As you know, I’m a BIG fan of

being a father, so naturally … I’m very involved with the National Center for Fathering and learning about “Championship Fathering.”

I wanted to let you know that the Center is raising awareness of fathering by giving away two tickets to the Super Bowl to a father and his lucky son or daughter!

Do you know a great father who would like to know about this?

If yes, please send this to him! Or, if you are a father, you can enter the contest yourself …

1. Like the National Center for Fathering’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/NCF4dads
2. Submit your email address to receive exact rules and regulations.

It’s that easy!

Please send this to any GREAT DADS who love football!

- Philip Tirone

If you feel like a company you paid for a service has not delivered the best place to start to attempt to resolve the issue is to contact the company directly. If you’ve tried repeatedly to get your issue resolved by sending an email or leaving voice mail and that’s not getting any attention, send a letter by some traceable means that provides you with proof of delivery. A signature or name of who signed for it is even more beneficial.

The least expensive service to use of to send your letter through the post office by certified mail, return receipt requested. When the letter is signed for you will get back a green postcard showing when it was received and who signed for it. You may also decide to send your letter by FedEx or some other express mail service to get additional attention.

Keep the return receipt postcard or some other delivered proof with a copy of the letter you sent in a safe place. You’ll probably need it later if you have to escalate your dispute.

In your letter give

the company 14 days to respond, keep a friendly tone, and state what your issue is and the resolution you would like to receive. There is no need to be mean or nasty in this letter.

Let the company know that if they fail to respond you will escalate the matter to state and federal officials but you want to come to a win-win outcome that is good for both you and reasonable for the company.

Sometimes a company will come back with a refund offer to help remedy the dispute. While the refund offer may not be for the full amount you feel you deserve, only you can determine if the partial refund provides you with a satisfactory outcome and not left feeling cheated.

You don’t have to accept less than you are owed but there must be a cost-benefit determination to figure out if more time, pressure, and escalation on your part is going to result in a better outcome for you.

If the company does not respond or you feel it is insufficient you can escalate your claim to your State Attorney General, the Better Business Bureau, your local consumer affairs office or other enforcement office. You can find a listing of all consumer protection offices online here.

If you’ve been ripped off or have a complaint about a company that has taken your money or made you promises for a loan or was selling you some money saving service, credit repair, or debt help and just hasn’t delivered there are plenty of places to file a complaint in hopes of getting help.

But you may want to consider wiling an online report using the scam report and consumer complaint submission form.

This free service is unique as compared to other online complaint portals in that it companies that are the subject of a filed complaint are contacted and asked to respond directly to your complaint.

The goal of a consumer complaint using this service is to create a conduit for a solution and the problem being resolved.

Without a doubt the effective route to a resolution is to be levelheaded, persistent, and do what you can to work with the company first. Give them a chance to do the right thing. Your documentation that you tried and they did not want to assist you in resolving the dispute will come in handy if you later file your complaint elsewhere.

While this guide is written more for people that feel cheated by a debt relief company, the detailed step-by-step refund directions are still good for almost any dispute.

Author: This article was contributed by GetOutOfDebt.org, a site that provides free help for people looking for advice on how to get out of debt or getting out of debt.
Source: Have You Been Scammed or Ripped Off? How to Get Help and Get The Problem Resolved.

“Dear Steve,

I received an envelope thru my post office box, front of the envelope no name only our mailing address which is PO. Box etc… as I open this envelope it was promotional brochure from sandstourism on their 9th anniversary and there is a 2 scratch and win promo ticket which I scratch the first one it said “thank you” and the second ticket I scratch ” 2nd prize USD 160,000.00 so I called the number on the brochure to claim the prize.

When I’m claiming my prize they told me to scanned the promo ticket so they can verified the bar codes if its valid. they call me personally that the ticket is valid so they asked me a clients#. which I don’t have.. meaning in order for you get this client number you have be a member on this company (hondings) they are investor in Hongkong.

so they research my name if I’m one of the investor in this company which my name did not show. so they called me again telling me because I’m not a n investor i may not be qualified to get the prize they told the major prize is hold for the investor and I ask them if this ticket is hold for one of the investor why did i get this in my mail?

they answer it got mixed up when they in put the promo ticket they accident put on my box number.. so i fight for it i told them no one can claim this ticket accept for me because i have the original ticket after how many days they called me that the company decided to grant the prize to me.. the company holding called me today for verification, and read me a letter of authorization of Hongkong in short ” in order for the company to release this big amount of money need to go in court for legal documentation they asking me a security deposit $3336.04, which after I received my prize they will reimburse the $3260.04, the $100.00 is process fee. I’ve been communicating them for 1 week I called them or they will call me.

should I send them the money? what if this is a scammed? How would i find out if this is a scammed?

Luena”

Dear Luena,

No need to do any more research, it’s a scam.

They are trying to con you to put up thousands of dollars in hopes of getting a big payday. It’s an age old scam. You dangle a big prize out there and make the victim think they only have to invest X to get Y. It seems like a variation of the Nigerian Oil scam.

If you would like to report the mailing, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service online, click here.

Save your money.

Please post your responses and follow-up messages to me on this in the comments section below.

Big Hug!

@GetOutOfDebtGuy

Author: This article was contributed by GetOutOfDebt.org, a site that provides free help for people looking for advice on how to get out of debt or getting out of debt.
Source: Sands Tourism Sent Me Two Scratch Off Tickets and Say I’m a Winner. Is This a Scam? – Luena

Want Smooth Sailing for Your Tax Planning? Get Your CPA On Board.

Taxes, tax planning, estimated tax payments, your CPA. Feeling nauseous yet? Need a brown paper bag?

It doesn’t have to be this way. Like most people, you are not wired to deal with this tax stuff. You are not supposed to be great at tax planning! You are busy doing other stuff.

You want to spend less time on this stuff and more financial independence? You want more control of your financial life? You need to know what to expect from your accountant and how to work with him/her for your tax planning. Once you find the right person, a big load will be off your shoulders and you will feel great!

Here are 6 things you should ask and expect from your accountant:

1) You want a CPA who will be proactive with you, especially if you’re a business owner. They should call or email you every 3 months and check in with you about your tax planning. Yeah, you heard that right. I’m talking about them actively serving YOU! They really need to know how you are doing in your business. The right accountants can brainstorm with you about building real value in your business. Ask them what their process is to stay in touch with you.

2) How do they price themselves? Hourly? Flat fee? Do they actually prepare the tax return or do they farm it out to a junior accountant in the firm and then just sign the final return? Either way could be fine for you. You just need to be clear about who is actually doing the work.

3) You need to make sure your CPA is a team player and can work well with other advisors like attorneys, financial advisors, etc. You need to feel like you are special to them — that they really care about your financial well being and are willing to go beyond the call of duty. Let them know that they need to work very well and communicate with your bookkeeper for your tax planning. Everyone needs to be on the same page.

4) Observe them when they answer your questions. Do they look you in the eyes? Are they smiling? Do you like what they do? Are they positive and easy to work with?

5) Ask them if they specialize in working with a certain type of client, like entrepreneurs, retirees, creatives, etc.

6) Tell them that you want them to be creative in coming up with ideas for your tax planning and saving you money. I am not suggesting you hire an aggressive accountant but a good CPA should call you and strategize.

If none of these work, take some Pepto, 2 Tylenol and call me on the morning.

This guest post was submitted by Justin Krane who is a Certified Financial Planner professional and partners with entrepreneurs to identify, clarify and meet goals for increasing their business revenue.