I received this email at 1:15 this morning: When I saw it this morning, I was confused. I have never before received an email from “loyaltygateway.com”, and I was asleep at 1:15am, not placing an “order” to be confirmed by this email as its subject implies. It sure looks like spam, right? Well, it turns… Read More: It’s 2020, and companies still don’t know how to send… »
Five days ago, I published an open letter to Tufts Health Plan about the many ways in which they have made it unpleasant to deal with them since I first became a member seven months ago. I sent a link to this letter to a supervisor in their Appeals and Grievances Department, asking her to… Read More: Baby steps from Tufts Health Plan »
[See the update here.] Dear Tufts Health Plan, I am fortunate to have had the privilege of working for more than three decades in white-collar jobs which provided decent employer-sponsored health insurance. I’ve therefore been a member of many different health insurance companies, and I’m not sure any of them has given me so much… Read More: An open letter to Tufts Health Plan: why are you… »
Cross-posted from: Do you think as the economy spiraled into the toilet in 1929, people were telling investors with money in the stock market, “Just ride it out. You’ll be fine. The fundamentals of the economy are strong. Trying to time the market is a fool’s bet.” That’s what people said when I started saying… Read More: On fleeing the stock market during the Second Great Depression »
Tufts Health PlanAttn: Member Appeals To whom it may concern: I am writing about the letter I received today from Cigna Health Management for myself, participant ID [elided] and reference code [elided]. To be frank, this letter is the worst, most impenetrable, absurd blob of insurance-company doublespeak I have encountered in many years. I am… Read More: My response to absurd denial letter from Tufts Health Plan »
Recently our toaster broke, and although we have a “spare” toaster (long story), my wife and the kids all hate it and insisted that we replace the broken toaster, which they apparently absolutely adored, with a new one of exactly the same model. The old toaster had an unfortunate habit of its feet falling off… Read More: Fleeced by a scammy web site, Paypal acts quickly to… »
I recently had to replace my old Synology DS415+ NAS with a new Synology DS918+ NAS, at a cost of more than $600, because my DS415+ failed. When I researched the failure that permanently bricked my DS415+, I learned the following: The failure was caused by a known defect in a component of my NAS.… Read More: Why I can no longer recommend Synology »
On Thursday night of last week, my Synology DS415+ NAS died. It turns out that there was a CPU defect in this NAS which prompted Synology to extend its warranty from two to four years for people who ran into the defect, but alas my NAS decided to wait until it was five years old… Read More: Newegg, why you gotta break my heart like this? »
I recently wrote about a series of poor experiences I had with Amtrak and most notably about their horrendous response to my feedback about those experiences. I decided to send a complaint letter to the CEO of Amtrak. Of course, I knew the CEO was never going to see my letter, but every large corporation… Read More: Thanks, Amtrak, for demonstrating how to apologize badly »
I recently replaced my Fitbit Ionic, which I wore for a couple years, with a Garmin Forerunner 35. Before the Fitbit, I wore two different Pebble models, so I’ve had long-term experience with four different fitness smart-watches. Here are my thoughts about both watches and how they compare. A good overall framing for this review… Read More: Review: Fitbit Ionic vs. Garmin Forerunner 35 »