The good news - none of the minor consumer hassles I've had recently are among the horror stories in the Consumer Federation of America's latest list of top 10 consumer complaints for 2008.
The bad news...while complaints are up - thanks to recession-fueled jumps in beefs about debt collectors, bogus loan and job opportunity scams, and sudden business closings - resources to help consumers are down.
Sixty two percent of the public agencies that helped CFA pull together its annual list reported complaints were on the increase, said Susan Grant, the federation's consumer protection director. Forty seven percent of the same agencies also reported budget cuts.
"It's ironic that at the same time more people are asking state and local consumer agencies for help, their budgets are shrinking," said Grant.
Hassles over cars, home repairs and credit again generated the most complaints that consumers filed last year. Gripes about cable and utility companies, retailers and retail service providers, both online and in real life, and landlord/tenant problems also put in their perennial appearances. Complaints about misleading health products and services made the list too. They didn't last year.
The federation's suggested best defenses against potential ripoffs looks familiar too. Check the Better Business Bureau or online complaint forums for potential problems. (But don't believe everything you find. BBB reports often seem bland and earth-scorching online forums don't have time or resources to separate legitimate complaints from screaming rants.) Look deeper and wider if something smells. Get terms in writing and don't pay all your money upfront.
And if you still have problems, here are some places that might be able to help.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Beer and profiling outside the White House too
Trying to settle a beef over a public beer has got to be tough. White House watchers were snarking because nobody bought American. That changed at the last minute, though. I don't think that's a big deal in a global economy, but then I drive a Subaru built in Indiana.
What's more interesting is what happens if President Obama, Professor Gates or Sergeant Crowley were to pay any part of the tab with plastic. Someone's credit rating could take a hit.
Alcohol, it appears, seems to be one thing on a growing list of purchases that credit card company gnomes are watching these days for warnings that we might flee to Tahiti with the remaining uncharged $13.29 or whatever on our credit card limits.
They watch what you buy, where you buy it and, increasingly, whether you buy enough. If they don't like what they see, they cut your credit and you get closer to being caught in a credit jam.
The gnomes like to think of this analysis as data mining, which they can do to help provide credit more efficiently and profitably. But as CreditCard.com's Connie Prater reported recently, critics say it is a lot like redlining too. To some, such mining seems a long way from the five basic credit habits that Fair Isaac Co. bases its FICO scores on.
So how do you protect yourself? Use all your cards regularly, but sparingly. Pay off your balances each month. And pay cash for stuff you don't want the gnomes, or your significant other, to know about.
What's more interesting is what happens if President Obama, Professor Gates or Sergeant Crowley were to pay any part of the tab with plastic. Someone's credit rating could take a hit.
Alcohol, it appears, seems to be one thing on a growing list of purchases that credit card company gnomes are watching these days for warnings that we might flee to Tahiti with the remaining uncharged $13.29 or whatever on our credit card limits.
They watch what you buy, where you buy it and, increasingly, whether you buy enough. If they don't like what they see, they cut your credit and you get closer to being caught in a credit jam.
The gnomes like to think of this analysis as data mining, which they can do to help provide credit more efficiently and profitably. But as CreditCard.com's Connie Prater reported recently, critics say it is a lot like redlining too. To some, such mining seems a long way from the five basic credit habits that Fair Isaac Co. bases its FICO scores on.
So how do you protect yourself? Use all your cards regularly, but sparingly. Pay off your balances each month. And pay cash for stuff you don't want the gnomes, or your significant other, to know about.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Gimme shelter ... and maybe tax credits up front?
Auto industry forecasters are starting to sound almost giddy about cash for clunkers. Some predict that an estimated 16,000 sales in the few-days-old plan may push July's annual sales rates into 10-million unit territory.
Now some real estate executives are urging ramping up the current potential $8,000 tax credit so that first-time homebuyers can come up with more scratch for shelter. A $4,500 tax break on a median price $28,000 auto works out to a 16 percent subsidy for car buyers. An $8,000 tax credit on a median $198,000 home only equals four percent.
Fair's fair, say proponents of expanding the credit. But raising it to even $15,000 might seem greedy, worries National Association of Realtors President Charles McMillan. They likely will talk amongst themselves for a while.
There is another approach to consider. First-time buyers in 14 states, including Missouri, but not Kansas, can use bridge loans from state housing commissions to collect the $8,000 credit now, in time to increase their down payments. Mechanically, it works like tax refund loans that consumer advocates gripe about.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said a couple months ago that his agency was exploring a national expansion of the program. Officials will be racing the calendar though. Depending on where you live, you may need to buy by mid-October to complete all the necessary paperwork in time to close before the Dec. 1 tax credit deadline.
I think that raises another question. Will HUD overhaul national lending rules for what effectively would be a 10-week or shorter lending window? Or will there be an expanded Scratch for Shelter plan to buy garage space for clunker replacements?
Now some real estate executives are urging ramping up the current potential $8,000 tax credit so that first-time homebuyers can come up with more scratch for shelter. A $4,500 tax break on a median price $28,000 auto works out to a 16 percent subsidy for car buyers. An $8,000 tax credit on a median $198,000 home only equals four percent.
Fair's fair, say proponents of expanding the credit. But raising it to even $15,000 might seem greedy, worries National Association of Realtors President Charles McMillan. They likely will talk amongst themselves for a while.
There is another approach to consider. First-time buyers in 14 states, including Missouri, but not Kansas, can use bridge loans from state housing commissions to collect the $8,000 credit now, in time to increase their down payments. Mechanically, it works like tax refund loans that consumer advocates gripe about.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said a couple months ago that his agency was exploring a national expansion of the program. Officials will be racing the calendar though. Depending on where you live, you may need to buy by mid-October to complete all the necessary paperwork in time to close before the Dec. 1 tax credit deadline.
I think that raises another question. Will HUD overhaul national lending rules for what effectively would be a 10-week or shorter lending window? Or will there be an expanded Scratch for Shelter plan to buy garage space for clunker replacements?
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Consumer confidence fell...that's a surprise?
We splurged on dinner last night. $5.35 for the two of us from a value meal menu down the street. It was hot. We were tired.
And we apparently were not alone. An unexpected drop in consumer confidence rattled the financial markets Tuesday. Confidence had fallen flatter than bird splat, but some forecasters thought improved home sales and more chattering about the end of the recession would perk up our spirits and spending.
It might have once. But as CNN's Paul R. La Monica points out, look at what we do, not what we say. And what we're doing, by several accounts, is cutting our spending as much as we can and looking for ways to cut more. If we as consumers are still going to be driving 67 percent of the economy, that will have consequences.
Restaurants, for example, are being hit harder than anytime in the last 28 years, researchers at NPD Group, a major consultant to several industries. Convenience Store News finds we're spending more of that money on value menu items and private label products.
Deep thinkers still wonder if such shifts are short-lived reactions or signs of a bigger change.
And we apparently were not alone. An unexpected drop in consumer confidence rattled the financial markets Tuesday. Confidence had fallen flatter than bird splat, but some forecasters thought improved home sales and more chattering about the end of the recession would perk up our spirits and spending.
It might have once. But as CNN's Paul R. La Monica points out, look at what we do, not what we say. And what we're doing, by several accounts, is cutting our spending as much as we can and looking for ways to cut more. If we as consumers are still going to be driving 67 percent of the economy, that will have consequences.
Restaurants, for example, are being hit harder than anytime in the last 28 years, researchers at NPD Group, a major consultant to several industries. Convenience Store News finds we're spending more of that money on value menu items and private label products.
Deep thinkers still wonder if such shifts are short-lived reactions or signs of a bigger change.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Exorcising a money leak
We've got a ghost flusher. An older flapper valve on one of our toilets began leaking over the weekend, draining enough water to partly flush it every three or four hours.
It's an easy fix. The valves wear out every four or five years. We've repaired them often enough that I'm confident it won't turn out like scenes from a World War II U-boat movie. I've also learned to call in professionals when I think things might get tricky.
But is it worth it? EPA estimates that a leaky toilet can waste as much as 200 gallons of water a day. A quick peek at our latest water bill and some back-of-the-envelope calculations show we pay the water company about three-tenths of a cent per gallon. So the leak costs us about 60 cents a day.
New parts run $5.69 at the hardware store. Stopping the leak,we recoup that investment in about nine and half days. I haven't run a similar check yet on the new eco-friendly toilets that people are recommending. Some of those cost more than the first car I bought. In this economy, it's easier to keep the old stuff working longer
It's an easy fix. The valves wear out every four or five years. We've repaired them often enough that I'm confident it won't turn out like scenes from a World War II U-boat movie. I've also learned to call in professionals when I think things might get tricky.
But is it worth it? EPA estimates that a leaky toilet can waste as much as 200 gallons of water a day. A quick peek at our latest water bill and some back-of-the-envelope calculations show we pay the water company about three-tenths of a cent per gallon. So the leak costs us about 60 cents a day.
New parts run $5.69 at the hardware store. Stopping the leak,we recoup that investment in about nine and half days. I haven't run a similar check yet on the new eco-friendly toilets that people are recommending. Some of those cost more than the first car I bought. In this economy, it's easier to keep the old stuff working longer
Friday, July 24, 2009
Beyond credit reports...our darkest secrets revealed
You remember that overdue library book in fifth grade. Does your potential employer know? Here's how to find out.
Most of us know about our right to look at free copies of our credit history and correct any mistakes lenders might find there. But the same Fair Credit Reporting Act that guarantees that right also requires other consumer reporting agencies to similarly show you their records of your insurance history, banking records, residential history, motor vehicles and other titled property you've owned and criminal past, if you have even a hint of one.
Employers look at this stuff. So if you are among the more than 10 percent of us for whom filling out job applications is becoming a job itself, you might want to pull your own records to see what they see. As with credit reports, you get one free copy a year, and more if you are rejected for a job, loan or something else because of information on the reports.
LexisNexis ChoicePoint is a good place to start. It provides a whole slab of personal information about you, based on public records plus the information you authorized when you clicked an ''agree to terms" box sometime in your life. LexisNexis also compiles what it calls Accurint reports that dig beyond obvious public records into more detail about where you live and what you own.
ChexSystems at www.consumerdebit.com drills into your banking history to look for blemishes.
And finally, there is the Insurance Services Office, which tracks your insurance claims history for the last seven years.
Start sooner rather than later if you want to review these records. Many providers send reports by traditional mail only, which may take anywhere between two and eight weeks to reach you.
Most of us know about our right to look at free copies of our credit history and correct any mistakes lenders might find there. But the same Fair Credit Reporting Act that guarantees that right also requires other consumer reporting agencies to similarly show you their records of your insurance history, banking records, residential history, motor vehicles and other titled property you've owned and criminal past, if you have even a hint of one.
Employers look at this stuff. So if you are among the more than 10 percent of us for whom filling out job applications is becoming a job itself, you might want to pull your own records to see what they see. As with credit reports, you get one free copy a year, and more if you are rejected for a job, loan or something else because of information on the reports.
LexisNexis ChoicePoint is a good place to start. It provides a whole slab of personal information about you, based on public records plus the information you authorized when you clicked an ''agree to terms" box sometime in your life. LexisNexis also compiles what it calls Accurint reports that dig beyond obvious public records into more detail about where you live and what you own.
ChexSystems at www.consumerdebit.com drills into your banking history to look for blemishes.
And finally, there is the Insurance Services Office, which tracks your insurance claims history for the last seven years.
Start sooner rather than later if you want to review these records. Many providers send reports by traditional mail only, which may take anywhere between two and eight weeks to reach you.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
HAL from 2001 is my new insurance agent
Okay, not really, but I thought of the malevolent computer from the science fiction classic 2001 when I tried renewing the insurance on Ms. Ktnomics' Vespa earlier. It may be quicker mailing in the $23 than resetting my password on the insurance company's site.
It also reminded me we've all been seeing a lot more commercials recently for online auto insurance providers stressing their really low premium costs. Recently about one in five new auto insurance sales has taken place entirely on the Internet, according to JDPower.com, the nation's premier tallier of everything automotive.
Online seller Progressive Direct is the 7th biggest carrier in Kansas and 11th largest in Missouri, though giants State Farm, Allstate, Geico and Farm Bureau have more than half the market in both states. The big companies work the web too, but in coordination with brick and mortar stores that online providers like eSurance and Insurance 21 shun entirely.
Someone is selling enough low cost, no frills auto insurance to help pull premium costs down from levels earlier this year, though we are still paying more than a year ago. How good is it? As always, it depends on the specific company. Asking your friends and checking complaint reports filed with regulators is still a good move.
And while you are driving, watch out for drivers who are trying super hard - and illegally - to save money. Maybe one driver in six currently on the road might be driving without a license, the Insurance Research Council estimates.
It also reminded me we've all been seeing a lot more commercials recently for online auto insurance providers stressing their really low premium costs. Recently about one in five new auto insurance sales has taken place entirely on the Internet, according to JDPower.com, the nation's premier tallier of everything automotive.
Online seller Progressive Direct is the 7th biggest carrier in Kansas and 11th largest in Missouri, though giants State Farm, Allstate, Geico and Farm Bureau have more than half the market in both states. The big companies work the web too, but in coordination with brick and mortar stores that online providers like eSurance and Insurance 21 shun entirely.
Someone is selling enough low cost, no frills auto insurance to help pull premium costs down from levels earlier this year, though we are still paying more than a year ago. How good is it? As always, it depends on the specific company. Asking your friends and checking complaint reports filed with regulators is still a good move.
And while you are driving, watch out for drivers who are trying super hard - and illegally - to save money. Maybe one driver in six currently on the road might be driving without a license, the Insurance Research Council estimates.
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