Kimler Adventure Pages (http://randsco.com)

We give Intuit Canada (makers of the QuickTax software we used to do our taxes this year) a thumbs up for standing behind their web site errors. Read about our taxation frustration

Kudos to Intuit Canada for exceeding our customer service expectations when we questioned them about pricing and licensing contradictions regarding their 2006 QuickTaxWeb software.

Filing taxes isn't in most people's list of 'fun things to do'. Ours either. In Canada, taxes are due at the end of April and like most people, we procrastinate. We finally caved in and spent the better part of the afternoon, yesterday, muddling through our complicated Canadian taxes (foreign income, household moving expenses, capital gains, tuition, child care credits, sole-proprietorship ... yuck)! When did our lives become so complicated? (Answer: When we each married a foreigner!)

This year, we used the online version of the popular QuickTax software, thinking that it was less expensive than a boxed version. Imagine our surprise and frustration when it came time to print our final tax forms and the bill was more than double what we were expecting!

Find out why reading the license agreement is a good thing or (how being anal saved us money) ...

Read full story...

Canadian investors pay the highest mutual fund management fees of any country in the developed world. Not a little bit more - a LOT more. Find out why, the real cost to Canadian investors and what they can do about it

Mutual Fund Management Fees Take Canadian Investors on an Expensive Ride

OUTRAGEOUS: Canadian mutual fund owners pay the highest mutual fund management fees in the world, giving up thousands of hard-earned dollars to support a (self-regulated - HA!) mutual fund industry that (a) for the most part, can't beat the index they're measured against and (b) is more interested in lining their pockets, rather than provide investor value.

I have been investing in U.S. mutual funds since the early 1980's and have extensive experience with U.S. no-load mutual fund companies such as Vanguard, T.Rowe Price, Scudder, American Century & Janus, among others.

I recently had the opportunity to investigate Canadian mutual funds and what I saw, absolutely shocked me. Canadians pay more for their mutual funds than any other developed country. Not a little bit more - a LOT more! More than any of the other 18 industrialized nations that were the focus of a joint Harvard and London Business School study, published last year (Source: Mutual Fund Fees Around the World - Feb. 2006 Draft).

The study found that Canadians pay a TER of 2.68%. Compare this to U.S. investors, who pay 1.42%. The next closest country was Luxembourg, at 1.75%, which is still over 90 basis points less than the Canadian mean.

A 0.93% to 1.26% difference in management fees may not sound like a lot, but it's nearly 1.9 times more than what U.S. investors pay and the dollar value, over the lifetime of a typical RRSP, will add up - both in terms of direct fees and loss of investment return. It's an albatross around the neck of Canadian mutual fund investors.

To learn why Canadian investors pay the highest MERs of any country, see how much money this can cost them on a typical investment and what they should do to stop it ... read on.

Read full story...

We'll never purchase a Chrysler automobile again and we're recommending you don't either. Read about our experience with a poorly engineered mini-van transmission and ridiculous experience with the Chrysler Customer Service. The transmission failed three hours from home, cost us $2,500 US to repair and customer service has been absolutely NO help whatsoever...

We'll never buy another Chrysler automobile and I'm recommending that you don't either. The transmission problems we had on our mini-van were astonishing and costly. (Their customer service and loyalty is also a match to their poorly engineered cars).

~ Troublesome Transmission ~

We bought a used 1993 Plymouth Grand Voyager LE. It was 10 years old and had 118,000 kilometers (approximately 73,000 miles) on the odometer. It was in superb condition, both physically and mechanically. It was the largest version of the model year, had AWD, a large 3.3 liter engine, a towing package, electric controls & leather seats. We paid $4,500 CAD for it and thought it was a good value, considering its features and condition.

We drove it locally, for a month, then took it on a 1,200-mile family vacation, to see Scott's folks, in California. The transmission acted funny on the way down, refusing to go into gear immediately at a stop sign and shifting jerkily on a couple of occasions. In California, we drained the transmission fluid, replaced the transmission filter and refilled it with the recommended "Mopar 7176" fluid.

On the return trip, we stopped to visit with friends in Seattle, spending the night. Upon our departure, the transmission refused to deliver power, leaving us stranded in Seattle. We opted for a genuine Mopar replacement transmission, which came with a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty. The bill totaled $3,503.89, plus incidental expenses, including a bus ride, back to Vancouver. It was an frustrating experience and and expensive repair.

That a transmission would fail at 73,000 miles is unbelievable. The mechanic who replaced the tranny said, "These transmissions are known to be troublesome and only last for about that [70,000 miles]. My advice? Drive the vehicle for another 70,000 miles and then sell it, before it needs another transmission."

Some stuff on a car needs to be replaced, including oil, tires, brake pads, a water pump (perhaps) and the odd fan belt. But not transmissions! Certainly not at $2,700.00 USD a pop and certainly not three or four times, over the life of a vehicle. Shame on Chrysler for such shoddy engineering.

But, that's not the end of the story and it's their customer service that really made me part ways with Daimler-Chrysler. To learn about the customer service fiasco, read on ...

Why Chrysler Sucks

I ran into a problem with an electronic bill payment to my MasterCard Company. I had to "spank" my Internet bank, but in the end, I *think* I might have been paid $761.24 to do it!

History

I detest banks. In the early 90's, my local branch bank in California announced that they would charge a fee for returning my canceled checks. A fee here, a fee there ... I was tired of it and said, "No Way". Not only did I switch banks, but I put as much distance between me and my local branch as I could - by signing up with an Internet Bank somewhere on the East Coast. I have been Internet Banking, more or less happily, for over 10 years.

Some of the Internet banking advantages:

To read about my snafu & how I *might* have been paid $761.24 to deal with it .... read on ...

Read full story...

When it comes to infant and toddler clothing, we consider OshKosh & Baby Gap "top shelf". We were disappointed, however, when we received two OshKosh bib overalls as gifts for Alex and the snaps, on both sets, kept coming open. The material was rugged, but the snaps were wimpy. The bibs were tossed into the closet, nearly new, because of the snap failures.

Alex outgrew the two OshKosh outfits, but we were still pertubed, "Gran and Grandpa paid premium dollar for these two outfits and Alex has hardly worn them."

Rachel finally called OshKosh, explaining the story of the wimpy snaps and our disappointment.

To her surprise, the representative she spoke with said, "Yes, we've been having problems with some batches of snaps during manufacturing. Please send the articles back to us and we'll reimburse you the cost."

The really nice thing - they offered to reimburse us for the cost of postage. How nice!

Today, we received a reimbursement check in the mail, along with a letter:

Thank you for sending your daughter's overalls to us. We're sorry you've had a problem, but we appreciate you taking the time to let us know. Enclosed, please find a check reimbursing you for the overalls, along with the postage to send your package to us. We hope that you'll be able to find another OshKosh item that your child will enjoy.

It is important to OshKosh B'Gosh to maintain our reputation for quality products and superior customer service and while problems do sometimes occur, we have not intention of risking the loss of consumer confidence. Please be assured that youre concerns have been shared with our merchandising and product developement departemnts.

Based on our positive customer service experience, we look forward to Alex trying another outfit from OshKosh B'Gosh clothing. We know that if we're not happy with it, that OshKosh will stand behind their products. That's a nice, good, old-fashioned approach that we like.

Kudos OshKosh! We thank you and recommend your products.

Note: OshKosh (in business since 1896) was acquired by Carter's in July, 2005. We hope that Carter's maintains the outstanding level of customer service in their new OshKosh "division".