We're all victims of price gouging. And it usually happens when we're the most vulnerable (like right now).
Steve's grocery getter truck has been our saving grace for five years now. It was a generous donation from a family member when we got it and it has saved us so many times through the years that we're amazed. It has been losing it's exhaust system for months and the entire neighborhood has been awakened every morning as he headed out the door for a very long time by it's loud presence. The fun thing was always knowing five minutes before he gets home from work that he was on his way :) Yesterday on his way home from work, it finally gave in and dropped in the middle of the road.
One car survival just doesn't work for us so Steve managed to tie it up with cable zip ties to crawl it down to the Tuffy down the street. We knew about Tuffy's inflated prices but also desperately need the delayed check casing. An hour later, Steve calls me with a $400+ repair cost estimate.
No Way!!!!!!!!!!
So I begged Steve to call someone else, which he did and came back with an estimate for HALF that. But no delayed check cashing. Okay, January mortgage doesn't get paid this week (yes, it's February) but we have to do it, right?
So Steve called Tuffy back and magically they "called their distributor" and got the price dropped by over $100. Imagine that! I still don't want to patronize their business but once again, the desperate get taken advantage of.
Why can't companies just be honest? I don't understand why all business people can't just sell an item for what it's worth, without inflating prices so that the dicker savvy people can get lower prices, but not the normal consumer. Car dealerships, insurance companies, home repair places, appliance sales, gas stations, etc. You name it. I am sick of rich business people taking advantage of hard working but poor people (us) who desperately need breaks but never get them. People who are strong enough to fight for deals get lower prices, but people who just don't have any fight left in them get screwed. It just makes me so mad.
Okay, vent over for now. Enjoy the blizzard everyone. We're praying for a big storm to snow us in, but that the power doesn't go out because this house is cold enough even WITH the heat on.
Happy Snow Day tomorrow!
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