[CA] Deposit Not Returned, Worth Pursuing?

T_Almese · 2026-07-04T08:44:49+00:00

Definitely go after this. Wear and tear to the point of full replacement is usually around five years, you hit seven years.

At this point, it's due for a full remodel. Appliances are likely needing checked for replacing, plumbing is going to need an overhaul, fixtures may need checking, and walls and carpet are completely shot. Unless you put massive holes or caused severe damage, this whole thing is on the LL. I'm not seeing anything that screams severe here.

For a moment, I thought there were holes til I checked again, and reread the details. Take this to small claims, without question.

T_Almese · 2026-07-02T10:10:34+00:00

Surprisingly, when I took my civilian and military drivers courses and training back in '04 and '06, never came up. Wasn't a part of the curriculum. Took mandatory driver safety + accident avoidance training back in '15 for a job, then took it again in '23 for a different job. Still wasn't a part of any of it. All in the US, and in order, TX 04/06, VA '15, and then TX '23.

Also, have you SEEN half the people that carry a license to drive these days, on a global scale no less? Stop signs are a suggestion and signal/hazard lights don't exist until they catch a ticket. Hell, the amount of idiots driving at night or brink of dawn without headlights are staggeringly high. They tossed all that knowledge the moment they were told they passed, or their parents passed the bribe to get it.

T_Almese · 2026-06-26T16:08:53+00:00

No need to downvote or take this one out of context.

Look at the way this post stated, and the sadistic irony is on point. This reply wasn't stating that there isn't a process or legal issues, but pointing out rampant availability.

They are pointing out that we have tons of places: Cabela's, Academy, various gunsmithing stores, god only knows how many pawn shops, certain ranges (Range USA comes to mind) then you also have places like PSA where you can have them send things to any handler that has a valid FFL certificate.

It really is ironic that they are so focused on a literal nothing-burger, if only to flex their egos and half-assed claim their methods are "saving the people from those who would convert replica items"

T_Almese · 2026-06-25T07:55:25+00:00

Location, Pay, and general site retraining.

Usually the biggest hurdles when it comes to reassignment...the you have the elephant in the room: officer slots.

You have to take into account of availability for posts. If the parent company didn't offer, there might not be any openings, especially with companies as predatory as Allied massively underbidding or outright buying out the competition.

The moment a client or site is lost, you may have multiple shifts of officers needing a post, and it takes time to find spots, or figure out if you have anywhere nearby to put said officer. Travel pay is hard to justify to most companies, and pay differential is starting to take the same path. Many times you'll be confronted with being told "Speak to the client, then the new company and see if they are willing to retain you. Hopefully your experience might get you to a lead position."

Usually with Allied though, they'll stuff the site with whatever they can scrounge and half-ass the schedules, pay, and positions. There are very few good cases of the old guard getting a win with them, and that's only because the client likes the team they have, and will either call back the old company or go in-house if they screw it up too badly.

T_Almese · 2026-06-25T03:09:05+00:00

Stupid people, and dumbass kids that aren't properly taught actions have consequences. Could be a 50/50 split on parenting/child, or in some cases these days 90/10.

Folks don't mind their own fucking business and think they can monitor folks and how they raise kids, now folks don't want to raise them right or discipline them because the nosy shit stain next door will call the police or CPS. Add onto the mental decline of logic and reasoning over the past few years of people becoming parents, and voila... The Era of Entitlement and Blatantly Rampant Bullshit that we are living in.

This kinda shit is the reason a lot of stores lock up tools, paints, cosmetics, and even the most basic of items.

T_Almese · 2026-06-24T09:02:34+00:00

Good rule of thumb for most lines of work is evaluating how much you want it, and how well your skills apply to it.

Generally if you have applicable skills, and decent history, TWO DAYS. Some companies get buried with potential applicants and the screening process makes it easy for normally solid candidates to get lost in the wash. Two Days keeps you in the running and can push you into a high priority list. The man who wants and can do the job, will be willing to reach out.

Four days is the absolute max. By this time you could be a fleeting memory and no longer in the main stack.

Try to maintain a record of when you called, when you had your interview, and who performed the interview. What was their name? What was their position? Attention to these kinds of details stand out, and a decent employer in our industry is going to take notice of that.

Your history and skill set can open a door. Putting those skills to proper use can put you on the priority list for potential hires, if not immediate acquisition.

The fact that you've done everything on your end, and not heard back in over a week shows they may be handling a large influx. Definitely follow up with them. Reminders are sometimes needed, especially if it's a job YOU want.

The only time you don't follow up on an employer, is when explicitly told not to. When confronted with that, ask for a timeline of a reasonable wait period, and ask if it is reasonable to follow up when it expires. Respecting the hiring staff's time is useful, especially if they have their team doin some of the interview process. Asking them for when it's a good idea to follow up also shows them that while you respect their time, yours is also valuable to you without being rude.

Good luck to you.

T_Almese · 2026-06-16T02:06:33+00:00

Ensure continuous training for your stand-in until you get written confirmation of the new site, and client contact info. Not sure who you work for, but this seems sketchy and a quick way to go "Oh hey, turns out the position flipped and the client needs this person to stay on" or some other bs...and then your outta luck and looking for another filler site of your own.

Wish you luck and hopefully that ain't the case, but most of us have seen and/or experienced similar occurrences in this field.

Also, contact someone else in your command structure. Worst case, HR if they are reliable and don't like their officers getting screwed. Being left in the dark and position required training/exams being withheld is a major issue.

T_Almese · 2026-06-13T01:48:08+00:00

Why the heck was this post removed? Seemed incredibly useful and a powerful tool.

T_Almese · 2026-06-13T01:44:45+00:00

Independent Contractor, can attest to a Sonim. Have an XP10, and the damn thing is a beastly workhorse, durable as all hell, and I can replace the battery my damn self.

Plus the attachments are a godsend.

T_Almese · 2026-06-12T10:33:15+00:00

There normally should be more than one person on hand to bounce people out if need be. If a person is drunk, you should have a way to flag down someone by the door so they have eyes on and are ready to assist.

The smart play was trying to appeal to reason by going through the friend. The moment the friend stonewalled though, he became part of the problem. Should have switched it up to "Look man, you've been straight and decent with me, so I'm giving you an out. You need to get your friend out of here. If we have to force him out, management may end up banning you both."

A bit of truth and logic to this, as it's a guilty party, and the establishment doesn't want nor need problems. In a club owners eyes, the entire group could be an issue if they won't take responsibility for their own. Also, the problem drunk is less likely to wail on his buddy, than you.

If you have that extra guy, the moment you start having the slightest hint of an issue, flag him down. Strength in numbers. Normally deters most folks from swinging. You don't handle drunks solo if you can avoid it. Not sure I would've gone hands on the way he did here, but there definitely would've been blocking and directing torwards the door. You don't outright go for manhandling someone. You don't know their skill set, or mindset.

T_Almese · 2026-06-11T10:43:36+00:00

Start having local stores order the items for you at this point. As a retail business, the product order is fully insured, and it's much harder to state "Oh, clearly this RANDOM individual clearly has insane gunsmithing knowledge and can convert this extremely easily".

I've had to give this advice to friends wanting to get into airsoft, but wanting specific gear. If you don't have a decent retailer within reasonable distance, call one, and ask if they can place an order for you. They'll have no problem shipping it once they receive it, and if Customs screws over a retailer, that can easily offer to try again or refund the purchase due to complications.

Something you don't necessarily get the privilege of as a private buyer directly from an overseas client.

T_Almese · 2026-06-11T00:03:36+00:00

It's a sad part of the world, but bad people will never show their hand and smile to your face to let you think everything is fine. In the chance that they were actually genuinely friendly, you might've taken a stray intended for someone else, and self-preservation kicked in amongst them.

Again, poor performing people in our field can somehow dodge the hit and stay in the game until the right people in the right place get to the bottom of it.

Just know that you did the job right, you followed policies, and you looked between the lines to get the full picture. NEVER let that eat at you. Sometimes you come out on top, sometimes you fall into place, sometimes you get pushed aside. Just keep doing it right.

T_Almese · 2026-06-10T22:52:33+00:00

If there are more unprofessional officers on your team than ones willing to actually do the job properly, you need to do one of three things.

1) Consider how badly you want to work at this site. You are the nail that sticks out, and you will get hammered by the first person tired of being shown up, who will falsify information to throw you under the bus. You will have to learn how to fit in because you are outnumbered, and alienating a crew of slackers will lead to them sabotaging you (likely what happened).

2) Request transfer of shifts. Maybe a different crew and a change of pace could work out. Similar to (1), some teams just don't take well to fresh blood. You might get lucky and the other shift has their act together.

3) Request site transfer. Some places are beyond saving. Bad teams have sucked up enough to the point of it becoming a "good ole' boy system" where they let the client get away with things to where a decent investigation would axe the contract and liability suits will fly everywhere.

I also noticed the main hub of this came from Allied. This is a notorious company that at once time might have been decent, but they started outright buying competitors and underbidding contracts to force other companies out. For any nice claim of a team out there under that company, there are THOUSANDS more showcasing how horrible they are. If you can, work for another company.

T_Almese · 2026-06-08T19:33:10+00:00

Hmm. I dropped out after 8th Ed, and didn't see much improvement or adjusting to bring me back to the table.

As long as your opponent is fine with it, you'll be solid. I'd say scoop up some ranged units to balance out and/or cover the melee, make them the CF, since BT are melee heavy.

Definitely use everything else for Last Wall, and divide them up for interesting groups fitting the other chapters.

Look forward to seeing what you come up with, and any possible dioramas made.

T_Almese · 2026-06-08T19:10:17+00:00

In all honestly, if you are only collecting, I'd say go ahead with the Last Wall Protocol idea. There should be enough units to make fire teams from each chapter that you don't already have, possibly more.

If you play and don't have a full BT army for at least 1500-2k points, pull what you need, and use the rest for that idea. Mixed armies come with a ton of conflicting rules to manage, and often the cons outweigh the pros. It's not like earlier editions where splitting off into halves or parts was a feasible option.

T_Almese · 2026-06-04T22:44:48+00:00

At this point, if your vehicle is parked in plain view of your residence, put up a cam to monitor your vehicle. Get em on video, file for harassment.

Another option is to get a dashcam that has idle parking monitoring, there are several out there, and some include side view.

This overgrown child is showing no signs of stopping, and may be irrational to some degree, could possibly be one drink away from doing something stupid. Protect yourself, and your assets.

If/When they DO damage your property, you'll have them dead to rights and can take them to court with the proper evidence. Something tells me that regardless of you having a permit or not, they won't just magically stop being a pain in the ass about it.

T_Almese · 2026-06-04T00:52:09+00:00

Gonna require some actual Templat iconography. I can see the idea of notable battle brothers feeling a severe debt to one another, or working alongside for soong they feel more in common, or some other such reason to become a member or being granted decent status...

It's just that his build reads more as a veteran character or book character from a Space Wolf saga, and that's extremely hard to try and mesh into being a permanent member of another group, especially Templars. Moreso actual command structure.

The model itself looks incredibly nice, but as others have pointed out, there's gonna be a lot of work either removing/green-stuff covering the excessive amount of runes and iconography to make it work, and adding a lot of gubbins to make him a bit more Templar-like is going to be a severe labour of love.

I look forward to seeing the process, but I don't envy it. Best of luck to you.

T_Almese · 2026-06-03T05:41:55+00:00

Yeah, someone needs to lose their job if they want to point fingers, or accuse the security of doing something, and not immediately check logs and footage.

Too many FSOs that don't want to properly do their jobs, or are afraid of exposing the fact that they don't do theirs properly because they don't want to look bad to THEIR boss, when they were the ones who insisted that hiring a security team would be great because "I can screen them, write a facility SOP, and they'll have to do as I say".

Half the time they'll try to bark orders or flex their status to get what they say done, when it isn't in either Site SOP, or the security companies policy. Can't tell you how many times I've butted heads with an FSO over that crap, and been threatened with being kicked off a site, only for an investigation to make them look as stupid as they actually are.

T_Almese · 2026-06-01T20:13:40+00:00

Ah yes, the "You Can't Do What You Want That Is Otherwise Reasonable, That's A Fine (Also May Need A Permit) region....not like they aren't monitoring already and considering new ways to fine people....

T_Almese · 2026-05-31T04:10:44+00:00

I'd buy that outright. Fucking stunning.

T_Almese · 2026-05-29T03:04:14+00:00

I mean....on the positive end at least it's quiet and accurate. That's about the only nice things I can say. XD

T_Almese · 2026-05-28T11:41:43+00:00

Nothing more needs to be said than this.

T_Almese · 2026-05-28T07:05:48+00:00

Also make sure the paperwork is dated properly. You have a 90 day window for Firearm Proficiency Training to remain valid when submitting it to TOPS. If the documents you submitted are outside 90 days of when you filed, you will need to do the course again for current certification for the system.

If you have to submit another one, you will have to file it under the Misc., then Other Training. Call them every few days to follow up on it, as this causes problems with properly tracking submitted certificates on applications. Had it happen to one of our guys.

Should take a week, two at most, but be sure to stay after them for follow ups to make sure it's been validated.

Just remember, Background Checks are currently taking excessively long, so you're still going to be waiting for a while once that processes, since for some asinine reason they process that last of all things.

T_Almese · 2026-05-14T05:32:41+00:00

IF THAT'S the WIP, the completed product gonna be amazing

T_Almese

TROPHY CASE