What's On Your Mind? Chase, Virgin America, Miracle Ear, Guitar Center

Eileen, of New York, says she pays her bills online using her Chase bank account. Some are paid electronically, some are sent by mail, including Eileen's co-op maintenance fee. The bank says expected delivery is within five days.

“Chase debits my account immediately,” Eileen told ConsumerAffairs.com. “In September, Chase debited my account on September 1. The check did not clear until September 9, giving Chase a nine day float on my money. Can they do that?”

For years, the float worked to consumers' advantage but regulations and technology now allow banks to debit accounts almost immediately. Taking nine days to pay Eileen's bill does seem a bit excessive, but probably falls within guidelines. Eileen should be vigilant to make sure it doesn't become a pattern.

Time not on her side

No good deed goes unpunished, they say. Gabriella, of Temecula, Calif., said she bought airline tickets aboard a Virgin America flight as a gift for a couple. As soon as she made the purchase, she realized the date was off by a day. Knowing she had 24 hours to cancel without a fee, she called customer service.

“I'm on the road all day and they had a three-hour hold, Gabriella said. “I left a message on their message system which says it keeps you in line and they would call back, which they never did. I still kept trying to call but I'd have to hang up as I had appointments all day. Next morning I call and they said it was now 25-26 hours later and would have to charge me a higher fee.”

Gabriella said she hopes a supervisor will be able to make an exception, but so far it's not looking good.

Silence is golden

Beverly, of Mountain Home, Ark., has decided its better to not hear things than deal with Miracle Ear, a maker of hearing aids.

“I'm tired of paying for something that doesn't work,” Beverly told ConsumerAffairs.com. “Have gone through a lot of batteries that last approx. 30-45 min., have tried getting it worked on, they tell me it's the batteries. I just want a refund for a piece of junk, paid over 3000.00 for it with my Sears card. The problem is not the batteries it's the hearing aid.”

To their credit, Miracle Ear offered to check out the device, but according to Beverly they required a $180 fee to do so. She said "no thanks."

Sour note

Musicians prize a finely crafted instrument and are willing to pay a premium price for them. They get irked when they feel the company selling the instrument is skimping on the extras.

“I purchased a new Taylor 810-S guitar from Guiter Center in Ft. Lauderdale,” said Chris, from Jacksonville, Fla. “This guitar was supposed to come with the 5-ply hand-made case form Taylor Guitars but instead, the salesman switched it out for a plastic SKB case that normally comes with the lower-end Taylors. This is a common practice and they do it so that they can re-sell the more expensive case to someone else, making and extra couple of hundred dollars in the process. Shame on me for letting them get away with it!”

Chris said he has called and emailed Guitar Center a few times but has not gotten a response to date.