ConsumerWatch

  Not all ConsumerWatch problems solved are aired on CBS 5.  Here are some cases that were resolved with the help of our ConsumerWatch volunteers:

Early Fees
In November 2008, Ruben Escamilla opened a credit card account with Chase. At that time, Chase offered a promotion of 0% for one year. Ruben had always paid his statements early. However, Chase began charging Ruben late fees for the May and June 2009 billing statements, posting the early payments as "non-scheduled payments." The bank also raised his interest rate from 0% to 9%. For two weeks, Ruben tried calling Chase, in which representatives explained that nothing could be done to remove the late fees. Ruben then contacted ConsumerWatch volunteer Rita, who contacted Chase. Within the next business day, a representative from Chase called Ruben with the good news that his interest rate would return to 0%, the late fees would be waived, and the interest accrued would be credited. Ruben is now waiting for the August statement for reimbursement.

"It's Just A Noisy Compressor"
When Ted Wattles purchased a new house in June 2009, he also bought a home warranty policy with the First American Home Buyers Protection Association. After moving in, Ted noticed the air conditioner's compressor was very noisy. Ted claims that technicians from the insurance company inspected the unit twice and told him that although the compressor was noisy, it was still working, and there was nothing the company could do about the situation. Ted continued to make calls to the insurance company to have the compressor replaced, but received the same response. So Ted contacted ConsumerWatch volunteer Juliana, who contacted the insurance company. Shortly after, the insurance company replaced the compressor. The air conditioning unit is now working silently.

Fix it once, that's fine...  Fix it twice, that's not okay.
When Georgina Castaneda purchased her 2006 Pontiac Torrent at a GM dealership in Lehmers of Concord, it came with a three-year warranty. She later wanted to use the warranty to repair a broken trunk lock and defective spoiler. The repairs were covered by the warranty. After the repairs, Georgina was still having problems with the car. At this point, she says Lehmers blamed her for damaging the vehicle and told her they would no longer assist her with the repairs. Georgina contacted ConsumerWatch volunteer Don, who advised her to get a second opinion. Georgina did just this, and even called the Better Business Bureau to file a claim. Once Hilltop Pontiac of Pittsburg saw the claim, she says they decided to assist Georgina with the repairs and fully covered the costs.

In-Direct TV
Charlotte Loera signed up for a special through AT&T for a package including phone, internet, and Direct TV. Through the special, Direct TV would cost $34.99 for 12 months, with a rebate of $75. Charlotte was surprised when she was billed $61.99. She called Direct TV to complain and was told the discounted rate would kick in after the $75 rebate was processed. She applied for and immediately received the rebate but was still billed $61.99. Although she already received the rebate, Direct TV told her it would take 60 days for the special rate to apply. The subsequent bills did not reflect the discount so she called ConsumerWatch volunteer Schelly, who sent an email to Direct TV. A few days later, Charlotte received a call from a Direct TV representative, who explained the company had a glitch in their system and offered Charlotte a $21 credit. But Charlotte just wanted the promotional rate so the representative lowered the cost to $34.99 starting with her July billing.

Xbox 360 Consolation
Bradley Stafford purchased an Xbox 360 at the end of 2007. Through 2008, he had to return the console to Microsoft three times for repairs because it never worked properly. The problem is that the third time around the Xbox never made it back to Stafford, even when the UPS tracking system indicated it had been delivered. In October, Stafford and his mother initiated a claim with both Microsoft and UPS to locate the package, but did not get a response for months. So they contacted our ConsumerWatch volunteer Rita in February 2009 to get some help.  Rita found out that the claim investigation had been closed, but she was able to reopen the case after she contacted Microsoft's public relations explaining the situation. On March 14, Stafford sent us the following message: "We appreciate all of your help in resolving this matter. Microsoft did send a new console and so far it has worked fine, no problems."

Bogus Parking Ticket
Lawrence Dass received an unexpected parking citation dated September 15, 2008 from the City of Los Angeles. It was especially surprising because Mr. Dass, a Fremont resident, claimed his vehicle had not been driven to Los Angeles. He recalled a similar situation CBS 5 had reported about NorCal Drivers Surprised By Bogus SoCal Tickets and then contacted ConsumerWatch for help in contesting the parking citation. Mr. Dass spoke with our volunteer Ann on January 21, 2009 and our unit provided him the necessary information to fix this error. On January 23, he received a notice from the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation saying an investigation had been concluded and the citation had been canceled. The matter is now closed. In a message to our volunteer unit, Mr. Dass wrote, "I want to thank Ms. Ann especially for following through my request and ConsumerWatch in addressing onerous burden from the government. This helped to avoid paying ticket charge, hearing, and follow-up to collect the payment."

Can You Refund My Money Now? Good.
Rebecca Gray said her brand-new cell phone started breaking two days after she purchased it. She said the keypad would get stuck, the speaker stopped working and the phone would power off on its own. Rebecca called T-Mobile on October 28, 2008 and received a replacement phone a week later thinking her bill would only be charged shipping fees. She then returned the defective phone in the package provided by the company. But on November 13, she said the balance on her cell phone bill reflected a $118.70 charge for the replacement phone. When she contacted T-Mobile, Rebecca said a representative told her she had been charged for the replacement phone because the technician's notes on her old phone stated there was water damage. She said she was positive the phone had no water damage and that she had always been careful. "I don't understand why someone would ship back their phone to T-Mobile knowing there could be water damage," Gray said in an email message. Still, Rebecca said she received no help. So she turned to ConsumerWatch and spoke with our volunteer Nancy. After Nancy got involved and spoke with T-Mobile's corporate offices, she was able to get Rebecca a refund.

Refunded Picasso Paintings
On December 17, 2008 Dash Butler contacted our ConsumerWatch unit regarding a refund on two Picasso paintings he purchased from a San Francisco gallery.  He said that several years ago he purchased the two paintings for $16,405 and that the agreement with the gallery was to pay over a period of time. But recently, Mr. Butler reported having a serious medical condition which made it difficult to continue making payments on the paintings. He said the gallery called him and asked him to pay the balance immediately or they would sell his paintings. Mr. Butler explained his medical condition to the gallery and asked for a refund in exchange for the Picassos, but he said they refused. Our ConsumerWatch volunteer Audrey took over the case and made several attempts to contact the gallery. When she finally got a hold of an art consultant, Audrey was able to get a more cooperative response. The gallery told our volunteer they would issue Mr. Butler a full refund. The next Monday, Audrey checked in with Mr. Butler and he said he had received a refund in the form of a cashier's check.

Cancelled Market Research Work
Betty Finger was promised $50 after her scheduled market research work was cancelled by Snelling and Snelling. She said she would have earned more than that had her work not been cancelled. Betty said she never received the money and that, after making several calls to the company, she was always given excuses and was told on three occasions that they had lost her address. On November 11, 2008, Ms. Finger decided to call our ConsumerWatch hotline with her problem and our volunteer Forrest took her case. After he contacted Snelling and Snelling, the company promised to send Betty a check. On November 31, Betty received $50 from the company.

DMV Registration Sticker Delay
Phillip Kennedy purchased a pre-owned VW Passat in May 2008 from Honda Redwood City, but the license plates had no stickers. The DMV bill of sale had been submitted four times, but Phillip had not received his registration stickers. After our ConsumerWatch volunteer Juliana got involved, she was told by the DMV that the pink slip was not complete. In October, the dealer recommended that Phillip pay a $17 registration fee and that he would be reimbursed. Juliana advised Phillip to go into the DMV office before his registration expired in December. Phillip went to the DMV, paid a $17 registration fee and received his stickers.

Refrigerator Problems Decompressed
Carolyn Boynton returned from Christmas vacation on December 26, 2008 to a dead Kenmore refrigerator. Her fridge was only 4 years old, so she called Sears and asked for a tech to come out and fix it. She was told the next open appointment was January 9. Carolyn called another appliance service company and they arrived the next day to find that the compressor was broken. She said they told her it could be repaired for $500 or Sears could replace it free of charge since the warranty was still effective. Carolyn called Sears again and was now told that the next available appointment would be on January 13. ConsumerWatch volunteer Juliana contacted Sears Corporation on Carolyn's behalf on January 8. The next day, a Sears repairman replaced the compressor on Mrs. Boynton's refrigerator.

Western Union Money Transfer Detour
Hau Vo made a Western Union money transfer on November 3, 2008 in the amount of $2,500. The money was going to a relative in San Antonio, Texas for tuition but it was never received. Instead, the transfer was delivered to an unknown receiver in Costa Rica. Hau called our ConsumerWatch help line with her problem. After numerous attempts, our volunteer Forrest was then able to reach a customer service representative at Western Union. He was told the investigation would take place. Western Union promised to contact Hau within 2 to 3 days. On December 1, Hau was happy to report she had received a complete reimbursement.

If you have a consumer question or problem, call our ConsumerWatch hotline at (888) 5-HELPS-U (1-888-543-5778). Our team of experienced volunteers is there to help you Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. You can also send us an email at consumerwatch@cbs5.com.

ConsumerWatch is looking for volunteers to staff its consumer hotline. If you're retired or not working and have life or work experience that could help viewers solve their consumer problems, you might be ideal for our ConsumerWatch volunteer team. We have retired government workers, lawyers, teachers, travel agents and corporate executives who volunteer their time a few hours a week to assist in our problem solving unit. If you're interested, send us an email at consumerwatch@cbs5.com or call our hotline at (888) 5-HELPS-U (1-888-543-5778).

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