Hi! I'm here to bitch cause no-one can answer my question, thought I'd go to the Nutz who have been so amazingly tolerant of me, albeit (I have to say) please excuse my only showing up when I want something technique.
I'm on unemployment benefits right now, being out of work because the governor says so and actually am making out quite well with money actually streaming in from the state and from federal assistance or compensation what ever they're calling it. They've actually paid me twice for the same week and you can't contact anyone about it cause they're overwhelmed.....so I'm keepin it.

My quandary is the payment method. They say your first payment is a paper check and then your next payment is a USBANK Reliacard (which is a pre-paid visa card). You can opt out of the Reliacard and have the payment direct deposited into your bank account.

After I received my first payment I got online and opted out of the Reliacard to have them direct deposit the next payment. OOOoooops it takes 3 to 4 weeks for that to become active! Following my first payment a week later I received a Reliacard.

I looked into the method of activating the Reliacard and found that you have to become a member of USBANK and in doing so you have to agree to their terms and conditions. One of the conditions is that they collect your phone number, address, social security number and such and, if you are in agreement, are able to use that information as they see fit to. I put that in a very simplistic way, but after reading the do's and don'ts and how they can change things without notice and use your information for their own solicitations (whether or not related to unemployment compensation) and allow other businesses to use your information for what ever they want......I decided to say NO I'm not in agreement with those terms.

The money owed me is not only subject to the terms and conditions of the government but also USBANK. Is this legal? They've been doing this for years I found out. What a great marketing for USBANK! It's not only free to them they're practically set-up by the government to do it!

I wrote to the governor of the state about it and am sure to never hear from her, but what can I do? There should be a way to get my money without being subject to the terms and conditions of USBANK (USSKANK).

Do I have to call
my mom on them
Suz

Hi Suz...welcome back mate. I for one don’t mind you coming in and asking for assistance...that’s what mate’s are for after all.

Unfortunately I can’t help you because I don’t know your Govt system, but as for banks...they are slimy and will use any and every method they can to make money...usually at your expense. I too would not sign up with conditions like that as all too often your details are sold to other companies for advertising purposes.

Good luck with sorting out your financial problems mate.

HI Suanne those are some tough questions

greetings young lady....its lovely to hear from you again as its been awhile.
now as to your quandry...I UNDERSTAND your issue however its pretty much par for the course.....you want/need the $$$$$ you tick the boxes....its a benifit payed out of taxes so it is what it is.
so what if they use details for marketing,I asume you have an old seldome used cell phone???use that number on forms...your social security number IS needed as its a benifit at end of day.
your adress is again pretty standard fodder......
if they didnt gather this info well there would be 5 young ladies living at your adress all getting benefit if nobody was checking the details,if no sosial security number needed to get it....here we would give our tax number...same number for life...
you will probably find the prepaid card very usefull as you will be able to buy online with it...just be aware those transactions are probably monitored as are most credit card transactions...convenient and if you get into groceries its plurry good to not have to go into shop and que...either online shop , pay online then collect or have delivered,the less you have to go near folks at this time the better....... you could always just "suck it up buttercup" for a month then get funds deposited other way...
make your self a hot cuppa.....sit back and enjoy the sunset and relax..... the bad guys have far more pressing thing to do than target a fine young lady like yourself.

Hi Suz!! Sorry, I can't help with the unemployment stuff, I can barely get a day off. Funny thing is that everything we make gets thrown away after its used.

Glad to see you back though!!

This has been screwed up big time. Before the shut-down the unemployment numbers for this state was around 4-5000 a month. In the last 3 weeks the total was 243,000. Overwhelmed is what they are, and I'm lucky to get anything, shouldn't be complaining. It just un-nerves me the method they have chosen to involve a bank (that you have to join) to receive your money, and on top of that the bank takes the advantage to include terms and conditions above and beyond the government's purview, for their own benefit. They send you papers sort of like brochures about the visa card when they send it to you but the terms aren't disclosed until you get on the internet and attempt to sign up. I'm sure most people just wave the idea of reading them. I decided to look for something dodgy in the terms.

The governor closed down our office on March 15 and so far it's been decided that possibly May 1st we may open but that's if we reach certain goals. The goals don't include me going back to work anytime soon because I'm one of the aged, high blood-pressured, heart conditioned vulnerable riskys, and won't be allowed to start work until hell freezes over. But they're sendin me loads of cash so far.....it's been quite a vacation, but can't go anywhere.

I hope all you Nutz are wonderfully healthy and healthily bored but not hungry. I've been keepin busy at home, eating way too much, keepin my hands to myself and watching for the mail man's next check delivery. Yesterday I deposited 3 checks into savings, seems like I was getting one a day for a while. My car needs tires...HHhhmmm.

They've closed all the parks, can't go to the beach and the weather has been epic lately on the beach and here. It got to 74 F yesterday 65% humidity. Broke my lawn mower's self-propel, took it in for repair. Got it back and mowed the rest of the lawn, turned the blades off to move to mower to another area and when I turned the blades back on I got huge wobble like something was stuck in the blades. Shut off the mower and turned it over to look at the blades and they were barely hanging on by one bolt. The sucker that fixed the self-propel bit failed to reassemble and tighten correctly. Had to take it back for repair of the repair.

They repaired it for free but no explanation or sorry bout that or anything. They wanted me to put on a mask when they helped me put it in my truck. Felt uncomfortable getting that close to me, they said. I felt uncomfortable almost getting a mower blade flung at me because of their incompetence.

Where's my switch when I need it? Oh and I did call my mom and tell her. She couldn't do nuthin........my folks are in a retirement home and can't get out or receive visits. My dad is almost completely dead, mom is doing ok but can't do much but wonder if dad has died or not. He's ok when he's awake and has a good attitude and cheery, but I guess he doesn't wake up very much and she goes over and checks his vitals, temp is ok bp is ok seems to be breathing....guess he's alive....cracks me up listening to her talk about him. She will be lost when he goes...we all will be. Mom will have a hard time but she's been pretty tough all her life and is only now getting worried about dad. She's ridden him so hard, but now she getting softer, that's good for him and good for her.

Keep yer finger
out of yer nose
Suz

Suz, cann't you handle such reliacard as a cheque? It might be interesting to offer it a local USBANK and ask for payment. When they say they cann't or they are not allowed to do so, ask a written statement that they say this card is not worth the money claimed to be.

Year's ago my brother-in-law got a paymentcheque from his employer which he offered his employer's bank to collect the money. They said it was not possible unless he opened an account with them. He asked to return the cheque as he would like to return it to his employer with the note he couldn't collect the money. They immediatly payed him…

Suz,,,,, glad to see you're still with us nuts,,,,,, take care of yourself and family. ,,,, Pete

Thanks for keepin my stump at the fire well protected, seems the carpenter ants have been busy tho. I've run out of masks to wear, guess I'll have to make some the ole fashioned way.....I think it was cedar bark or something....anyway if any virus comes near me I have a new pistol to show it. I got a Browning sort of mini 1911 that shoots .380, it's the closest thing to a real 1911 that fits well in my hand. A joy to shoot!

Oh it was cedar bark and elk hide straps, I remember now....don't have any elk hide...maybe catgut or something...anyway it's not a real small hide-in-yer-shorts pistol but it is light weight and pretty easy to carry. I've actually heard grown men say that the .380 kicks harder than the 9mm. It always surprises me to hear them say it and I'm thinkin they haven't actually shot .380 or 9mm they're just puttin their two cents in (to sound intelligent). Also it could be a case of those guys gettin ahold of a really small .380 pistol cause they're snappier to fire and hang onto. Anyway in the back of my mind I call them pusses, I mean it's like sayin shooting a 22 rifle bruised my shoulder, I don't go for it.

Gotta get back to
my apple fritter
and coffee
Suz

Really wish I had an answer, but I dont.

It is good to hear from you again though. Dont be such a stranger

-DallanC

Good to hear from you Suz.
Keep well.

Elvis makes some good points there mate. He has a good balanced outlook on things, whereas I’m a rock solid cynic and don’t believe the Govt or big business will do anything without an agenda.

Maybe consider opening an email account, something like a Hotmail email account, that you only check fir official type emails from the bank and ignore the SPAM that is sure to dribble in, that way alleviating any clogging of your standard email address.

I’m really sorry to hear about Mum and Dad, especially Dad. Maybe he is just kicking back, enjoying his old age and not letting anything trouble him...a bit like turning your hearing aids off for some relaxing silence. Hang onto them while they are still here mate...they are a long time gone when they go. I still miss both my folks a lot, and it’s been years now since they passed...and I still “talk” to them and ask Dad questions...the sort of questions I should have asked when they were alive.

Your wee 1911 sounds great. I have a mate in NY who sometimes carries a .380 and says it’s a surprising good calibre. It’ll never beat a .45 but then again, it is a lot more controllable and will put two or three well aimed shots into a “target” in the same time it takes to put one .45...and with similar results.

Your switches are safe and in good order mate; they are awaiting your return to exercise them. Best I do a check on the ladder and make sure it is serviceable too.

Hey! welcome back Suz!
We all wondered why you were away but maybe now you will make some time for us in your weekly routine.

Hi Suz...

Bushy I miss your dirty-ole-man face! and Paulie, and Vinnie and Geland and Dallan and cowboy Pete, isn't there also a Repete? quiet Trembles and Pumpkin's stick award and Aloysius (who still owes me an apple cider recipe), and of course the famous sheep hauler Elvis, I miss your long winded slang strewn hunting stories they're the best. No Stovie? almost as handsome as Bushy.

I've decided to cash in the visa card although I'm unhinged about the government's partnership with the bank and the bank taking advantage of people in need, it is after all my money. So far they have surpassed my normal income for the month so I took out some savings to throw at the stock market. Looks like an amazing time to buy.

Things could go wrong with that idea. The market has tested the lows several times now and the big boys are buying in at a steady but slow pace. If you wait till everything is back to normal you'll miss the buy of a lifetime. Yep it's a gamble, always has been. Only throw money at it with the thought of the risks involved. My current holdings are in the negative by about $1300 (it was worse than that) but everything is quite volatile, you have to keep track of the stocks that show a steady trend upward and there are quite a few and most are expensive too.

It interesting what sectors are popular and which to avoid. Energy, utilities, healthcare, consumer goods things like that. Lovely to have the time to sort through the trends.

Haven't started using
the dirt cheap
toilet paper
yet
Suz