‘Watchdog Nation’ finalist for Book of the Year

March 16, 2009 by

Diane Estill, Dave Lieber and Suzette Martinez Standring – all members of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists – are finalists in ForeWord Magazine’s 2008 Book of the Year Awards in the categories of humor, self-help, young adult/non-fiction and writing.

Diana Estill, freelance columnist and founder of Corncob Press, is a finalist in the Humor category. Her book, Deedee Divine’s Totally Skewed Guide to Life, offers amusing advice for troubling times. Exposing the truths behind everything from why women won’t read maps to the nation’s GNP (“Gross Needless Products”), the author’s alter ego Deedee Divine shares her offbeat views. Midwest Book Reviews says this book is “a must read for those who want to truly understand the irrationality of the world… utterly entertaining reading.” Visit http://www.TotallySkewed.com.

Another book edited and published by Lieber is a finalist in the Young Adult/Non-Fiction category. The book, The Best of The Black Cow: Great Writing by Great Kids, is a collection of stories by 29 students at a remarkable public charter school in Texas, Westlake Academy. Under Lieber’s guidance – he works there as a volunteer – the little school newspaper, The Black Cow, gets mailed to every household in the city. The students won 47 awards in the Texas scholastic journalism competition last year – more than any other school in the state. The book shows how the students created their business model and the stories that propelled their product to great popularity.

Dave Lieber, “The Watchdog” investigative columnist for the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, was a finalist in the Self Help category for his hardcover, Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong. This crusading newspaper columnist, one of the last of a dying breed, fights for his readers. His book shares remarkable tips, tools and strategies to fight back against businesses and scammers that hurt consumers. Lieber’s Watchdog Nation offers a core set of values and techniques designed to inform American consumers of their rights and show them how to make certain no one takes advantage of them.

Suzette Martinez Standring, syndicated columnist with GateHouse News Service, is a finalist in the Writing category.Her book, The Art of Column Writing: Insider Secrets from Art Buchwald, Dave Barry, Arianna Huffington, Pete Hamill and Other Great Columnists features tips and techniques from over 50 award-winning newspaper columnists.The guide covers writing basics, specialty columns, ethics, syndication and expanded platforms. Previously, it took First Place for Educational Book in the 2008 Royal Palm Literary Awards in Florida and has been made required reading at a number of universities.

Winners will be announced at the BookExpo America at the Javits Center in New York City on May 29. Each genre will award first, second and third prizes.Two Editor’s Choice Prizes for Best Fiction and Best Non-Fiction Book will be awarded $1,500 each. ForeWord will also name the Independent Publisher of the Year.

ForeWord’s Book of the Year Awards program was designed to discover distinctive books across a number of genres.The list of finalists in all categories can be viewed at

Filed Under: Introduction to Watchdog Nation Tagged With: ,

Here’s what really matters…

March 11, 2009 by

Watchdog Nation received this letter from Johnny P. We share because, although not our usual topic, it really puts things in perspective:

“Dave, i believe you are a good man. i wrote you a while back, that is my only contact with you. i need something to do so i am writing you.

i am an independent trucker… i worry every day about the job i once had. tonight that seems so trivial.

you see march 27, 2000, my wife had a brain aneurism. it has been almost 9 years since that day. i am thankful every day to have HER.

tonight i am scared. my wife went to bed. i was not tired so i stayed in the office talking to people looking for work. she called out to me. she told me she did not feel well. there are things she says that tells me something is wrong.

you see she has [the symptoms] – when her eye misses up or she has a headache things change. tonight she has both symptoms.

so here i am writing to you because i need to. you see i have been so worried about not making a living and the economy i have forgot the most important thing. my wife.

i hope my prayers will get her through the night and i will have tomorrow and many more tomorrows with her. i will be here for her and i hope she does not need me. if she does i will be here. it will be a long night.

i know this is not what you normally talk about, but in this house of silence, and as i wait for daylight and hope all is well, i needed to write to someone. that someone was you. i hope you understand.

Thank you, Johnny.”

Note to Johnny. Watchdog Nation is praying for your wife and for you. Thank you for spending that night sharing.

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: ,

Dallas Book Diva APPROVES!

March 9, 2009 by

Nothing better than when the legendary Dallas Book Diva approves of your book! Cheryl Nason likes Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation. She posted:

Cheryl Nason, the Dallas Book Diva

This deceptively small book is absolutely packed with information. I mentally sat up and began to really pay attention when I started reading the story on page 18 (When they come knocking, you go tappin’).

The story describes a situation that happened to Doug Black and it actually happened to me as well! Doug is a much more savvy person than I am and avoided having his money taken. I guess I still cling to the belief that people might just be who they say they are. I was taken in by the same scam that Doug was smart enough to avoid and I didn’t even realize it until I read Dave’s book!

The average person has access to enough tools via the Internet to “take on” scammers, utility companies, and businesses when we believe we have been taken advantage of, overcharged, or wronged in some way. The book gives all of us the information we need to protect ourselves. The book contains literally hundreds of ways you can do it.

I feel better just having a copy of this handy book. It has given me so many ideas, it’s actually priceless! What do you think?

Filed Under: Introduction to Watchdog Nation Tagged With: , , ,

Key words: I want to cancel your service!

March 1, 2009 by

New Citizen of Watchdog Nation: Alex Ramsey, president of the National Speakers Association/North Texas chapter, had a major problem with Time Warner Cable. But she just finished reading “Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong” and she knew EXACTLY how to make them kiss her ring finger, apologize and give her money back. She explains how she did it on our little Watchdog Nation T.V. channel video here:

Filed Under: Introduction to Watchdog Nation Tagged With: , ,

Behind the scenes at a troubled Texas electric company

February 24, 2009 by

How rare to see what goes on behind the scenes at a Texas electric company.

Watchdog Nation Staff is pleased to see that a smart blogger recognized this fact: On the behind-the-scenes nastiness, as alleged in a lawsuit, involving troubled Amigo Energy, the blogger notes that “the Star Telegram was the only media source” to report this.

Because the live link to Lieber’s column won’t last forever, here is what the founder of Watchdog Nation had to report:

There was the chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch who bought the $35,000 toilet for his office. Then we learned about the peanut butter company CEO who the Food and Drug Administration says knowingly shipped products tainted with salmonella.

The latest? The CEO at a Texas electricity provider who is accused of ignoring state regulators and trying to overcharge customers to save the company.

And who makes these allegations? None other than the company’s previous CEO, who says he was fired when he tried to blow the whistle.

Javier Vega, the former CEO and founder of Amigo Energy of Houston, filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit against Amigo’s current owner, Fulcrum Power, in Harris County district court in November.

His lawsuit is more than an employment dispute.

It says, “The case also involves the greed and corruption of certain individuals and legal entities that led to blatant and knowingly illegal efforts to collect improper rates from Texas retail electricity consumers.”

In a brief interview, Amigo’s current CEO said the allegations are false.

“We vehemently deny all of Mr. Vega’s claims,” Gerardo “G.P.” Manalac told me. “We intend to let the litigation go its course.”

He added: “Amigo, like any other retail electric provider, had a very difficult year. But we turned the corner on that and are back on track.”

He said his company is cooperating with an investigation by the Texas Public Utility Commission into allegations of overcharging.

The lawsuit offers a peek at the turmoil behind the scenes at Amigo last year, when hundreds of customers complained that they were overcharged. Many said the company refused to answer their complaints and sent a collection agency after them, sometimes within days of the first bill’s arrival.

The PUC reprimanded the company for violating state rules, but it has yet to levy fines or other penalties.

According to Vega’s lawsuit, the problems stemmed from his decision in 2007 to sell his company to Fulcrum Power of Houston, which was a wholesale electricity provider for Amigo. Vega stayed on as CEO.

The first year went smoothly, the lawsuit says. But last June, Manalac, Fulcrum’s co-founder, took day-to-day operations away from Vega, who kept the CEO title in name only.

Manalac, though, did not buy electricity at lower prices for future use to hedge against price jumps, the lawsuit contends, something that Vega handled when he ran the company. Vega claims that he repeatedly warned Manalac to stop selling fixed-rate contracts to customers because the company hadn’t bought enough electricity at lower prices to make a profit. If prices jumped, he warned, the company could find itself in severe trouble.

Prices did jump, and the company lost $15 million by “gross mismanagement in a mere five months” last year, Vega contends in the suit.

To make up for the loss, the suit says, the company turned to “aggressive price increase methods” aimed at former customers of National Power, which closed in May. Amigo bought National Power’s variable-rate customers, who suddenly found themselves paying higher prices with a new provider.

According to state rules, an electricity provider may not raise rates by more than 10 percent in one month unless a customer is properly notified. Rates for former National Power customers in Dallas went up to 16 cents per kilowatt-hour, and Houston-area customers were stunned to see their rates jump to 20 cents. That increase was handled with proper notification, the suit alleges.

A few weeks later, Amigo again raised the rates for former National Power customers, this time as high as the 24- to 25-cent range. There was no proper notice, and the increase was more than the allowed 10 percent, according to the suit.

Customers were also wrongly billed at the higher rate for a period before the rate took effect, the suit charges. When some customers received several months’ worth of bills at once, they were stunned by the higher rates and called to complain. But they couldn’t reach anyone at Amigo. More than 700 customers complained to the PUC, which launched an investigation. In September, the PUC ordered the company to “rerate” hundreds of customers – lower their bills to the proper amount.

The PUC also cited Amigo for numerous violations – not sending bills to customers, refusing to offer payment arrangements to shellshocked customers, not giving proper notice before an increase and not responding to customer complaints.

The suit contends that Fulcrum cut Amigo’s customer service staff, leaving angry customers with phone waits “in excess of one hour for tens of thousands of Amigo Energy customers.” There was also a backlog of 10,000 unanswered customer e-mails.

PUC staffers were coming down hard on Amigo because of the many complaints. One PUC official, the lawsuit says, asked an Amigo executive whether the company wanted “to continue to be in this business.”

Manalac insisted on a get-tough strategy aimed at customers who owed money, even if the charges were incorrect, the suit says.

He ordered that collection letters be sent to customers only days after their first bills arrived. And he refused the PUC’s directive that Amigo go back and rerate the bills, court papers say.

Manalac sent an e-mail, papers say, urging bill collectors to “to pester these people” to pay. In another e-mail, he wrote, “Allow them no negotiation the first or second round (and then we can go from there).”

Vega talked about quitting, but before he could, the suit says, Fulcrum executives told him he was fired for spreading harmful information about the company.

Vega’s lawyer did not return phone calls. Fulcrum’s lawyer declined to comment.

It may not be a good time for some chief executives, but it can be an even worse time for customers.

Filed Under: Column Tagged With: , , , ,

Sounds of gunfire stir woman’s sad memory

February 22, 2009 by

Although her street is called Paradise Court, Marion Blackburn was a nervous wreck. New neighbors built a shooting range on the other side of her property line in unincorporated Johnson County. Their shooting was loud, and she feared a stray bullet would ricochet toward her house. Even in gun-loving Texas, Blackburn could be forgiven for her worries. Twenty-six years ago, her oldest son was killed in a shooting accident nearby. She knows what it’s like to lose a loved one to a stray bullet.

In recent weeks, Blackburn called and wrote letters to about a dozen federal, state and county elected officials, anybody she thought could help. But she neglected to make the one contact that mattered most.

She started with a call to the Johnson County sheriff. Deputies came by and looked at the boundary lines and the shooting range. They pronounced it legal.

“Can’t be,” Blackburn remembers thinking. But it’s true. Texas laws are lenient, compared with city rules, when it comes to shooting in unincorporated areas of a county.

A person can use a gun in unincorporated areas, in most cases, as long as a bullet doesn’t cross a property line or the shooter isn’t behaving in an irresponsible manner. It’s a Texas tradition, for sure.

The shooting range is built with logs and tin and has a dirt berm behind it. Sheriff’s deputies pronounced it solid, Blackburn recalled. The shooters’ position is less than 30 yards from the home.

It’s against the law to shoot across someone’s property line, but these neighbors shot along their own side of the fence.

Lt. Tim Jones, a spokesman for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, says that deputies tell shooters to stop when they violate laws, and that some are charged with disorderly conduct.

The bottom line is responsibility, says Alice Tripp, legislative director for the Texas State Rifle Association.

“No matter where you are, you’re responsible and accountable under the law for the discharge of a firearm or bow and arrow, just like you are with your car,” she said.

“If you damage someone’s property or injure someone, it doesn’t matter where you are. Nobody could say that you could shoot into someone’s house and that would be OK.”

Still, from Blackburn’s perspective, that’s almost what happened to her 19-year-old son, Glenn, in 1983.

Glenn died from a gunshot wound to the back of his head — from a rifle. The three friends with him later told investigators they were outside when it happened. At first, it was ruled a suicide.

During a grand jury inquiry, the friends admitted they had lied about the circumstances. Glenn had died when one of the boys accidentally pulled the trigger, according to Blackburn’s recollection.

No charges were ever filed.

“There are too many things that can happen with weapons that are unexpected,” she said.

After few elected officials bothered to reply to her letter-writing campaign, Blackburn contacted The Watchdog.

I reviewed state law and found one exception. County commissioners can enact a shooting ban in unincorporated areas in platted subdivisions where properties are 10 acres or less.

Blackburn’s neighborhood is legally called Paradise Estates. She lives on Lot 70.

When I told her, Blackburn talked about circulating a petition among her neighbors.

Before doing that, though, I asked her why she never tried to talk to the neighbor with the shooting range. She said she felt intimidated.

So I left her home, went around the block and knocked on the neighbor’s door.

Roland Buie greeted me. I told him why I was there.

Buie is a minister who moved into the neighborhood to start a church. His pastoral manner quickly emerged when I told him about Blackburn and her family history. He shoots with his two sons for enjoyment, he said, but he wanted to help her.

“As a pastor, I deal with people’s problems all the time,” he said.

“I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable in her own home. We’ll quit shooting out there. Tell her I apologize. I really didn’t mean to upset her in any way.”

I asked if she could come over. He quickly said yes, and in a few minutes, I introduced neighbor to neighbor.

They each apologized to the other. “Really, I guess I should have walked over here, huh?” she said.

“I can’t even begin to know how it feels to lose a child,” he said.

He told her he intended to dismantle the shooting range. They talked about neighbors they both knew and their families.

When I left, they were becoming friends, neighbors.

Filed Under: Column Tagged With: ,

Tell everyone you know about Dell’s legal action

February 21, 2009 by

Jacquelyn Wright usually gives advice and solves problems for others. But when it came to her Dell computer, the Tarrant County Precinct 4 justice of the peace struck out.

“I want Dell to either honor their warranty or refund what I paid for the warranty,” the judge told The Watchdog about her PC, which lost power.

A Dell phone technician wanted her to open the computer and fiddle with the insides, but she didn’t feel qualified. She was afraid that if she made a mistake, her warranty would be voided.

Sorry, Dell informed her, the warranty only applies after you have done what the phone tech asks you to do.

The Watchdog contacted Dell. The company didn’t respond for several weeks, so I relayed the problem again.

Dell later reported that it had tried to resolve her problem “several times.” A spokesman added, “Dell, however, is willing to reimburse the cost of her power supply.”

That was news to Wright, who told me she had received “no reply from Dell whatsoever” after The Watchdog intervened. The judge, who presides over a small-claims court, added: “They lied. No phone calls. No e-mails. No letters. None. Nada.”

This is not the only example I’ve found showing a disconnect between what Dell says and what its customers say.

Now customers such as Wright have a way to receive compensation for their problems from Dell and its subsidiary, Dell Financial Services.

Last month, Dell agreed to settle a case joined by 47 state attorneys general. Dell will reimburse eligible customers for past business practices. The company also agreed to change some of its practices and procedures involving warranty service, interest charges, marketing, rebates and other customer service issues.

If you did business with Dell between April 1, 2005, and April 12, 2009, you have until April 13 to file a claim with the Texas attorney general’s office for a piece of the $162,000 Dell has set aside for reimbursements.

Dell admits no wrongdoing. “The issues represented only a very small percentage of the tens of millions of Dell customer transactions in the states during the 4-year period,” spokesman David Frink said in statement. “Dell’s goal is to provide the best customer service experience possible.”

Tell that to Gene Morgan, who went to the Dell Web site to find out what kind of memory stick his mother-in-law’s laptop needed. He copied the part number and then purchased it from another company. But the wrong part was listed. The laptop crashed and died.

He complained to Dell about the inaccuracy. He tried for weeks to get the company to acknowledge its mistake. The incorrect part is still listed on the site, he says.

Here’s the disconnect: The Dell spokesman says that a staffer contacted Morgan and explained the situation and that Morgan was “good to go.”

“He told our rep he was calling you that day to let you know his questions had been answered to his satisfaction,” Frink said. “He told our rep that he was then leaving on a two-week trip.”

Says Morgan, “I have not been out of town.” He added: “I never got any response from Dell at all. As for the laptop, we had to buy a new one. It was not a Dell. We would not do business with them after the treatment we got.”

Joseph Johnson of Keller was victimized once by an identity thief and then, he says, a second time by Dell Financial Services, which refused to help him clear up fraud on an account.

The thief opened a Dell account using Johnson’s name, and the transactions were hurting his credit score. Johnson tried for months to get Dell’s help, but no one would return his calls, he says.

After The Watchdog intervened, Johnson said, a Dell staffer called and “told me she was aware that you knew and preferred to keep this out of the papers.”

The account was closed. Dell contacted the credit bureaus. Total time of problem resolution: four months.

Ronald Goldman of Fort Worth did somewhat better. When his computer froze, he knew it was under warranty. But when he sought help, he couldn’t understand the phone techs because of their accent, and he says they couldn’t understand him. He asked to speak to someone in Round Rock, home of Dell headquarters. He says he was told he had to pay $149 for a North American tech.

Bottom line: “She answered many questions. I am on my way to resolve my problems.”

All Dell customers who feel they were wronged by the company should take advantage of the settlement and file a claim. But hurry, the deadline is in 52 days.

Filing a claim Learn about the Dell settlement at www.TexasAttorneyGeneral.gov or call 800-252-8011.

The attorney general’s Web site has Frequently Asked Questions and a claims form.

Dell customers who did business with Dell Financial Services or Dell between April 1, 2005, and April 12, 2009, are eligible.

Filed Under: Column Tagged With: , , ,

Self-regulation of online spying by the spies? Oh, please!

February 21, 2009 by

Have you heard of online behavioral advertising?

That’s Web sites tracking your online activities, including your searches, and delivering advertising to you based on your interests. For now, the practice is unregulated by the federal government, and companies are supposed to regulate themselves.

But the government and privacy experts are scrutinizing this growing practice in light of privacy concerns. They say they worry most about use of sensitive information regarding finance, children’s privacy, health and Social Security numbers.

A Federal Trade Commission report says a company engaged in the practice must provide “clear and prominent notice” to consumers that it tracks Web habits to match related advertising. The report says such alerts are often posted in lengthy and difficult-to-understand notices.

Companies need to create effective disclosure statements separate from privacy policies, the report says. It also says companies should let consumers opt out of behavioral advertising.

Filed Under: Column Tagged With: , , , , ,

“It’s not the $5. It’s the principle.”

February 15, 2009 by

Watchdog Nation hears that all the time. Dave Lieber was interviewed on radio station KYQX-FM by Linda Brooks Bagwell recently on her “Books ‘n Authors” show, which is broadcast on a chain of radio station throughout North Central and East Texas. The subject was Watchdog Nation.

Here is a caller, Gary, complaining about a subject that grates on all of our nerves. Banks charges that nickel and dime you to death. Dave’s talk with the man on the radio.

Gary later attended a book signing at Lark Bookstore in Weatherford and told Lieber that the reason he went to the bank in question to cash the check was to see if a new customer’s check was any good. He said he has been burned too many times in his business by bad checks. The bank in question was close to the customer’s location.

Filed Under: Customer Service Issues Tagged With: , ,

Dear AT&T, With Love from The Watchdog

January 25, 2009 by

Dear AT&T:

I have a question for you: Why do so many people complain to me about your customer service? Repeatedly, they tell me about customer service reps who drop the ball. Lately, I’m hearing a lot of grumbling about your U-verse television service.

See, I have this job that allows me to monitor in an unscientific way which companies are on top of their game. When I keep hearing from readers about one particular company, I know things aren’t right.

Lately, I’m hearing about you.

When you rolled out your U-verse television service in Dallas-Fort Worth 16 months ago, were you prepared to handle your customers and all their ensuing troubles?

Your spokeswoman told me about the “phenomenal customer growth” that brought you 100,000 new U-verse customers in the region. She didn’t agree that there are major problems and said you diligently train your staff of 300,000 to provide great service to everyone.

You do have a call center dedicated to U-verse troubleshooting, and your promised two-hour installation window for a technician visit is commendable – when it works.

“Overall,” spokeswoman Sarah Andreani told me, “we really have gotten a positive response from U-verse customers.”

Granted, J.D. Power and Associates named you the best TV provider in customer satisfaction for our region. So good for you. But the folks who contacted The Watchdog apparently didn’t vote.

I’m talking about customers like Shaun and Kim Hamblin, who ordered U-verse but waited three times for installers who never showed. And when one finally arrived, he accidentally cut their DSL line and they lost Internet service for days.

There’s Cheryl Vieau, fighting a $225 disconnect fee without much success for weeks. “I have been on the phone, mostly on hold, for hours,” she said.

Thomas Parker, fretting for a year about U-verse, said he is giving up: “I have no more patience for this. I haven’t complained in over a month because what’s the point?”

James Burke said six technicians visited his home, but none could fix his poor TV service. “No one seems to care about my problem,” he said.

Seth Viertel has tried for months – “I am at my wits’ end” – to get payments restored to his checking account that were originally credited to the wrong customer account. “AT&T’s customer service is anything but,” he said.

Rebates and rewards? Another sticky wicket. Charles Dempsey couldn’t get his promised $50 gift card from you for signing up for your long-distance plan.

Donald Martin is waiting for his referral reward, too. Someone on your end punched in a wrong number. “It seems there are so many little things that can disqualify one for a reward, and AT&T doesn’t even let you know if they are not going to honor them,” he said.

Complaints about your land-line and cellular service are rarer, but hey, you’re the phone company. That’s what you did for a century before you suddenly spread your wings into TV and computers.

Before you celebrate, though, I’d better mention Morgan Bilbo. He’s still ticked at you because he continues to receive bills for calls he says he didn’t make. “I am very upset and losing sleep over it,” he said.

AT&T, maybe I’m being too rough, but maybe not. Listen to Joyce Polson, who began her letter to me about her U-verse/Internet package this way: “The worst day of my life was the day my husband switched us to this messed up service.”

All these customers contacted me because they couldn’t get anywhere with you. I passed them on to Andreani, your spokeswoman, and she took over from there.

But AT&T, I really don’t want to be your middleman.

As Andreani said, one unhappy customer is one too many.

“We are continuing to improve, but you know what, we have a lot of work to do,” she said.

Amen.

Filed Under: Bad Business, Column Tagged With: ,