Dear John: A year ago I received a catalog for AmeriMark. I bought merchandise but never over $50.
Every month I have been sending $20, like the catalog said I would have to. Then I get a bill saying I missed a payment and they added $20 on for late fees.
I received a bill in January for February, which I sent in the first week of February.
A recent bill was for $44 and I had to send in $31. I sent the money and one week later I get another bill for $64. I bought nothing in about three months.
Is something wrong here? Am I missing something? I’m 84 years old. If I don’t send the payment, will I get in trouble? G.C.
Dear G.C.: Stop sending this company money. I contacted AmeriMark and it reversed the $42.23 in late fees and finance charges that were applied to your bill in December and January.
The company claims you missed a payment in December, which “triggered the application of a late fee and the increase in the minimum payment for her account.” Then the company says your payment in January was less than the minimum required, so there were more fees.
“We look forward to continuing to serve her in the future,” a letter to me from the company president said. But, ya’ know what? I think you should start buying your stuff somewhere else if the terms of this company’s contracts are too difficult for you to understand. Why put yourself through this?
Dear John: I had to laugh when I read about the man who couldn’t get his tax forms.
I have a Keogh plan and must file a form for it by July 31 each year. Several years ago the IRS was pushing e-filing. However, it wasn’t free. So I decided to paper file as usual. I went to my local post office to obtain the appropriate form. They didn’t have any.
I then attempted to print out the form, but the form on the IRS Web site said, “Sample only, not for official use.”
I then called the IRS and was told that they didn’t have any of the forms I needed, but they were working on it. They would send me one when it was available.
That turned out to be in September. Several months later they sent me a letter assessing me late penalties. I wrote back saying that the form wasn’t available until September, at which point I promptly filled it out and mailed it to them. They excused the fine. S.F.
Dear S.F.: See, as I said to another reader recently, this is simply the IRS trying to get Americans out of the house. You not only got exercise (I estimate the burning of 1,000 calories, including aggravation energy) but you also got the satisfaction of keeping several tax bureaucrats busy.
So it worked out for everyone!
And, by the way, please try to file on time this year.
Send your questions to Dear John, The N.Y. Post, 1211 Ave. of the Americas, N.Y., N.Y., 10036, or john.crudele@nypost.com.
