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Most of the people in the United States work for a company and a significant number of those work for a company with a Human Resources Department. Not too long ago I was one of them.

When I signed on with this particular company I read the employee manual and one of the benefits was vacation time. Not that unusual, but any unused vacation time at time of separation was to be paid at the hourly rate of the employee.

When I moved on to another job I had vacation time accrued (valued at about $300.00) and waited for my vacation pay to come it didn’t. I called human resources several times to find out where it was and got an answering machine and no reply. As you know sometimes “life gets in the way”. Afer a while I forgot about it. 

One day, six months later, I remembered that I hadn’t received an answer or the money owed me. So, I called my PrePaid Legal provider. Part of the coverage is to help you collect money that is owed to you. After talking with them they suggested I give them one more try before we go any further. So, knowing that the attorney was there for me I called a friend that still worked there and had her get me the name and extension of the person in charge of human resources.

I called and got their voice mail. I thought great here we go again. I left a message anyway. The next day the person in HR that I tried to contact before gave me a call. I explained the situation to her. She told me there was a problem and that she would get it straightened out.

A week later I got my vacation pay. I wonder how many of you would have contacted an attorney to get $300.00 owed to you?

Even though the attorney did not get directly involved by that point, just knowing that I had someone to help me through the process gave me enough courage to contact the person I needed to contact to get the situation resolved.

Ok, that check paid for a years membership – break even. However, with some of the other things my girlfriend and I came out ahead.

I had lunch with a friend of mine who is in the insurance industry and one of the topics we discussed was Washington States proposition to allow claimants to receive triple damages for insurance companies that pay too little or take forever to pay. See my previous post.

It shouldn’t be any surprise that he will be voting against it. I on the other hand will be voting for it. Here is a brief explanation why he is against it…

A dentist in Seattle was doing some surgery on his assistant. While she was under anesthesia he implanted wild boar tusks in her mouth, took pictures and the removed them and finished the surgery. Sounds incredible? Here are the Google results for the case.

At a party he circulated the pictures and some of the other employees showed the assistant the pictures. Needless to say she was horrified and sued. She was awarded $250,000.

The dentists’ insurance company refused to defend him. He turned around and sued his insurance company for $750,000 for NOT representing him in the case. He won! The insurance company appealed and the award was overturned. He appealed to the State Supreme Court and the original verdict was upheld.

I am not one to champion insurance companies, however, I do believe that they were in the right to refuse him coverage.

I will write a post explaining how insurance is supposed to work.

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To learn what Pre-Paid Legal Service’s Membership plans are available in your area visit my Pre-Paid Legal website.

I am not an attorney, therefore, do not take anything in any of my posts as legal advice. In any legal situation, as in a medical situation, always consult a professional.

The posts on this blog are only intended to provide the reader with information on how and in what circumstances they may use their Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. membership.

I am not an employee of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. I am an Independent Associate.

Since moving west 2 years ago I’ve had an acquaintance who is a small business owner with a shop in a plaza across the street from a major mall. His business is a smoke shop. He also sells soda and knives an a few other things.

In the two years that I have known him his business has been broken into three times. All the break-ins were through the window that looks out on to the parking lot – in full view of anyone who happens to be passing by. However, they have been taking place about 1:00 Sunday morning.

In all cases the police have arrived and surveyed the scene. I wasn’t there so I do not know the full exchanges between him and the police. All I have is his side of the story.

According to him all the plolice did was show up, look around a bit, talk and tell him that whoever did it wore gloves. That was it. I don’t think he has heard anything about the other two times.

To top it off the thieves went through his mail – not a good sign (can you say ID Theft?).

However, as citizens of a democratic nation, we do have the right to have our grievances resolved. The police are part of that process and we expect them to do their best to help us. However, we do have the responsibility to help them to help us.

If you are the victim of robbery or any other crime and nothing seems to be getting done about it what can you do? First, contact an attorney for advice and assistance. Their job is to help us deal with legal situations. Second, follow their advice and recommendations as completely and full as you are capable. Third, have them contact the law enforcement agency on your behalf to get resolution to your situation.

My friend doesn’t have any security cameras in his store. He doesn’t have an attorney. He does have insurance for theft and damages. He doesn’t realize that as these thefts happen his insurance premiums will increase. He doesn’t have a Pre-Paid Legal membership. He doesn’t understand that our Small Business Plan is a valid tax write off for his taxes.

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To learn what Pre-Paid Legal Service’s Membership plans are available in your area visit my Pre-Paid Legal website.

I am not an attorney, therefore, do not take anything in any of my posts as legal advice. In any legal situation, as in a medical situation, always consult a professional.

The posts on this blog are only intended to provide the reader with information on how and in what circumstances they may use their Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. membership.

I am not an employee of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. I am an Independent Associate.

It doesn’t matter if you believe in Global Warming. The truth truly is we ARE destroying our environment. Pesticides and Drugs are showing up in our water and the fish and seafood we eat. The amount of fresh drinkable water available to our growing population is decreasing.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 15, 2007

BLOGGERS TO UNITE ON BLOG ACTION DAY

All Blogs Invited to Take Part in Joining Voices to Help Environment

An international initiative of bloggers known as “Blog Action Day” launched today, with the aim of uniting thousands of blogging voices, talking about one issue for one day. This year on Blog Action Day, which is slated for Oct. 15, 2007, bloggers will be discussing the environment.

Major blogs have signed up to participate, including Lifehacker, Dumb Little Man, Lifehack.org, Get Rich Slowly, Web Worker Daily, GigaOm, The Simple Dollar, Zen Habits, Freelance Switch, LifeClever, Unclutterer, Pronet Advertising, Wise Bread and many more.

“For just one day, we’d like to unite as many of the millions of bloggers around the world and speak about one issue – the environment,” said Collis Ta’eed, an Australian blogger from FreelanceSwitch.com, and a cofounder of Blog Action Day. “We want to display the potential and the power of the blogging community, which is a disparate community but one with an amazing size, breadth and diversity. By bringing everyone together for one day, we can see just how much can be achieved, and how much we can be heard.”

Blog Action Day is a non-profit initiative, and will be an annual event. As an alternative to blogging about the environment on Blog Action Day, bloggers can opt to participate by donating their blog’s proceeds from Oct. 15 to one of several environmental organizations chosen for this purpose: Greenpeace International, The Nature Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the Conservation Fund, and the Sierra Club.

Bloggers who would like to participate in Blog Action Day should visit BlogActionDay.org or email Collis Ta’eed at collis@eden.cc, so they can be listed on the Blog Action Day site. To participate, a blog just needs to write about the issue of the environment on Oct. 15, 2007, or donate its proceeds for the day to one of the chosen environmental organizations.

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Thanks to Dave Lucas for the logo!

On Saturday, September 29, 2007 on Court TV there was a 30 minute documentary about Pre-Paid Legal Services hosted by Mike Moore, the Attorney General who brought the landmark suit against the tobacco companies and won. If you think going to court is hard try being in his shoes. He had two assistant AG’s with him against 68 tobacco attorneys AND the governor of Mississippi!

To learn what plans are available in your area visit my Pre-Paid Legal website.

I am not an attorney, therefore, do not take anything in any of my posts as legal advice. In any legal situation, as in a medical situation, always consult a professional.

The posts on this blog are only intended to provide the reader with information on how and in what circumstances they may use their Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. membership.

I am not an employee of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. I am an Independent Associate.

In September 2007 a documentary on Pre-Paid Legal aired on Court TV. That was part 1.

On October 27, 2007, part 2 will be airing.

Justice For All - Accessing The Promise. Saturday, October 27, 2007

To learn what Pre-Paid Legal Service’s Membership plans are available in your area visit my Pre-Paid Legal website.

I am not an attorney, therefore, do not take anything in any of my posts as legal advice. In any legal situation, as in a medical situation, always consult a professional.

The posts on this blog are only intended to provide the reader with information on how and in what circumstances they may use their Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. membership.

I am not an employee of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. I am an Independent Associate.

While I was young both of my parents were teachers and we traveled quite a bit during summer vacation. I don’t ever remember dad getting a moving violation in any of the 40 states we managed to visit before I graduated.

While I was in the Navy I was transferred from the East Coast to the West Coast and I drove. At the time I had a Datsun 310 Hatchback. It was a nice car but didn’t have a very large engine (in the midwest a strong headwind would cause the car to slow down). Along the way I was doing about 5 mph over the speed limit and was being passed by other cars when I was stopped by a State Patrol Officer – or so I thought as I am not so sure now.

I received a speeding ticket. Since I had a deadline to arrive at the west coast I continued on my way and stopped twice a day to try and call to see about making payment arrangements. The phone was never answered. So I was never able to pay. I never received any summons or warrants or notification.

Anyone who travels inter-state as a regular part of their income earning profession knows that their time is limited and any time required to appear in court is extremely limited. So, what happens? Any ticket or fine is paid – whether it is warranted or not. Not only that but it can and does cost more than just the ticket in lost time, wages and possibly increased insurance rates and and a possible hit on your credit score (which has become exremely important these days).

Pre-Paid Legal Memberships have been set up to deal with these situations. You have access to an attorney in every state. Seems really incredible to have an attorney on retainer – not just in one state but all 50 PLUS most of the provinces of Canada! I love it!!

To learn what Pre-Paid Legal Service’s Membership plans are available in your area visit my Pre-Paid Legal website.

I am not an attorney, therefore, do not take anything in any of my posts as legal advice. In any legal situation, as in a medical situation, always consult a professional.

The posts on this blog are only intended to provide the reader with information on how and in what circumstances they may use their Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. membership.

I am not an employee of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. I am an Independent Associate.

For an informational video about becoming a Pre-Paid Legal Associate please visit my We’re Growing page.

If you know this is something you would like to do to earn some extra income or replace your current income you may contact me directly or go directly to our corporate site.

You may be wondering what it takes to be an associate. It is really very simple.

You need to:

  • enjoy talking to people
  • be willing to use any of the tools available to you
  • be willing to learn
  • want more out of life
  • enjoy helping people
  • be honest

What you don’t need is:

  • a degree
  • a background in sales
  • a lot of knowledge about law
  • a lot of knowledge about identity theft

To learn what Pre-Paid Legal Service’s Membership plans are available in your area visit my Pre-Paid Legal website.

I am not an attorney, therefore, do not take anything in any of my posts as legal advice. In any legal situation, as in a medical situation, always consult a professional.

The posts on this blog are only intended to provide the reader with information on how and in what circumstances they may use their Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. membership.

I am not an employee of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. I am an Independent Associate.

Last night I was out to dinner with a friend and talk came around to our businesses. One of the reasons why I wanted to get together with them was that the industry they are in is really starting to go green and I wanted to see and talk about this with them.

They are in the ad specialties business – you know, the give away pen people, the logo’d note pad people, the people who flood the world with stuff to get businesses noticed. The industry is getting away from plastic (yay!) and going with biodegradeable or natural items.

What came up during our conversation was Identity Theft. They were familiar with our legal plan but did not know about our ID Theft protection and resoration offering.

Anyway, they had been out to dinner and gave their credit card to the waitress (like most of us do), paid the bill and left. When they received their credit card statement there was a charge for some exercise equipment delivered to another address.

After much hassle and I don’t know how long, only part of it was resolved – the credit card company removed the charge from their bill. They called the police where the equipment was delivered to report the crime and they said that it was another jurisdiction’s concern as that was where the credit card number was stolen. They then called the other jurisdiction who said it was up to the first jurisdiction as that was where the goods were delivered.

How many of us have encountered this, or a similar, situation? I know I have (but I will save that for another post. What does one do? What can one do? At the very least consult an attorney.

Well, if you have Pre-Paid Legal Service’s Legal Plan and Identity Theft Shield the odds are greatly in your favor. With the ID Theft Shield this would have been caught before a month had passed and Kroll would have taken steps to make sure that it wouldn’t affect your identity for loans, insurance, driving record, etc. Our attorneys would then take over to help you bring the perpetrators to justice (they would know who in which jurisdiction to contact and contact them to make sure it is taken care of from the legal perspective).

To learn what Pre-Paid Legal Service’s Membership plans are available in your area visit my Pre-Paid Legal website.

I am not an attorney, therefore, do not take anything in any of my posts as legal advice. In any legal situation, as in a medical situation, always consult a professional.

The posts on this blog are only intended to provide the reader with information on how and in what circumstances they may use their Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. membership.

I am not an employee of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. I am an Independent Associate.

I live in an area of the United States that receives, as one of its TV channels, CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company).

In Abbottsford, British Columbia a water main broke. This is not too uncommon as the infrastructure in North America is becoming very old. What is unusual is that this is the third time in (I think they said) two years. It happened in the same area. The residents are becoming understanbly upset. Anything like this is the sign of a larger problem.

The water mains are part of what is called the “commons” in most countries – that which is paid for and owned by the citizens and built and maintained by their government. Our government is in a tricky spot – how to get the funds neccessary to pay for the commons versus where to invest the funds. My heart goes out to those who choose to work as a civil servant. Their jobs can be quite “taxing”.

I know from the citizen end that dealing with the government can be quite frustrating. You look in the phone book and find a name and/or number to contact about something. You call and they refer you to someone else. This person refers you to yet another person and so on. You may find yourself talking to the person you called first or that they don’t have jurisdiction and you need to call another level/area of the government.

Or perhaps you don’t know who to call in the first place.

With Pre-Paid Legal’s Legal Plans you have access to attorneys that know the halls of the government and will help you get in touch with the right department and the right person to deal with your situation. They will also help you to work with that person to get your problem or question answered.

To learn what Pre-Paid Legal Service’s Membership plans are available in your area visit my Pre-Paid Legal website.

I am not an attorney, therefore, do not take anything in any of my posts as legal advice. In any legal situation, as in a medical situation, always consult a professional.

The posts on this blog are only intended to provide the reader with information on how and in what circumstances they may use their Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. membership.

I am not an employee of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. I am an Independent Associate.

May 2024
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