BuzzMachine

…heard about delivery problems this Christmas? Last year, UPS employees stole two of our presents, so this year, we sent via the USPS, priority mail, insured, in plenty of time. Two packages should have arrived four days ago. One didn’t arrive. My father had to go chasing a mail truck to get the other; they’d left a note on Christmas Eve saying it could be picked up next week. My mother-in-law said she has heard of all kinds of problems with the Postal Service this year. Meanwhile, a vendor didn’t get two packages out by the time promised; nonetheless, they still should have arrived via FedEx in time for Christmas and neither did.

I’m trying to figure out whether this is too good to be true: My father got a pitch from LowerMyLease.com, owned by ACS, which promises to lower his car least by almost half. I can’t find the trick. The means either that the GMAC lease he has is so stuffed with margin that it’s easy for another company to come along and do this… or that there’s a trick or hidden fee here I can’t find. Any wiser minds than mine able to figure this out? Is this a case for Consumerist?

: LATER: My father talked to someone there. Turns out you need to add lease buy-out plus the residual value and that raised his payment. Oh, well. No free leases.