This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Jonathan Marsh decided to do his patriotic duty this summer and support the candidate of his choice by setting up an automatic recurring donation to the campaign of Democratic congressional candidate Doug Owens.
Now the Bountiful resident feels like he is stuck in the Eagles' "Hotel California" — "you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."
Marsh set up the withdrawal July 22 so the Owens campaign could charge his credit card $50 each month for a campaign contribution.
The next day, however, after some spousal discussion, he had second thoughts and decided to cancel future donations. After searching the website in vain for a way to do so, Marsh sent an email asking the campaign to scrap any further contributions.
No luck.
Marsh was charged $50 again in August. By then the couple's finances had improved, so he opted to continue the recurring donations. He figured that after the November election, the charges would stop.
They didn't.
He was charged another $50 on Nov. 22 — to a now nonexistent campaign.
Marsh has called the phone number associated with the charges several times. After a few rings, it goes to the voice mail of a woman who so far has not called back.
Marsh disputed the November charge with his Barclay credit card company, but an agent told him he needed to approach the merchant first.
The company, Marsh has learned, will not allow a transaction dispute to a recurring charge without a mailed letter detailing the complaint. It also will not stop any future transactions without the approval of the merchant, even though Marsh cannot seem to contact anybody with the Owens team.
He can write a letter to the former candidate's camp to approve the cancellation of his automatic payments. But he better do it before Dec. 22 or another $50 will be sent to The Campaign That Isn't.
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Waiting for Godot • West Jordan is one of Salt Lake County's more conservative areas, represented by Republican lawmakers who sing the old GOP song that government should be run like a business.
Residents, however, may be wondering how good of a business their city would be.
Two months ago, residents were notified they could not continue paying their water bills online because the system was down for repairs.
It's still down, and residents are being told it might not be fixed until February.
West Jordan spokeswoman Kim Wells says when PayPal upgraded its system, it wanted the city to tweak its site to be compatible. But West Jordan is in the process of implementing a $1 million comprehensive new system that will include all the city's services on one site. She said putting in a temporary system for online water billing would be expensive, so the city is waiting until the new system is ready.
Until then, residents can pay by mail or arrange for their bank to do it — and remember the adage: Patience is a virtue.
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Cough, cough, cough • With notoriously bad wintertime air choking the Salt Lake Valley, we are reminded to reduce driving by taking transit.
That message apparently hasn't reached a TRAX employee who was spotted Friday morning near Abravanel Hall, sitting in his officially marked pickup, license plate 99820, with the truck idling as he concentrated on his cellphone.
So much for public transportation helping to keep our air clean.