Both husband and I lost our business because of the economy-in construction. We are unable to collect unemployment. We have an small income coming in from another source. When we could not make a payment in early March we called Ford Motor Credit to discuss the situation. They stated that they were all for working with us they did not want the vehicle back. They would send us paperwork to have the loan rewritten. Never got the paperwork. So we called again asking for the paperwork. Person we talked to said there was nothing listed about that she just wanted payment. We went round in circles. Finally on March 23, we spoke to someone who knew what we were talking about and said the paperwork would definitely go out. Still have not received paperwork. Also explained that we were going to file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy was filed on March 30th. Ford Credit got notification of filing on March 31 though E-mail-verified by attorney. Sunday evening April 5th. 2 thugs came to repo the vehicle. The repo guys thought it would be an easy take. However, the key Ford sent them didn’t work. They were really pissed, came pounding on the door and yelling open the door we want the keys or they would tow it. They were going to get it no matter what. Said we had filed bankruptcy and they could not take it. While I went to get the notice we got from the court. They continued to bang on the door and yell. My son in the meantime called 911. Showed them paperwork we got from the court through the glass door. I am female and these guys were hugh and the way they were acting I felt my safety was in jeopardy. They said the paperwork was garbage and they had a legal court order to take the vehicle. Got notice to pick up the vehicle on the 3rd. Husband came home and they were all over him. Told them all the cops had been called and they got even madder. I told them that they had no right to come to my house, continually bang on the door and yell and they were very threatening where I felt my safety was in issue. They guy rushed towards me and his face came so closed to mine that I could smell his breath. He is twice my size. My son thinking the guy was going to hit me came running up and pushed the guy away from me telling him to get away from me. Then the repo guy also decided to call the cops. Just before the cops came they settled down. I told the cops what happened, said they guys were definitely out of control in the manner in which they did this. Cop said to let them take the vehicle, Ford could be held liable. By the time the repo guys left with the vehicle things were calm. Monday morning we called our attorney, he told us to call Ford Credit and yes they had been notified of the bankruptcy and the paperwork we showed these guys was a legal notice from the court. Just as we were going to call Ford Credit, Ford called. Some guy wanted to discuss the missed payment- which is another violation. He had no clue that we file BK and that the vehicle had been repoed. Stunned-or seemed to be-when I told him of the treatment we received Don’t’ these departments talk to each other. He wanted to know what he could do to make this situation better-guess he was trying to cover for Ford. What recourse if any should we take-have not discussed options with attorney yet? Today we have to call Ford back at a number what was given us to reclaim the vehicle and then call the attorney back. Help, what should we do as far as Ford is concerned? This whole thing has left me a mess, cant sleep, eat, I am still so nervous my hands are shaking. Please save the nasty comments for another time. The repo guys said it all.
To Missy it was the only one payment missed, and as of yesterday it is 2. You got the whole story. Also, attorney said that the vehicle was protected under the bankruptcy code. We can decide if we want to reaffirm or whatever you call it. Attorney also told us to call and get to the vehicle back. At this point, as suggested, I don’ think I want it back.

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Wednesday, 19 March 2008
It’s up to us to cut gas prices Print E-mail
Dave Op’t Hof

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/259261/58/

The price of gasoline has hit a new high, as I’m sure you are well aware. We all lament the high cost of fuel and the repercussions it has in our economy. High fuel prices drive up the cost of everything from groceries to cars, because everything we buy is shipped in vehicles that burn some form of oil, be it gasoline or diesel. As our economy slides towards recession, the last thing we need is for prices to go up. This will result in what economists call "stagflation", a situation in which prices are going up while jobs and wages are being lost.
The rising cost of fuel is primarily a matter of supply and demand. With the economies of Asia growing rapidly, notably China and India–between them containing one third of the world’s people– demand for oil is outstripping the supply, driving up the price of oil. This will get worse, not better, as the countries of Asia add more cars.

Let’s not forget the impact of the OPEC nations, who together exert considerable control over oil prices. Venezuela, Iran, and Libya are members of OPEC and they prosper as oil prices rise, as do other non-OPEC nations who produce lots of oil. Plus they enjoy the side benefit of watching our economy falter. Do you remember the vow made by Osama Bin Laden the day before the last presidential election, November 1, 2004. He promised to continue a "policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy". Increasing oil prices play right into the hands of terrorists like Bin Laden who want to destroy us any way they can, and who also benefit from the oil revenues of terrorist-sponsoring nations like Iran.

Consider, too, the oil companies who are complicit with the terrorists in squeezing our economy. The oil companies have all posted RECORD profits as oil prices have reached + per gallon. I have no problem with them making a profit–every business needs to make a profit. But RECORD profits, while the country is slipping into recession? It’s immoral and downright unpatriotic for the oil companies to be raking in the dough while the rest of us are tightening our belts to brace for a downturn.

We are not powerless in this situation, however. Just as OPEC has control over supply, we have control over demand. The growth of China and India notwithstanding, the United States is still the largest consumer of fossil fuels, using 20.7 million barrels of oil per day. This exceeds the amount, 19.8 million bbl/day, used by the next 5 highest nations combined (in order, China, Japan, Germany, Russia, and India). ( http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_oil_con-energy-oil-consumption ) To the degree we cut our consumption of fuel, we can fight back. Indeed, we MUST fight back.

Some would lay sole responsibility for doing something about high energy prices at the feet of our government. Government can and certainly should do something about it, but we cannot afford to wait for federal action in this matter. It takes an act of Congress to change national energy policy and we all know how slow that is. It is up to us, individually and collectively to take action; Congress might then follow our lead.

I’m not talking about a one-day boycott–that’s like trying to lose a hundred pounds by not eating for one day, and the oil companies sneer at such efforts. I’m talking about things that will cut consumption permanently. If each of us drives less by carpooling, using mass transit, riding bikes, walking, consolidating trips to the store–anything we can think of, can we cut our individual consumption by 10%, maybe 20%? In our homes, can we set our thermostats a few degrees lower in the winter and a few higher in the summer? As we replace light bulbs, can we switch to the compact fluorescents? Can we seal up those leaks around windows and doors? Energy conservation is no longer a matter of saving the earth, which is important, or even saving money on fuel. It is a matter of national security, because right now we are at the mercy of OPEC; they have our heads in a vise and are tightening it every time the price of oil goes up.

As a nation, we need leadership that will encourage radically new energy policy, not policy dictated by the fat wallets of the oil companies. Ethanol is a fabulous alternative because, not only does it get us off foreign oil, but it gives American farmers a cash crop that will make them absolutely prosper. No longer will we have to prop up American agriculture with the ridiculous policy of paying farmers NOT to grow. Plus, ethanol is renewable; we can grow a new crop when the old one has been harvested.

And consider this, when the world’s oil reserves are gone, as they will be someday, what will the Arabs have to manipulate us with then? If we have engaged our agricultural powerhouse into growing crops for ethanol, we could become a major exporter of ethanol fuels, and we could find ourselves in control of the world’s economy, instead of at its mercy. We could have the Arabs begging for our fuel and paying top dollar for it.

Efforts need to be stepped up to make hybrid and hydrogen cars more affordable. If American auto-makers were more pro-active in developing alternative automobiles, they wouldn’t be floundering against the Japanese. We need government policies that encourage the Yankee ingenuity that gave us the automobile, the airplane, the computer and the Internet so that entrepreneurs of vision will take the risks needed to make these new automotive technologies economically viable.

Alternative energies like solar, wind, nuclear, geothermal and hydroelectric also need to be promoted vigorously and we must raise our voices to demand leadership from our elected officials to make it happen. The project to put a wind farm in Spanish Fork canyon is visionary and highly commendable. We need more of such projects because, once again, they are renewable.

Consider this a call to arms: we CAN fight back against high oil prices. Indeed, each one of us MUST, starting today. Not only is it good for each of us as consumers, it is strategically vital for us as a country, and of course, for our mother earth. If we put our backs and our minds to it, we could impact demand for oil within a month and be energy independent within five years. Then we’ll have OPEC begging us to buy their stinking oil, for 25 cents a gallon or less.

Dave Op’t Hof is a Provo resident.

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a job at several banks. Every time I get a call back from a recruiter for the company or get an e-mail saying I should be hearing from someone at the bank to set up an interview. I never hear anything else from the bank and since I have to sign something authorizing them to do a credit check during the application process I am afraid this is why I’m not hearing from them. Is this possible? I’ve read that it is illegal for them to not hire you because of info on your credit report, if this is true why do they insist on checking it? How would you know if that was why you weren’t hired they certainly would never admit it if it is illegal? I know this is a separate question but the last time I asked a similar question on this website my email kept saying I had a new answer but every time I looked there was no answer to read. When I pulled up my question It said there were four answers but when I looked at the question , only one answer was showing.

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to refuse to sell when a reasonable offer has been made? This is what is happening close to where I live. Along with hundreds of others in the timber industry losing their jobs. Pilgrims Pride stated that they wanted to make the glut of chickens go away so chicken prices could be raised. To me that just is not right!!!

This was in out local paper:
Pilgrim’s Pride’s northeastern Louisiana employees and chicken growers were left in limbo today as the company remained quiet about the latest million offer to buy the company’s Farmerville Processing plants.

State Sen. Mike Walsworth, who has been joining daily meetings of Gov. Jindal’s Pilgrim’s Pride Emergency Task Force, said that there were no new developments today.

Pilgrim’s Pride didn’t return calls or an e-mail requesting an update on the status of the company’s decision.

Meanwhile, the Louisiana Workforce Commission has scheduled a series of meetings on Monday through Thursday for the 1,300 workers who will lose their jobs if the complex is closed as scheduled in April.

The Workforce Commission will also open a transition center on March 24 at the Pilgrim’s complex for the workers, where services such as job placement assistance, job counseling, job search workshops, unemployment insurance and other supportive services will be offered.

All Workforce Commission services are free.

Jindal and his staff have been working to broker a deal for Foster Farms of California to buy the northeastern Louisiana Pilgrim’s operation, with Foster Farms putting up million and the state investing million.

The governor said that Foster Farms would also invest about million in new equipment and agree to keep the work force intact for at least five years.

Pilgrim’s Pride, which declared bankruptcy in December to reorganize, rejected the first million offer from Foster and the state earlier this week, but took the million offer under consideration.

“Discussions continued (Thursday) between Pilgrim’s Pride and Gov. Jindal and his staff regarding the future of the company’s Farmerville complex,” Pilgrim’s spokesman Ray Atkinson said in a written statement on Thursday. “A revised offer was formally presented to the company (Thursday), and several potential alternatives were also discussed. At this time no agreement has been reached and no offer has been accepted.”

State officials said Pilgrim’s executives originally said the company valued the plant at between million and million.

Jackson said the company is closing the complex because of a glut of chicken on the market.

Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell said this week he is looking into potential violations of Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act by Pilgrim’s Pride based on the possibility that the company could be trying to manipulate the chicken market by closing the plants.

Caldwell spokesman Tammi Arender Herring said the attorney general is also investigating whether Pilgrim’s Pride is violating bankruptcy laws by holding up the sale of the complex.

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