Search results for consumer guide
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Posted
Dec 04 2007, 09:36 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Joseph S. Enoch at partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com. After numerous complaints about Video Professor's sales tactics, ConsumerAffairs.com decided to try the lessons ourselves. For 20 years, John Scherer, otherwise known as the Video Professor, has advertised on cable TV the wonders of his educational software. "I am so confident that I'm going to give you one free disc," he says in his "limited-time- offer" advertisements. In actuality, it appears impossible to get just one free disc. Instead, it is a packaged bundle of three discs that costs $6.95 for shipping and handling. If the customer doesn't return one of the discs, at the customer's expense, within 10 days, that person will be enrolled in an automatic-renewal service that sends new three-disc bundles every month for $79.95.
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Posted
Dec 11 2007, 02:54 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We've noticed from personal experience that finding solid tips on mattress shopping can be difficult. The standard advice to spend 15 minutes on a showroom mattress seems somewhat unsanitary and extremely time-consuming, particularly if you fall asleep. So we were grateful to read Saving Freak's post called "Mattress Myths." The myth he busts is that you need to spend $2,500 to get a good night's sleep. "Now I have searched and searched and found no real scientific evidence that one of these mattresses actually helps you sleep better," said Freak, who sleeps happily on a $400 clearance set. He also offers some shopping rules, topped by: "Never let a pregnant woman pick out your mattress." It will be too firm over the long haul, and you'll spend more than you'd planned.
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Posted
Dec 13 2007, 01:59 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from David Wood at partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com. While this year's Thanksgiving travel rush was less troublesome than expected, frustrations of all kinds await travelers not only during the holidays but year-round. Here's a holiday review of frequent mishaps and what you can do to avoid them. The epidemic of lost bags is the tip of the iceberg. Flight delays, canceled flights, overbooking and an assortment of other annoyances are common. Keeping your cool is only part of the equation. You also must be educated about your rights and the laws and regulations that govern airlines. For instance, it's no secret that airlines routinely overbook flights in anticipation of passengers not showing up, and there is nothing illegal about that. Part of the traveling life is the chance of being bumped, and minors are not exempt.
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Posted
Jan 03 2008, 05:21 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Linsey Knerl at partner blog Wise Bread. I couldn't believe that my 3M microfiber mop had cracked -- again. It was the third time in six months, and the thing wasn't exactly cheap. I was ready to cry. Not because the dumb thing broke, but because I had company coming over in a few hours, and I was now reduced to scrubbing on my hands and knees the way my mother did in the '80s. Days went by before I decided to e-mail the company to give it a rundown on what had happened with the mop. I wasn't expecting anything in return, but I needed to vent. I drafted a polite account of all the times the mop head broke, and how I was disappointed to the point of considering a lifetime ban of the company's cleaning products. The e-mail was sent; I felt better. I had almost let it go. A week later the postman came to my door with a large package containing a new mop, two replacement mop heads, coupons for a few free products, and a letter of apology. 3M had redeemed itself, and I was cleaning my floors again. What did I gain from this experience? At first glance it would seem a few free products. It really went deeper than that. 3M went on to redesign its mop head. I haven't had the problem of a breakage since. I may have been influential in changing the way a product was made, and it was simple to do.
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Posted
Jan 10 2008, 10:06 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from David Wood at partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com. While junk e-mail keeps us busy hitting the delete button, unsolicited advertisements and offers through old-fashioned snail mail also can sow the seeds of confusion. Not many do this better than a Nevada-based credit offer called First National Card. First National Card -- offered by both Consumer Credit Services Inc. and Capital Credit Alliance Inc. -- is one of the most confusing and complained-about credit offers anywhere. The two companies -- CCS and CCA -- reside in the same Las Vegas office building and offer the same products, but are owned by two different people. They generate numerous consumer complaints annually to consumer protection agencies, Web sites and just about anyone else willing to listen.
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Posted
Jan 15 2008, 07:01 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This is an amazing concept: A Web site called gethuman.com gives instructions for avoiding the interminable voice menus used by companies and government agencies -- and reaching a real customer-service person. We're bookmarking this baby. If the company you need to contact isn't listed, a tips page tells you how to find the phone number and gives some suggestions for reaching a person, like punching the zero on your phone repeatedly, mumbling when the machine tells you to speak, or asking for "account collections," which generally is quick to answer the phone. "When you do finally find a human, ask them how to connect directly the next time (in case your call gets disconnected, etc.), and be sure to tell us so we can then list their number here," the site says.
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Posted
Jan 16 2008, 02:30 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
China has taken it on the chin for contaminated pet food and toys, but that developing country has taken a huge positive step by banning thin plastic shopping bags. Those white bags are annoying -- they're more common in trees than bird nests -- and wasteful. "While people seem to be more aware than ever about global warming, they don't make the connection to plastic being made from petroleum," writes Betsy Teutsch of Money Changes Things. In the United States, only San Francisco and about 30 Alaska villages have made the move.
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Posted
Jan 22 2008, 08:55 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from David Wood at partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com. There is one thing about being a teen that every generation experiences. A teen must have a place to hang out, a place to meet and socialize with friends. For some of us it might have been the malt shop, for others the mall. For today's teen, it's the Internet, especially MySpace, Facebook and other networking sites. These sites generally offer an excellent way for teens to keep up with their friends while making new friends along with the way. MySpace has grown to be the behemoth of the social-networking Web sites, thanks in part to its openness that allows teens to be, well, open. But this openness has created a headache for parents, teachers and teens, while raising serious issues of privacy and safety. Trying to restore its good name -- and to relieve mounting legal pressure from 49 states and the District of Columbia -- MySpace recently agreed to implement new measures to protect young users from sexual predators. Earlier MySpace had deleted the profiles of about 29,000 known sex offenders and predators. But deleting known predators doesn't solve the problem of young people who inadvertently give away too much information about themselves, or who, like 13-year-old Megan Meier, fall victim to hoaxes or harassment.
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Posted
Feb 01 2008, 06:27 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The scammers are out in full force this tax season, targeting taxpayers, accountants and anyone else who can answer a phone or open an e-mail. Kay Bell at Don't Mess With Taxes gives readers a rundown on some of the latest tactics being used to steal your identity. One is an e-mail purporting to be from the IRS, asking you to click on a link to a refund claim form, where you're instructed to provide personal financial information. A similar e-mail tells you that you're going to be audited. Unlike many phishing attempts, this one actually addresses you by your name, Kay says.
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Posted
Feb 19 2008, 08:38 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Mark Huffman of partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com. Master marketer and infomercial maven Kevin Trudeau has a new book out, but he hasn't strayed far from his successful diet and health book formula, which critics say panders to consumer paranoia. His new book, coincidentally introduced during the current credit crisis, is "Debt Cures They Don't Want You To Know About." Consumers who called an 800 number to order a copy are reporting experiences similar to those relayed to ConsumerAffairs.com by people who called to order "Natural Cures They Don't Want You To Know About." They're finding it very hard to buy just the book. "I only wanted to order the book, but the young lady kept telling me about a trial for 30 days, and I kept telling her 'the book only, please,'" Cynthia, of Mexia, Texas, told ConsumerAffairs.com.
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