Consumer Blog

The federal agency that regulates TV has thrown out those exclusive deals that some landlords sign with cable companies. In some apartment complexes (maybe where you live?), tenants don't set up their own cable subscription. Instead, their apartment comes with a certain cable package, and the tenants have no say in it.

The Federal Communiations Commission says that's no longer OK - consumers need to have a choice of what TV package they want. The FCC also says cable rates have just about doubled in the last 10 years.

Article in USA Today this morning talks about folks who have worked hard all their lives, then made bad decisions about retiring early. Scams have been involved in some cases. The personal stories are compelling, but the best info is the fact. v fiction list in the left-hand column. If you or someone you know is considering this, check it out.

We've discussed previously how college students are facing a mountain of debt upon graduation.

The University of Missouri's Office for Financial Success - OFS - aims to reduce overwhelming debt by educating future students before they've even applied for aid. After reading this KC Star article, I contacted Dr. Mark Olsen, director of the OFS, about this unique service. He said that he's an "advocate of always seeking information before making the decision of financial aid." And, choosing the right type of loan for each individual student is critical. Many students will need additional money after they have received federal and state loans, which are often at lower and fixed rates. Then they often turn to private, non-fixed loans — usually at higher rates — to assist with the balance of their education expenses.

But instead of students trying to decide which loan is the best fit, they can seek guidance from the OFS. This is a free service for Mizzou students, but for a fee any student can contact the OFS for a counseling session. Currently, there is only one office, which is located in Columbia, MO. However, many people choose to set up sessions via the phone or through email. In fact, Dr. Olsen stated that 10-15% of OFS' cliental are located outside of the state of Missouri. Parents and students should start thinking about the college loan process early, before that big envelope — the acceptance package — arrives in the mail.

We have a new consumer quiz posted online regarding credit. How well do you know what affects your credit score and the rights you have when it comes to your credit report? FYI, we have lots of other consumer quizzes as well on topics like ID theft, general consumer knowledge, landlord-tenant law, etc.

Now that you can freeze your credit report, it will be interesting to see if that changes the products and services offered for ID theft protection. There are many of these, and we've written about them before. They claim to either prevent someone opening a new account in your name or help you recover from that. But if you're considering (or are paying for) one of them, I'd ask some questions:

• If my credit file is frozen, why do I need this service?
• Does your service include freezing my credit file?

Let's walk through the different products and how they're affected by the new credit freeze developments:

• Credit monitoring - this service monitors your credit reports to notify you if there have been additional accounts opened in your name. You can do this yourself for free three times a year by checking your credit report. And if you've frozen your credit report, there should be no new accounts opened. So do you still need credit monitoring?
• ID theft insurance to help clear your name. Again, if your credit is frozen, your chances of being a victim are microscopic compared to what they are now. Besides, if you are a victim, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General for free and get your records cleared.
• Prevention services - those that opt you out of junk mail, credit card offers, etc. You can do those for free. Will these now add credit freeze as one of the services? If so, how much will it cost? Remember, you can freeze your credit for $30 ($10 per credit bureau). That's a one-time fee, compared to at least $10 per month for those prevention services.

None of these products is bad for you - they can't hurt, they can only help. But the question is, how much can they help and is it worth paying for?

With the holidays and gift-buying season approaching, you'll likely hear a lot about extended warranties. Consumer advocates' advice will range from "think twice about them" to "don't buy them." Clark Howard, the radio talk show host, and Consumer Reports say you don't need them - ever. In fact, CR placed a full-page ad in USA Today last year saying "no matter what the salesperson says, you don't need an extended warranty."

Consumeraffairs.com has a recent article with the "think twice" approach. The idea is that if you bought an extended warranty for every expensive item you own, you'd be paying way more than the likely repair costs. Let's say you have 15 expensive items warrantied in your home (including cars). How many are likely to need repairs? 1 or 2, maybe? Those two repairs will probably cost less than all those warranty payments you've made. We see consumer complaints about the effectiveness of extended warranties: they don't pay for what the consumer thinks they should; and they're 3rd-party companies, so they sometimes go out of business and thus can't fulfill their guarantees.

A new survey says when you give to a charity during a telemarketing call, just one-third of your donation is actually making it to the charity. The rest? Goes to the telemarketer.

AG Nixon's Check a Charity Web site can help you determine how charities handle their finances. For any charity you find in our database, we'll tell you how much they spend on overhead v. the actually program service you're hoping to help. Rule of thumb: we recommend you give to those that spend at least 65% of their money on program services. A recent blog post summarized our advice on charitable giving.

You hear lots of talk about how to prevent ID theft: shred your trash, don't give out your account and Social Security numbers, etc. But the most underrated part of ID theft protection is detection. That's because we can fall victim at any time, through no fault of our own. Like these data breaches you hear about, or sloppy companies that throw your documents in the trash without shredding them.

So here are the three steps to detect. Hopefully you're already doing #1 and 2:

1. Check your bank statements at least monthly - watch for unauthorized withdrawals
2. Check your credit card statements at least monthly - watch for unauthorized charges
3. Check your credit report, which you can do for free three times a year. Here's how. If someone opens a new account in your name, this is your best way of finding out about it. All new credit cards, loans, mortgages and other such accounts hit your credit report soon after opening. You are entitled to one free credit report per year, per credit bureau. There are three bureaus. So we recommend you check one every four months.

AG Nixon put out a consumer alert this week with the rules of the road for shopping online as the holiday season approaches. The biggies: shop at secure sites, pay with a credit card, and understand that you don't have any legal rights when it comes to returning merchandise. Most stores have a return / refund policy, but there's nothing in the law that says they have to. So read their policies before you buy.

Cyber Monday is the name given to the first Monday after Thanksgiving. Can you relate to this? Back at their desks after the holiday, workers hit the Internet and start shopping in earnest. Of course, the retailers love it. One survey of companies found that 75% plan to offer sales and promotions that day.

You may have seen this blog post on the puppy scam by Katie a while back and skipped over it, thought it sounded far-fetched, etc. But we have a lot of comments on it, including from victims and would-be victims. Observe some of them:

Before I read up on the puppy scam, I got scammed. I had just lost my Yorkshire Terrier. I was checking the internet for puppies. Well, the next day I get this note on e-mail... Her name was Cathy, and she was a Yorkshire breeder. Just sold her last puppies to a Rev. Jim Walcox and I should connect him. Well, you might know he's in Africa... I really feel stupid about this now.

And another

This scam just happened to me. I thought I was helping someone out, and trying to see the good in people. I have a lot of money to the guy because he came up with stories about problems with the custom clearance papers, medical certificates and much more. Its rediculous, people like that make it hard for people with real problems and concerns.

A would-be victim

I am so glad I read your story or I might have been scammed. Thank you. This is where we left off: To make your payment go to any WAL-MART Store around you and make the Payment of $300 via MONEYGRAM MONEY TRANSFER to shipper's name and address in Nigeria as stated below.

And another

I also was online trying to find a teacup yorkie and came across the same people as Gloria did on October 16th. I received an email from Chichi Everly and Cathy Lasondra. Their email address is lasondrapets@yahoo.com. She stated that she is a breeder and sold her last set of pups the Rev. Jim Walcox. He sent me an email as well stating that he is doing mission work in Africa and that he wants a good home for the pups. I was to only pay airfare. $300 for one and $600 for both. I was really sad when I came across this website of scams, but now I glad that I didnt do anything stupid.

And another

Obviously this guy is still pulling the same scam. I sent a response about a yorkie and got a return email from him today. After reading the Africa deal I immediately had red flags because of the Dateline shows I have seen in the past. So, before I responded I googled his name and found this website. Needless to say I hope he read my response. My heart goes out to anyone who might have fallen victim to this cruel mans scam. I thank each of you who didn't just sit by and got these postings up. Which prevented me and my family from being ripped off and heart broken.

The topic of payday loan business has always been a hot one on this blog. Many of Missouri's consumers have shared their ideas and stories with us.

While there are varying opinions regarding this subject, a recent KC Star article approaches the subject with an eye towards satire. I linked this story because while it is intended to spoof this industry, MO AG Nixon continues to take a serious stance on the practice of payday lenders.

Today, this website launched a new quiz to test Missourians' knowledge of the business of loan providers.

AG Nixon sent out a consumer alert this week with some suggestions for giving to charities this season. The biggest thing I can say is: remember this is your money, don't even think about giving to someone just because they pressure or guilt you.

As is the custom in recent years, retailers expect gift cards to be huge business this holiday season. A survey recently took a look at the various cards being offered by major national companies and the fees, terms and conditions involved. The report is 20+ pages long, but Consumeraffairs.com has a nice summary of the findings. As usual, cards from retail stores tend to have the fewest strings attached. You'll find the higher fees and penalties with cards that can be used in lots of places, like a mall card, or one from the major credit card companies. AG Nixon sent a consumer alert on this issue last December.