I owe my ex $600 dollars. The right thing is to pay her back, but she cheated on me, and lied throughout our entire relationship, she flaked on me the last 3 times we were supposed to hang out, last minute.
She sent me an email not long ago, asking me to never contact her again, which I haven’t been. I honestly just don’t feel like paying her back. Additionally, she didn’t drive and I drove her around all the time. If it sounds like I’m making excuses, it’s because I am.
We had bought a boat together, and I paid the slip fee for 5 months at $550 each month ($2,700 total). I also spent countless hours doing maintenance on the boat and spent around $1,200 on materials which she didn’t give me a penny for.
Had she been a decent person, I would’ve without hesitation paid her back. But she kinda did me dirty. She’s getting back with her after she told me she was divorced and had no feelings for him.
Anyways. Thanks for your advice.

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2 years after vacancy, I was contacted by debt collector as I failed to give 'written' Notice to Vacate before 30 days.
I thought I had already given notice as This was an agreed-upon short-term lease as I have mentioned I'm moving out of state in initial emails. The rent itself was adjusted higher for that specific rent duration.
On the Notice to Vacate document, both parties have signed that the lease Was "fulfilled without any break fees".
Of note, security deposit was not returned, nor was any itemized statement privided within 21 days after vacation. It was infact, deducted from the alleged debt.
2 Years later, Debt collector contacted me with a month's rent as debt for not meeting the 30 day notice rule, which would have been avoided if they notified me when leaving or even during that 21 day window.
I disputed immediately and wrote not to report to credit bureaus. Turns out they already reported 2 days prior to even sending me an initial notice.
I've been trying to contact them but silent. I submitted complaint to Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, but my case was closed because the debt collector responded with the lease agreement having the 30 day notice clause.
What can I do to rectify my credit scores? I can pay the alleged debt despite feeling it is unjust, if the debt record can be deleted.

2 years after vacancy, I was contacted by debt collector as I failed to give 'written' Notice to Vacate before 30 days.
I thought I had already given notice as This was an agreed-upon short-term lease as I have mentioned I'm moving out of state in initial emails. The rent itself was adjusted higher for that specific rent duration.
On the Notice to Vacate document, both parties have signed that the lease Was "fulfilled without any break fees".
Of note, security deposit was not returned, nor was any itemized statement privided within 21 days after vacation. It was infact, deducted from the alleged debt.
2 Years later, Debt collector contacted me with a month's rent as debt for not meeting the 30 day notice rule, which would have been avoided if they notified me when leaving or even during that 21 day window.
I disputed immediately and wrote not to report to credit bureaus. Turns out they already reported 2 days prior to even sending me an initial notice.
I've been trying to contact them but silent. I submitted complaint to Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, but my case was closed because the debt collector responded with the lease agreement having the 30 day notice clause.
What can I do to rectify my credit scores? I can pay the alleged debt despite feeling it is unjust, if the debt record can be deleted.

Xfinity internet
Hello, does anyone here have xfinity service but use your own router? I've found some on Amazon that are very affordable and have great reviews. I'm not very techy, but learn through trial-and-error. I work from home part time, and the kids have a few devices connected to the wifi. I'm currently paying almost $180 monthly to xfinity, and that's without cable. They have package right now that $145, and if I have my own router it saves me $25. Plus they want me to replace my router if I do make any changes to my plan and there's a $40 self install fee.

Hello, does anyone here have xfinity service but use your own router? I've found some on Amazon that are very affordable and have great reviews. I'm not very techy, but learn through trial-and-error. I work from home part time, and the kids have a few devices connected to the wifi. I'm currently paying almost $180 monthly to xfinity, and that's without cable. They have package right now that $145, and if I have my own router it saves me $25. Plus they want me to replace my router if I do make any changes to my plan and there's a $40 self install fee.

Hello reddit. I don’t usually use this website but my roommates told me to post on here in hopes that some outside perspectives will help us settle the situation. Hence the brand new account.
The 3 of us live in a 3/3 and split costs equally 3 ways, for the most part. I have a slightly bigger bedroom so I pay a bit more than my other 2 roommates in rent. However, at the moment, I feel like I’m putting more work into maintaining the environment that we all get to enjoy and that I should be compensated fairly for that.
I have over 100 different houseplants throughout the apartment, including shared spaces like the living room, that I spend hours every week and thousands of dollars caring for, purchasing, and maintaining. My roommates have commented on how pretty some of the plants are so I know they appreciate having them around as well. Obviously, the presence of these plants contributes to the cleanliness of the air that we breathe in our home. With so many plants in the house, our home air quality is obviously superior to those without houseplants, and with COVID and other air quality considerations it’s basically like having an in-house HEPA air purifier (but the plants are natural so they’re even better!).
Because I’ve put so much money and so many hours of work into these plants, I feel that my roommates should contribute to that financial burden by paying what we would call a “clean air fee”. Something reasonable like $25/month from each roommate would really help offset the costs of things like fertilizer, new pots, soil, etc. and the time I put into taking care of the plants. I think this is an incredibly fair agreement for my roommates, as they get the benefit of living in a house with organically clean air and not doing any of the work! They think I’m being unreasonable and selfish. I told them that I would be willing to compromise and not charge them the fee if they would hold their breath between the front door and going to their bedrooms (which isn’t even far, it’s not like we live in a HUGE apartment) so they aren’t breathing the plant-cleaned air that they aren’t paying for. They think that’s stupid but have yet to propose another reasonable compromise, so I think it’s pretty clear who is being unreasonable in this situation!
So basically that’s where we’re at. I’m the one who everyone gives rent money to and then I write a check to the landlord so if we don’t figure this out by the next time rent is due, it’s gonna be a problem. How can I get my roommates to see/understand my side of this?

I posted my experience as a comment in another post but I feel like it deserves it's own.
There was an event in November or December in Calgary, Alberta, Canada called the Saturday Sat market. I went with my dad. At the time, I was just beginning to have doubts of BTC after about 8 months of being a maxi. My doubts were a result of Peter McCormack's recurring question on his podcast, "Can you truly be self-sovereign without owning a UTXO?"
When I was at the event, the fees on the main chain were something like $50 CAD. In order to fund my lightning wallet, I had to buy liquid BTC from an exchange (Bull Bitcoin), and swap it into lightning. Annoying for me but I could manage.
Once I went to buy items from vendors, I found some people were either using Wallet of Satoshi without realizing the custodial nature of it or other non-custodial lightning wallets. One vendor that used Phoenix Wallet, ended up paying the $50 to fund his lightning wallet. When someone would try to pay him, his channel would overflow (as far as I understand) leading to more payments just to RECEIVE a lightning payment. I believe he ended up using Wallet of Satoshi for the remainder of the event. It's too bad, because he was trying to do the right thing by using the non-custodial service.
When I went to buy my first hardware wallet at the same event, I used Phoenix Wallet to try to pay. Some error occurred that was along the lines of not being able to find a derivation path. The vendor had to receive the payment using Muun Wallet after it didn't work with his lightning wallet (not sure which).
I met BTC Sessions there and asked him about his thoughts on not everyone being able to own a UTXO in the future. He gave me an answer involving fediments and covenants which I still don't fully understand. I smiled like it was enough to not make me worry but in reality, I still felt that BTC wasn't the perfect money that I was preaching it to be.
All these work-arounds to avoid using layer one are complicated and really not that efficient. Lightning requires on-chain payments which are bound to get more expensive over time. Liquid is a side chain that requires trust in those who run it. Anything beyond those methods is getting too complicated for me to want to use. I'm not a person who has a great understanding of everything bitcoin, but I do know more than the average person. With that in mind, the average person is not going to want to use these complicated methods to transact.

I’m 40. I’m finishing grad school this summer and I’ll be a counselor. Because of some ventures and risks I took in my 20s, I didn’t really start working until my 30s other than part time restaurant jobs. I had a government job that was low paying, but it got me through college once I stopped the self-employment ventures and turned 30. I haven’t worked for a year because I had no choice but to leave my job for this last year of grad school which has included lots of practicum hours as well as full time school schedule.
The job was state government, and I’m being totally honest, I can’t imagine going back to state government. I would need 18 more years to even retire with my state’s pension system with the 9 years I’ve put in. I might go work a year when I graduate so I hit my 10 years and get public service loan forgiveness (it was all verified correctly with the various loan servicers). I don’t have to get the 10th year from a government job, either. Just a qualifying non-profit of some sort which will be easy with my grad degree. Plenty of treatment places that are qualifying and it would be good experiencing.
So anyway, I am strongly considering cashing out the 42,000 that is in my state’s retirement account, pay the tax hit and fees, and use the money to get out of the hole I’m in, graduate with a clean slate, maybe set aside 5-7k for an emergency fund, and start saving.
I own a home with a cheap mortgage. The reality is that I will inherit a pretty sizable estate from my mom. She is in her late 70s and won’t be around much longer. I am not going to ask her for money at this point.
It is also my understanding that if I wanted to return to government employment, I could buy my time back if I had the money, which I will once the inheritance happens.
Even if the inheritance somehow doesn’t happen, I am still out of money. I’m really struggling and just want a clean slate with my degree and new career.
I would pay off about $10,000 credit card debt. Pay my mortgage ($550 a month) and other bills such as phone, insurance etc until employed and back on feet.
While not counting on it, I have a few things going on that I suspect will be financially rewarding but I’ll be fine if they don’t.
I’m just tired, health issues, and want to stop being stressed.
I should add that because of the health issues, I highly doubt I’ll see 65 years old.
I have a pretty simple life. No kids. Don’t want them. Small home and there isn’t anything I can’t live without burning a hole in my pocket. I just can’t think of a reason to be sitting on this money when it could really really help me right now. My 30s were really hard because of all the health issues. They are finally diagnosed, healed, etc, but took a toll.
How would I calculate the penalty from cashing out the $42,000? Would it be like 30-40%?
Thanks, PF!

TLDR; built a crm specifically for pressure washing: plaidquotes.com, looking for feedback. Lots of features, contact me if you have any questions on how it works, or have any suggestions/requests at [kevin@plaidquotes.com](mailto:kevin@plaidquotes.com) .
I've been building a crm over the past year (I'm a software engineer by trade) specifically for the pressure washing industry, and I'm seeking feedback. It's live, so by all means go use it. In addition to feedback, I'm also looking to quantify upsell amounts (this was specifically designed to increase upsells), and gather information on common usage amounts so I can calculate my costs for hosting, CPU usage, storage fees, etc. I've been trying to design it in such a way that it remains easy to use and understand, while still providing beneficial insights into your business. That being said, there's still a lot in there. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out either here or my email [kevin@plaidquotes.com](mailto:kevin@plaidquotes.com) .
Some information to get you started: This was specifically designed to increase upselling. As such, it automatically sends EVERY quote you put on a property to a customer, every single time. I never understood why we always just respond with "here's the quote you asked for". Instead, "would you like fries with that?". Also, once you quote a house, you'll never have to do it again. And why should you? You've already looked it up on zillow, measured everything out on google etc. The quotes on the property are permanent (they can be edited in realtime, and you can delete them), and the customer can use the link you send them to book jobs forever, without having to call you to ask for quotes.
I'm operating under the assumption that all 2 story 2500 sq vinyl houses (for example) are pretty much the same, with some caveats. I understand that not everybody does it this way, that's fine. And you can still very easily edit the prices to apply to specific properties. When you create a new account, it will come with a sample "quote collection" and "saved quote". Quote collections are what they sound like, and my current users are calling them "2500 sq ft 2 story vinyl" for example. You should put all of the quotes that apply to every house in the category in your collection to make adding quotes to properties easier. They can be edited before posting to a property, as well as after, so if there is something about a specific house that increases the pricing of gutter cleaning, for instance, that can be edited on the fly. Saved quotes are things like decks, gazebos, etc. Things that don't apply to every house, but that you see with some regularity.
Quotes are permanently attached to the property, until you delete them. They can be edited in bulk, so if you want to up all of your prices across the board by 3%, you can do that. Or if you want to update all roof wash prices, you can do that as well.
Example usage: Joe Schmo calls, he lives at 1234 main str and wants a house wash quote. You type in his address, it'll pop up in the autocomplete. When you click it, it takes you to that address, and gives you all of the info on that address (past jobs, upcoming jobs, customers, etc.). Click on the quote collection that applies to that address, make any edits you need, click on the house wash quote in the "existing quotes" box, and fire the email.
Joe Schmo will get an email, with a list of your quotes that he can scroll through at his own leisure, select the services he wants, and book. This also asks for his name/phone number (if you don't already have it in the crm) and optionally, lead source. This will populate his data into the crm for you.
That request will show up on your dashboard as a requested job. Click on it to see the job, schedule, etc. Scheduling also automatically generates an invoice, which follows your payment terms (or defaults to net-30 commercial and net-7 residential.
Customers also receive job tracking emails, where they can track the status of their job.
Automated email is about to be released (just have more testing to do), which will allow you to create custom email templates that go out at your specified times (i.e. a week after you send quotes if they haven't booked, a day before scheduled job as confirmation, a month before what you deem to be a follow-up/repeat service, etc.).
Several other features are in the pipeline, and definitely reach out if you have any requests/suggestions/comments/concerns.

I was a recovering finsub. Years ago, I was financially abused by a Mistress who used a debt contract to systematically extract as much money from me as possible. While I was able to get out of the contract, it took almost every cent I had. In the end, I paid double the original amount due to all the usury terms.
I told my cautionary tale online and received a lot of comments. Most of the feedback was from Dommes and they were generally supportive. One was so touched by my experience that she wanted to help me out. She proposed that I enter into a contract with her. It wasn’t a typical debt contract. It was an arrangement where I would give her a lump sum of money for her to invest with. After a set time period, she would return the money to me. And whatever returns she made through investments would be hers to keep. It seemed like a zero-risk way to engage in findom.
She drafted up a lengthy contract. As she was a paralegal, this came naturally for her. But the 24-page contract was overwhelming for me. She summarized it for me so I could easily understand. I would transfer $50,000 to her account. After 6 months, the $50,000 would be returned to me minus a “variable maintenance fee” starting at 2%. Since she was only keeping profits, she reasoned the large initial amount was necessary to make it worth her time. And at 2%, $1000 seemed more than fair to serve her for 6 months. We agreed to the terms and we both signed the contract.
At the end of every month, she sent me statements detailing the financial performance of her portfolio. I could see she was very savvy financially. I always looked forward to these statements and watching her wealth grow.
When the 6-month period came to an end, I asked her how she would return the funds to me. To my shock, she told me she wasn’t going to return it, at least not at that time. She was exercising her option to extend the contract for an additional month. When I protested, she pointed to a clause that either one of us was able to do this unilaterally. She also reminded me that exiting the contract required agreement from both parties, despite what the original time period was. So without a mutual agreement, by default the contract would keep extending for an additional month. And each monthly extension required a special maintenance fee from me.
I felt the situation was dire. These extra maintenance fees, while minor, would eat into the initial funds. But that soon became the least of my worries. After three more months of having the same conversation, I had the sinking feeling I was never going to see my money again. That’s when she seemed to take some pity on me and suggested a way we could end the contract sooner rather than later. Although she had been investing aggressively, she wasn’t quite at her financial goals. She told me an additional $20,000 from me would expedite things. Figuring I only had to temporarily send an additional $20,000 to get all my money back, it seemed like a good deal. So we amended the contract from $50,000 to $70,000. I transferred $20,000 to her account.
I didn’t know exactly how much faster it would be, but I didn’t expect it to be a year. In that year we never talked. She did keep sending me monthly statements, but I eventually ignored those as I completely lost interest. I had mentally made my stand. I was no longer going to give her any more money. I was no longer going to be her fool. But my proud moment was for nothing. I knew she had the last laugh.
After a year, she unexpectedly contacted me. She let me know that she intended to end the contract, assuming I would agree. We subsequently signed the exit clause. When I asked about the money, she dropped a bomb on me. I was not getting my money back. I, in fact, owed her another $24,893.49. It was those variable maintenance fees. She expressed surprise that I didn’t object whenever the percentage changed, which was within my rights. I quickly scanned through the statements from the past year. The percentage had been well over 2% for a while. And month after month, the fees were cumulative. The fees were also compounded with interest. I neglected to realize that once the fees had dwindled the $70,000 to zero, I was actually on the hook to pay the fees every month.
I sank in despair as I couldn’t come to grips with the math. Knowing I didn’t have $25,000 to spare, she proposed a straightforward solution: a standard debt contract. In the end I would end up paying at least $95,000 in total to a Domme who was trying to help me. She suggested we just round it up to $100,000.

Howdy peeps! Hoping some of you may shed some light on my situation as this assessment criteria is confusing me to no end, and need to weigh up if I need to continue losing my soul here in the UK. I'm very keen to submit some EOIs given the upcoming visa changes this year and beyond which will likely prolong invite turnarounds. Will be seeking nomination as a ICT Business/Systems Analyst.
I graduated in 2015 with an IT Major, then worked for just under five years at Apple as a Business Expert which given it was situated from a retail setting, I'm not so confident it would be counted. I did mostly backpacking and random odd-jobs from 2018 till 2020 whilst in Melbourne on two 417's, then returning home during the second Melbourne lockdown without thinking about the 408. Chomping at the bit to get back ever since.... Hit the ripe old age of 31 a few weeks after the Nil VACs were introduced AND after the A-UKFTA was signed upping the age to 35....
Since late 2020, I've gotten two and a half years experience as a Senior IT Analyst, then ten months as of today as a IT Service Manager. Am I correct in thinking that if I lodge an assessment and they deduct two years - I will be given a negative skill assessment as they'll only acknowledge about a year as 'skilled'? Has anyone else gone through a similar situation? Given the recent $$$ uplift in ACS fees, I don't really want to go through all the stat decs, affidavits, and referencing if it would be better to just sit and wait.
I could return to Melbourne in July for my third WHV, but it is a risk with the six-month limitation. The 403 stream via the Innovation and Early Careers Skills Exchange Pilot (IECSEP) looks very promising to suss onshore as having little luck applying from the motherland as most employers/recruiters don't seem to acknowledge or understand it yet.
Any thoughts?

I am a Washington state resident, bought the car here cash, no financing in March. I paid the registration fees at the dealership, and they gave me temporary registration. I was told the plates would be there in a few weeks. I called the DMV, and they said they never received a registration application from the dealership. I called the dealership and they said they bought the car from another dealership, who bought it from an individual that didn't give them the title. I guess they've been trying to track him down for the last few months, probably hoping I wouldn't find out.
Is what they did legal? Can I make them refund me for the car? Shortly after buying the car, I took it for a full inspection and found out it needs to have the engine short block replaced and along with some other minor issues. I don't have the money or desire to pay to do that at the moment, so I'm trying to sell the car if I can't get them to take it back. But I can't without a title. So am I just boned?

Male, 27, BA in Foreign Languages and Cultures, BA in East Asian Studies (Double Major Chinese and Japanese, Double Minor Spanish and French), Graduate Certificate in Chinese-American Studies, 6 months professional job experience.
Hey there. The job search for me out of college has been exceptionally brutal. I won't get into the weeds about it, but I just spent 2 and a half years waiting on potentially being hired for my dream job, only to find out I have been determined unsuitable for the job. To say I'm crushed would be an understatement. I'd go on about how devastated I am, but no one needs to hear all that. As you can see from above, I'm multilingual, and was primarily looking for jobs relating to Translation. The job I'd like to have would have me working with the languages I've studied so hard to learn, and would utilize my expertise in East Asia. That has proven to not only be very difficult due to a lack of job postings, but my lack of experience seems to be hampering any ability to even be remotely considered.
I have explored the options my degree provides me with but have so far come to these realizations:
Interpreting: Depends on your level of experience, and where you live. There is no agreed upon standard of certification for interpreting, and it varies from state to state, and sometimes company to company. Generally requires some kind of certification and specialized training, which I have not yet received, along with experience demonstrating your expertise. You can land a high level job somewhere like the UN, or with a government or other company or agency, but the majority of jobs are freelance, with income highly variable.
Translation: There aren't as many job postings for this as you might think. Many are remote jobs, and those that do exist do not pay well (most are $35,000 a year), even for languages that are rare or in high demand. Many translation agencies outsource out-of-country, and thus have no desire or need for domestic translators, and usually only require the services of translation agency management jobs that do not actually require language skills whatsoever, such as being a liaison between clients, overseeing translations, etc. Some require ATA certification, which is a difficult requirement to meet, needing to pay a $500 per language fee annually, along with taking a test each year, for someone who has been unemployed for a long time now. There is the freelance route as well, but it too is highly variable, and success is not guaranteed. I would likely need to start an LLC to prevent legal issues due to lack of experience if I decided to go all-in on freelancing.
Military: This is an option I am still considering, but it has several drawbacks. It is a 5 year commitment minimum, without the freedom to say where I am to go, where I am to live, when I am to leave, no guarantees about what language I would study, or what job I would be performing, and boot-camp. The military provides absolutely no guarantees, irrespective of what a recruiter says, and I may not actually be suitable depending on a few factors (physical stature, background, etc.). If I change my mind, there would be absolutely no turning back. Lastly, the military itself is not guaranteed to accept me. However, the upside is the potential for a very high paying job out of the military when my service is complete. Some jobs pay up to $120,000 a year.
Government: 2 and half years (no, I'm not kidding), and I have nothing to show for it. I've done this route definitively, I simply do not have the energy, mental fortitude, and patience to try again.
Teaching: This is an option I am seriously considering, but it would require me to go back to school. Ideally I would like to be a Professor of Chinese, or East Asia Studies. I am $65,000 in debt, and I would be adding at least another $30,000 to that to get a PhD. I'm also unsure of where to start, and what programs to look into and apply at. Even after all of that effort and work, I may only make $40,000 a year, though I would likely enjoy the job.
Analyst: Many of my colleagues who I studied with have gone onto perform Advisory or Analyst roles, and most are doing well for themselves. This is a broad category of Risk, Financial, International, and other Analyst positions that don't directly have to do with foreign language per se, but use it as a major skill. I have attempted dozens of times to apply to various positions, but without experience, I have found I am nearly always turned down even before I get an interview.
Cryptologic Linguist: Without a Security Clearance, this is a job that is usually impossible to apply to.
These are the major options, but of course there may be many others. I'm not sure what to do or what job to apply for. There are many directions I could go in, but I'm starting to feel like I don't even know how to apply for a job anymore.
TLDR; What jobs should I look for now given my skills, experience, and degrees? Am I being too limited or unrealistic in my job search? How do I look for a job?
I'm totally devastated, and I don't know what to do anymore. Any advice at all would be appreciated.

I need some advice regarding an issue with my apartment lease renewal in Maryland. I currently have a month-to-month lease at an apartment complex that I've rented at since 2021, and the lease terms are updated each year before my renewal date on June 1st.

In February, I received a pre-lease agreement stating the rent increase effective June 1st, along with information about an optional service called RentPlus. RentPlus reports rent payments to credit bureaus for a monthly fee. Since I have an 835 credit score and will be applying for a home loan soon, I opted out of this service by checking the "not interested" box.

In March, I received the new lease for electronic signing, which included an additional page for the RentPlus Addendum. The addendum clearly states that "enrollment in RentPlus is entirely optional and is not a condition of this Rental Agreement." as well as "By signing below, or electronically accepting through your landlord, Resident is enrolling in RentPlus and agrees to the terms and conditions set forth in this addendum and the RentPlus Terms of Use that can be found at..." However, the leasing office is insisting that I must sign the addendum to complete the lease renewal online. They have suggested I sign it and then immediately cancel the service, but I believe this contradicts the stated terms and I am concerned about any potential impact on my credit score.
The leasing office neglected to include the fee for my garage rental on my autopayment earlier this year, which resulted in them adding it halfway through the month and my rent payment being considered "late". While the service states that it only reports on-time payments, and will increase my score, I am concerned about any activity on my credit report. I've also read some posts claiming this service lowered peoples scores by opening a new account.

I have repeatedly requested a lease agreement without the RentPlus Addendum, but the office refuses to provide one. They are effectively making enrollment in RentPlus a condition of the lease, contrary to what the addendum states.

With less than three weeks before my current lease expires, I'm unsure of my next steps. I am exploring the possibility of renting a house starting June 1^st, but will need to continue renting here during the month of June to allow time to move. I will also be out of state 29 May through 7 June.

My questions are:

Is it legal for the leasing office to effectively force me into the RentPlus service despite the addendum stating it's optional?
What further steps can I take to resolve this issue without signing up for the service?
Is it a battle worth fighting, or will the leasing office decide to make things difficult for me for the remaining of my stay here, and when it comes to returning my deposit?
Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Before I start, I don’t have any malicious intentions towards my stepmom despite of everything but I feel conflicted on what decisions I should make.
My (19F) stepmom (32F) came into my life around 3 years ago. However, she and my dad had been acquainted for a few years prior. My first impression of her was her attempts to home-wreck my dad’s previous relationship with my sister’s mother, this happened on a trip we all made to our home country back in 2019, from that moment I had the feeling she would be bad news. Fast forward a few months, my dad broke things off with his previous wife for unrelated reasons, and as a way to grieve the relationship he was taking many trips to our country, spending astronomical amounts of money, buying cars, building houses, and overall was a financial mess, nonetheless he had a lot of women trying to be with him due to his “money”. Stepmom was aware of this and started pursuing my dad as well. She is a beautiful woman and if we combine that with the fact my dad’s ex-wife had just announced she was pregnant and married someone else, he was making even horrible decisions.
Two weeks into my dad’s and stepmom’s relationship she decided to propose to him and unexpectedly quit her job and made my dad buy her a flight to come back to the states with him. I was 16 and felt heartbroken that my dad took so many life changing decisions without speaking with me first, regardless of this I tried my hardest to make her feel comfortable since from my POV she could make my dad happy again. Fast forward a few days, we found out she was pregnant, although she only had a visitor’s visa she was making all of her doctor’s appointments here and we found out how far along she was. My baby sister was born and I wasn’t home the day of their discharge from the hospital because I had school in the morning and my friend who has lost her dad the day prior asked me to be there for her. This lady threw a whole tantrum at her old age, she was complaining to my dad telling him i’m a horrible person, she would ignore me in the house every time she saw me and would even go as far as telling me to not hold her baby. I’m the type of person who likes to avoid confrontation with those I live with simply to maintain the peace in the household, so I just ignored her antics.
From that moment on, I stopped trying to please her and our relationship became strictly common pleasantries but I noticed she would only do that whenever my dad was around, otherwise I would go back to being ignored in every sense of the word. I became uncomfortable in my own home so I would rarely go out of my room and I started eating at school or at work. She was a stay at home mom and was in charge of all the chores aside from anything related to me such as my room, my laundry, and things of the sort. This absolutely was a problem for her and began complaining once again that I don’t help her around the house and that as a woman it was my responsibility to help with all of the chores. I get that being a new mom can be stressful, but the baby spent Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm at daycare, and I was a full time high school student with a full time job, I was rarely ever in the house and her demands were pretty unreasonable. After that we became kind of like two roommates who disliked each other, and yet I never mentioned anything to my dad for the sake of his newfound happiness.
I even went as far as to offer her a job at my current company so she could have something to do besides being at home all day long, she only worked like 15hrs a week and would be incredibly demanding, expressing her frustration when she wouldn’t get the easy positions, my coworkers would complain that she would turn a blind eye every time it was her turn to pay gas for the shared rides, and my boss told me she was walking around telling everyone she was only with my dad for papers and that she would leave him the moment she got her way.
Fast-forward 2 months before my baby sister turned 2 years old, my dad found her having an affair with her ex-fiancé, throughout the whole argument my dad was restlessly screaming at her for answers and she remained stone cold, not one tear or sign of remorse. I was the only one crying over the situation. She made the decision to call her affair partner in front of my dad and asked him to pick her up, the guy told her he would call her in minute and proceeded to block her everywhere. My dad was the sole provider therefore he confiscated her phone and threw all of her clothes on the front yard. Going through her phone he found out that she made arrangements to stay with an aunt in NY for a few days, so he gave it back and told her to go on her merry way.
One week after she left my dad received a call from his mother in law begging him to pick my stepmom and sister up and to allow them to come back home since they were uncomfortable with their living situation, and so he did. She only stayed for maybe 2 days before they returned to NY. At this point, she had spent all of her savings in Ubers and was asking her mom for money since she couldn’t ask my dad anymore.
As I stablished before the girl cannot keep her mouth shut. One time she was scheduled to work with my best friend from school, I had also brought him to work with me, she began to ran her mouth telling him that I was disgusting and that I didn’t help her around the house, and many more mean things. The moment she got dropped off home he called and told me everything, this was my last straw. I gave my dad the ultimatum that either she leaves or I would and he told me that he cannot simply throw her out of the house… So I packed my bags and left to stay with my cousin who lives a few houses down. I stayed there for about two weeks until I felt guilty about making my dad worry, especially since he is diabetic and cannot be put under too much stress. I came back home and the next day I noticed both my baby sister’s and stepmom’s toothbrushes were missing and I just assumed she left again. My dad told me she left for NY for a third time but there was no communication for like 2 whole days until a friend of hers called saying she and the baby were there in Atlanta and was asking what was going on. Apparently my stepmom had been telling everyone that my dad and her got separated because he was being abusive to her. My best guess is that she was only coming back and forward to gather any type of evidence she could, but at the end of the day my dad never laid a finger on her, he only ever talked to her aggressively when he found out about her affair.
I honestly thought this was the last we would hear from her but today in my dad’s and hers shared back account he noticed a transaction of immigration fees and lawyers made by her. He is trying to expedite the divorce proceedings because he doesn’t want her using his name to get her green card but our city is incredibly busy and these sort of processes take their time. When he mentioned this to me I brought to his attention that she might be going for the VAWA method by telling immigration authorities she was a victim of abuse. However, that leaves my dad standing as an abuser and we don’t want that either.
My dad is one of the kindest souls ever, he fought for me when I was being physically and mentally abused by my mom, he sends money to our family back home (which is something that bothered her as well), he refused to press charges when she basically kidnapped my baby sister, he refuses to call ICE on her for marriage fraud. I don’t think he deserves this, and I’m no authority on who gets to stay in this country and who doesn’t but I don’t want her to stay her by painting my dad as this abuser he isn’t.
PN: There has been doubt on my baby sister’s legitimacy as my dad’s daughter. My dad confided in me that he was not sure the dates matched up. Later, I found the instagram of my stepmom’s affair partner and I discovered that he was in our home country at the same time as my dad. Also the baby has none of my dad’s features but share eerily similar traits to the affair partner and his kids. I won’t confirm or deny anything since she is an innocent baby in all of this chaos and I love her with all of my heart.
Should I contact immigration services and tell them my side of the story before she discredits my dad?

I just sold a card on Goldin for 5 figures. It's a very special card to say the least.
Now, the auction runs for a few weeks, and Goldin's terms are extremely clear that buyers have 7 days to pay. The list of threats for non payment within that time period lead sellers to believe that items will be paid for within that timeframe. They have a list of options that a 3% late fee will be assessed, and another 1.5% per month after that.. to the sale being cancelled, to the buyers name being shared for being a non payer if the payment isn't received within 7 days.
The FAQ for bidding terms says clearly:
How fast do I need to pay? :
Payment is due within 7 days
What if I can't pay?
Please see winning bidder obligations here. Refusal or inability to pay for the item(s) you won erodes the trust and hurts sellers who choose Goldin as the place to sell their items. Etc.
Now my issue is that tomorrow will be 10 days since the auction ended, and I've been told by my rep that I'm being impatient, and that they "wouldn't blame me" if it were 5-6 weeks. I'm getting every excuse in the book from that, to "We have international buyers as well.", as if international bidders need more time to pay.
I couldn't have imagined such a lack of professionalism. I understand that others may be willing to wait weeks after an auction ends to get paid, even for an auction that was up for weeks already, but I am not one of them. So I am putting this out there and wondering what others feel, and if that I'm entitled per their own terms to cancel the sale.
As of now this rep is completely avoiding my concerns and requests to not be put in a holding period, and tells me now that the buyer will have 21 days to pay.. at which point he still hasn't outlined what will happen.
So how long should sellers be forced to wait?
Update:
Now I'm being told:
"The item has sold. Please stop trying to get this back. As I stated it has been eight days since the sale ended. Per our agreement if the items isn’t paid we relist the item. Additionally per our agreement we have the ability to extend payment terms."
Mind you, the agreement doesn't say they simply re-list the item. It clearly states many other options. They are acting in such bad faith and have advised me not to be public about this but giving me literally no other options. The rep is misrepresenting all of the terms agreed to, and essentially telling me that the terms of the agreement are misleading and they don't do these other things, that in the end they will hold your items hostage and continue to re-list it.
Treatment of Unsold Items. If an Item(s) receives no bids at auction (Weekly, Elite or otherwise) or if a buyer defaults in accordance with GA’s standard procedures, GA may, in its discretion, relist your item(s) in a subsequent auction as determined by GA, move your Item(s) to the Vault or return the applicable Item(s) to you on the address on file for you, at your sole cost and expense and without any liability to GA. You shall remain liable for any fees associated with all unsold Item(s) in connection herewith, irrespective of whether GA has been transferred title thereto.
Also:
We are not required to enforce payment by any buyer. If a buyer does not pay in accordance with the Conditions of Sale, and you and we do not agree on another course of action, we reserve the right, in our absolute discretion, to (i) cancel the sale and return the Item(s) to you; (ii) sell the Item to the underbidder at the amount of their last bid in the applicable auction; or (iii) include the Item(s) in a subsequent auction as determined by GA, in its sole discretion;
Literally Conditions of Sale:

• Unless otherwise agreed by GA in writing, the winning bidder must pay the full price invoiced (including buyer’s premium, applicable tax, and other amounts due), so that it is received by GA in good, cleared funds by the invoice due date. GA will email the invoice to the buyer by the first business day after the close of the auction, with invoices due 7 days after the close of the auction or such other time communicated to you in writing by GA.

I'm also being told at the end of the last email from said rep:
"I’m sorry you weren’t pleased with the result as it appears, but I have a buyer who holds legal claim to this item currently and an obligation to complete the sale or relist the item per our agreement."
Meanwhile, their terms couldn't be any more clear:

• Unless otherwise agreed by GA in writing, the winning bidder must pay the full price invoiced (including buyer’s premium, applicable tax, and other amounts due), so that it is received by GA in good, cleared funds by the invoice due date. GA will email the invoice to the buyer by the first business day after the close of the auction, with invoices due 7 days after the close of the auction or such other time communicated to you in writing by GA.
• Without prejudice to any rights the Seller may have, if you fail to pay the full purchase price or other amount invoiced (including buyer’s premium, applicable tax, and other amounts due) for a lot or other outstanding balance due to GA or its affiliates in good, cleared funds by the invoice due date or other applicable due date, we may, in our sole discretion, exercise one or more of the following remedies:
• Cancel the sale of the lot, retaining any partial payment as liquidated damages

But the rep is at the same time telling me that the "buyer", who hasn't paid within the stated terms has a legal claim to the item? So what is it? Goldin reserves the right to cancel the sale after 7 days, or the buyer has a legal claim to the item and they can't cancel the sale after 7 days?
Hopefully I will be able to learn how to outline these posts better in the coming days to share the story in a clearer fashion. But I for one will never in a million years send another card of mine to Goldin Auctions. I absolutely did not agree for them to hold my card hostage for a period determined by them solely, with there being no scenario in which they would be returning the card to me, even if the buyer defaults. They have continually lied, made excuses, and misrepresented the terms of our agreement, many times over now in only a few short emails.
https://preview.redd.it/bh555lejz90d1.png?width=2454&format=png&auto=webp&s=a744a0d18c30b52b97109113fe045379904a5ef5

Long post, sorry. I want to give as many details as I can.
My mom lives with me and has been using my prime video account on her vidaa/hisense TV for the past year. For several days she has been having issues logging into my account on her TV. Yesterday she had something pop up on her TV with a 1-888 number to call, so she did. The person she spoke to tried to sell her a year's subscription, something about 5 devices. She already had a monthly Amazon prime subscription, and she just has the one TV, so she said no.
My mom doesn't remember all the details, but the guy on the phone was able to sign her into her own Amazon prime video account on her TV. At the end of the call he charged her a $40USD fee. He sent her a link to pay either by PayPal or using a debit or visa. Apparently he kept telling her NOT to use PayPal, but my mom said both options led to PayPal, and the guy sent her a PayPal invoice. When she said both options took her to PayPal he said to go ahead and try it. She doesn't have a PayPal account and did not create one. She said she was prompted to enter banking information in a form and that once she hit send, the guy hung up on her without saying anything.
When she clicks on the link for the PayPal invoice today, it says the transaction was canceled, and no funds were taken out of her bank account. It also has the wrong email address in the "bill to" spot.
Red flags for me: I googled the 1-888 phone number she called and nothing about Amazon or her TV brand came up. However, a Canadian anti-fraud something something did come up. I feel that if this person was a legit Amazon prime support person, the number would be connected to Amazon.
She was prompted to enter banking information into PayPal without creating a PayPal account. I use PayPal fairly frequently, I get emails about everything I do on there, and she hasn't gotten any emails from PayPal. Could this be that the guy entered her email address wrong? Is it possible that this guy spoofed a website and now has her banking info?
Also, why would she have to pay through PayPal and not her Amazon account?
The email on the invoice doesn't match the email for her Amazon account. I feel that if he was a legit Amazon employee he would have been able to copy/paste or something. Like he would have had her info in front of him already.
I have never paid an activation fee for prime video. She said the guy told her that since she moved (she moved in with me a year ago and has been using my account since) that was why he had to charge her a fee, to "reactivate" her account. She has been using her own prime account for orders the whole time she's been here, but using my account for prime video. I've moved 3 or 4 times since signing up for prime, and not once have I had any issues. I just log in to whatever device and it works.
Was my mom scammed? Does any of this seem legit? The only thing that makes me think it might be legit was that the guy was able to get her logged into her prime account on her TV. Everything else about it is so very fishy.

I have some concerning information about Verizons home internet.
Back in Obcober of 2023 I walked into the Verizon. A sales representative helped me with a phone upgrade. The representative then proceeds to sell me on their 6 month free trial for their home internet box. He stated that a representative will call me insure my home internet was up and running. I was assured that I could return my home internet box, free of charge by mail if I choose to do so. All I would need to do was call their customer care line (611) and request a return kit before the end of the trial period.
In all reality it has been a nightmare trying to get a shipping lable to be able to return the box. I have been trying to return my home internet box since the late February of 2024. I've resulted to calling Verizon customer service weekly because the home internet return lable hasn't been delivered as promised. Each week I put in a new request for a shipping label. I've also attempted to return the box in person at a Verizon Corporate store without much success. I have exhausted all of my resources.
As a result I now have a overdue bill because Verizon refuses to remove the home internet box fee, a charge of over $200 dollars. I refused the charges and Verizon has now issued a $100 dollar credit toward my account. That is the only solution they have offered me at this point.
These are the facts:
Verizon internet didn't service the area in which my home is located, the sales representative didn't confirm my adress.
I was promised a return kit late February of 2024 and still haven't recieved it.
I asked for a return adress so that I myself could cover the costs of the return. The representative stated that Verizon home internet department doesn't have a P.o. box.
The reality is that a large amount of Verizon consumers are experiencing the same problem.
The Verizon customer care representative I spoke to this morning stated that he has been encountering customer with the same problem and in his own words Said "I don't know what is going on".
This is truly concerning to the Verizon wireless consumers. I have been a loyal customer for the past 5 years. This has been a nightmare and is starting to take a mental toll. A Verizon home internet Nightmare. 😭
I smell a class action lawsuit.

Preface

I'm (21M) a Student in my 3rd year. No stable income (apart from internship that ends in sept), with some minor financial support from parents.
Long story short, I opened a LLC/LTD in 2021 with my uncles' advice in hopes of selling items on Amazon as he made a living off of it, I wanted it too and he made it sound *so* easy. (He's registered as Secretary)
I was lazy and other stuff was going on so by the time it came to VAT evaluation interview, two years had passed and I was denied VAT. At this point I was not interested in doing this anymore and ignored it until recently.

TLDR

I am stuck and have no idea where to go. I want the company gone and don't want it bearing over my shoulders any longer. From what I understand VSO is the only way to go and I can't do that until I file all of the filings mentioned below.
Wtf do I do?

The options I know of so far:

• Ignore for longer and hope they do involuntary-strike off with minimal repurcussions
• Take out a loan and pay it all off in one go with VSO or register as dormant until I need it. I already have a 3k loan balance remaining and would like to graduate without stressing over loans.

Additional Info:

I have the following menu of taxman returns which have piled up and the quote from the accountants at companyformations.ie was about 10k (excl. VAT) to file these:

• 6 month’s return with CRO + late filing fees
• 2022 accounts, annual return with CRO+ late filing fees+ 2022 Corporation Tax return
• Audited 2023 accounts, annual return with CRO + 2023 Corporation Tax return
• Audited 2024 accounts, annual return with CRO + 2024 Corporation Tax return
• If 2023 and 2024 accounts are filed late with CRO, then late filing fees will apply too.

More Additional Info:

• Have a wise bank account for the company with 5 transactions no bigger than 25EUR.
• ~€2,220 late filing fees for B1 return
• Have no trading activity (Technically there is 1~2 invoices for purchases)
• Level 1 Compliance Intervention for last half of 2022

My husband (M41) and I (F34) currently rent a unit in a triplex in Atlanta. Last Spring, the landlords approached us about buying it from them. After some back and forth we landed on a price somewhere around $640k. My husband works in the film industry, and soon after being pre-approved for a loan, the film strike happened. We told them we needed to put the purchase on hold, and they said they were willing to wait.
Now we are back at the negotiation table. In the last year, they got the house appraised at $850k! We are fairly certain the appraiser was a friend. On a call, they admitted they felt it was too high for the property and wanted to land somewhere in the mid-$700k. That is still $100k more than our offer last year. Additionally, they do not want to use realtors, as they don't want to pay the fees.
This time around we have more information about the property and what the other tenants are paying. All of us in the house are paying below market value, and the house needs some repairs (trees need to be taken down, the pool deck needs to be resurfaced, there is a sunroom/patio that is rotting and needs to be demolished, and the whole electrical system should be rewired). Their monthly rent revenue between all the units is $4650 ($55800 annually), and they spend about $19290 a year in expenses/property upkeep. Since 2017, they have spent about $34k in additional expenses (replaced the water heater, got the basement waterproofed, installed a new pool liner, etc.).
Combined, we make about $210k in a slow year. We would need to do an FHA loan and think that with some paint and updated fixtures, we can eventually (after we move out) bring in somewhere around $5,500 a month in rent. The online mortgage calculator comes out to $5,600 a month ($750,000 mortgage, 3.5 down), meaning we would be paying about $20,000 a year for property upkeep, not making anything back.
My question is, is the equity worth it? What should be our next steps? Should we get estimates on all the renovations we think need to happen and deduct that from their asking price? Do we try to get approved for the $750k and hope the lender's appraiser says it's worth less? Do we subtract the fees they would pay a broker from our offer?
They do have other offers from investors but they want to sell to us. Their target deadline to sell and be rid of the home is fall '24, and I have made clear that we plan on taking the time to do our due diligence, which they seem totally fine with (especially considering we are doing this unrepresented). Without a realtor, we are leaning on all the web forums and online resources we can find. We are first-time home buyers and willing to walk away if the math does not work. $100k more for the home in less than a year is just ridiculous.

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