PM Delivery Services Scam

This one in particular pissed me off. I have a fairly finely tuned bullshit filter from years of the IT trenches and this one got past me. I am expecting packages, one of them is late. I open my mailbox (snailmail) and I see what appears to be a postcard from a delivery service I’ve never heard of saying they’re holding one of my packages. Figuring it’s some quirk of amazon’s craptastic marketplace I do what anyone else would do and I call them.

I’m glad I used google voice, I’ll put it that way.

Their operators have a slick script where they have to “verify” the package number, they have to verify your name and address. The package “is a large box, is this what you were expecting?” Give them your information to confirm who you are and they change from being a package delivery service to telling you that the package is a free bottle of tide (8oz) if they could come by and test your water in your home and tell you about special offers.

I told the lady to stop right there.

I said this wasn’t why I called. “You are to erase my information, you will not call me again. You will put me on your do not contact list. Have I made myself perfectly clear?”

“So are you not interested in our offer?”

“Have I made myself perfectly clear about what you are to do? You have misrepresented yourself as a delivery company and nowhere on your mail does it state you are an advertising agency. You have lied to me and you are not to contact me.”

“Sir you called us.”

“I want to speak to your manager.”

She hung up the phone.

So now I’m going to post about it, I’m going to call the BBB and I’m going to file a complaint with the FTC. It’s illegal for a company to misrepresent themselves and nowhere does it state that this is an advertisement. I did end up calling back and getting put on the do not solicit list and the second operator was actually a nice guy.

The back of the advert has your address on it and what appears to be Barack Obama delivering your mail. The return address is “PM Delivery Services, 1676 Providence Blvd, Deltona, FL 32725″. The front has a yellow banner which says “IMPORTANT NOTICE” and then the text follows: “We have been trying to deliver and important package to your home. As always, we try to offer prompt and courteous service. Therefore, please contact our office during business hours @ 1-888-855-7522 and ask for delivery services. We will deliver your package promptly”. There is a tracking number in the bottom right. Pic:

 

Update…

This is actually the most read page on this blog, which amuses me endlessly because it means I’ve utterly failed to capture the interest of people for anything else I write about. That being said, people have been really good about posting the updates to these in the comments section, bravo to the readers! I never thought it would happen but… they actually sent me the new card. It’s not like it’s hard to figure out who I am given the name of the blog.

As others have pointed out, the new address is:

DMC Services

577 Deltona Blvd. #18

Deltona, FL 32725

 

The new “Tracking Number” is “AB-0827″. The card has a “presorted first class” stamp which is just hilarious that the company can’t be arsed to leave a note when it tries to deliver the completely nonexistent package.

The back reads the same with the phone number being 1-888-959-3866.

Kernel 2.6.40 on Fedora 15 Breaks VMWare

Have VMware? Update your Fedora?

Turns out that 2.6.40 breaks VMWare pretty badly. This is VMWare’s fault because they’re using the old locking in the kernel. They’re normally pretty quick about this stuff but I was unable to find an “official” fix. We’ll wait and see.

In the mean time, this patch will get you working.

To use it, you need to download VM Player or Workstation, you need to fail the install once, then apply the patch. Then try starting VMWare player/workstation again. It’s not the most elegant thing, but it works. Also even though the patch is for 2.6.39, it will work on 2.6.40.

Harry Potter 7b: Thank God it’s the End

First a note on the theater. I hate it when the theater experience is so bad it rationalizes my purchase of a giant TV. I go to the movies for something to do to get away from my kid. In this case my mother in law was watching Alex for us and it was a nice thing to do with my wife. Unfortunately we went to the Frank Theater chain down here in Ocean City, NJ. Not only do they not open the lobby until they’re literally minutes from showing the film, but the film starts on time. God help you if you’re not first in line. The theater was musty, had a noisy dehumidifier in it, the sound was muddy and the screen was unfocused. The worst of it was that the silvering was going on the screen so the top right was weirdly dark. I should have walked out.

That being said, it was a really good movie and they should have just cut it right in the middle. How it should have ended: Snape accuses Dumbledor of raising Harry “like a pig for the slaughter”, we find out about Snapes weird obsession with Harry’s mom, Dumbledor has a moral argument with Snape over the bodycount getting behind Harry is going to take and dies miserably in a moral quandary utterly broken. When they line up the wizards after Harry’s “death”, they have another moral discussion and we have a civil war between families. It all ends when they hang the Malfroys for high treason for throwing their lot in with Dumbledor and with Voldemort. It’s OK for Harry to spring back to life, only to leave him utterly broken when he learns about the destruction people brought on themselves in his name. The snake is killed and Harry throws himself off the bridge among falling bodies of the still dueling wizards and both Harry and Voldemort die. Everyone who has died on both sides have given their lives in vain.

What actually happened: Voldemort, a supposed true master of magic and the dark arts, forgot that you own a wand when you disarm someone and “accidentally” cast the killing curse on Harry. This is after Voldemort reveals that the wand “resists him” and he can “feel it”. Oh, did I mention that Harry can come back to life in some sort of weird cosmic train station but no-one else who was pivotal to the cause can?

Then we’re treated to “19 years later” which sets up the next film where Harry and whatever her name is, the hot bitch and Ron send their kids off to the New Hogwarts.

Way to ruin it, Rowling. That’s AVATAR level bullshit right there.