82 year old woman paid over $14,000 to rent a rotary phone over 42 years

[Colt45]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: lokiju
Wow, WTF would someone not just buy a $10 phone from Wal-Mart?

Because when she started renting it (42 years ago) neither $10 phones nor Wal-Mart existed.

I still remember my parents having to return a phone to the phone company and I'm only 24.

Viper GTS

/QFT
/thread

I didn't read past his post, and I don't need to b/c he's 100% correct. I'm....a bit older and remember very well the days of my parents' rotary phone breaking and the repair guy coming out to fix it. It was a big deal back in those days.

Televisions had 1,401 TUBES (they look like light bulbs, for you young folks) in them. When the "TV was broken" the repairman would come out with all his test equipment and spend HOURS testing tubes and tuning this and tweaking that.

These days, phones are throw-aways and TVs have easily replaceable daughter cards for all major functions. It's better now, but that's the way it was back then.

1401 tubes? i hope you're exaggerating. more like 20. later years even less because the compactrons had 2 or 3 tubes in a single envelope.


forgot to mention.. I got an old western/northern electric rotary NIB for $10 on ebay. I love the things, they're nukeproof, or at least nuke resistant. When at&t owned eveything, they dumped a lot of cash into western electric, and they designed ****** to last. not like a $5 walmart phone.

 

[Doom Machine]

i remember when you had to lease phones..but if she can afford it and likes it then so what? its no ones business
theres a market for everything anyway, people rent the stupidest stuff.

 

[Tiamat]

She enjoyed using that phone enough to pay for it. There are many other things that people waste their money on that brings them enjoyment. Lottery tickets to name one. As long as she was content, let her do what she wants with her money.

Some people enjoy driving a honda civic because it gets them from point a to point b. Other drivers are not satisfied with that and prefer the likes of a Acura TL because they get much more enjoyment out of it.

 

[funkymatt]

that's only 91 cents a day, lol.

 

[Trevelyan]

"I'd like to have my rotary back," she said.

Classic, lol

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: Rob9874
I say it's the company's fault, because after receiving $100 in lease fees, they should have given her the phone, and not charged her anymore for it. They have an obligation to stop charging someone for a phone, after the fair market value has been paid. Not legally, but ethically.

actually thats wrong. the business has a obligation to to make as money as they legaly can.

this lady could have canceled the phone rental anytime. all she had to do was take the phone in.

while it would have been nice for them to just cancell the lease they are under no obligation to do so.

Sorry, but that is just wrong

Loansharking may be OK by you but that should not be the American Way.

 

[EKKC]

hahahah i love old people for these offbeat news

 

[pinion9]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: pinion9

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: pinion9

Originally posted by: dmcowen674
She should be given her phone back, $16,000 plus interest dating back to at least 1984.

There is no such thing as predatory leasing...it is predatory lending, you tool.

And she could have walked out of the lease at any time. It says lease, but what she was doing was renting.

Do you drool when you are staring off into space trying to collect the ineffible miasma that are your thoughts?

Exactly why it is fraudalent, period.

I hope the Ohio Attorney General launches a criminal charge.

Your post makes no sense. If I open a video store and charge $50 to rent a movie, and someone walks in and rents one, is that fraud? When they pay me, I had them a receipt that says "Video Rental - 1 Night - $50" is that fraud?

Your example is 1 night = phone Company infinity.

Would you charge the lady $14 Million dollars for the $14 video?

Dave, why don't you answer the fvcking question instead of spewing your bull$hit rhetoric?

Yes, if someone wanted to rent a video from me for $50/night and continued paying me that money, I would continue to accept it, no matter how long they wanted to keep it.

I was a landlord for 3 years and I accepted peoples money every month. Every person paid me the amount that would be needed for a small house (around $1000/month for the smallest apartment.) I never once told them "Ya know, you could buy a house for this much money..." Instead, I accepted it and smiled. It is called business for a reason.

 

[pinion9]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: Rob9874
I say it's the company's fault, because after receiving $100 in lease fees, they should have given her the phone, and not charged her anymore for it. They have an obligation to stop charging someone for a phone, after the fair market value has been paid. Not legally, but ethically.

actually thats wrong. the business has a obligation to to make as money as they legaly can.

this lady could have canceled the phone rental anytime. all she had to do was take the phone in.

while it would have been nice for them to just cancell the lease they are under no obligation to do so.

Sorry, but that is just wrong

Loansharking may be OK by you but that should not be the American Way.

Loansharking is lending money at excessive interest rates.
Please tell me when she borrowed money and what the interest rate was.

You are an idiot, and the above quote is pretty much QED.