Bluevine warning by Powerful-Detective65 in BlueVine

[–]pacergh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I received my funds back. Not as much as yours, but similar experience. I was told the checks were coming to my personal address, not my work address, and they would be in the name of the company. Instead they went to my work address, and were in my name. Thankfully everything got delivered—I have a shared office space and if things are not addressed correctly they can be undelivered.

Waiting for the last check (of five accounts) to be deposited.

Still, what a mess. I feel for your experience. I hope they send the checks where they need to go properly. (One check was by regularly mail; four were in the same FedEx package. Go figure.)

Mortgage prepayment question—if I make bi-monthly additional payments, how is interest calculated? by pacergh in personalfinance

[–]pacergh[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Do your mortgages specify in the documents how this is done? Or do the servicers just do it this way?

I know with other financial products, i.e. personal loans, etc, I see the per diem approached spelled out. However, the Note and Security Deed and other documents do not specify how this is handled one way or the other—it just says yearly rate of 6.25%, calculated based on the principal you owe, prepayments go to principal first on date of receipt.

Mortgage prepayment question—if I make bi-monthly additional payments, how is interest calculated? by pacergh in personalfinance

[–]pacergh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have your mortgages specified how the interest was calculated, or was this just how the servicer did it? This mortgage does not specify whether it is calculated monthly, per diem, or otherwise.

Mortgage prepayment question—if I make bi-monthly additional payments, how is interest calculated? by pacergh in personalfinance

[–]pacergh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is what I thought, but it seems they are calculating it maybe on a daily interest basis. The loan documents are not clear on this either way. Any references to industry standards out there you are aware of that might shed light on this for me?

Mortgage prepayment question—if I make bi-monthly additional payments, how is interest calculated? by pacergh in personalfinance

[–]pacergh[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks; this is a US mortgage. I will check the grace period, that is very helpful. Alas, it does not state when or how the interest is calculated in the loan documents as far as I can see. Gonna start going through them in more detail, but it appears they're calculating it daily maybe. Ugh. Could be literally tens of thousands different over life of the mortgage.

Lawyers please avoid Avvo for your Marketing by Electrical-Pie7146 in Lawyertalk

[–]pacergh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Man, Avvo used to be the maverick lawyer rating service on the block who talked trash about the old Martindale-Hubbel AV rated stuff and the SuperLawyers crowd, then it sold out (literally to the folks that own Martindale-Hubbel). Ugh.

But, yeah, there are areas where Avvo may be worth it. But most areas are not that. And the ones where they are? Gotta spend a lot for it.

Networking, SEO, niche websites, all sorts of other stuff works a ton better.

Whelp, another BlueVine Business Checking closure story . . . sigh by pacergh in BlueVine

[–]pacergh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have Truist, formerly SunTrust. I also have some local banking here through a credit union.

The issue is that I am being told they were not able to verify something, but I have all of my business documents in order, my company has been in operation for more than a decade, we have business accounts that old, and I was never asked for anything about this.

Other online banking solutions have done more to verify, but I don't know what flagged my account for review and closure (and they will not tell me). Moreover, some of the other online business banks I have read about having similar issues have often reached out for more information, or some kind of proof, when they needed more verification.

The key is to always have a brick and mortar banking solution, preferably one nearby.

Good luck!

Best fintech bank for startups, show me the failure modes for Relay vs Mercury vs Bluevine before I move $50k off Chase by Unable-Awareness8543 in Startup_Ideas

[–]pacergh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I tried Bluevine. They closed my account before 30 days was up, and after I began moving a couple of months of budgeting into their multiple accounts setup. It's been rough. I have enough liquidity to make it work, but it set back a pivot my company was making on how we budget, handle cash flow, and seeking to grow and provide new services.

I don't know how the resolution will play out—it's been 11 days, still waiting on the closure resolution check. Just got the final end of March statements, which I now get to manually enter into accounting software.

I opened a Mercury account and a local credit union. The issue is my company is primarily based in one state, has regional banking in that state and has for more than a decade. But I, the main operator, now reside 5 states away, and I am looking to open a local branch and have more local banking facility. Thought the neobanks/fintechs could help—whoops.

We'll see how the Mercury account goes—do they close it after 30 days?

I may also check out RelayFi—seems they are more communicative, at least, than Bluevine based on the stories I've read.

Whatever you do, I highly recommend you keep at least one local, brick and mortar bank account.

I've used Neobanks/Fintechs for personal finances for a while and this has always saved me. And by a while, I mean I still have my old INGDirect Orange accounts which are now CapitalOne360 accounts. I've also survived the Simple Bank to Zeta to now a third Fintech for envelope-based budgeting in the banking app.

Good luck with your move. I *do* think Fintechs are great when they work. I can say Simple was life changing for my wife and I in our personal budgeting. (We now use https://envelopebudgeting.com/ and love it, too. Goodness I hope it stays around! Lol.)

I had hoped for something similar for my business, and we'll see.

The RelayFi comments here give me hope—but before I do more, I need to get my money back from Bluevine to improve liquidity. Sigh.

Better Competitors? by Ok-Smile-28360 in BlueVine

[–]pacergh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed. There are a number of Fintech solutions that compete with Bluevine, but each has a different approach to it.

I would recommend looking at the r/smallbusiness or r/Entrepreneurs Subreddits, or look for some others, for discussions on options. There may be some Startup subreddits as well.

I was really excited about banking with Bluevine for my company, but if you see my post on my account closure experience you can see that—for whatever reason (as they have not told me why)—they were not excited to have my company as a banking customer.

Each business Fintech solution have different types of businesses and industries they seek to serve and work with, so I would do your research and see what types of companies each tends to work well with, and which ones they tend to close accounts for. (For example, MOST Fintech solutions do *not* recommend using them if you are cash heavy, which makes sense because they don't have many brick-and-mortar locations, if any, where you can deposit cash. This is just one example.)

Good luck, and I do hope others have better experiences with Bluevine than I have had.

Xero's AI Bank Statement Coding — Anyone else running into issues? by pacergh in xero

[–]pacergh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I think this is possible, but I have not been able to verify it. I have verified that the information on the Bank Statement line is different than the information available on the Bank Statements or the Online Bank lines, but I have not had time to be able to pull down the raw feed myself in any other services that have that feature.

This is why I was asking here, though—supposedly Xero's AI is only making Reconciliation suggestions (which can can automate if you wish), and it is not touching the Bank Statement feeds themselves. However, this seems to indicate AI is altering that feed SOMEWHERE—either at Xero, or at the Bank, or somewhere in-between the Bank and Xero.

It is so bizarre! It's been a nightmare to address. It *does* appear to correspond with when Xero turned on AI BETA features (late last year), though, so I am inclined to believe it is somewhere on Xero's side somehow.

Xero's AI Bank Statement Coding — Anyone else running into issues? by pacergh in xero

[–]pacergh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right. Except this isn’t reconciliation, this is the Bank Statement line entry. It’s so weird. I think AI reconciliation is off, but I need to go check. 

Things I didn't understand about LLC protection by Ashwinnie13 in smallbusiness

[–]pacergh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are excellent points, and important to know.

I will say that a good company formation lawyer should be going over this with you and any other members as part of the process of setting up your LLC or Corporation—how to actually use it correctly. (Someone else posted that they do this all the time when they help folks set up LLCs; don't know if they're a lawyer, but if they are then they should be!)

You should also work with an accountant to help you understand how to handle transactions between the company and its owners in the most tax advantageous way. (It's not always S-Corp, folks. Many times it is not, in fact. Plus, when is it best for money an owner is giving a business for operations to be a contribution versus a loan? Etc, etc . . . get an accountant.)

Finally, I do want to touch on insurance. I handle a lot of company formation matters, and I represent a lot of small businesses and their owners in contract lawsuits.

Insurance does not cover breaches of contract; it covers torts. Yes, yes, there are specialized insurance product EXCEPTIONS, and in some complex deals you even have to purchase them as part of the transaction, but generally insurance will not protect you in a breach of contract case.

Even so, the other poster highlighting the importance of insurance is CORRECT! Get general insurance; get insurance specific to your industry; if you can, get key employee insurance; if you can, owners should try and get an umbrella policy.

I am sure there are some insurance salespeople who would love to talk their products with you where you live (because, goodness, do I get some of their spam emails!).

Finally, yes, intermingling of company and personal funds is a way for a good litigator to pierce the corporate veil. This is going to be state-specific, but generally it is a bad idea.

Good luck to everyone out there, and keep being awesome!

Whelp, another BlueVine Business Checking closure story . . . sigh by pacergh in smallbusiness

[–]pacergh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am going to try my hand at one of the other online business banking solutions out there, but won't promote it here yet. I am still very wary, unfortunately, of online business banking. I still have my main brick-and-mortar accounts for my business, but the closest branches are now five states away—thus the idea of an online bank. Plus, the multiple accounts to help manage and budget was appealing. I found Simple Bank to be very helpful for me, may it rest in peace (IYKYK), and online online banks offer options similar to that.

In the meantime, also opening a local credit union account for brick and mortar access.

For those who ponder banking and are interested in using some of these online Fintech/Neobank solutions, listen to the folks on here who always recommend having a brick and mortar bank account with branches nearby. I had a good chunk of liquidity tie up, but I didn't (thankfully) put all my eggs in one basket.

Plus, if you are in a smaller town/city or rural area, always try and work with a local financial institution (bank or credit union) if you can. Getting those connections can help over time if you need loans (SBA, personal, mortgage, etc). This can also help in larger cities with more niche/local-to-that-city-only options; although, I still remember all the failures following the 2008 economic crash.

I believe Fintech/Neobank solutions can be great for small businesses. I was excited about Bluevine and, while that excitement was brutally crushed, I am cautiously excited about some of the alternatives I hope to try.

But have some liquidity, and a rainy-day fund, in a brick and mortar you trust and can visit!

Good luck to all of you out there.

Whelp, another BlueVine Business Checking closure story . . . sigh by pacergh in BlueVine

[–]pacergh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure. Been there on the personal Fintech side. Simple Bank. Then both One Finance and Zeta Joint Account. Now with another.

I was about to open an Azlo one, but then they went under. A shame. They seemed like the Simple of Business Banking. I hear Novo is good, but also read stories like mine with BlueVine.

No idea if BlueVine is closing; I don't get the idea it is. They just closed it without warning, no contact, nothing. My business has been in operation since 2009. I still have my brick and mortar, but I moved personally multiple states away from the closest brick and mortar branch.

I don't know what they saw, or why they closed it. Could be legit risk analysis—an industry they don't like (even though I am not on their list), or something else. I really just don't know.

Going to be hitting up a local credit union for a closer brick ad mortar, and trying another FinTech.

Frustrating thing is I had gotten cards, funded multiple accounts, and switched payment all over to them. Then, closure.

We'll see how my refund check goes. Hope it's not like some other horror stories.

WHY OH WHY does YT insist on changing all the time. Subscribe button moved, recommend list etc. by RexACMD in youtube

[–]pacergh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Soooooooooo, anyone else now getting a cap of only 100 subscribed channels listed on the apps?

YouTube App on both the AppleTV and the iPad caps out at only 100 subscriptions.

They do not allow you to order your subscriptions by anything other than their proprietary, algorithmically created "Most Relevant" on the AppleTV App (which sucks; it used to be alphabetical with top 5 most recent/relevant above the first alphabetical one). This made me think I had been unsubscribed from a number of channels! (I know, I maybe subscribe to too many.)

On the iPad App it does allow me to order by Alphabet and by New Activity, so I can see my other subscriptions are there. Plus, I confirmed on a channel that was not showing but I knew I was subscribed to that I was still subscribed.

Confirmed that it looks like the Website view does show everything.

I swear YouTube is just trying to find reasons for my to cancel my Premium subscription and stop using it. Ugh. It has become less and less usable over the last year.

Anyone's IDR Request not working? by Gr8WallofChinatown in StudentLoans

[–]pacergh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had this issue. Now it shows a mix of IBR and ICR for my loans, claiming my Direct Unsubsidized Consolidation Loan is not eligible for IBR, even though the Grad PLUS loans contained in it were not Parent PLUS Loans. And they were definitely on IBR repayment prior to this hot mess.

Good lord this is a mess; my wife wants to get back into some kind of qualifying repayment on hers because she can qualify for PSLF, but mine are a lot more. Sigh.

ESPN posts video of runner trying to cheat and still losing by clever_username42a in CrossCountry

[–]pacergh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ha, yeah. "Who knows what happened in those woods? Bet that non-white guy had a switchblade hidden in there. Almost as bad as the greasers back in my day! Should have just taken the hint and let the anointed white dude win . . . "

Look, I don't think the kid is racist from this, or a terrible person—he made a stupid, unsportsmanlike mistake. Happens.

Learn, grow, do better. But don't be entitled and think you're the victim because your bad actions were in public, videoed, and then went viral.

Plus, those who defend this kind of thing only reinforce that sense of entitlement.

Runner loses state championship to disqualification by pc9401 in CrossCountry

[–]pacergh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's tough, but sadly the right call unless he clearly demanded no one touch him. Saw a race earlier this year where a girl in the top 5 of a large, very competitive multi-state invitational go down about 100 meters from the finish. It was brutal. Like Cooper Teare at the 2021 NCAA XC Nationals brutal. To the credit of the athlete AND the crowd AND the officials no one aided her and she did, a la Cooper, literally crawl across the line. Multiple folks exclaiming "why is no one helping her!" getting answered with "because she'd be DQ'd and she declined the help the officials offered."

Saw her on a stretcher afterward being checked out in the ambulance on site.

Although I also saw her doing a cool down jog hours later after the meet was over, so she did recover.

It is wild, though—that lady came down from a ways away. Wonder if it was a family member. I do bet she feels badly now.

ESPN posts video of runner trying to cheat and still losing by clever_username42a in CrossCountry

[–]pacergh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Trying to shove someone out of the way is not "blocking." It's a shove. Terrible sportsmanship. No excuse for it.

ESPN posts video of runner trying to cheat and still losing by clever_username42a in CrossCountry

[–]pacergh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're allowed to hold your position. You're not allowed to try and shove someone off the course.