The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

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

Gray hair, family connections, blueberries, health care, Pinterest, travel, and home security systems are topics for this week’s Blogging Boomer Carnival

By Rita R. Robison

Virginia Cornue of vaboomer is this week’s host for Blogging Boomer Carnival #370.

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

In this week’s carnival, boomer bloggers discuss:

• Why gray hair is attractive.

• How our relationships with our siblings ebb and flow.

• What kind of blueberries are the best.

• Why consumers with preexisting conditions need health insurance.

• Whether boomers should pin on Pinterest.

• The best, worst, and most ridiculous travel stories.

• How to avoid problems when buying a home security system.

Baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are America’s largest age group so far, and a dynamic group they are.

Boomers are leading corporations, serving as governmental officials, heading up non-profits, worrying about retirement, and experiencing layoffs at a higher rate than younger workers. They’re also reinventing themselves in trying economic times, with some looking for their dream jobs to keep them happy in retirement.

At each stage in their lives, boomers have changed things. They’re continuing to make America different as they begin entering into their retirement years.

In addition to The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, members of the Blogging Boomer Carnival are: The Accidental Locavore, The Midlife Crisis Queen, Sightings From 60, Arabian Tales and Other Amazing Adventures, SoBabyBoomer, and Silver & Grace.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

This week’s Blogging Boomer Carnival offers information on hair, travel, food, Twitter, vegetarianism, retirement bargains, and change

By Rita R. Robison

Laura Lee Carter of the Midlife Crisis Queen is this week’s host for the Blogging Boomer Carnival #269.

Carter reports on what boomer members of the carnival have been blogging about. This week it’s giving up hair dying, traveling with children and grandchildren, shopping at a pop-up supermarket, using Twitter, eating less meat, picking out a cheap place to retire, and taking risks to change your life.

Baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are America’s largest age group so far, and a dynamic group they are.

Boomers are leading corporations, serving as governmental officials, heading up non-profits, worrying about retirement, and experiencing layoffs at a higher rate than younger workers. They’re also reinventing themselves in trying economic times, with some looking for their dream jobs to keep them happy in retirement.

At each stage in their lives, boomers have changed things. They’re continuing to make America different as they begin entering into their retirement years.

In addition to The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, members of the Blogging Boomer Carnival are: The Accidental Locavore, The Midlife Crisis Queen, Sightings at 60, Arabian Tales and Other Amazing Adventures, and Silver and Grace.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Finding money is my best consumer experience while Comcast customer service is terrible

By Rita R. Robison

Luckily, I found some money this week, but my experience with Comcast was awful.

My best consumer experience: Finding money among my receipts

This spring, I’ve been really busy. When I prepared my tax return, I usually go through my receipts in addition to reviewing my check and credit card records. However, I skipped going through my receipts.

Since I had company coming, I was organizing my office. I had two 8 x 10 envelopes of receipts. I debated on whether to divide them up between business and other expenses or just filing them as is.

I decided, despite being rushed to get my house in order, to organize them.

I was ecstatic to find $40 folded up in a receipt. Apparently, I’d put the money with the receipt, then transferred it to my receipt pile without noticing the money.

I happily kept filing. Then I found another $5. Again, I was tickled.

The whole experience of getting my house in order has made me want to keep up with my filing. The $45 was a nice reward.

My worst consumer experience: Customer service with Comcast

My daughter is visiting and wanted me to install wifi. I went to Office Depot and bought a router.

It looked complicated, and we had trouble at her house in Miami installing wifi. So I decided to contact Comcast, my Internet service provider. A big, big mistake.

I paid $5.95 for Comcast’s Signature service to help me. I worked with one customer service representative, Blake. We went at it for an hour, but we were cut off.

Then I called back. I worked with Tom. He was slower than Blake, but I thought he might be able to help me. When he wanted me to access an Internet address, he slowly explained the http:// address indicating the : was a colon. Come on. I’m a journalist. I’ve known what a colon is, as in writing, for years. I spent another hour with him.

He was terrible. At one point, he yelled at me. I was confused about which color cord to plug in, and I wasn’t doing it fast of enough. I had to tell him to stop yelling at me.

We worked on it for another hour. Tom said, at the end of a horrible hour, that the router was defective. He said I should take it back to Office Depot.

Wrong. At my daughter’s suggestion, I called D-Link, the company that makes the router, instead of trying Comcast for a third time.

It worked. The problem was the Firefox browser. It’s my default browser. When I worked with the D-Link representative, I got a blank screen two times.

She said we should try Safari. It worked. My daughter is happily posting photos to Facebook.

I can’t believe the terrible customer service I received from Comcast. I tried to call the Signature number again to complain about the “customer service.” I was cut off again. Unbelievable.

I plan to write the CEO of Comcast about this.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Nine ways to stay protected on Facebook

Face book offers many privacy controls that may not be easy for consumers to understand.

Below are nine tips from Consumer Reports that will help users use privacy tools:

• Think before typing. Even if a user deletes his or her account, which takes Face book about a month, some information can remain in Facebook’s computers for up to 90 days.
• Regularly check Face book exposure. Each month, users should check how their page looks to others. Review individual privacy settings if necessary.
• Protect basic information. Set the audience for profile items, such as town or employer. And users should remember: Sharing info with “friends of friends” could expose them to tens of thousands of strangers.
• Know what can’t be protected. Each user’s name and profile picture are public. To protect one’s identity, consumers shouldn’t use a photo or use one that doesn’t show their face.
• “UnPublic” the wall. Set the audience for all previous wall posts to just friends.
• Turn off Tag Suggest. If users would rather not have Face book automatically recognize their face in photos, they could disable that feature in their privacy settings. The information will be deleted.
• Block apps and sites that snoop. Unless users intercede, friends can share personal information about them with apps. To block that, they should use controls to limit the information apps can see.
• Keep wall posts from friends. Users don’t have to share every wall post with every friend. They can also keep certain people from viewing specific items in their profile.
• When all else fails, deactivate. When a user deactivates his or her account, Face book retains the profile data but the account is made temporarily inaccessible. Deleting an account makes it inaccessible forever.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Million of Facebook users risk sharing updates beyond their ‘friends’ because they don’t use privacy controls

Nearly 13 million U.S. Facebook users don’t use or aren’t aware of the site’s privacy controls, potentially exposing personal information widely beyond their network of Face book “friends,” according to Consumer Reports.

Its report on Facebook and privacy also shows that more than 4.8 million people have posted about where they planned to go on a certain day, a potential tip-off to burglars, while 4.7 million have “liked” a Facebook page about health conditions or treatments, details that insurers might use against them.

Facebook is the largest social network with more than 900 million users worldwide and 150 million users in the United States.

Facebook makes it easy for people to keep up with friends, family, and colleagues, discover great content, and connect to causes. To deliver this service, Facebook and other social networks collect enormous amounts of often highly sensitive information and distribute it widely and quickly.

This data collection has risks. About seven million households using Facebook said they had trouble last year, ranging from someone using their log-in without permission to being harassed or threatened – up 30 percent from the previous year, according to the Consumer Reports Annual State of the Net survey.

Unless an individual chooses his or her privacy settings carefully, a friend who runs an app could grant it access to the person’s information without his or her knowledge, including information that was set to “friends” only view. Only 37 percent of users say they’ve used the site’s privacy tools to customize how much information apps are allowed to see, according to the Consumer Reports survey.

What does Facebook know? Americans feed all kinds of personal details into Facebook’s vast database by posting status updates on their “wall,” updating their profile, “liking a page,” or using other Face book features. The numbers below show how many people engaged in each activity during the past 12 months, based on projections from the Consumer Reports State of the Net survey:

• 39.3 million identified a family member in a profile.
• 20.4 million included their birth date and year in their profile.
• 7.7 million “liked” a Face book page pertaining to a religious affiliation.
• 4.6 million discussed their love life on their wall.
• 2.6 million discussed their recreational use of alcohol on their wall.
• 2.3 million “liked” a page regarding sexual orientation.

While some privacy or security issues arise from poor choices Facebook users themselves make, other problems can stem from the ways the company collects data, how it manages and packages its privacy controls, and the fact that users’ data can wind up with people or companies with whom they didn’t intend to share.

Some users might be surprised to know that Facebook gets a report every time they visit a site with a “Like” button, regardless of whether or not they click on that button, have a Facebook account, or are even logged in.

Better protections. Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, wants:

• A national privacy law that holds all companies to the same privacy standards and lets consumers tell companies not to track them online.
• Industry and privacy groups to meet to set clear rules for how personal data is collected and used, an Obama administration initiative.
• Consumers to sign a petition urging Facebook to improve privacy controls and address concerns about sharing practices.
• Facebook to fix a security lapse that permits users to set up weak passwords including some six-letter dictionary words and help users avoid inadvertently sharing status updates with the public, either by alerting them more prominently when they are about to do so or by changing the default audience for posts to the user’s preferred audience.

The report can be found in the June 2012 issue of Consumer Reports, available on newsstands on May 8, and online at www.ConsumerReports.org. The issue also features a report on online security and what consumers can do to protect themselves.

My next post will offer information on Consumer Report’s recommendations on “Nine Ways to Stay Protected” when you use Facebook.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Spring apparel, candy to send Easter sales past $16 billion, survey says

Americans will spend an average of $145 on everything from apparel and candy to food and decorations this year, up 11 percent from $131 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $16.8 billion.

“Though the price of gas is on everyone’s mind, Easter is one of the few holidays some consumers are willing to stretch their budgets, especially because many children look forward to treats and new outfits on Easter morning,” said National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay.

Consumers celebrating Easter want to buy for candy and new spring clothes, according to a federation survey.

Nearly half will head to the stores to take advantage of spring sales on fashions and accessories, with total spending on those items expected to reach $3 billion. Most, 89 percent, will buy more than $2 billion on traditional favorites such as chocolate eggs and jelly beans. The average person will spend more on these items as well: $26 on apparel, up from $22 last year, and $20 on candy, up from $19 last year.

Americans are also set to spend more on their Easter meals with the average person expected to spend $44, up from $40 last year for a total $5.1 billion. In addition, consumers will spend an average of $21 on gifts for their friends and family, $11 on flowers, and $9 on decorations for their home and office. Half will buy greeting cards, spending an average of $7.

More than half of tablet owners celebrating Easter will use their device to research products and purchase gifts and other merchandise. In addition, 43 percent of smartphone owners celebrating Easter will use their mobile device to research and/or purchase items.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

National Consumer Protection Week: Take action to become an alert, informed consumer

By Rita R. Robison

This week, March 4 through 10, is National Consumer Protection Week.

Here are some suggestions from consumer groups and government agencies on what consumers can do during this important consumer week to improve enhance their consumer lives.

NCPW.com

This is the website for the National Consumer Protection Week organization. For information on how to set up activities in your community, see its Great Outreach Ideas page.

National Association of Attorneys General

Check the Attorney General’s Office website in your state for the resources consumers need to make informed decisions on issues that include home foreclosures, investments, credit, and business opportunities.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Read about the steps the new agency has taken to help protect your financial interests.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The department urges consumers to learn more about their new health insurance rights and the resources offered by the Affordable Care Act.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The agency encourages consumers nationwide to protect themselves and make better-informed decisions by taking advantage of available resources. Information on credit, debit, and prepaid cards are offered.

Consumer World

The consumer information website urges people to reserve a copy of the great resource, the “Consumer Action Handbook for 2012” or read it online now.

Consumer Action

The consumer group offers a Take Action Center, reviews of consumer books, consumer news, and consumer action publications.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

The agency suggests consumers take a look at its HelpWithMyBank web page for answers and solutions for customers of national banks.

Federal Trade Commission

To learn about identity theft, investment scams, shopping tips, and telemarketing and telephone services, see the FTC’s Consumer Information web page.

Better Business Bureau

You can sign up to get a consumer tip a day from the BBB.

And don't forget to file consumer complaints when you have problems in the marketplace. Filing complaints lets companies and government regulators know when things are going wrong when consumers purchase goods and services.

 

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Watch out for ‘sweetheart swindles’ if you’re looking for love on Valentine’s Day

More people are turning to the Internet to find Mr. or Ms. Right through online dating services, pop-up ads, or email.

A mid-West Consumer Fraud Task Force warns those who use the Internet to find love that, while online dating has resulted in some successful relationships, criminals also troll the sites for victims who will send them money.

Task Force partners get thousands of complaints every year from people who have lost money to someone they met on dating sites.

Some criminals say they’re in the military and stationed overseas. Others may claim to have a sudden emergency, such as medical bills for a sick relative, or they claim they’re in need of cash because they’re stranded or behind on their bills. 

Often the “emergency” occurs after weeks or months of online chitchat, often filled with flattery that makes the victim feel as if he or she has found true love.

A woman in Washington state got a 46-month prison term for swindling an elderly doctor out of $2.2 million by faking an online romantic relationship over several years ending in 2010.

A study in the United Kingdom found that more than 200,000 people in Britain had been conned by scammers posing as potential romantic partners online. The victims lost about $379,600.

A lawsuit filed in Dallas in December 2010 claimed that more than half the profiles on a leading dating site were “inactive, fake, or fraudulent.” In some cases, the profiles link to scammers in other countries, often in Africa or Eastern Europe. For that reason, it can be difficult for law enforcement or other agencies to make arrests or recover victims’ money, the Task Force said in a statement.

The Task Force urges anyone who uses an online dating service or answers an unsolicited romantic email to be extremely cautious before committing to meet the person or send them money, tickets, or anything else of value.

Some tips and red flags to watch for include:

• Find out whether the dating service does any background checks or fraud scans before a person’s profile is posted.
• Be cautious if the person claims to be recently widowed or says he or she is an American stationed overseas, possibly in the military.
• Be cautious if the person immediately asks you to communicate on an e-mail or messaging system outside the dating site. Some dating sites monitor exchanges for signs of fraud, and a fraudster may be anxious to lure you away from the site.
• Do a Google search on the person. You can even paste the text of the e-mail, profile description, or pictures into Google and search to see if similar text, pictures, or descriptions are used by others. Some criminals create multiple profiles and use the same information over and over.
• Be suspicious if the person hints that they’re in financial trouble or have another sudden need for money. If the person asks you to wire money – such as by Western Union, MoneyGram, or Green Dot MoneyPak – it more than likely is a scam.
• Check the person’s name in online databases of sex offenders, which are available in many states. 
• Go to a place where there are large numbers of people and where you feel safe, if you decide to meet the person. Consider taking someone along with you.

The Task Force is a coalition of local, state, and federal government agencies and nonprofit business and consumer groups in Missouri and Illinois that work together to protect consumers against fraud.

For information, or if you think you may be the victim of a scam, contact these Task Force members:

• Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois – 314-645-3300; www.bbb.org.

• Federal Trade Commission – 877-382-4357; www.ftc.gov.

• Illinois Attorney General – 800-243-0618; www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov.

• Missouri Attorney General – 800-392-8222; www.ago.mo.gov.

• U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Missouri – 314-539-2200; www.usdoj.gov/usao/moe.

• U.S. Postal Inspection Service – 877-876-2455; postalinspectors.uspis.gov.

• U.S.  Secret Service – 314-539-2238; www.secretservice.gov.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Airline trips were my best and worst experiences this week

By Rita R. Robison

It was surprising to me. My experience with American Airlines was much better than one with “top-rated” Alaska Airlines.

My best experience: A trip on American Airlines

I just returned from a trip to Madrid on American Airlines. It was a good trip. The planes were all on time, no delays. I was able to get the seats I needed – ahead of the wing and by the window – for my respiratory problem.

I had enough time to grab supplemental food so I could skip the airline food if I needed to. I packed my backpack lighter so I didn’t have to struggle to get it under the seat in front of me.

American Airlines, which recently filed for bankruptcy, had one of the lowest ratings in a Bloomberg Rankings analysis of operating performance and service charges.

My worst experience: A huge extra charge from Alaska Airlines

A few days after I returned from Madrid, I had a trip scheduled to Sacramento to see my granddaughter perform in a play.

My daughter checked my ticket and alerted me to the fact that it had a mistake. My return trip was 30 minutes after I landed in Sacramento.

I called Alaska Airlines, and the representative said she didn’t know how the problem occurred. Either Alaska made a computer error, or I made the mistake when I signed up for the ticket.

The representative said there was no way to determine how the error was made. But she said, it didn’t matter. It would cost $219 for different return flight – plus a $50 fee for the change. A whopping $269 additional charge. (The representative said she was doing me a big favor by cutting the fee to change the ticket in half.)

It was devastating. I had purchased the original ticket for a total of $101, a great sale price.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist