Consumer Blog

Missouri consumer writes:

Help!! I have paid my wedding photographer in full and she has not delivered my order after 5 long months. She said she has filed bankruptcy and there is nothing I can do to recover my order or money. Is there anything I can do to recover the $1700+ dollars I have already paid to her?

You can file a consumer complaint with our office. This is a widespread problem. We settled a similar case against a photography studio earlier this year. And a check of our consumer complaint database for the word "wedding" shows 700 complaints - and about half of them are on this very topic.

One of our consumer rules to live by is not paying in advance for things you haven't received yet.

If you're relocating soon and looking for a moving company, here are some tips:

• As with any business, work with companies known to you or recommended by someone you trust. Don't do business with a stranger, based on a good price quote, Web site or nice-looking ad in the phone book. You can check for complaints against a company using our KnowMO database or with your local Better Business Bureau.
• Get at least two estimates and three if possible.
• Consider a binding estimate. That means you and the moving company agree in writing on a price, and that's what you pay. If it's non-binding, you will likely be hit with a bill that's larger than the estimate.
• Ask what kind of payment the mover requires. Some consumers find that after their belongings have arrived at the new home, the moving company tells them they have to have a cashier's check or else they won't unload the stuff. If it's 6 p.m., you won't find a bank open to give you a cashier's check.

You may have heard horror stories about movers who hold belongings hostage while they ask for more money. Researching their background and getting a binding estimate should help prevent this.

The federal government has a Web site with tips and consumer rights. Also, the industry has a Web site with tips.

Missourians now have protection against utility shutoffs in hot weather, just as they do in cold weather. The legislature this year passed a law creating a "hot weather rule," so that utility customers can't have their power shut off on extremely hot days. This is the summer equivalent of the "cold weather rule," which has been the law for 30 years in Missouri. Here's how they breakdown:

Hot weather rule (effective Aug. 28, 2008): From June 1 to September 30, utilities can not shut off service for nonpayment if the temperature is forecast to be above 95 degrees or the heat index above 105.

Cold weather rule: From November 1 to March 31, utilities can not shut off heat for nonpayment if the temperature is forecast to be below freezing.

Consumers often need to get a copy of something in their medical file from their doctor, either for themselves or to have sent to another doctor.

Your doctor owns the contents of your medical file. This includes the dates you've been seen, billing, diagnosis, drug use, etc. It also includes images like x-rays and MRIs.

Under the federal law HIPAA, you have a right to get a copy of anything in your file. Your doctor has the right to charge you a reasonable fee to copy that item.

With images, many are now done digitally, so making a copy is no problem. If your provider only does them in hard copy film, they may have to hire an outside company to make copies, so that may drive up the cost.

Cost of digital copies are not regulated in Missouri, but paper copies are. Here is the fee schedule that limits what providers can charge to make copies of medical records.

A reporter recently asked if we get many complaints against computer repair companies. While we get a pretty heavy volume of complaints against computer manufacturers for not honoring their warranties, we don't get many against local repair shops. But we decided to come up with some consumer pointers nonetheless.

So when your computer needs work and you are looking for a local repair service, think of this much like an auto mechanic:

• Do business with companies that are known or recommended by someone you trust
• Get estimates in writing. Get more than one estimate if the cost is significant. (Meaning, if it's a $70 repair, you may be comfortable accepting just that one estimate.)
• Require your authorization before any further repairs are made. i.e., you approve the $70. Tell them if it's going to be more than that, they need your approval before doing the work.
• Don't pay full price up front.

If you have problems with computer repair or other issues, you can file a consumer complaint with our office.

Ah, those long-term wireless contracts and their big cancellation fees. One of the biggest consumer complaints we get when it comes to mobile phones. It's not unusual for contracts with the big companies to have a $175 fee for getting out of your contract early. Consumers are irate, Congress and FCC are thinking about regulation, and cell phone companies are starting to make some changes.

Verizon started prorating its termination fees in 2006, and now AT&T has followed suit. That means the less time you have on your contract, the less your fee will be. For example, AT&T will deduct $5 for every month you've paid on your contract. So if you're six months into your contract, they'll subtract $30 from that termination fee.

T-Mobile and Sprint say they'll start prorating by the end of the year.

As you would expect, more and more Americans are getting rid of their landline phones and relying completely on cell phones. USA Today has some statistics from around the country. The most dramatic are from New York, where the number of landlines is down 55% since 2000.

One in six Americans now has no landline. Under age 30, it's about one in three Americans.

I have friends who fall into this category, and you probably do too. Husband and wife each has a cell phone, no home phone.

Related statistic, also summarized in USA Today: one in three households now receives all their calls on a cell phone, even though they still have a landline. I have friends that fall into this category also. They have a home phone, but don't bother trying to reach them on it. They don't answer it and don't check their messages on it.

Good column today in the Columbia Tribune on how to save money when using your cell phone in another country. Best suggestion: take out your SIM card and replace it with one from that country. On average, rates will be 80% lower than if you're using your U.S. SIM card.

With the cost of health insurance increasing and so many consumers going without, a product you'll see pitched these days is a health care discount plan.

For this plan, you might pay a monthly fee that supposedly gets you discounts on doctors, dentists, medicine, etc. Just remember a few things:

1. Work with reputable companies, as always. Check for complaints using our KnowMo online feature.
2. Check to see if your care provider or pharmacy participates. Confirm with them - don't just take the discount plan company's word for it.
3. Remember this is not insurance. So if it's legitimate and if your providers participate, you will still have to pay part of your bill. Find out beforehand exactly what your discount is. No surprises.

Consumer Affairs recently had an article with more on these plans. If you have a problem with one of these companies, you can file a consumer complaint with our office.

We have mentioned some slight risks associated with gift cards, but here is another, perhaps bigger risk: the company you buy from could go out of business.

According to one count, $75 million worth of gift cards could be worthless because of retailers that are in financial trouble.

Get the lead out.

AG Nixon is sponsoring an event in Columbia this Saturday where parents can bring in their kids' belongings to have them screened for lead content. It's free and quick - there's a scanner that looks like a police radar gun - the operator will hold it on the item for about 30 seconds and get a reading as to whether the thing has lead in it. Bring toys, cups, bibs, plates - anything likely to come in contact with a young child's mouth. Young = roughly age 6 or under.

Columbia Public Library on West Broadway from 10a - 1pm. We did one in St. Louis in January - we had 80 people bring 300 toys, and about 10% of them contained lead.

Page 18-19 of AG Nixon's publication Know Your Rights gives our 4 critical consumer rules. If consumers followed these rules, most disputes, scams, etc, would be avoided.

1. Never give out your personal information to anyone who contacts you. Only give it when you initiate the contact. ID thieves and scammers who send phishing e-mail and phone calls hope you will violate this rule. Unless you contact them, you simply can't be sure who they are, no matter how important or convincing they sound. And they will sound convincing.

2. Don't pay full price for a product or service you haven't yet received. Home repair fraudsters who come door to door hope you'll violate this rule. Only pay when the work has been done or product received according to the terms of your agreement. If a service provider insists on a down payment, agree to no more than 25%.

3. Do business with companies that you know or have been recommended to you by someone you trust. Again, doing business with a door-to-door home repair stranger violates this rule. You can also contact our Consumer Protection Hotline (800-392-8222) or Web site or your local Better Business Bureau to ask what companies have received consumer complaints. You can check KnowMO, our online database of consumer complaints.

4. Never make financial decisions under pressure. Any high-pressure sales situation is suspicious. Make decisions on spending money or giving to charity only when you've done your homework and you're comfortable with it. If you say no to a high-pressure salesman or telemarketer, you are not going to hurt his feelings. Well, you might - but he'll quickly get over it and move on to the next prospect.

You've no doubt heard the news about the drastic interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. "The Fed" has announced several cuts as a way to stimulate the economy, in hopes of avoiding a recession.

You may be wondering if that will give you any relief on your credit card interest rates. The answer is most likely no.

The rate cuts just lower the rates banks have to pay. Usually that translates into a lower rates for consumers, but not always. Here is an explanation of what the cuts do affect and what they don't.

With foreclosures up around the country, this is bound to happen: as a tenant, you are renting property, and your landlord starts having trouble making the mortgage payment. If he or she is facing foreclosure, the lender may take over the property. If that happens, the lender will most likely want you out.

So what do you do? Consumer reporter Paul Wenske with the KC Star explores some of your options.

Article in the news today suggests that may be happening - consumers are deciding to pay for more things with cash. This is a positive development. And it's especially good news for those consumers, considering another article today that says banks are starting to raise credit card rates. That's because of the consumer debt crisis - so many consumers are having trouble paying off their loans and mortgages, the banks are hurting. So they are trying to generate revenue from another part of their business: credit cards.