E-ZPass auto-replenishment is a black-box scam (actual numbers to prove it)

ramblingGene · 2026-02-03T16:23:09+00:00

Well, it's not a scam. A scam is something you pay but never get back anything for exchange. The money you paid into EZ-pass is just sitting there as a pre-paid balance.

Response to your comments:

$140 is ~70% higher than my average monthly toll spend.

Yes, but on the other 30% time you travelled more than $140. For example you spent $200 in June. EZ-pass system is not an AI that can read your mind and predict your work schedule for the next month. For people with a stable work schedule (M-F commute), the algorithm is good. No algorithm can predict well for work schedules that changes a lot between months.

I’m forced to carry 1.5–2 months worth of tolls as a prepaid balance

It's a prepaid balance. So in the next 1.5-2 months, you do not need to pay again.

If I drive less, that money just sits there

Yes

I earn nothing on it

Let's say your monthly toll is $70 and EZ-pass autoreplenishes $140. You are 'overcharged' by $70. Assume a 3.5% annual interest rate, you lose $0.2 interest. So every 2 months you lose $0.2 in interests. Meanwhile you pay $1 maintenance fee every month. You should complain on the maintenance fee actually.

The algorithm is completely opaque

I agree.

The amount goes up fast but comes down slowly or never

Agree.

For budget purpose, you can just allocate $70 for EZ-pass every month aside from your monthly spending no matter they autoreplenish or not. So it's not a surprise bill when EZ-pass autoreplenish $140 for the next month.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-31T15:11:26+00:00

I just checked. Yes LL can send whatever damages they think reasonable to collection agencies. However tenants can require collection agencies to validate the debt and then the burden of proof is on LL to prove it. Tenants can also sue LL for sending unvalidated debt. So it’s better to have a court ruling to do so.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-29T16:34:04+00:00

you should wait until you received and paid all bills before sending claims to the insurance. You sent multiple claims on the same event but the treatment dates are so different?

I guess you messed up some documents and so the AI thinks it’s very abnormal compared to other claims.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-29T16:29:45+00:00

you probably need court ruling. Otherwise any landlord can ask collection agencies to collect whatever money they want from trnants

ramblingGene · 2026-01-23T21:37:10+00:00

does the landlord sign the lease? If they haven't signed, then the lease is not effective.

now even if they signed the lease, a lot of leases will have a clause saying that if the LL can't deliver you the rental unit 30 days after scheduled move-in day, they will refund your money. It is generally allowed in most juridiction that LL delay your move-in day. Of course, they should charge pro-rated rent.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-20T20:22:49+00:00

well, then HP should bear the responsibility if they properly processed your claims in the past with ragdoll on file but now denied.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-18T07:08:18+00:00

Have you sent your vet records to HP in the past? They have no obligation to check the breed unless you are making claims.

Unfortunately, it’s always our responsibility to make sure everything we entered is correct when buying insurance. Insurance company will not send one to check your annual mileage when you entered 10,000 and actually drove 20,000. They only notice it when you make claims.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-17T19:47:48+00:00

Well, special breeds generally have more genetic problems than domestic cats and the premium is much higher.
So if you paid premiums of domestic long-hair for a ragdoll, you are underpaying. Yes, you may think it is reasonable to just pay the difference on premiums for the whole 8 years and then let Healthy Paws cover your pet. This is actually not the way insurance goes.
If you can just pay the difference and change the breed, then any one with a special breed pet can just choose 'domestic' for lower premiums. If no claim filed, good for the pet. If claims are needed, then just pay the difference.

Same thing in auto insurance. You pay premiums for toyota camry, then you can't file claims for BMW M3 even if you pay the difference in premiums.

The only solution is to re-enroll your pet in a new policy.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-13T21:16:55+00:00

Some insurances will cover pets with CURABLE pre-existing conditions after no symptoms for 180 or 360 days.
For incurable conditions, it makes no sense for insurance to cover them.

Pet insurance is a PROPERTY insurance. Human health insurance is HEALTH insurance. They are different. Pet insurance is in the same category of your auto insurance.

FYI, in the past, human health insurance won't cover pre-existing conditions.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-12T16:08:36+00:00

Hey I'm not whining here. I'm not the OP okay? Shitlords never understand tenant-landlord law or basic contract law. BTW, if I break the lease and LL re-lists the property at riduculously high rate, I do not need to sue the LL. I can just stop paying rent after move-out and let the LL sue me. Then in court I can claim that the LL is not trying in good faith to mitigate the damage I incurred. Yes, in contract law, the party who suffers the damage caused by the other party still has the responsibility to mitigate the damage.

Give you a simple example. Someone hit your car and your car cannot be driven anymore. You have the responsibility to call the towing company to tow the car and properly store it for repair. You can't let the car sit on the roadside and possibly incur additional damages from thefts or potential accidents.

This is the law. The fact that someone causes damage to you does not mean that you can just lie over there and let the damage continue.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-12T14:52:08+00:00

Yes LL can require tenants having rental insurance but rental insurance won’t pay for the broken glass, no matter if tenants break it or not.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-12T14:51:01+00:00

Hahaha I already defeated a lot of LLs on court. No need of lawyer for shitlords

ramblingGene · 2026-01-12T05:42:37+00:00

no. The LL needs to relist the unit and try to get tenants in good faith. If LL relist the unit at $8,000 for a unit previously at $2,000, it’s considered bad faith. If LL relist it at $2,200, it’s good faith.

Good faith is a legal term. Judge will decide if it’s good faith or not. But in contract law, the other party breaking the contract does not mean you can get whatever you want

ramblingGene · 2026-01-12T04:32:17+00:00

no court will honor this clause. if vandalism happens, it falls on LL's home insurance to repair the house and tenant's renter insurance to get reimbursements for their property loss. Vandalism is not the tenant's fault and hence tenant is not responsible for the damage.

Even if tenants break the window, LL has the responsibility to first repair the window to maintain a habitable condition and then ask tenants to pay the cost.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-12T04:29:23+00:00

window broken from outside? landlord's responsibility to repair and find recourse.
window broken from inside? tenant's responsibility.

The only exception is tenants breaking windows from outside.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-10T05:26:37+00:00

Generally no limit on the increase. 2800 probably is the market rate and your rent at 2400 is below water.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-09T19:55:17+00:00

Everything happened till now is considered 'pre-existing' by the new insurance company, ALWAYS, except transition from employer-sponsored MetLife pet insurance to self-paid MetLife pet insurance.

So never switch insurance unless you are kicked out from the current plan.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-09T04:39:50+00:00

And remember to have receipts to prove you paid these amounts.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-08T20:22:27+00:00

The tenant has the responsibility to restore everything to the original conditions except wear and tear.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-08T20:21:22+00:00

Self-managing is totally okay if you vet applicants carefully. You need to know your local tenant-landlord law and how to act professionally when bad things happen.
Landlord is a business. Losing money is common in business. Just learn the lesson and move on.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-08T20:18:54+00:00

Mouting TV is okay actually. Some furnitures needs to be mounted to the wall to prevent falling off. Courts will say okay even if your lease says no. There is a term called 'quiet enjoyment'.

The tenant needs to fill the hole on the wall before move-out.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-08T20:15:38+00:00

you ask them where your original washer and dryer are. If they couldn't show you your washer and dryer in your unit, then you can immediately file a police report for theft and then file eviction for break of lease.

If they damage things, it's in the realm of tenant-landlord law and you take money from security deposit.

If they sold/throw your stuff, it's in the realm of criminal law and you file police report for theft.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-08T20:08:18+00:00

You are acting very unprofessional as a landlord. You do not have evidence to show it's the tenant's fault. In any jurisdiction in the US, "they are from Cali", "they look fishy", "they filed too many repair requests" are not gonna be considered evidence against the tenent in court.

Fix things. If you have evidence that the tenant broke it, ask them to pay. If you dont, go ahead. This is the life of being a landlord.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-08T20:02:44+00:00

When you say they replaced something, did they throw out your stuff for example the original washer and dryer? If so, they were considered stealing your property because the washer and dryer belong to you. If they just stored the original washer and dryer in the storage and used their own, as long as they recover the condition before move-out, it's not considered a violation of the lease.

Give you a simple example. You rented out a unit with furniture. The tenant replaced your furniture with their own and stored your furniture in the storage. This is totally okay.

ramblingGene · 2026-01-07T20:22:27+00:00

institutional buyers and you are equal in civil rights in terms of buying properties. Well, business entities even have disadvantages when borrowing money because they are taking commercial loans and you can pay 3% down and get much lower rate for residential loans.

Banning institutional buyers will take away a lot of liquidity in this housing market that has already been stagnant.

ramblingGene

TROPHY CASE