BirdTalk Dear Bird Talk, We go south for five months. I had my prescription filled to cover 180 days. ONE pill (thyroid) ONE prescription. The pill cost was just under $20.00 and the dispensing fee was just under $19.00. I was charged two dispensing fees, as they said that 100 pills was the max on one dispensing fee. Am I the only one upset about this? Has there ever been anything done by our government to control this outrageous money grab? Andree Date Sarnia, ON Ed.: This is common practice among pharmacies and it is basically an extra time fee for counting out another 100 pills. Your $19 fee is very high and I would look at a different pharmacy to reduce your costs. Before switching, ask up front about their 180-day dispensing fee. Dear Bird Talk, I read recently about gifting your property in Arizona. When we purchased our property in Arizona, our escrow agent suggested a beneficiary deed. Apparently, our property will pass to our named beneficiary without red tape or penalties. Worth looking into. J. Grierson Brandon, MB Ed.: Another possible solution to this estate issue. I would still check with an estate lawyer in Arizona, and always be aware of the tax implications both in Canada and in the U.S. You normally do escape probate and its fees by having other named owners, as the property passes to them by succession. Dear Bird Talk, I am a lifetime member of the CSA and have an issue that I am hoping you can assist me with. I have had a business make an unauthorized charge on my VISA card and they have refused to reverse the charge. I had given them my credit card information over the phone for a previous purchase and they retained the information and put through an additional charge. I have contacted VISA and they have informed me that it is my responsibility because I voluntarily gave out my information. I have filed written complaints with the RCMP, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Better Business Bureau. I am awaiting their responses tomy complaints. At present, I am still out $3,089.67 for a charge that I did not authorize and I am paying the accompanying interest charges. I would like to warn other CSA members of the dangers of giving out your credit card information over the phone to who you think may be a reputable business, and the repercussions of doing so. As it is, I may be out this money and the added interest charge. I thought that VISA would reverse the charge and recover it from the business, but apparently that is not the policy of VISA. Doug McGiffin Manitoba Ed.: This is an issue close to my heart, as we had two unauthorized $3,700 charges placed on our VISA card last month. The charges were for two first-class tickets to New Zealand (wouldn’t that be nice).We moved up the line at our local bank and, eventually, three days later, the charges were reversed by the head office people. Strangely, they would not tell me who made the charges so, I guess, the crooks just walk away free! I would go back and start over at the branch. If that still does not work, I have been advised by my lawyers that we could file a small claims court case against the issuing bank, VISA and “John Doe.” They believe that the judge will force the bank to tell us who did the nasty deed and also, perhaps, force the bank or VISA to pay you back. Dear Bird Talk, We are going to California for a week in October and coming back to Canada, before leaving for our winter in Florida onNovember 10. My question is, can we do that or do we need to wait for 30 days before entering the U.S. again? Monique K. Ed.: I would wait for 30 days just to be safe, if your total time from first entry in California to final departure is more than 180 days. Just to be clear, you can go in and out of the U.S. at any time, even one day later. The “stay out for 30 days” only applies to the six-month legal maximum calculation. Dear Bird Talk, With our dollar being where it is, is travelling into the U.S. going to be fairly costly, or will it be fairly reasonable with the cost of goods being cheaper there? David Heintzman Alberta Ed.:We have always found it to be cheaper living in the U.S., even at a lower dollar-exchange rate than today. We make use of Costco and Sam’s Club memberships for most of our needs, with occasional visits to Walmart, and gasoline is cheaper.With a little research, eating out can be quite inexpensive, too. Property taxes and condo fees are usually exorbitant, though. Dear Bird Talk, I’m rapidly approaching my six-month limit for days in the U.S. this year. However, about 30 of those days have been related to declared business travel to attend academic meetings and conferences in the U.S. Do these days still count toward my six-month limit? Is there a way to separate this kind of non-remunerated business travel so that it does not count toward my days in the U.S.? I file an 8840 annually. Rita Vine Toronto, ON Ed.: Emphatically “yes.” Every day or part of a day counts towards your six-month limit. You can apply to the INS for a special extension for academic purposes (or other purposes too, such as medical or caregiving, etc.) and they may grant it to you, but it does take forever to get a reply. Dear Bird Talk, My wife and I have had SEARS MasterCard accounts since 2012. We did in excess of $120,000.00 in that time and never defaulted on a payment. citi SHOPYOURWAY advised to use area code 00000 when using our new card! We had a disaster on a recent trip. The card would not be accepted. Warn members to be careful. Basil Kirk Fredericton, NB 8 | www.snowbirds.org
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