Travel


17
Nov 10

TSA Body Scanners

Pat Down vs Body Scanner, what would you choose? I’d take the scanner but this is scary. Also instead of learning from the best, the TSA keeps spending billions on mostly useless body scanners and stupid rules about liquids etc. My first thought when the whole liquids are so dangerous to carry on board was  - how they are disposed off when collected form passengers. I mean blowing up the airport security line by just dumping potentially dangerous liquids in bins right next to thousands of passengers is a far bigger threat than someone trying to sneak them onboard a plane right?

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16
Nov 09

The Hunt for a Travel Stroller

Since I really don’t have the time to go through the pros and cons here for the tons and tons of available strollers like I did for car seats before Ahan was born, I’ll get to the exciting final moments before clicking on the order button quickly.

Anyway, after spending a few days going through literally two days going through stroller reviews online for maybe 20 or 30 strollers, we finally came down to a choice between the Baby Jogger City Mini and the Joovy Kooper. The Joovy Groove was also a contender but was unavailable everywhere, probably because the 2009 models are all gone and the 2010s are about to launch.

Both these strollers are what I would call mid priced. We really didnt want to spend a fortune on the Mutsys, Phil and Teds or Valco Baby strollers. Not that the fortune gets you what you really want – a lightweight stroller that is easy to fold and has a large canopy. For a few minutes we almost decided to by a cheap throwaway stroller that would last us for one trip. At these times I always think about the money we have wasted before buying cheap-ass products only to be replaced by a better version when the thing dies.

Finally we settled on the Joovy for two primary reasons – 1) It was about 45$ cheaper and 2) We already have a three wheeled stroller good for walking and one not so important reason that the stroller looks fantastic and unique.

Also after a lot of deal hunting, we found a black Joovy for $160 at Stroller Depot and I also had a coupon for 5% off - holtrav09 – making the final price $152. The cheapest we found the City Mini was $195.50 at Albee Baby with their sitewide 15% off code 15off.

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28
Jan 08

Fox Rent A Car Billing Disputes – Beware!

Jan 18: I rented a car from Fox at Oaklad airport and returned the car on time but they charged me for an extra day due to an error on their part. Calling their national customer service just got me forwarded on to the local Oakland office.

A Vanessa at the Oakland office promised to look into the issue and call back the same day. Ha!! No such luck. So I called back a few days later and this time I was promised a refund to my credit card within a few minutes. No such luck again.

If you ever rented from Fox, I would recommend you check your credit card statement and see if you have been billed correctly. I am going to dispute this charge with my credit card now because it is pointless calling Fox. Supposedly only a manager can give you refunds or investigate matters and a manager is never available nor do they call you back after taking your information.

Update on Jan 28: HSBC (my credit card company) has filed a sales receipt request from Fox and I have provided them with all the information I had. Unfortunately I did not save my copy of the rental agreement. I have also called Oakland again but was placed on endless hold waiting for a manager. I have emailed Fox customer service and left a message for them one more time. If this dispute is not resolved a complaint to the BBB is due.

Upon searching for Fox Rent a Car online, I found lots of people who were cheated far more than I was. Here are links to some complaints:
BBB
RateItAll
RipOff Report

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