CONTINUE TO CRAP ON CUSTOMERS ... CITIZENS ... ANYBODY THAT GETS IN THE WAY OF POWER ... MONEY ... AND GREED.

UPDATE ...

To their credit, Home Depot contacted me shortly after writing this piece, offering to sell me the flooring at the price quoted by the salesman, nearly $2,000 less than they tried to get me to pay. I was quite impressed by their willingness to do the right thing. Unfortunately, they failed to tell me that the flooring was a "special order" and could not be installed until 2-3 weeks after we moved into the house. Being disabled and unable to move the heavy furniture and concerned about placing our furniture outdoors for two days, I had to refuse their offer and asked for a refund which they quickly processed. It was unfortunate that we could not get the new floor we wanted, but Home Depot went above and beyond in their willingness to make me, the customer, happy.

Home Depot has been removed from the HALL OF SHAME and I continue to shop there (unlike Best Buy, Verizon and others who were not willing to satisfy the customer).

CombatActivist ... OUT!

Copyright 2013 - 3rd Wave Publishing, A Subsidiary of 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC - All Rights Reserved

Tax Scams and Robbers ... The Bilking of America(ns)

BY

C.T. Sorrentino

I do not know about you, but I stress over money more than anything.  As I discussed in last week's post, one of the primary causes of conflict in relationships today is financial ... MONEY ... or lack thereof. I discussed credit and credit scores as a source of conflict in my last post, educating you on some pitfalls and secrets, and telling you how to stay on top of your credit score (Vantage or FICO) and avoid potential problems down the road.

I saw a story on "Rock Center with Brian Williams" last night about tax refund fraud and the IRS. Apparently, this has become a very lucrative crime with scumbags stealing identities (very easy) and filing made-up tax returns IN YOUR NAME ... TO THE TUNE OF $5 BILLION LAST YEAR!

If you have worked with or for the federal government, you have witnessed WASTE in unfathomable proportions, fraud and abuse as well, but waste is rampant! Government departments and contractors waste HUNDREDS OF BILLION$ EVERY YEAR and this $5 billion scam is just the tip of the iceberg!

Medicare fraud, social security and disability fraud, and now tax fraud, if there is a way to defraud the government or waste taxpayer dollars, someone has figured it out.

There was another story on the same program about Carnival Cruiseline and the fact that they pay only 0.6%, that is less than one percent, in international, federal, state...etc. taxes! Not only that, they have bilked the US Coast Guard and Navy  out of over $2 million over the past year in recovery operations for their poorly maintained fleet alone. That does not include the millions being spent on the Costa Concordia (one of their ships) clean-up effort. Their CEO is the proud owner of the Miami Heat basketball team and one of the richest men in Florida, yet his company (Carnival) rips-off billions from United States citizens every year ... what a great American!

Bank of America, Pfizer, and hundreds of other behemoth corporations pay 0.0% in tax to our government to the tune of over $70 BILLION every year by taking their accounts offshore and exploiting tax laws that are so complex and detailed the IRS has difficulty understanding them.  Really?  $70 million gone and nobody cares?  I pay more in taxes than Bank of America?  What a great country!

I have witnessed, first-hand, government/contractor waste on a huge scale recently.  I cannot go into detail because of pending litigation, but this one contractor AND THE GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING OFFICER supposedly "overseeing" the contract, are wasting many millions of dollars annually and this is just one relatively SMALL contract! If the Department of Defense would join us in the 21st Century and take the steps necessary to give our military confidentiality when seeking mental healthcare, this particular contract would not even be necessary! A contract a few simple policy changes would eliminate all together wastes tens, if not hundreds, of millions each year. How absurd is that?

With all of that being said, why the hell do the White House, Congress, Pentagon, and many other federal entities primarily target personnel and benefits when things get tight? Why do they not focus on the massive amounts of fraud and waste within our own government, bilking American taxpayers out of HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ANNUALLY and running up our deficit INTO THE TRILLIONS!

We should not stand for this ANY LONGER! If you are sick and tired of government/contractor fraud, waste, and abuse, LIKE and SHARE THIS POST with all of your friends.

Until we citizens, the American taxpayers, the people who elect these morons and pay their salaries, say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and unite in defiance, these frauds, wastes, and abuses will continue unabated.

END THE APATHY...UNITE...GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND STAND-UP FOR OUR COUNTRY...BEFORE WE DO NOT HAVE ONE TO STAND-UP FOR!

ENSURE every citizen, every Service Member & Veteran, you know SEES THIS POST! LET'S START A NON-VIOLENT UPRISING, DEFIANCE AGAINST INSANITY AND SUPPORT WHAT IS RIGHT, BY UNDERSTANDING JUST ONE PROBLEM AND SIGNING THIS  WHITE HOUSE PETITION: 

CLICK HERE to sign our White House Petition to Help End Military Suicides

God bless you and our great nation, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

Copyright 2013 - 3rd Wave Publishing, A Subsidiary of 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC - All Rights Reserved

Letter to the President of Kmart: Kmart Pharmacy Discriminated Against Disabled Customer and Witheld Vital Medication

Louis J. (Lou) D'Ambrosio, President and CEO

Kmart Corporate Office | Headquarters
3333 Beverly Rd. Hoffman Estates, IL 60179

Dear Mr. D’Ambrosio,

1.      On May 18^th, 2012, I visited my doctor and received a prescription for lorazapam (1mg, twice a day for anxiety – 90 day supply – and one refill). I was nearly out of my previous prescription at that time and was planning a six week vacation abroad in June, so I needed the prescription filled immediately.  Being retired military and using ExpressScripts for many years, I expected my prescription to arrive in a few days.  When it did not, I checked the ExpressScripts website which stated that my order was being “processed”.  I called ExpressScripts on/about May 23^rd and was told that they needed to coordinate with the doctor because of an error on the prescription and that they would “expedite” processing after I told them I was about to run out.  Needless to say, another week went by with no prescription in the mail, so I called ExpressScripts again on May 31^st and they told me there had been a mistake with my prescription for Androgel and they had held up the entire order, including the lorazapam.  By this time, I had been completely out for a few days, so I asked them if they could transfer my prescription to KMART PHARMACY #3239 - 7100 NW PRAIRIE VIEW RD KANSAS CITY MO 64151 which they did.  I had the prescription filled at Kmart on 6/1/2012, nearly two weeks after it should have been filled originally.

2.      As stated, I took the prescription to Kmart and it was filled on 6/1/2012 without incident.  However, when I attempted to refill the prescription, I ran into roadblock after roadblock and pharmacy staff unwilling to assist a patient in distress, and bitchy attitudes on top of it all.  The first time I went in for the refill (end of July I think – I didn’t remember exactly when the prescription had been filled, was at Kmart, and thought I would kill two birds so to speak).  A young, heavyset woman told me that she would have to call my doctor because “it was too soon” to refill it and that she would call me back.  I have always refilled the prescription well in advance of the 90-days, anywhere from a week to two weeks, depending on the pharmacy and depending on my schedule. I told the woman I was running low because I had been traveling under some very stressful conditions (our house sitter abandoned our home and animals while we were staying with family and working in Europe) and I had used more of the medication than normal. The young woman said “I’ll call your doctor and call you on your cell phone once I get word”. 

3.      The promised call never came, so I rationed my medication, knowing I could get the prescription filled 7 days before it would expire.  On or about August 25^th, 2012, I again went to the pharmacy window and explained to the same young, heavyset technician what had happened and what I wanted.  She appeared to remember me and went to the computer, quickly coming back and stating “the prescription was filled on June 1^st and cannot be refilled until August 30^th.”  It appeared as though I was being singled out, hassled, discriminated against, and they were not going to give me the medication (I was again rationing and needed for sleep) simply because “they could”.  I did the math at home and realized, even if they wanted to wait until the last minute, the 90-day supply would be exhausted on August 29^th, not the 30^th, so the young woman was wrong. 

4.      By this time, I was so infuriated by the attitudes and incompetence of the Kmart Pharmacy staff, I went to my old pharmacy at Price Chopper and asked for my prescription to be transferred.  The pharmacist there, after a long conversation with the Kmart Pharmacy, told me that my prescription “could not be transferred again” and that I would have to get it from Kmart, incompetent and customer unfriendly as they are.

5.      The “coup de grace” came on Monday, August 27^th, when I returned to the KMart Pharmacy and asked the young, heavyset girl if I could speak with the pharmacist. Instead, the manager, Juliet Barker, came over.  I started to explain the situation when she blurted out “you tried to have your prescription transferred yesterday, didn’t you?”  I told her that I had in-fact done so because of her staff’s rudeness and terrible customer service. She added “you can’t get the prescription until the 30^th” (with a smirk on her face and “I’ll show you” attitude).  I stated “if you could count, the 90-days is up on the 29^th, not the 30^th, so why are you withholding a medication I need past the date when I run out?”  Already stressed and anxious (THAT’S WHY I HAVE A PRESCRIPTION FOR LORAZAPAM!) due to the situation I returned from Europe because of (abandoned home and animals, thousands of dollars in theft and damages, having to file two separate complaints (criminal charges) against the house sitter, etc, etc), I could not deal with Ms. Barker’s snide and aggressive attitude any longer, so I asked when my prescription would be ready and she stated “Wednesday, August 29^th, after 11:00 AM”.  I asked her to make sure that it would be ready at that time and left the store.

6.      I have never experienced such a hostile and aggressive staff as you have working in this pharmacy.  They cannot discriminate among patients, treating one differently than another as has been the case with me.  Do they not like men, old men, disabled men, veterans?  Why was I treated this way and denied the medication I need willy nilly by a bunch of rude, angry women? 

7.      I stopped shopping at Kmart and Sears years ago when Kmart went into bankruptcy and I lost thousands of dollars in stocks while the board of directors simply filed bankruptcy, reissued new stock, and went on with their business as if nothing happened.  I never received an apology or anything else for the thousands I lost because of their incompetence, so I stopped shopping at Kmart and did not return until they opened this store near my home.  I saw the store was struggling, hardly ever a car in the parking lot, so I returned to shop occasionally, mostly to support our neighbors who work there more than anything else.  In this economy, I would hate for anybody to lose their jobs, particularly in my community, so I supported this store despite my better judgment. What a mistake!

8.      I will never again step foot in this Kmart, once I receive my prescription, because of the way I was treated, like a criminal and definitely not like a valued customer.  It is only a matter of time before this store closes and all employees lose their jobs.  You should be going out of your way to build relationships and loyalty, not destroy them!  You should also be ashamed of yourselves for the way I was treated, discriminated and retaliated against for a reason I have yet to figure out.  Maybe you should do your own investigation…no, wait, that would mean holding “your own” accountable…what am I crazy, what big company would have the integrity to do that?  Not, Kmart, I can count on that!