stupid first world problems you're dealing with

  On 1/22/2014 at 11:11 PM, delet... said:

solution : bitcoin

Who is sun media, if it's the local newspaper, good idea. Who could resist a son looks after ailing father getting shafted by big company story.

Canada wide newspaper. I'm pissed off! They haven't given me a reason or even the chance to respond. It's scary because I travel a lot.

What if I'm travelling abroad and have a money emergency and need to receive money? western union being so international I could easily find myself in a situation where they were my only way out.

Wish I had the brains to make this viral to force them to respond.

Social Media is great for these kinds of purposes: I'm talking reddit. We need to get this to the frontpage.

We also need a hashtag for twitter.

Ok. Let's make a list:

- Reddit: How do we get to the frontpage of Reddit? Reddit is an American site, so the best time to post this is in the early evening on the west-coast. This way L.A. just comes back from work, while N.Y. is lazingly maxing relaxing. I think it'd be wise to do this on a Friday or Sunday: Fridays people are all excited for the weekend. Downside is that they might be so happy that they're not up for social justice. Perhaps the Sunday is better.

The trick is to make it viral, quick: when the thread is made, we need a force to upload the shit out of it: I'm talking 100 votes within 10 minutes. This way it becomes a trending topic, and gets out of the infinite pool of new, gets more attention, more upvotes because it's a good cause and people want to feel good.

- Hashtag. I'm really bad at this. Someone else needs to come up with something #EmergencyJustice

- The story: Well Stephen's got a good story already. Might want to make it more accessible. Do you think Stephen should make the post himself, or should someone else do it? (i.e. 'A friend of mine got this bank transfer blocked becaue yadda yadda' input appreciated)

Overall input appreciated.

-edit- spelling

  On 1/22/2014 at 11:26 PM, Phoenix said:

Social Media is great for these kinds of purposes: I'm talking reddit. We need to get this to the frontpage.

 

We also need a hashtag for twitter.

 

Ok. Let's make a list:

 

- Reddit: How do we get to the frontpage of Reddit? Reddit is an American site, so the best time to post this is in the early evening on the west-coast. This way L.A. just comes back from work, while N.Y. is lazingly maxing relaxing. I think it'd be wise to do this on a Friday or Sunday: Fridays people are all excited for the weekend. Downside is that they might be so happy that they're not up for social justice. Perhaps the Sunday is better.

 

The trick is to make it viral, quick: when the thread is made, we need a force to upload the shit out of it: I'm talking 100 votes within 10 minutes. This way it becomes a trending topic, and gets out of the infinite pool of new, gets more attention, more upvotes because it's a good cause and people want to feel good.

- Hashtag. I'm really bad at this. Someone else needs to come up with something #EmergencyJustice

- The story: Well Stephen's got a good story already. Might want to make it more accessible. Do you think Stephen should make the post himself, or should someone else do it? (i.e. 'A friend of mine got this bank transfer blocked becaue yadda yadda' input appreciated)

 

Overall input appreciated.

 

-edit- spelling

Not sure if being patronizing or serious. If it's the latter, thanks because I have no knowledge of social media and didn't realize stuff worked like that.

I don't know what to say. Is it feasible to get something like this noticed? I think it's a relevant story. I imagine I'm being branded a security risk or something because I'm sending money monthly and it's about $900 a month, does that flag me somehow? How many people that legitimately need this service are being flagged and turned down?

I'm so mad about it but I feel powerless.

Being helpful. I'm pretty tired of being a sardonic cunt: my intentions are of good.

It's fucking ridiculous that you're getting flagged for sending money for help for gods sake. Have you tried calling them btw? Calling often works better than e-mailing. Dropping by the bank even works better, because it's hard to ignore a person.

http://consumerist.com

tell them about it too

  On 1/22/2014 at 11:40 PM, Phoenix said:

Being helpful. I'm pretty tired of being a sardonic cunt: my intentions are of good.

 

It's fucking ridiculous that you're getting flagged for sending money for help for gods sake. Have you tried calling them btw? Calling often works better than e-mailing. Dropping by the bank even works better, because it's hard to ignore a person.

thanks =)

I've talked to them on the phone several times and all they say is they can refuse service to anyone and that they don't have access to why I'm not allowed to use it. So I ask to be transferred to the security department and everyone in that department says "well, we don't have access to why either but you have to fill out this questionnaire". so I provide medical receipts including my dads receipt for a prosthetic leg that I recently paid for, I include mine and my wife's proof of income to show I can afford it. No response for 2 months.

So I contacted the better business bureau and put through a concern. Another month and a half and their response to my BBB complaint is the same shit they told me in October. We refuse you service. Sorry for any inconvenience.

WHAT THE SHIT

  On 1/22/2014 at 11:41 PM, disparaissant said:

http://consumerist.com

tell them about it too

Interesting? Looking into it now.

Consumer advocates of some sort?

wtf

what a bunch of monkeys. why the shit do they have such a job if they can't even help their customers? i think it's time to barge in the local bank with this story, and do not leave until you get a proper response or, even better, the lift of this ridiculous ban.

  On 1/23/2014 at 12:18 AM, Phoenix said:

wtf

 

what a bunch of monkeys. why the shit do they have such a job if they can't even help their customers? i think it's time to barge in the local bank with this story, and do not leave until you get a proper response or, even better, the lift of this ridiculous ban.

My thoughts exactly! I'm going to keep doing what I can. I'll wait for the newspaper to get back to me hopefully I can get a story going. This is wrong on so many levels =(

thanks for your support

  On 1/23/2014 at 12:24 AM, StephenG said:

 

  On 1/23/2014 at 12:18 AM, Phoenix said:

wtf

 

what a bunch of monkeys. why the shit do they have such a job if they can't even help their customers? i think it's time to barge in the local bank with this story, and do not leave until you get a proper response or, even better, the lift of this ridiculous ban.

 

My thoughts exactly! I'm going to keep doing what I can. I'll wait for the newspaper to get back to me hopefully I can get a story going. This is wrong on so many levels =(

 

thanks for your support

Stephen, it's a legal issue. You have a contract with them, and if there's a clause which says they can stop giving you access to services - because of whatever - they prolly have the right, like they say. The answer is in your contract with them. Imo not in reddit or personal principles or broader moral values and what not.

So you've got two options: legal help ( you have your rights as well, so there might be some clause which could force them to give you their services), or the services of another company. To what extent have they communicated they'd stop giving you their services? Was there a warning of some kind?

  On 1/23/2014 at 5:36 AM, goDel said:

 

  On 1/23/2014 at 12:24 AM, StephenG said:

 

  On 1/23/2014 at 12:18 AM, Phoenix said:

wtf

 

what a bunch of monkeys. why the shit do they have such a job if they can't even help their customers? i think it's time to barge in the local bank with this story, and do not leave until you get a proper response or, even better, the lift of this ridiculous ban.

My thoughts exactly! I'm going to keep doing what I can. I'll wait for the newspaper to get back to me hopefully I can get a story going. This is wrong on so many levels =(

 

thanks for your support

Stephen, it's a legal issue. You have a contract with them, and if there's a clause which says they can stop giving you access to services - because of whatever - they prolly have the right, like they say. The answer is in your contract with them. Imo not in reddit or personal principles or broader moral values and what not.

 

So you've got two options: legal help ( you have your rights as well, so there might be some clause which could force them to give you their services), or the services of another company. To what extent have they communicated they'd stop giving you their services? Was there a warning of some kind?

 

You're probably right. That said it wouldn't hurt to get some public support to put some pressure on them.

I've done absolutely nothing other than send money through their service.

There was no warning.

This is what happened:

I went at the end of the month (october) to send money as usual. They accepted my money and gave me a MTCN (money transfer confirmation number). I made my parents drive an hour to the nearest town to pick it up. On their side, they were told they weren't allowed to pick it up. I called western union, and they said that they were now refusing service to me and I was unable to send or accept money any where in the world. To add to it, they didn't remit the funds to my card. They made me drive 45 minutes to the nearest money mart and pick it up. They wouldn't remit the money to my bank card either, they forced me accept cash so now I had to go to the bank to deposit it.

There was no warning, there was no communication, and there still hasn't been. They've simply said you can no longer use Western Union anywhere in the world with no explanation. As far as I can see there's absolutely no way I could have breached any contract. I simply go to the store, fill out the paper with all my information and send money. =/

I know someone that works for the MP and we're talking later on about consumer advocacy and what avenues I can take.

yeah i mean even if it's not technically breaking contract, it's a stupid business practice that probably needs to be examined a little more closely. bringing it to the public's attention that you can be labelled by western union as a 'risk' for whatever reason and with no recourse is not a bad idea at all.

goDel - public pressure can often force companies to change how they operate.

So while I wholeheartedly agree with your analysis, if someone feels strongly enough to advocate for change, why dissuade them from exploring all their avenues?

  On 1/23/2014 at 6:06 PM, disparaissant said:

yeah i mean even if it's not technically breaking contract, it's a stupid business practice that probably needs to be examined a little more closely. bringing it to the public's attention that you can be labelled by western union as a 'risk' for whatever reason and with no recourse is not a bad idea at all.

That was my thoughts exactly. I'm equating systematically labeling someone as a risk without any explanation or further discourse/conversation with the customer is actually a form of discrimination, in a way. Maybe I'm just being butthurt about it? I just think it's wrong.

Perhaps they were informed through the NSA which read your posts here at WATMM? Next time of you're discussing about Snowden/Greenwald try to agree with eugene and maybe you can start using the old route again.

;D

Definitely try and get your story out there. It's a shit situation and whatever their reasons are for stopping it seems unreasonable. They haven't suggested a way for you to arrange it and make both you and your parents waste time and money getting your money back, the first time anyway. Absolute shitbags!

Or conversely what are the activities of your parents? Maybe they were the ones declared a risk by this arbitrary black mark machine. Do they live next door to some muslims that they invited over for tea. Are they green activists.

  On 1/23/2014 at 9:27 PM, delet... said:

Or conversely what are the activities of your parents? Maybe they were the ones declared a risk by this arbitrary black mark machine. Do they live next door to some muslims that they invited over for tea. Are they green activists.

lol no they aren't any of those.

  On 1/23/2014 at 9:23 PM, spratters said:

Definitely try and get your story out there. It's a shit situation and whatever their reasons are for stopping it seems unreasonable. They haven't suggested a way for you to arrange it and make both you and your parents waste time and money getting your money back, the first time anyway. Absolute shitbags!

Thanks. I'm probably just falling within some sort of classification that they've determined with some algorithm to be a risk. I know they try and stop people from sending money to criminals or terrorists. So maybe somehow I've fallen into that description? Like maybe I've sent the money to Bixby but my parents pick it up in Tahlequah once or Locust Grove another time so it looks fishy or something? (They live out in the country so might pick it up from different locations out of convenience)

I don't know. I've been sending money for 2 years now maybe they figured noone has $900 a month to send for 2 years. =S

Not sure if this is politically incorrect somehow. But I have colleagues at work with family in Kenya and Somalia and they told me they've been sending $500 a month back home for 7 - 10 years with no problems.

And I'm somehow categorically more risky than that.... what the... ?

They probably make more money off the money transfer to africa.

I'd say that the algorithm thinks that you are distributing a regular cut of something illegal. This should be invalidated because of the fact that you are sending it to a family member. Perhaps you should just open an US bank account/trust and give your parents the money that way, or have you already looked into this.

I broke up with my girlfriend. She is going to finish the lease there with the other roommates and I will be paying rent while living at my parents for free. I now have a 45 minute commute, gymbag with a pack of white t-shirts, two pairs of jeans, toiletries, two pairs of boxers and two pairs of socks... life is fucking dandy.

I love her as a person and truly want the best for her, but we cannot continue a relationship where there is so much co-dependency and distrust. She needs to learn to love herself before she feels the need to be in a relationship - the lying about talking with other guys, under the table drinking problem and low self-esteem is not working very well for her.... and I need to stop going for girls who need to be 'saved'.

I hope we can be friends after this, but it's on her if that is possible. It's been one of the hardest things I've had to do to walk away from her and feeling like I'm responsible for someone else's happiness... Audioblysk needs a hug.

I'm gonna say good on you for having the guts to make that decision. of course only you know the gory details so I can't comment one way or the other on any of the particulars of your former relationship, but just having the guts to walk away from it if you feel you should have deserves some commendation at least. how long did it go for, if you don't mind me asking?

  On 1/24/2014 at 5:30 AM, Audioblysk said:

I broke up with my girlfriend. She is going to finish the lease there with the other roommates and I will be paying rent while living at my parents for free. I now have a 45 minute commute, gymbag with a pack of white t-shirts, two pairs of jeans, toiletries, two pairs of boxers and two pairs of socks... life is fucking dandy.

 

I love her as a person and truly want the best for her, but we cannot continue a relationship where there is so much co-dependency and distrust. She needs to learn to love herself before she feels the need to be in a relationship - the lying about talking with other guys, under the table drinking problem and low self-esteem is not working very well for her.... and I need to stop going for girls who need to be 'saved'.

 

I hope we can be friends after this, but it's on her if that is possible. It's been one of the hardest things I've had to do to walk away from her and feeling like I'm responsible for someone else's happiness... Audioblysk needs a hug.

/hugs + She has to step up and pay rent now you've broken up does she not? It's real life isn't it? Whilst you still feel responsibility towards her, you are not her sugar da da. How long has the lease got to go, don't be too much of a masochist.

*gathers into massif group hug*

It was 1.5 years of relationship usagi, not super long, but probably longer than I should have stayed around.

@ delet... I am only paying rent because we split a very large house with a few other people and have less than 2 payments left on the lease. I was the one to break it off, and my name is on the lease, so I chose to give a person who revels in being a victim no real way of being a victim because their life isn't changing besides me not being with them. Weird reasoning, but it's for the best so I don't screw my friends over too.

(accepts hugs with love)

I faded out of dj'ing some 18 months ago; I was really sick of my non-non-compromising attitude, was in a weak spot, and really had to integrate all these new sounds that came my way. I had a great time 3 weeks ago at Derrick May, and subsequently came in touch with an old dj'ing buddy of mine, who's making name for himself in the Amsterdam club scene as a person behind the screens.

I am feeling invigorated to dj again, so i decided to surf the net for some new chunes.

3 days later, scouring through the lovely sounds of detroit musics, and house classics from chicago and NY, my cart is 100 euro's phat (about 17599,- american dollars or 3 feet and 17 inches), and it will probably only get bigger.

This is not a real problem, but I'm too much of a Scrooge to spend too much money on dem tunes.

Gotta flip dat switch again, man, but also gotta take care of my moneez.

Decisions, decisions. I'll probably just make a budget and try and keep it.