Time was when to have a credit card was sort of a status symbol. Now many banks practically give it away and in some cases, shove it to your face.

I understand the card agents who walk up to me with the offer of "free membership on the first year," and "pang-emergency lang, ma'am," or "additional credit when you need it" since they earn from sign-ups. I also understand how my branches of account offer me credit cards because bank employees are required to do their own selling.

I understand getting the offer, and I appreciate being given the right to refuse.

What I hate though is that some banks have resorted to getting contact information unscrupulously and using that information to -- how do I put it -- apply on our behalf. Unknowing consumers have been contacted by agents who were "just verifying" or "confirming" some work information and presto.. five tricky minutes later, they've been duped to getting an additional, unnecessary credit card.

In the last two weeks I received separate calls of that nature from East West Bank.

The first call went this way:

"Good morning, ma'am. This is so and so from East West Bank. Tanong ko lang po kung ano ang position ni (my husband) sa company?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"Employment verification lang po."

"What for?"

"Credit card application nya po sa East West Bank."

"I'm sorry to tell you, but he does not have an application with East West Bank."

"Paano nyo po nalaman?"

"Asawa ko siya."

"Ah, (stammer) sige, thank you po."

And the second attempt went this way. (I dare say they've been getting pretty stupid call agents lately...)

"Ma'am, correct me if I'm wrong, pero si (my husband) is ONE OF THE GENERAL MANAGERS of (our company), tama po ba?"

[Last time I checked, isa lang ang general manager in any company. So I was tempted to say, "No, you're wrong..."]

Instead I asked, "Why do you need to know?"

"Employment verification lang po for his credit card application with East West Bank."

"You know, you're the second person who's called about that. Let me say again, he does not have a credit card application with East West Bank."

"Sino ho ba ito?"

"Asawa niya."

"Baka ni-refer lang ho siya ng ibang friends niya..."

"Wala kaming ganung friends... they make sure to at least tell us na ni-refer nila kami. You must have obtained his personal information somewhere else."

Shoo, fly. Don't bother me.

"Ah, anyway, Mrs., thank you po and have a nice day."

What, after that pesky intrusion of privacy?

Then, to top it off, a credit card statement of Account in my mom's name was delivered to our house from -- you guessed it -- East West Bank. My mother's overseas and has never applied for this credit card. Nor has a card in her name been delivered before this statement.

While wala naman siyang utang, according to the statement, she was still pretty ticked off because it's screaming intrusion of privacy and trickery.

This is NOT what respectable banks do. East West Bank, clean up your act.

Wanting to cut down on telecomm costs, we joined the Sun Cellular Call and Text Unlimited bandwagon. Under the plan, we were supposed to pay only Php 999.00 per month, for which we get 3 mobile phones with unlimited Sun-to-Sun calls and texts, and free 750 text messages to other networks. All other services -- calls to other networks, MMS, downloads, etc. will be charged separately.

The bone I'm picking with it is the supposed 750 FREE text messages to other networks.

The way they advertise it, you'd think that for as long as you stay within the 750 allotted messages, you don't get charged. So I was surprised when, despite staying within this number, we got charges for text messaging, at one point about P600.00 on SMS alone. Saan galing 'ka 'nyo?

Thinking we have it free, we maximized use of this feature, texting away, careful though to stay within the limit.

Yun pala, Sun Cellular was AUTOMATICALLY charging us P1.00 for each text message we send to other networks. It put in the 750 "free" text messages AFTER the automatic charging, in the form of a P277.00 deduction from the total bill (a measly, unrealistic 36-centavo per text message). So that in the end, even if we sent out, say, just the supposedly free 750 text messages, we still owed Sun Cell P500.00 or so.

So, looking at it, wala naman palang kuwenta yung limit, as it doesn't matter how many texts you send. You get charged anyway!

I am just one of subscribers in the hundred thousands. Can you imagine how much money Sun Cell is conning out of unwitting subscribers, subscribers they tied down with 2-year contracts with pre-termination charge clauses?

Devious, sly and unfair marketing is what it is. They said free texts, so they're obligated to give free texts, not a text subsidy rated so much less than prevailing rates. If a text subsidy is all they can give, they shouldn't entice subscribers with the false promise of a free text bonanza.

I've not been on any post-paid mobile plans but this one, and I don't know whether Smart or Globe does its free-text maths the same way. Could you check your mobile bills please and let me know? I plan to complain to the DTI and the NTC about this.

"What price do I pay for transferring Jam to a new, hopefully better school? Having Jam give up friendships he has made. The sacrifice of longer commutes to school, unless we relocate. Taking the risk of finding out that I'm in a worse school. Adjusting all over again, etcetera." --to Mike, on my exasperation over Jam's school

" 'Hoy bakla, mag-drama ka. Kunwari trainer ka, at estudyante mo ako. Turuan mo ako, wag mo akong chismisan.'" -- to a friend, on what to say to another friend

"Brochure, brochure. Mukha na akong brochure." --after a long day of writing and designing product literature.

"I don't get internet subscriptions for the heck of it. I applied for DSL because I need one and I need it to work. I don't need it tomorrow or next week. I need it now. You have until 12 nn to restore my DSL connection, or else I will have this (connection) disconnected. I won't pay pre-termination charges because I terminated the service because you weren't able to satisfy my needs." -- to a customer care person named Felwin, who (unluckily) received my nth report call to PLDT

"Tengo hambre. J'ai faime. In other words, makakakain na ako ng tao sa gutom!" --to Mike, past lunchtime

"Na-shock ang mga tao namin pagkakita sa akin. (Naka-rollers pa din ako, may takip na bandana.) Sabi ni Mike, mukha daw akong spokesperson ng MILF. Sabi naman nung mga tao, mukha akong Muslim na taga-Baguio. Hahaha!" --SMS to a friend

Dear Mom,

Sayang di (na naman) pumasok ang apo mo sa DL. Nung 1st quarter all his grades were 88 and above, pero di umabot sa 90 ang average. Ngayon bukod sa di umabot sa 90, meron din siyang grade na 85, sa Science. I said sayang not because I will die kung di siya ma-honor -- you know I know better than that. Nanghihinayang ako kasi naramdaman ko yung drive nung bata, pero eto nga, na-frustrate.

Yung Science/Science teacher ang ipinunta ko na naman sa school nila few weeks back, kasi nagbigay daw ng quiz, tapos halos lahat sila mababa ang score. Yung iba, bagsak. Nagalit pa daw yung teacher sa kanila, saying talo pa sila ng second section (I don't know how true). When I told the principal about it, she committed a re-test.

Tapos nung kinuha ko nga yung card last Sunday, I learned na lahat ng bata, including those in the Top 10, bumaba ang grades. I asked the adviser kung saan ang tingin nilang problema -- di pa daw nila alam, they will analyze pa daw. Pero siguro daw ito lang yung time na ang mga utak ng mga bata, naglaro. I nearly laughed out loud at the idea. What a flimsy excuse! That's a given -- children will always like playing over studying! Ang gusto kong itanong, so now that you think that's what happened, what do you intend to do about it? Hindi ko tinanong kasi magmumukha akong intrimitida. Actually, tingin ko may ganoon na nga akong image, lalo lang maco-confirm...

Once I went to the school to pay tuition. That was a rare event, kasi usually pinapakisabay ko na lang sa friend ko 'yung bayad. So nagulat ako nung pagkalapit ko dun sa Cashier's Window, nai-type na nung clerk yung last name ko sa computer at nailabas na niya yung record ng apo mo. She knows me! Weird.

So pagbalik ko sa sasakyan, kinuwento ko yun sa asawa ko. Sabi ko ang galing naman nung memory nung clerk, kasi last time na nakita niya ako was last June pa. Sabi sa akin, hindi daw, meron na daw naka-paskil na picture ko sa offices nung school, may warning: "Beware of this woman. Mataray. Mabangis. Mahilig sumulat sa school." Nakalagay daw ang pangalan ko sa ilalim nung picture, kaya daw alam na nung clerk yung last name ko. Eh?

One of my friends confirmed this -- well, hindi naman yung may picture nga ako or something. She's a teacher too (in another school) and meron na silang "roster" ng mga dreaded parents. Kapag may dumating from among those dreaded parents, news travel fast at nalalaman nila. So malamang nga daw ganun ang sa akin. Nge!

So whatever happened to "the school and the parents must work hand in hand to give children the best education possible"? How can I expect them to give my son a good education kung sila mismo ayaw matuto from feedback and criticism? Aaarrrggh.

Ngayon kasi, hindi na ministerial ang education, but income-generation. Negosyo. Maraming teachers naging teachers for the job, not because they want to teach, much less, love to teach. The whole sector is a problem -- DepEd developed a curriculum that's supposed to mold students into citizens who can help the Philippines go global; pero hindi naman ready ang infrastructure -- kulang ang classrooms, kulang or di competent ang teachers, ang textbooks kung pano-pano lang. (In fact some of them read like mere compilations.)

Then, maraming teachers, as I said, incidental. This is not to generalize, but some teachers end up as teachers kasi they took up Educ kasi yun na lang ang course na naiwang available sa kanila. (Sige, go ahead, ask why.) Yung iba namang magagaling, nag-Educ so they can teach abroad, stepping stone lang yung dito. In general, overwhelming o disinteresting na nga yung subject, di pa ginagawan na maibaba sa level ng students or make it interesting. I find myself re-teaching, correcting (!) yung mga mali o incomplete na turo, or supplementing kasi nga superficial ang treatment.

All these considered, totoo nga, intrimitida nga ako. Hay. :P

--Len

MONTHS ago I was surfing for information about how I could have Dream Satellite TV installed at home and found their website. Looking around for a directory of dealers near our area I entered the "Dealer's Lounge" and I was prompted to sign up with my name and contact information. I did, thinking it would speed up getting the information I needed.

After signing up I got a prompt from the website saying that my "Dealership Application" would be submitted, then reviewed, and that I will receive an email notifying me when my application (for dealership) is accepted.

While I was surprised at this turn of events I thought less of it. While I wasn't really interested in becoming a dealer, I assumed that I will be contacted if I were to be made dealer -- afterall, they would need me to make an investment, undergo training, etc. and I would have the chance to say all I wanted was a list of dealers. Days, weeks, months passed and I did not hear from Dream. No call nor email. And so I forgot all about the supposed dealership application.

And then, yesterday, I got a call from a complete stranger on my mobile phone asking about Dream. I was told she got my number from the Dream website. What the...?

And so I checked, and yes, there it was, my name and number, for all the world to see!

Not getting back to their "dealer applicants" is bad (that speaks so poorly about marketing strategy), but publishing personal information, just like that, without any authorization from the information owner was VERY IRRESPONSIBLE.

I have already fired off a letter to Customer Care, Sales and Marketing, and Admin, demanding they rectify the error in 48 hours, along with a threat to sue them for intrusion of privacy if they fail to do so. Would you know a graver case? Suggestions are welcome...

THIRD PARTY INFORMATION

Of course, there are lessons from the experience. In the pursuit of convenience and speed, I've sacrificed the integrity of my personal information, assuming people would be responsible and discreet. Two big mistakes. It's easy to say I'll never give my personal information to complete strangers again. And never online.

But then again, who's to say the information we give or have given to bigger, reputable and presumably more responsible companies -- banks and insurance companies-- are safe from disclosure to third parties? I've received so many third party offers -- from Citibank accredited service providers, SM Advantage Card referrals, etc., for more/other credit cards, health care, insurance among a host of others. All said I've been pre-qualified. They are authorities on my financial qualifications-- my possessions and income -- things I've disclosed to people I assumed would safeguard them.

How ironic since Citibank even mails reminders telling its members to avoid disclosing personal information and PINs over the phone. Parang, huwag n'yo nang ibigay... kami nang bahala!

WE ARE DEFENDANTS in a case pending before the Valenzuela Metropolitan Trial Court since 2003. The plaintiff alleged that we bought and sold a generator that was stolen/not intended for sale. Of course we have our own version of the story and proof to the contrary, and that is why there is a case for hearing, one that is fraught with claims, counter-claims and cross-claims, and a premise too detailed and complicated for me to share here.

At any rate, after endless postponements (ironically, from the side of the plaintiff who's supposed to be aggressively pushing for the completion of the trial) and a handover to a new judge, we found ourselves and the case being referred for mediation. While we believed the case was beyond mediation, to show good faith in the justice system we abided by the judge's suggestion. So as usual, we left the house early and hauled our asses last Thursday, papunta sa malayong lungsod ng Valenzuela.

I was telling Mike, on the way, that I had a feeling the plaintiff would be a no-show, that or some other technicality would make our efforts and the trip to Valenzuela useless. I was right.
The plaintiff was there, all right, but without her counsel didn't want the mediation session to push through. She had no idea where he was, whether he was coming for the session ...she left her cellphone daw in her hurry and can't contact him. I couldn't care less. He could be lying dead somewhere in the middle of the street for all I care. But ang nakakainis, they're employing another of their delaying tactics...

She should have been overruled, considering all THREE defendants, us included, were present and had our respective counsels. The lawyer of a co-defendant made the effort of calling the plaintiff's counsel, to arrange a date to which the mediation session was to be reset. The counsel was not available till the first week of July. Nanggigil na ako. This was a classic case of inconsideration for others. But what would you expect from someone who has already filed a case against you?

I tried to make the most of the situation and asked the mediator whether we, the defendants, can at least air our minimum demands for the settlement, as we were there anyway... a motion the other defendants backed. Anyway, I said, the plaintiff doesn't have to agree to anything, she only has to note our demands so that we can gain headway and have something to start with in the next session. I said that will give her plenty of time to think and consider. Ayaw pa rin. No talk, not without her lawyer. Bwisit talaga!

The mediator said that we can choose to reset or terminate the mediation proceedings immediately, considering the case has been pending for a long time. The plaintiff, the cause of ALL the delays (and who gave all excuses imaginable, including being unable to find a ride in the midst of a transport strike) had the gall to say, "Eh kasi, attorney, si judge, di nag-aattend, postpone ng postpone.." to which I and the other counsel replied in unison, "Eh ikaw nga ang nagpa-postpone ng nagpa-postpone e!" To which I wanted to add "Tignan mo nga ngayon, kung sino pa rin ang cause ng delay..." Mike then said, "Ganito tayo lagi, aabutin itong kasong ito ng 2010..." And I said out loud, "Oo, abogado na ako no'n." (Watch out, world!)

The plaintiff then said to Mike, "Eh, ikaw kasi, sabi mo, 'See you in court, because your husband is a foreigner!'" DUH! Ano daw yun? As Mike's unofficial counsel I have been present in all of his transactions with this plaintiff and I know and remember everything, verbatim, that's been said and exchanged in relation to that transaction. Mike never said that and so he retorted, "Ha? Kelan ko naman sinabi sa yo 'yan?" Knowing full well that it was our co-defendant who said that to her, but pointing the fact out to her would be meaningless, I just told Mike, "Naku, daddy, tama na. Wala sa atin ang burden of proof. Bayaan mo na siya."

But on the way home I was seething, talking, and rehashing what happened, giving opinions of it, both justified and unjustified. Mike, who has seen me like this many times in our 10-year marriage, just listened and smiled as his wife stuffed one brownie bar after another into her mouth (don't get me angry... you wouldn't like me --and my figure-- when I am angry!) while discoursing in guerilla mode. The main point of all my trashing was that, if the plaintiff had a strong case, and knew she was in the right, why the hell (pardon the language, I get incensed just talking about it) was she scared of pushing through with the mediation without her lawyer? Afterall, siya ang nagdemanda, and it'd be her who'd drop the case if she finds our demands acceptable/negotiable. And she didn't have to agree right away, just honor our time by at least allowing the group to gain some headway by noting our stipulations!... It was a plain and clear delaying tactic. They want the case to drag on as long as possible since they don't have enough proof of their allegations. I have an arsenal to the contrary.

Just the same, being drawn into the mud, we have no choice but to wage on, defend ourselves, enrich our lawyers, deal with that lifeform and hope against hope that justice will prevail, as soon as possible.

Imee Marcos, in an interview I saw on late night TV while trying to get sleepy, said once, "I received valuable advice from my mom as regards dealing with things na nakakainis. She said, 'Ok, you give yourself X-time to think about it, X amount of time to cry over it or stress over it, then after that, tama na, hindi na maganda sa kutis yon, move on." So here I gave myself that x amount of time and will forget it (at least superficially) dahil hindi nga maganda sa kutis ang mainis. Maganda pa naman ako, sabi ng bestfriend ko. :)