Why are you loaning money to Banks?

Here is the latest bank scam. I paid my Barclay (Frontier) credit card on line on Monday. I paid $1,000.00. Monday the funds were withdrawn from my bank account. I no longer had the use of those funds. Tuesday I check the Credit Card Account on line and yep, there was the $1,000.00 credit to my account. My balance was reduced by $1,000.00. So now I should have at least $1,000.00 to spend again, right? NO, not at Barclay Bank. At Barclay Bank, they hold the $1,000.00 in their interest bearing account for 7 business days, now that's really 10 actual days. Barclay Bank has really borrowed $1,000.00 from me for their exclusive use. Now get this, if they do this on 100,000 card holders, they make $140,000 over that 10 day span. If they do this for one year they make an additional $5,110,000 each year. Is this legal? You bet it is just read the fine print in the little papers they send to you, that you never read.


Here is what Barclay says. “It's legal because you agreed to it”. “We need to protect our selves, since you can retrieve the on line payment if you change your mind”. Right, try to get your money back after you authorized them to take it in the first place. Good luck. Then they say “it's because of the Federal Reserve clearing the transfer of funds”. Liar, liar, your pants are on fire. When is the last time you wire transferred funds from one bank to another. On a bad day it takes a few hours. I won't be using this Barclay card much anymore. Capital One and Chase clear funds in two days. Keep your eye on your credit card payments to see that what guys will be up to next.

Zagat, Best Travel Guides

Zagat: This is the best guide we have found because it doesn’t have a company attitude. No, Tim and Nina Zagat don’t vote, nor does anyone in their company. This guide is a real honest democracy (so they say). "We" have the voting power with no veto by them. If you don’t agree you have the opportunity to cast your vote, and should. So, why are we telling you this when we have our own guide. The reason is Zagat covers the entire world, and many places we have yet to visit. We rank restaurants, resorts, hotels and shopping based on our personal experiences, so perhaps we do have an attitude. The opinions contained on this web site and in our publications are our personal opinions along with our friends and associates. We report the “best of the best”. As Fox News says, “we report you decide”.

I subscribe to the Zagat guides and use them frequently. The newest feature is Zagat.Mobi . If you are on the go, traveling all the time like me, you can’t live without this, connected to you cell phone or PDA. This is really the BEST. You may also link MrFiveStar to your PAD or cell phone as well.

Credit Card Melt-Down

Here is something that is really getting to me lately. I realize Wall Street and the Banks are in a credit crunch. However it seems to me the credit card companies are really sticking it to us and thereby creating their own problems. I have had excellent credit for dozens of years. Then this past week I received four letters from my credit card companies informing me they were lowering my credit limits by1/3. Then to add insult to injury the also informed me they were increasing the interest they would be charging each month. Why? I have been paying on time each month and way more than I charge. I just don't get it?

The worst part is that as a result of the reduction of my credit, this will automatically lower my credit score. Now, if my credit score goes down they will again lower my credit once again and raise my interest. When is this going to stop? Or is this just a scam to raise the interest they are charging everyone by, the credit card companies artificially driving our credit scores down. This is just another way the Banks can blame us for our over spending, rather than take the heat for their mismanagement and over compensating their upper echelon. Here again we see yet another example of the golden rule in action. He who has the gold rules.

Beaujolais Nouveau

The annual launching of Beaujolais Nouveau is upon us. This marginal wine at best, must be considered an epic marketing coup for it's producers. Seldom does any product receive so much international attention year after year, with the furry of distribution and have so little to offer ultimately to the consumer.

On the positive side, I suppose it is the event we are celebrating, not the product. I can't remember a year when we didn't purchase a case within a few days of its arrival here in the US. Then this entire case is always consumed by Christmas. No one ever comments on the quality of the wine, they just drink it like egg-nog as if it is a holiday requirement. So, it is for this reason I even mention the wine in the first place, but then consider the Holidays without Beaujolais Nouveau, why, it would be like not having uncle Harry snoring on the couch all day Christmas.

Orlando Airport Gas Price, Outragous!

Last Friday I couldn't believe my eyes when I started pumping gas at the first gas station just north of the Orlando Airport on 436, across from the Hertz Center. $4.99! How could this be possible? As of this date I can buy gas anywhere near here for no more the $2.25. What a major scam!

Unless you are Warren Buffett, I would drive a few miles further north, there are plenty of less expensive places to fill up.

I understand why now. If you are returning your Rental car to the airport and forgot to fill up this is the first gas station you come to. This company is not your friend. They are the worst company you could deal with. Anyone who charges you at least 2 times the going rate for gas just because you need it is a legal crook. Please just drive a few miles north. I did and was able to find gas for $2.04.