Archive for the '//vent' Category

Rant of the Day

Published
by
Ricky
on September 16, 2008
in //vent
. Comments

There is somewhat of a primal beast that lives in me that rears its head whenever I see tax relief commercials come on the tv. These commercials are wrong on so many levels, but let’s examine the evidence first:

That’s right, people! This company (and others like it) can settle your IRS debt for pennies on the dollar!

The Moral Issue
One of the things that really gets me about this commercial is that they don’t even try to make it sound as if what they’re doing is remotely moral. They don’t hint that the service is only for those who literally have no hope of ever paying their debt off. Every person they interview is in a nice house, giving the impression that you’ll be leading a better life - even one of luxury - if you take them up on their offer. Nothing about the fact that you legally and morally owe the money. Just promises of being able to heckle the IRS into settling for pennies on the dollar.

The Legal Issue
What these people are peddling is basically a middleman for submitting an OIC (Offer in Compromise) to the IRS. An OIC is basically offering a lump sum or payment plan in compromise to paying the full amount you owe (I know, hard stuff). These companies claim their expertise can streamline the process and their expert lawyers can work their magic to get you lower settlements. The problem is that it is virtually impossible to get an OIC through. Turns out the IRS isn’t so keen on you paying less than what you owe. There are many, many avenues you have to go down before you can be considered for an OIC. The only way to get an OIC is to prove that you have absolutely no hope of paying off your debt. That is - flat broke, disabled, and living off disability for the rest of your life. If you have the ability to hold a job, the IRS is more than happy to work out a payment plan.

The Practical Issue
Filing an OIC is not very difficult. You simply have to fill out a form, provide supporting documents that show you’d be unable to pay the full amount, and submit an offer. If you offer a lump sum, you must submit a $150 filing fee, plus 20% of the lump sum offer. If you offer a payment plan, you have to submit the $150 filing fee, plus the first payment. Oh, and did I mention that it’s extremely risky to submit an OIC? Those payments are non-refundable, even if your OIC is denied (which will probably happen). And if you’re going through one of the Tax Relief companies, who knows how much they charge you for fees. Going with one of these companies will more than likely put you out hundreds - or even thousands - of dollars with next to no chance of it succeeding.

And these companies are advertising this as a way to avoid paying what you owe. They are not advertising this as the absolute last-ditch-no-other-choice-in-the-world effort that it is. They’re not adverstising it as the yeah-you-owe-the-money-but-there’s-no-hope-of-you-ever-paying-it plea for mercy that it is.

I’m not judging those who do not have the capability of paying their legitimate debts. But if you have to go this route, at least use the IRS’ very extensive knowledge base for submitting an OIC.

If you have tax issues, but aren’t at the point of needing an OIC, and can’t find the answers you need, you should hit up the IRS’ very good (and very free) Taxpayer Advocacy Service. Who knew that the IRS would create a program to help people give them money? They’re so generous.

At any rate, stay away from these scumbag companies. They prey on peoples’ greediness and ignorance. Sure, they may help get a few peoples’ tax burdens lowered, but they’re helping 99.9% of their clients empty their wallets.

Ok, I’m done.

Seriously irritated right now…

Published
by
Ricky
on July 4, 2008
in //vent
. Comments

NOTE: If you want the short story, go to the last two paragraphs =)

As most people who know me, it takes a lot to get a rise out of me. I tend to just go with the flow. My manager, however, managed to get the best of me today. A little background…

I work the 8pm-5am shift at work. My job is supposedly to unload the truck(s), then separate everything by which aisle it goes on. We get anywhere from 800-2000 boxes a night, so this takes a while. Afterwards, we’re supposed to get the back room cleaned up, fill/reset features, and help anyone who needs it with their aisles until 5. There’s 2-3 people a night on this shift, while everyone else comes in from 10-7 to do the actual stocking.

The way it’s been working is that we do the trucks as normal, but they don’t have enough people for every aisle, so we’ve been having to throw entire aisles by ourselves. Not a huge deal, but everyone tends to get 1-2 hours ahead of us to stock, then they stay two hours later. But we’re still expected to finish our aisles before we leave.

Today was one of those days. I had to stock an aisle by myself. The 10-7 guys got a full two hours head start on me, but I still finished stocking my aisle before some of them did.

I finished stocking just a few minutes before five, so I went to help someone else throw a couple boxes before I left. My manager asked me if my aisle was zoned (straightened, everything put where it belongs, generally looks nice). I told her it wasn’t, and she told me to zone it “real quick” before I left. Zoning usually takes about an hour. I assumed she just didn’t realize how late it was, so I straightened a couple shelves, then went to leave.

I saw my manager on my way out, so I told her it was five, and that I was leaving. She said, “No, I told you to zone your aisle. You can’t leave your aisle unzoned.” She didn’t ask me to stay and help out, she told me to stay and acted like I wasn’t getting my work done. I’m all for pulling my weight, working hard, earning my paycheck, and all that jazz, but when I bust my butt to get my work done, and do it in two hours less than some other people, it irritates me that she doesn’t recognize that, then makes me stay late to do something I’m not even supposed to have to do.

grr

I’ll get over it. I just needed to vent =)