The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Strong women, aging, stereotypes, banks, shopping, stuff, and the empty nest are topics for this week’s Best of Boomer Blogs

Lisa Garon Froman of Tao Flashes is the host for this week’s Best of Boomer Blogs #308.

The boomer blog roundup is a collection of like-minded blogs cooperating to share their best stories of interest to the Baby Boomer Generation.

This week, as spring continues to give us beautiful flowers, boomer bloggers are writing about strong women in our lives, the difference between being old and really old, how you can get tripped up by stereotypes, banks violating terms of a mortgage settlement, the best place to shop in Dubai, the emotional and financial implications of “stuff,” and a look at preparing for the empty nest.

In addition to my blog, other members of the Best of Boomer Blogs are: The Midlife Crisis Queen, Sightings Over 60, Arabian Tales and Other Amazing Adventures, So Baby Boomer, Blue Blinds Media, and Tao Flashes.

Be sure to check back next week to see what baby boomer bloggers are thinking and writing about.

Copyright 2013, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Getting the coupon price for a gift is my best consumer experience this week, while a letter from my bank with an error disappoints

It brought joy to be able to give a nice present to my great-niece. However, I was furious to get a letter from my bank with a mistake.

My best consumer experience: Getting the coupon price on a gift

When my sister and I went to visit my niece in the Fort Lauderdale area, we went to the mall for a walk before we headed to Bahama Breeze for dinner.

We went in the Justice shop, a store with clothes for kids and teens, which is the favorite brand of my niece’s daughter Savannah. My niece showed us two dresses that Savannah liked that were on sale.

When we finished our walk and went by the shop, I suggested we buy the dresses for Savannah for an early birthday present.

When the sales associate scanned the first dress, she said the dresses weren’t on sale without a coupon. They would be $50, not $30.

We were flabbergasted. We didn’t notice that a coupon was required. My niece had other coupons for Justice, but they weren’t valid until the next day.

We looked at each other and were getting ready to leave when the sales associate rang up the first dress at the sale price. Then the second one.

It turned out well, but we noticed as we were leaving the mall that none of the other retail clothing shops required coupons for their sales.

My worst consumer experience: Getting a letter from my bank with an error

This month, my mortgage is paid off. Hurrah.

However, I was very upset when I got a letter from my bank saying that I had requested my automatic payments be stopped, so I would be getting statements or a payment coupon book for future payments.

What? Doesn’t my bank know that I only have one partial payment left?

When I called on Monday, the person at the Payoff Office said the letter was a form letter that was generated. The bank can’t take a partial payment from my bank account so the letter was sent.

I told the banker that I’d paid thousands and thousands of dollars of interest over the years on the mortgage and I expected a higher level of customer service.

Copyright 2013, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

State of the Union offers much for consumers, but is lacking on housing and benefits for older Americans

President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday was strong for consumers in many areas.

Obama's emphasis on immigration reform, family wage jobs, early childhood education, a $9 minimum wage, tax code reform, voter rights, and loophole reduction will help move America forward.

The actions he called for on gun violence, energy independence, clean energy, climate change, infrastructure, higher education, violence against women, equal pay for women, stronger families, poverty eradication, and equal benefits for all are of tremendous importance.

However, Obama fell short in his address on benefits for older Americans and housing.

Benefits for older Americans

He began his talk by saying, “It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few.”

Americans don’t expect Congress to agree on everything, Obama said, adding “They do expect us to forge reasonable compromise where we can.

On balancing the budget, he said:

The biggest driver of our long-term debt is the rising cost of health care for an aging population. And those of us who care deeply about programs like Medicare must embrace the need for modest reforms – otherwise, our retirement programs will crowd out the investments we need for our children, and jeopardize the promise of a secure retirement for future generations…

We’ll reduce taxpayer subsidies to prescription drug companies and ask more from the wealthiest seniors. We’ll bring down costs by changing the way our government pays for Medicare, because our medical bills shouldn’t be based on the number of tests ordered or days spent in the hospital – they should be based on the quality of care that our seniors receive.

And I am open to additional reforms from both parties, so long as they don’t violate the guarantee of a secure retirement. Our government shouldn’t make promises we cannot keep – but we must keep the promises we’ve already made.

I’m concerned that Medicare is “on the table” and will be cut in a compromise deal. Medicare and Social Security are minimal programs. Even “modest reforms” will have disastrous effects on seniors.

For more than half of Social Security recipients aged 65 or over, the program provides more than 50 percent of their family income and, because of its lifetime income protection and survivors benefits, Social Security is particularly important for elderly women.

Housing

On housing, Obama said the housing market is finally healing from the collapse of 2007. But, even with mortgage rates near a 50-year low, too many families with solid credit who want to buy a home are being rejected, he said, adding:

Right now, there’s a bill in this Congress that would give every responsible homeowner in America the chance to save $3,000 a year by refinancing at today’s rates. Democrats and Republicans have supported it before. What are we waiting for? Take a vote, and send me that bill.

And Obama said:

Right now, overlapping regulations keep responsible young families from buying their first home. What’s holding us back? Let’s streamline the process, and help our economy grow.

What’s needed that the president didn’t address is that banks aren’t willing to refinance homes for consumers who are underwater. And, mortgage reform is still needed and consumers who are in danger of foreclosure must receive help.

Banks continue to prefer to kick homeowners out of their homes if they are behind on their payments. Federal programs that have been set up are only helping a fraction of those who need assistance.

And the comment about overlapping regulations for first time homeowners? It sounds like the president was throwing a bone to the housing and real estate industries.

We just had a Great Recession based at least partially on banks and other financial institutions selling mortgages to anyone, regardless of their qualifications.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other federal agencies have been working on rules to curb these mortgage abuses. Most of them will go into effect early in 2014.

Certainly the president didn’t mean those rules are going to be eliminated?

More help is needed for homeowners. This is part of the assistance for Main Street that has never materialized after Wall Street was bailed out.

In last year’s State of the Union address, Obama announced the creation of a working group aimed at exposing and prosecuting financial fraud behind the housing crisis.

While some action has been taken, the group needs to do more to charge and convict those responsible for the housing crisis.

Copyright 2013, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Paying off my mortgage is my best consumer experience this week, while low-quality customer service from Comcast disappoints, again

Saying goodbye to my mortgage is making me very happy. However, I’m extremely frustrated with the customer service I had from.

My best consumer experience: Making my last mortgage payment

I’m elated that my mortgage is paid off. It’s quite a milestone.

I’m going to have a party to celebrate.

My worst customer experience: Trying to get straight answers from Comcast

I’ve written before about terrible customer service from Comcast.

This week, I experienced it again.

My sister, who hasn’t had a computer before, decided to buy an iPad. She selected Comcast to provide her Internet service.

She was quoted several different prices for the service, with the first customer service representative saying it would cost $19.99 a month for six months. Others said $34.

Then she got different stories about whether Comcast would provide a router with her modem. I called and was told, “No,” Comcast doesn’t provide routers. She called again and was told that Comcast does offer a modem-router device.

The appointment is tomorrow. We’ll see what the service technician brings.

I asked on one of my calls where the service representative was located. The Philippines was the answer.

When I looked at my Comcast bill, I saw a charge for $5.95 a month for Signature Service, support for wireless home services and connecting devices. Since I never asked for the service, which began Sept. 17, I had it canceled.

Comcast’s billing department is in Mexico. I asked a service representative to connect me. I waited on the phone a half hour. I finally hung up.

Amazingly, when I called again, my call was taken right away. When I asked the service representative about it, he said calls that are transferred from America are always very slow to be answered.

What a frustrating system for consumers.

Copyright 2013, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Consumer Reports offers this year’s list of good and bad company policies and practices

This week, Consumer Reports unveiled its third annual Naughty & Nice List of company policies and practices.

The companies cover a wide range of industries, including automotive (BMW, Honda) apparel (Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Forever 21), and hospitality (Drury Hotels).

The annual Naughty & Nice list isn’t an overall Rating of a company; it’s a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” on a specific policy or practice. Companies not included on the list may have similar policies, Consumer Reports said in a statement.

This year, Consumer Reports is asking consumers to join the effort by submitting their own personal Naughty & Nice nominee via Facebook and Twitter (#CRNaughtyNice).

For the first time, Consumer Reports will also be setting up a booth at the Holiday Market at Union Square in New York City, offering visitors an in-person opportunity to submit their list and receive 24 hours of free access to www.ConsumerReports.org.

The Naughty & Nice Holiday List is based on input from Consumer Reports' reporters and editors who cover shopping, travel, hospitality, and telecommunications and visitors to the Consumer Reports Facebook page.

The following highlights some of the companies from the 2012 Naughty & Nice list:

Naughty

• Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster will mail you your tickets for free if you have 10 to 14 days to wait for them, but if you need them any sooner you’ll have to pay for expedited shipping. You’ll even have to pay $2.50 per order just to print them yourself.
• Time Warner Cable. It joins a list of other providers to charge a monthly fee – in this case, $3.95 – to lease a cable modem.
• BMW. Some BMWs don’t come with a spare tire or jack. The carmaker’s models now come with run-flat tires or a Mobility Kit, which can get you to help after a minor puncture. The disappearing-spare syndrome is spreading to include even economy models from Hyundai, Chevrolet, and others.

Nice

• Home Depot. Buy a new appliance from Home Depot, and it’ll take your old one off your property without charge. The delivery crew will also uncrate, set up, level, and test your new one.
• Oxo. The housewares manufacturer backs every product it sells with a no-exceptions pledge: If for any reason you aren’t satisfied, return it for replacement or refund.
• PNC Bank. In Consumer Reports’ survey of 10 large banks, PNC was the only one to offer a free basic checking account. In addition, it doesn’t require customers to maintain a minimum balance to keep the free account.

The full Naughty & Nice lists from this year, 2011, and 2010 are available online at www.ConsumerReports.org/CRNaughtyNice.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Bank of America sued by feds for mortgage fraud

It’s good news that federal prosecutors today filed a $1 billion-plus lawsuit against the Bank of America Corp.

The lawsuit charges that the bank engaged in a scheme to defraud Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government controlled companies that resell mortgages.

The lawsuit alleges that from at least 2007 through 2009, Countrywide Financial and Countrywide Home Loans, and later Bank of America after acquiring Countrywide in 2008, carried out a new loan process called the High Speed Swim Lane or “Hustle.”

The Hustle was intentionally designed to process loans at high speed and without quality checkpoints, the lawsuit said. The purpose was to generate thousands of fraudulent and defective residential mortgage loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that later defaulted, causing more than $1 billion dollars in losses and thousands of foreclosures.

This is the first civil fraud suit brought by the Department of Justice on mortgage loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

“For the sixth time in less than 18 months, this office has been compelled to sue a major U.S. bank for reckless mortgage practices in the lead-up to the financial crisis,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.

Steve A. Linick, inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said Countrywide and Bank of America allegedly engaged in fraudulent behavior that contributed to the financial crisis, which ultimately fell on the shoulders of taxpayers.

Bharara said the lawsuit is aimed at recouping some of the money taxpayers paid to bail out the financially troubled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

I applaud this action. For years, I’ve wanted to see those who caused the financial crisis brought to justice for their reprehensible conduct.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Big profit banks using benefits from federal incentive program to reduce mortgage rates for themselves rather than helping consumers

It’s ironic and frustrating.

The American economy collapsed due to a hyped up housing market based on faulty mortgage packing and reselling. The crisis rippled throughout the world and its devastating effects continue.

Now, due in part to a federal program to encourage consumers to buy homes, the housing market is picking up.

However, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, said they won’t make home loans much cheaper for consumers, even as they reported booming profits from that business, according to an article in The Washington Post.

The reason why mortgage bankers are making so much more money is that the gap has widened between what banks charge a homeowner in interest rates and what they must pay those who finance mortgage lending, the article said. The mortgage-lending rate has dropped significantly, largely as a result of the Federal Reserve action of spending $40 billion a month to reduce mortgage rates to encourage Americans to buy homes.

American consumers continue to suffer from the financial collapse of 2008. Millions of people lost their homes. A job loss has meant that consumers who were able to own a home and provide for their families became homeless.

I don’t know what these banks and the big corporations are thinking. People need to have a job and a roof over their heads to be able to be functioning, purchasing consumers.

By greedy gouging continually, big business is driving consumers and their purchasing power into the ground.

You’d think these banks would be ashamed of their role in the financial collapse and want to adopt better business practices to help consumers and the economy recover and move American forward. However, it seems as though all they want is more money for themselves.

How much money do rich people need? Aren’t seven homes enough? Do you need a home with an elevator for your cars?

In addition to the collapse of the housing market due to greed, we’ve seen the recent savings and loan, dot-com, energy, and stock market crashes.

Unless big business adopts more ethical practices, we’re likely to see more.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

New York attorney general sues JPMorgan over role in U.S. financial crisis

It’s good news for consumers that New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman filed a civil lawsuit today against JPMorgan alleging the firm committed widespread misconduct in sale of mortgage securities when the housing market was booming.

Schneiderman is also a co-chairman of a joint federal and state task force, the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, which was announced by President Obama during his State of the Union address in January.

The lawsuit alleges that Bear Stearns, now a unit of JPMorgan, and its lending unit, EMC Mortgage, defrauded investors who purchased mortgage securities packaged by the companies from 2005 through 2007, The New York Times said in an article.

While investors have filed lawsuits on mortgage securities that are moving slowly through the courts, this is the first legal action against a Wall Street bank to come from the task force.

States and the federal government need to take more action against the banks who caused America’s financial crisis. It’s time they were held accountable.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Top 10 consumer complaints in the nation

Cars, credit, and home repair and construction again topped the list of complaints made to state and local consumer protection agencies, according to a survey by the Consumer Federation of America and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators.

Thirty-eight agencies from across the United States provided information about the most common, fastest-growing, and worst complaints they received in 2011. They were also asked about new types of consumer problems, what their biggest achievements and challenges were last year, and what new laws are needed to better protect consumers.

Top 10 complaints

1. Auto: Misrepresentations in advertising or sales of new and used cars, lemons, faulty repairs, leasing, and towing disputes.

2. Credit/debt: Billing and fee disputes, mortgage modifications and mortgage-related fraud, credit repair, debt relief services, predatory lending, and illegal or abusive debt collection tactics.

3. Home improvement/construction: Shoddy work and failure to start or complete the job.

4. Retail sales: False advertising and other deceptive practices, defective merchandise, problems with rebates, coupons, gift cards and gift certificates, and failure to deliver.

5. Utilities: Service problems or billing disputes with phone, cable, satellite, Internet, electric, and gas service.

6. Services: Misrepresentations, shoddy work, failure to have required licenses, and failure to perform.

7. (Tie) Internet sales: Misrepresentations or other deceptive practice and failure to deliver online purchases. Landlord/tenant: Unhealthy or unsafe conditions, failure to make repairs or provide promised amenities, deposit and rent disputes, and illegal eviction tactics.

8. Fraud: Bogus sweepstakes and lotteries, work-at-home schemes, grant offers, fake check scams, the grandparent scam, and other common frauds.

9. Real estate: Timeshare sales and resales, retirement communities, assisted living facilities, and real estate fraud.

10. (Tie) Household goods: Misrepresentations, failure to deliver, and faulty repairs in connection with furniture or appliances. Home solicitations: Misrepresentations or failure to deliver in door-to-door, telemarketing, or mail solicitations and do-not-call violations.

Other key survey findings

• The top five fastest-growing complaints were about fraud, debt collection abuses, Do Not Call violations, mortgage-related problems, and home improvement.

• The top five worst complaints involved mortgage-related problems, home improvement, timeshare sales and resales, Internet sales, and fraud.

• New types of consumer problems that agencies dealt with last year covered a wide variety of subjects, from bedbugs in apartments to penny auctions on the Internet, from gold buying companies to telemarketing and mail solicitations for home repairs disguised as “free” energy audits. Some agencies also noted that scammers are exploiting a new form of payment, prepaid card products, to get cash from consumers.

• Budget cuts and limited resources were most frequently cited as the biggest challenges that state and local consumer protection agencies faced last year. Another major challenge was the evolving nature of fraud and the fact that many scammers are located in other countries, complicating efforts to resolve complaints.

The agencies provided suggestions for strengthening consumer protection including:

• Prohibiting mandatory arbitration in consumer contracts.

• Assessing stiffer penalties for operating without required licenses or registration.

• Providing consumers with greater legal protection from unwanted online tracking and other invasions of their privacy.

• Requiring that all businesses including online companies provide their names and other information to make it easier to identify and contact them.

• Regulating business such as Internet cafes and dating services.

•  Creating the equivalent of Interpol to help U.S. law enforcement agencies take action against scammers located in other countries.

The survey report features real-life examples of consumer complaints from agencies’ files and tips for consumers to help them avoid those problems and to let them know what to do if they encounter them.

The full report can be found on the federation’s website at www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/Studies.Top10ConsumerComplaintsSurvey7.31.12.pdf.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

First action by new consumer finance protection agency is a good first step, but more needs to be done on bank regulation

By Rita R. Robison

Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced its first public enforcement action with an order requiring Capital One Bank to refund about $140 million to two million customers and pay an additional $25 million penalty.

The bureau identified deceptive marketing tactics used by Capital One’s vendors to pressure or mislead consumers into paying for “add-on products” such as payment protection and credit monitoring when they activated their credit cards.

Its examiners discovered Capital One’s call-center vendors engaged in deceptive tactics to sell the company’s credit card add-on products.

Consumers with low credit scores or low credit limits were offered these products by Capital One’s call-center vendors when they called to have their new credit cards activated, the bureau said in a statement. As part of the high-pressure tactics Capital One representatives used to sell these add-on products, the bureau reported consumers were:

• Misled about the benefits of the products.

•  Deceived about the nature of the products.

•  Misled about eligibility.

•  Misinformed about cost of the products.

•  Enrolled without their consent.

Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the bureau has the authority to issue consent orders and take action against institutions engaging in unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices.

The bureau also is releasing two consumer advisories. One advisory is to make Capital One customers aware of its action and the other is a general warning to consumers about these types of deceptive practices.

While this action sends a clear signal to the banking industry that the new agency will step in and protect consumers, much more is needed from the Obama administration and Congress on bank regulations.

Bank regulations need to be toughened to prevent another financial meltdown. In addition, the bankers and other “captains of industry” who caused the Great Recession need to be charged and brought to trial.

Consumers have suffered greatly through foreclosures of their homes, loss of their jobs, and reductions in their retirement funds.

While as gratifying as this first action by the new consumer protection financial bureau is, along with this year’s earlier settlement on mortgage foreclosure irregularities by other agencies, the banking industry and Wall Street investment companies need to be held accountable for their crimes.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist