Unbelievable Scams

[Mr.B]

It's unbelievable how frequently we read of, or hear of people getting scammed in what we would think was absolutely unreal that they would fall for.

Someone sent me this LINK that I'm posting here. Some good info for all....

Hover your mouse pointer over any of the numbered statements.
A message will appear, telling you more about that potential scam.
There are some very useful and informative sub-links in some of these messages.

[Boatrocker]

I generally assume that anyone who calls me is a liar until proven otherwise.

[Mr.B]

"I generally assume that anyone who calls me is a liar until proven otherwise."

Your Mom must hate you!

[Boatrocker]

She loved me till the day she died. Or so she said.

[Mr.B]

"She loved me till the day she died. Or so she said."

Good answer!

[billy.pilgrim]

A very real scam that you can't see


CVS Accused of Jacking Up Drug Cost for the Insured http://nbcnews.to/2wIALal

The good news is that we can monetize anything to move wealth upstream.

[k9nanny]

CVS is egregious all the way around.
We used to go there for the double miles on our credit card. My vet prescribed a 40 day supply of cephalexin and cipro for my dog's infected foot. The hub picked it up and nearly shit- $240 or $1 per pill. Could have paid $10 per prescription at Walmart. Hell, the vet could have filled it for about $70.

I raised holy hell with them, wrote corporate types, left messages online, and was always told, "We'll check into it." I theorized that only people with insurance use them. Had to pick up a refill for one of our canine boarders, and the generic med was, you guessed it, $1 per pill.

I'll never darken their door again.

[billy.pilgrim]

CVS is egregious all the way around.
We used to go there for the double miles on our credit card. My vet prescribed a 40 day supply of cephalexin and cipro for my dog's infected foot. The hub picked it up and nearly shit- $240 or $1 per pill. Could have paid $10 per prescription at Walmart. Hell, the vet could have filled it for about $70.

I raised holy hell with them, wrote corporate types, left messages online, and was always told, "We'll check into it." I theorized that only people with insurance use them. Had to pick up a refill for one of our canine boarders, and the generic med was, you guessed it, $1 per pill.

I'll never darken their door again.

Chances are - if they do it so do the others. It doesn't take long for exploited rules become industry standard.

[k9nanny]

I bet you're right.
My one Rx, generic, runs $20 a month at RiteAid. One month, they charged $80, but quickly corrected the "mistake". Now I'm wondering if $80 is the insured cost. $20 is about what my co-pay would be if I used my insurance, which has never been worth messing with.

[O Really]

I don't work for CVS, but their explanation probably is correct. Before a person goes to the pharmacy, they can look on their own plan description (mostly online now) and see what their co-payment will be for a given drug. Most are "stepped" with the most expensive being brand names for which there is an available generic, the least being the generic. For plans with fairly high co-payments, there will be times when the cash price will be less than the co-payment. Most policies will address that and say "co-payment or lower price" but it's also in the best interest of the consumer to check before they buy. Sometimes the pharmacy tech filling the prescription will notice and tell you - sometimes they just take your card and say "co-payment is ...whatever." Sometimes the pharmacy will sell generics for $4 or so (maybe most have now stopped that), and that will always be better than using insurance and a co-payment. CVS may be crooks, and certainly the drug manufacturers are, but consumers are still their own first line of defense.

[k9nanny]

People quit thinking when insurance started covering most everything except reasonable co-payments. We were all supposed to stay healthy by going for regular exams and screenings. That notion backfired. If a kid sneezed, off to the doctor. When I was growing up, we went to the doctor if we were injured or had a fever. Insurance was "major medical", and routine costs were reasonable.

I don't know what happened. I do know people lost sight of medical costs, and when the insurance industry started raising co-pays and deductibles, consumers were shocked. Yes, I know it's more complex than that.

Anyway, I've always paid attention because I've always had a major medical policy.
Had I gone to pick up my dog's antibiotics, I would have told CVS to keep them; the hubs knew only that he was picking up a prescription.

[billy.pilgrim]

I don't work for CVS, but their explanation probably is correct. Before a person goes to the pharmacy, they can look on their own plan description (mostly online now) and see what their co-payment will be for a given drug. Most are "stepped" with the most expensive being brand names for which there is an available generic, the least being the generic. For plans with fairly high co-payments, there will be times when the cash price will be less than the co-payment. Most policies will address that and say "co-payment or lower price" but it's also in the best interest of the consumer to check before they buy. Sometimes the pharmacy tech filling the prescription will notice and tell you - sometimes they just take your card and say "co-payment is ...whatever." Sometimes the pharmacy will sell generics for $4 or so (maybe most have now stopped that), and that will always be better than using insurance and a co-payment. CVS may be crooks, and certainly the drug manufacturers are, but consumers are still their own first line of defense.

Tiny print is often intentionally above its target consumer.


Cash payments don't go towards the deductible and buying anything that could be covered can cause an individual's actual costs to increase. Having different costs for the same product seems wrong on the surface, but can often be explained by lower costs for bulk purchases. No way bulk purchases by insurance companies run up the cost of generics to above the cash price paid by individuals. It's a lie.