Column – Page 31

How to be a smart valet parking customer

February 20, 2010 by Dave Lieber

Imagine that you use valet parking at one of your city’s best known hotels. When it comes time to fetch your car, the valet pulls your vehicle under the overhang, steps out and walks away.

As you step toward your car, another man swoops in from nowhere, jumps into the driver’s seat and speeds away.

Your car is stolen.

This happened to Hunter Wilder of Azle, Texas in August.

He went to a wedding reception at the Fort Worth Hilton and left his 1997 Lexus with the attendant.

The front of the Fort Worth Hilton is known as the last place where President Kennedy made a public speech on Nov. 22, 1963. It's also where two cars in recent months were stolen in valet parking -- the same way.

When it came time to get his car, the attendant stepped away and another man jumped into his car. The driver almost ran over a group of girls standing near the traffic lane, Wilder recalls. “They had to jump out of the way.”

He yelled, “Hey, that guy just stole my car!”

“The guy runs the next red light, goes down a couple of blocks, hangs a left and it’s gone,” he said.

Then it happened again. Three weeks ago. Same situation. Same hotel.

Paul Carpenter, a minister from Gainesville, Texas told me how his Toyota RAV4 was stolen Jan. 29 while his wife waited for it: The valet attendant “got out and left it running,” he said. “Somebody ran up from the shadows on the driver’s side and drove off.”

Wilder filed an insurance claim with Towne Park, the outside company that runs the Hilton’s valet operations. But Towne Park’s insurance carrier denied the claim.

The reason? Towne Park was not responsible because the car thief shoved the attendant out of the way and thus assaulted him, using force, to take control of the car, the carrier told Wilder.

Wilder says it didn’t happen that way. He says the attendant walked to the other side of the car and left the path to the car wide open for the thief.

Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Ralph Swearingin could decide who is responsible. Wilder filed a small claims lawsuit against Towne Park, seeking $4,000 in damages. The court has invited both parties to mediation, but Wilder says he wants a trial.

He said that his car was damaged and that he suffered losses.

“I lost my laptop and laptop bag, radar detector,” he says. “My identity information was stolen off my laptop, along with my checkbook. Somebody tried to make a debit from my account, but I had already gotten LifeLock and locked everything up.”

He said he believes that Towne Park employees “had control of my vehicle at the time it was stolen, and we witnessed them leaving it running and unattended.”

Carpenter says he’s upset with the hotel because officials there passed the buck to the insurance company. The same happened to The Watchdog. When I tried to interview the Fort Worth Hilton’s general manager, Stan Kennedy, he said he could not comment since the hotel hires the outside company to manage its valet parking. He directed me there.

Towne Park, based in Annapolis, Md., has 6,000 employees who will park 10 million cars this year, says Tom Wickert, the company’s vice president of administration.

Although the two car thefts occurred at the same hotel within five months, Wickert said it was out of the ordinary. He questioned whether it was of importance to Watchdog readers, saying, “It’s like getting snow in Fort Worth on the Fourth of July. It’s so uncommon it’s probably not even worth telling them about it.”

Fort Worth has two ordinances that could apply here. It’s against the law to leave an unattended vehicle running. And leaving a key in a parked car is also against the law. Fines for each are $100.

The city renews the license of valet parking companies annually. A license can be denied if the city decides a parking company “endangers the safety of persons or property or is otherwise not in the public interest.”

How do you check out a valet parking company? Fort Worth police spokesman Sgt. Pedro Criado came up with a good method to test the professionalism of the service.

Criado says every valet attendant must carry a driver’s license because, obviously, he or she is going to drive your car. But he has learned that some attendants don’t have one.

He suggests asking an attendant who is going to take your car, “Do you have a driver’s license?” Follow up with, “Can I see it?”

It’s against state law to let anyone without a license drive your car, so Criado says you should ask the question to protect yourself. The fine for that violation is $152.

# # #

Valet parking safety tips

Don’t leave a car with the engine running. Turn it off. Step out and hand the key to the attendant.

Customers should use valet keys given to them by the car manufacturer.

Valet parkers are responsible for securing locks, windows and the alarm. Stored keys must be kept in a locked box, inaccessible and away from public view.

Always remove valuables or, if that’s not possible, place them out of sight.

Sources: National Valet Parking Association, Towne Park, Fort Worth police

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Dave Lieber, The Watchdog columnist for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, is the founder of Watchdog Nation. The new 2010 edition of his book, Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong, is out. Revised and expanded, the book won two national book awards in 2009 for social change. Twitter @DaveLieber

Will U.S. consumers get the protection we need?

February 14, 2010 by Dave Lieber

President Barack Obama’s proposal to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency came in with a bang. But it appears to be going out with a whimper.

Before the proposal was introduced in Congress last year, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said of the economic meltdown. “This crisis was caused, in part, by a lack of consumer protections.”

And?

Watchdog Nation checked in with several Washington, D.C., sources last week to learn what’s happening to the proposal in Congress.

The answer? Not much.

passed the House but is stuck in the Senate.

capitol

“Opposition to financial reform is intense, coming in particular from big banks and other monied interests that seek to protect the status quo,” the said in a recent statement.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says a new agency would hurt small-business owners that rely on credit cards, home-equity loans, auto-title loans and other sources of consumer lending to finance their businesses.

“The idea sounds great on its face, but we need to have a serious discussion about what the CFPA would actually do and what authority it would have,” Ryan McKee of the chamber told me. “The potential for unintended consequences is great.”

The CFPA would give federal regulators power to oversee mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, finance companies, payday lenders and other nonbank providers. Businesses would be blocked from offering financial products that charge prepayment penalties, unjustified fees and excessive interest rates.

Supporters say the agency would provide the public with better information about how to avoid so-called abusive lending and credit problems, and would improve disclosure to borrowers.

It would merge the enforcement divisions of several government agencies into the new agency.

The chamber says it worries that small businesses would lose access to credit, something they already struggle with because they are either too small or too new. The predicted result? Business closures, fewer startups, slower growth and the loss of jobs.

The chamber is also concerned that the proposal would ban products that are abusive but doesn’t clearly define abusive, said McKee, senior director for the chamber’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness.

Another sticking point for the chamber: The bill requires “too much disclosure” to consumers.

“Having too much disclosure is like having no disclosure at all,” McKee said, adding: “We need to simplify the disclosures so people get straightforward information.”

The chamber’s solution: Close gaps in existing laws that kept regulators from finding major problems; increase authority for regulators to enforce existing rules; and make sure regulators from various agencies communicate better.

The proposal for a CFPA was first floated in 2007, a year before the meltdown, by Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren. She noted that federal regulators won’t allow a toaster that could burst into flames to hit the market. But mortgages and other “dangerous financial products,” she wrote, are not similarly regulated.

Elizabeth Warren

With questionable loans, she wrote, families can suffer from “wiped-out savings, lost homes, higher costs for car insurance, denial of jobs, troubled marriages, bleak retirements and broken lives.”

Warren is considered a strong candidate to head the agency — if it ever comes into existence.

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, is carrying the ball for the CFPA. But he’s running into a strong defense put up by Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on that panel. Shelby has called the proposal “a folly and dangerous.”

It all comes down to whether Dodd and Shelby can agree on a compromise.

“We have reached an impasse,” Dodd said this month. “While I still hope that we will ultimately have a consensus package, it is time to move the process forward.” Dodd says he hopes to release a new proposal this month.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., explained last year why he believes it’s tough to get a proposal through: “The banks — hard to believe, in a time when we’re facing a banking crisis, that many of the banks created — are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place.”

Susan K. Weinstock, director of financial reform for the Consumer Federation, said she views that as the major hurdle.

“How much are senators hearing from individual consumers about this? How much do consumers know about this?”

What do you think? I’m most interested in your comments on this.

Better yet, contact your congressional representatives and let them know what you think. If you don’t know who they are, visit www.votesmart.org and type in your zip code — and you’ll quickly find out.

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Do you want to learn more?

, known as the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, is now in the Senate.

It merges regulatory powers of the Federal Reserve, Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Trade Commission and the National Credit Union Administration.

Here is where you can watch videos and read more to learn about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s opposition.

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Filed Under: Column, Government Tomfoolery Tagged With: CFPA, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Who speaks for the poor? Texas doesn’t regulate payday loans

February 12, 2010 by Dave Lieber

By Dave Lieber

Fifteen states don’t allow payday lenders to operate within their borders, often because of outrageous interest rates charges to customers.

Other states allow them to do business, but many have some kind of state regulatory agency that oversees the business.

Then there’s Texas.

The payday loan business in Texas is unregulated.

Payday loans are usually small loans with high interest rates taken out by consumers until their next paycheck. Customers are often poor, lack credit cards and are unable to secure low-interest loans at banks or other lending institutions.

Fort Worth, Texas-based Cash America, for example, charges a $20 fee on each $100 borrowed. Customers are allowed to extend the loan up to four times if needed, a process that tacks on more fees. Interest rates, if calculated for an entire year, can reach more than 1,000 percent. But payday lenders say that calculation is unfair because the loans often last for several weeks or less.

Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, co-sponsored several bills in the Legislature last year that would have imposed regulations on the payday loan industry, but none got out of the Business and Commerce Committee.

State Sen. Wendy Davis wants to regulate Texas payday loans.

During a hearing on Davis’ bills last year, Leslie Pettijohn, the state’s consumer credit commissioner, testified that no state agency has regulatory oversight of payday lending. According to a summary of the hearing distributed by Davis’ office, Pettijohn said: “We don’t have any jurisdiction [over complaints]. We often try to pass them to the Attorney General’s office. They often try to send them back to us.”

At that hearing, Davis recalls, the room was packed with industry lobbyists. Few consumers attended.

“It’s the mighty against the weak, and as you can imagine, the mighty are winning out,” Davis says.

State law was changed several years ago to allow payday lenders to operate as credit service organizations, which allows them to avoid state lending and usury laws. Because of this, critics say, Texas payday loans are among the most expensive in the nation.

Cash America spends about $30,000 a year on political donations to Texas candidates, estimates Alex Vaughn, the company’s vice president of governmental affairs. Cash America’s vice president of government relations, William J. White, was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to chair the Texas Finance Commission, which ensures that banks, savings institutions and consumer credit grantors operate as sound and responsible businesses. White’s term expires this month.

William White of Cash America has been chairman of the Texas Finance Commission.

Referring to that appointment last year, state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, said: “The fox is not in the henhouse. The fox owns the henhouse.” Shapleigh introduced several bills with Davis trying to regulate the industry.

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh warns about the fox guarding the henhouse.

Cash America’s Vaughn says that because White was appointed as the designated industry representative, it’s unfair to paint his position as anything negative.

Predatory lending is an unfair term, Vaughn says, because customers are not forced to do business with payday lenders.

“Our customers are intelligent,” he says. “They may not be the best in financial management, but they know the costs and the alternatives.”

Last year, legislators estimated that Texas payday lenders annually lend about $2 billion and collect $400 million in fees. But those numbers are difficult to pin down since payday lenders are not required to report their numbers to the state, something one of Davis’ bills would have changed.

The Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities has estimated that a $500 loan can end up costing a borrower $4,000 if it is not paid back immediately.

I asked Davis whether she plans to reintroduce her bills next year.

“Absolutely,” she replied.

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Filed Under: Column Tagged With: loan payday, loans payday, payday loan, payday loans

Dentists angry about non-dental teeth whitening clinics

February 7, 2010 by Dave Lieber

If you want white teeth, you face a dilemma. Do you go to a dentist and take advantage of his or her expertise — and pay a little more? Or do you visit a spa, non-dental clinic or even a mall kiosk to get it done at a lower price?

Dentists say only they have the expertise to find problems with your teeth and mouth that could adversely affect the whitening process. Owners of non-dental establishments and the companies that supply them with “laser” lights and bleaching materials say their process is just as safe. In most cases, dentists charge more, but you get their expertise, too.

About 10 states regulate non-dental teeth whitening procedures.

For the rest, it’s the buyer beware.

I don’t know what it says about our culture — I’ll leave that to cultural anthropologists — that Americans feel the need to have the whitest smiles possible. But I do worry that this is a relatively new business that is unstudied, unregulated in most places and, like the Internet, has to be looked at in the coming years.

The sign outside Lottie Holmes' clinic

For help with this, I visited a spa in my neighborhood that has a white banner outside announcing “Laser Teeth Whitening” hanging outside. Owner Lottie Holmes of Lottie’s Skin & Hair Clinic in Watauga, Texas says the banner is working: more customers are coming in to improve their smiles.

For more than a year, she has offered laser teeth-whitening services in her salon, part of a growing, relatively new industry that is stealing business from dentists.

“We jumped on it because it’s painless, noninvasive and safe,” Holmes says.

The service uses a light, not a laser, although most call it that. The staffers who use it receive one day of training.

My home state of Texas has no rules about who can perform laser teeth-whitening. Holmes is a licensed cosmetologist, but she doesn’t need any type of license to operate the light machine.

And because there are no state rules, if anyone complains about teeth-whitening practices at a clinic, spa or any other place (like a mall kiosk), state officials have no choice but to turn them away.

Lisa Jones, director of enforcement for the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners, says, “We do get complaints about these clinics operating, but since we don’t have jurisdiction over them, what we do is refer them to local law enforcement authorities.” Legislation would be needed to regulate teeth-whitening businesses.

Members of the Texas Dental Association say they are frustrated not so much by the independent operators but by the state dental board, which could enforce the state’s dental law more forcefully. Some dentists say they believe these businesses operate an illegal dentistry practice.

Austin dentist Mark Peppard is chairman of an association task force studying the illegal practice of dentistry in Texas, “specifically tooth-whitening,” he says.

Dentists, he says, are concerned that nondentists won’t recognize tooth decay, gum disease or other maladies before applying bleaching agents and what’s called accelerated light to stimulate the chemicals to clean the teeth. Long-term damage is possible, they say.

“It’s simple to say, ‘I drink Coke or coffee.’ But what if disease or a massive cavity is causing a tooth to get darker?” Peppard says.

Nondental technicians, especially those at malls, he says, ask customers to place substances and trays in their own mouth so that the technicians are not actually touching the mouth area — and, technically, not practicing dentistry.

Dentist David Tillman worries that the “caustic chemicals” used in treatments can harm patients if applied by someone other than a trained dentist or dental staffer.

Mary Swift, a dentist at Dallas Laser Dentistry, says dentists are allowed to offer a higher concentration of the bleaching chemical than nondentists. Dentists can offer hydrogen peroxide at 35 percent, but nondentists must offer 10 percent or less.

“Protecting the gums, controlling sensitivity, the concentration of bleach, the type of light source — those are all questions you should ask the guy around the corner,” she says.

Swift charges $600 to $1,000 for teeth-whitening services.

At her clinic, Holmes charges $249, although a follow-up visit, if necessary, may cost an extra $50.

Holmes says that she is well aware of dentists’ concerns but that she knows what she is doing. She protects gums from damage, and her clients don’t suffer from teeth sensitivity problems because of the equipment she uses, she says. Her facility is sanitary, she adds, and she hasn’t heard any complaints.

Lottie Holmes and her laser teeth whitening machine

Tillman says that “until complaints are brought forth, these businesses are probably going to keep going.”

A quick check at the Better Business Bureau found very few complaints, but no specific state agency takes complaints about this.

Joshua Granson, vice president of Beyond Dental & Health, the company that sold Holmes the machine and trained her staff, explains: “We sell to medical spas and salons, people that have training in hygiene. We still want our products represented in an environment that is clean and nice. We don’t want to sell to just anybody.”

Peppard, of the Texas Dental Association, warns: “Just because you see it on TV or in a magazine doesn’t mean it’s safe. It’s not as safe as you think it is. Significant problems can arise from this.

“Instead of just doing something on the spur of the moment, think about how it will affect your teeth. Ask yourself, ‘What should I be worried about? Why shouldn’t I go to a dentist about this?'”

Many customers think about price before anything else, but he figured out a way to combat that argument. He only charges $300.

Filed Under: Column, Medical

Insurance no guarantee a shipping service will pay claims

January 16, 2010 by Dave Lieber

WONDERFUL UPDATE TO THIS POST: Watchdog Nation has learned that after this report appeared, the U.S. Postal Service reversed its original decision not to pay artist Matthew Wood for his artwork that was damaged in transit from New York’s Lincoln Center to North Texas. Afterward, Wood received a check for $2,900. “I was floored,” the artist said. Thank you, Postal Service.

[Now, the original story…]

###

We assume that when we buy insurance on a precious item to be shipped such as artwork, that the painting or prints by the artist will be covered in the event of damage.

We assume wrong.

As the Dave Lieber column in the Sept. 18, 2009 Fort Worth Star-Telegram shows, assumptions in today’s world are risky business.

After artist Matthew Wood’s artwork was shown at Lincoln Center in New York, he shipped it back to North Texas through the U.S. Postal Service.

It arrived, destroyed.

"Pink Angels" by Matthew Woody, valued at $5,500, never made it out of the postal service.

Regina Carter shipped three pieces of art from her dying mother’s home in Las Vegas back to Hurst through United Parcel Service.

The box made it, empty.

Both Wood and Carter submitted insurance claims. Both were denied. Both believe they are getting the runaround.

Individually, they asked The Watchdog for help.

In Wood’s case, his signature piece of art, Pink Angels, was shown at The Gallery at Lincoln Center. Constructed out of vintage chrome-plated pigment paper a half-century old, the artwork is valued at $5,500, according to one appraisal.

In February, he shipped it to his parents’ home in Plano. The artwork is still in a Plano post office. Wood showed me photos, taken at the post office. I saw broken glass and ripped paper in a frame.

He insured the piece for $3,000 and submitted a claim.

The post office wrote back, “We need evidence of prior sale of said item.”

But since Wood was the artist and owner, there was no prior sale.

So he submitted a letter from Matthew Rankin, the Lincoln Center’s curator of special exhibitions, who valued the artwork at $5,500.

That didn’t impress the post office.

Tom Wood, Matthew’s father, recalls asking a postal employee how the Postal Service can deny the claim when the artwork was insured, sent and destroyed in transit.

She replied, “I could insure a rock for $3,000.”

Tom Wood said he found her remark insulting. He explained that the missing art was not a rock but an original piece of art that cannot be duplicated.

“A rock wasn’t insured,” he said.

The post office sent another letter: “Based on our investigation, your claim has been approved. However, it has been paid at a lesser amount than you requested.”

Instead of $3,000, Matthew Wood received a check for $100. He refused to cash it because he wants to fight.

“To pass it off like, ‘Oh, it’s nothing,’ that’s why it’s hard to overcome,” his father said. “No one listens to us. They don’t grasp the aesthetics or the value of this.”

I asked the post office for a response and received a curt reply.

Spokesman McKinney Boyd said Matthew Wood can appeal the decision to award him $100.

Boyd sent me the address for the appeal letter.

Wood said he was waiting to hear from The Watchdog before mailing the appeal.

Go ahead and mail it – and better send it certified!

Meanwhile, Regina Carter used United Parcel Service in June when she was in Las Vegas mailing back art from her mother’s valuable collection.

The Royal Kiss by Japanese artist Otsuka was lost in transit by United Parcel Service

She didn’t use an authorized UPS store but rather an independent shipping outlet. That hurt her because UPS says its stores offer customers better boxes and packing expertise.

At the store she used, Carter said, there were no big boxes, so she had to construct one herself. It didn’t hold up.

According to tracking records, the box went to Phoenix, El Paso, Mesquite and Fort Worth.

“Empty carton was discarded,” a UPS report states. “Merchandise is missing. UPS will notify the sender.”

Carter got the news the day after her mother died.

“I had a big cry,” she said.

She valued the box’s contents at $1,500. UPS rejected her insurance claim.

The reason? Her packaging did not meet acceptable guidelines. The box was too flimsy, and the tape wasn’t strong enough.

Carter said she believes that the art was stolen and that UPS is using the packaging as an excuse not to pay.

UPS spokesman Dan McMackin said, “Honestly, sometimes homemade boxes will make it through. Sometimes they won’t. That’s why we ask customers to use corrugated boxes.”

The stronger boxes are available at office supply stores and elsewhere.

In UPS lingo, the shipment is a “fallout” because the contents fell out. “Once it fell out, we don’t know what happened to it,” McMackin said.

Under UPS rules, if the package is not prepared properly, an insurance claim doesn’t have to be paid, he said.

“There’s a certain onus on the customer.”

He added, “We regret what happened. Obviously, a package that falls out makes us just as unhappy as the consumer. Our job is to get it from point A to point B.”

Carter said, “I’m getting nowhere, and I’m heartbroken.”

Lesson here: Insurance is no guarantee that a shipping company will pay a claim. Best to make sure the packing is superbly done. Take photos of the package before you ship it, too. Don’t leave anything to chance.

Shipping art

Shippers are responsible for proper packing, including secure wrapping and inside cushioning.

Use a double-wall corrugated shipping container with a 275-pounds-per-inch burst strength.

Seal flaps with six strips of pressure-sensitive poly tape. The tape should be at least 2 inches wide.

When flaps meet in the center, apply three strips of tape to both the top and the bottom of the box.

At UPS, when a shipper declares a value in excess of $100, there is no insurance. Shippers desiring cargo insurance, all-risk insurance or another form of insurance should buy from a third party. For more information about shipping specifications, visit www.ups.com.

The U.S. Postal Service recommends getting an appraisal before shipping and packing items “solid as a rock.”

Sources: UPS and U.S. Postal Service

Filed Under: Column Tagged With: art gallery, artists, artwork, painting, prints

A judge says an air conditioning & heating company engaged “in a well-orchestrated scam.”

November 24, 2009 by Dave Lieber

UPDATED POST: Please note the resolution of this case in the post at the very bottom that updates this story as of March 2010.

The company is Hobson Air of Weatherford, Texas, also doing business as Comfort Experts and ACGenius.

Stephen Maxwell received a flier in the mail from Hobson Air Conditioning advertising a $49 heating-system tuneup. If he acted quickly, he would also get a free carbon monoxide safety check. Maxwell accepted the deal.

The service tech who arrived examined his upstairs furnace and came downstairs with a smile on his face and a dire warning, Maxwell recalled. “It is your lucky day,” the tech told him. “I have probably saved your lives.”

On a work order, the tech wrote, “I found holes in the heat exchange. The holes are large enough that the carbon monoxide being transferred into the home could be lethal for the family. Gas has been turned off.”

Maxwell said he was grateful. The tech told him that another employee of the Weatherford-based business would come by shortly with repair information.

An hour later, a second Hobson employee showed up and told Maxwell that replacing the furnace would cost $15,000. When Maxwell balked at the price, the man said he could buy a less expensive unit for $6,500.

Maxwell wanted a second opinion.

Two days later, a man from a different company arrived at Maxwell’s Arlington Heights home. He checked the furnace and found nothing wrong.

Still unsure, Maxwell brought in a third company. The verdict? Once again, Maxwell was told that everything was fine.

As first reported in the Dave Lieber column in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Maxwell wrote The Watchdog: “Unlike the vast majority of the people whose complaints you investigate, I am in a position to do something about this myself.”

See, Maxwell is a Fort Worth lawyer. He filed a small-claims-court lawsuit against Hobson, alleging a violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The case was filed in the court of Tarrant County Precinct 5 Justice of the Peace Manuel T. Valdez.

In a 110-minute trial last week, Maxwell asked for the return of the $517 he paid the company for parts and service and asked for triple that amount in damages. And he asked that Hobson, which also does business under the name Comfort Experts, pay his court costs and legal fees. Maxwell was represente by his law partner, Daniel Sullivan.

On the stand, Maxwell testified that after he learned that the original diagnosis on his furnace might be wrong, he contacted Hobson and asked for his money back as part of the company’s no-questions-asked, full-refund policy. But a company official refused the refund unless he could visit Maxwell’s house and look at the furnace. Maxwell was adamant: He was never letting any Hobson employee back into his house.

Maxwell’s lawyer called the techs who gave the second and third opinions to support Maxwell’s testimony. Both testified that they found nothing wrong with the furnace.

Hobson Vice President Philip Brian Hobson, the sole witness for the defense, testified that he wanted to visit Maxwell’s house to see the problem for himself but that Maxwell wouldn’t let him.

Hobson sounded apologetic, saying: “We didn’t communicate properly with Mr. Maxwell.” He told the court that he was willing to refund Maxwell’s money and even give him a new furnace for free if his company’s original diagnosis was proved wrong. But he never got the chance.

“We are definitely not out to take advantage of anybody,” Hobson testified. His only goal, he added, was to make sure that his customers are safe in their homes.

Asked by Maxwell’s lawyer whether his techs ever make mistakes, Hobson answered, “We don’t make mistakes on heat exchanges.”

After Hobson testified that his company has a good reputation, Maxwell’s lawyer pointed out that Hobson Air has a D- rating from the Better Business Bureau at Fort Worth.

In his closing statements, Maxwell’s lawyer said that the case amounted to a poker game and that Maxwell called the company’s bluff.

“They wanted to rip these people off,” Sullivan told Valdez. “They wanted to sell them a unit they didn’t need.”

Hobson lawyer Trey Harris countered: “They err on the side of caution.”

In pronouncing his verdict, Valdez began by saying that he wished the whole world could have witnessed the short trial. “This was really a well-orchestrated scam,” the judge said.

Valdez recalled how he was once told by a heating-and-air tech at his home that he needed a new $8,000 unit. In the end, Valdez said, he needed only a $7.50 part.

“This is done on a daily basis all over the place,” the judge said. Consumers, he added, need to educate themselves rather than believing the first thing a technician tells them. The Hobson tech who visited the Maxwell house, Valdez said, “was not there for the good of that family. He was there for the good of himself.”

The judge awarded Maxwell all the money he asked for.

Hobson lawyer Harris told me outside the courtroom that the company will appeal.

He added: “The furnace is still bad. We still want an opportunity to inspect it.”

Maxwell said his family used the furnace all last winter. There wasn’t a problem.

After a small-claims-court judge ruled last month that Hobson Air’s sales tactics amounted to “a well-orchestrated scam,” the state opened an investigation.

And we heard from other customers who have had problems with the Weatherford-based company since The Watchdog reported on the case two weeks ago.

Tarrant County Justice of the Peace Manuel T. Valdez ruled against Hobson in a suit brought by Fort Worth attorney Stephen Maxwell. Maxwell testified that a Hobson employee told him that his furnace was leaking carbon monoxide and that Hobson had saved his life.

Maxwell sought opinions from two other heating-company owners, who testified that there was no leak.

Hobson officials contended that the furnace is bad. But Valdez ruled that Hobson must pay Maxwell triple damages because the service employees were “not there for the good of that family.” Hobson plans to appeal.

The state investigation in that case makes 11 ongoing investigations by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation into the practices of Hobson Air, which also does business as Comfort Experts, department spokeswoman Susan Stanford said.

Here are three other stories about Hobson Air sent to The Watchdog, along with the company’s response from Philip Brian Hobson, vice president for service.

Saving lives

Perry Milam of Azle says a Hobson tech turned off the furnace one cold evening and announced that he had saved lives because of a leak. A Hobson employee said a new unit would cost $12,000. Milam hired a second company to reconnect the furnace and a third to do semiannual checkups. Both companies told him there was nothing wrong with the furnace, Milam says.

Hobson’s reply: “We believe that furnace is unsafe.” Furnaces do cost $12,000 or more, he says, but the company’s sales sheet lists less-expensive options, too, on the same page.

Collection hassle

Kristi Edmunds of Azle says she responded to Hobson’s coupon for a low-cost tuneup. A Hobson tech advised that the furnace was not going to last another week. She was shown an option to buy a new furnace for $14,000. She paid $177 for minor work but later saw that the promised work was not completed.

She asked for and received a full refund.

But for two years since, she has received collection letters seeking $177, plus fees. When she called the lawyer who sent the letter, the phone number didn’t work.

“To this day, we still get letters from collection agencies and Hobson and phone calls from Hobson. Each time, I call Hobson and go over the whole thing again. They tell me every time they apologize and will have the bill taken care of.”

Hobson’s reply: Different lists that keep track of who owes “didn’t cross each other.” Last month, the company worked to fix the problem. “We’re going to get that off the receivables list,” he says.

A state complaint

After Gerald C. Liepert of Willow Park was told by a Hobson technician that he had saved lives, Liepert bought a new furnace from Hobson that didn’t work properly. He visited Hobson’s office seeking help but couldn’t get any. The family went without heat.

After Liepert complained to the state, Hobson replaced a faulty part.

The furnace works, but Liepert says he refuses to withdraw his state complaint until he is certain the furnace will work.

Hobson’s reply: A Better Business Bureau complaint on the matter is listed as resolved. He says he hopes the replacement part continues to work.

Words of support

Hobson has its defenders. Gina Vaughn of Watauga called The Watchdog to report that her husband died in 2003 from a carbon monoxide leak from a furnace. After Hobson Air learned about the tragedy, the company installed a new furnace for free, she says.

She approves of Hobson’s mission of erring on the side of caution to protect families.

“These people care,” Vaughn says. “What they’re doing is right.”

# # #

Update as of March 2010: The following appeared in the Dave Lieber column in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Fort Worth lawyer Steve Maxwell says he’s a little embarrassed that his small-claims-court case against Hobson Air of Weatherford went as far as it did. Hobson shut down Maxwell’s heating system after a technician said he found a hole that could have emitted gas and killed his family.

Maxwell hired other heating experts who couldn’t find a hole. He sued Hobson in small-claims court and won.

A week ago, a visiting judge in Tarrant County presided at a trial based on Hobson’s appeal. Maxwell alleged that the company engaged in misleading advertising. He showed that the company promised a no-questions-asked refund. But when Maxwell asked for his money back, the company wouldn’t give the refund without conducting a follow-up visit. Maxwell didn’t want the company to come back.

The judge ruled that the ad’s promise wasn’t kept. Hobson has to pay the original judgment of $623, and the company (which also does business as Comfort Experts and ACGenius) has to pay $10,000 more for Maxwell’s legal expenses.

Still, even though Hobson lost the case, it won back some of its reputation. Turns out there really was at least one hole in Maxwell’s furnace. Hobson was right after all.

Maxwell says he was surprised when his expert found the hole. It changed how he viewed the case, he said.

Company President Brett Hobson told me: “Our diagnosis of the furnace was correct, and nobody argues with that. We were right. I think that’s the most important thing. I think we got a bad rap out of it.”

Last year, Hobson sued Maxwell for libel and slander, asking for $6 million. Maxwell countersued, contending that the Hobson lawsuit was frivolous because everything he said was in small-claims court and protected speech, especially when he won the case.

Brett Hobson says the company will drop the libel lawsuit. He considers the matter over.

Filed Under: Column Tagged With: air conditioning and heating, Comfort Experts, Hobson Air, Texas AC companies

Some door-to-door alarm salesmen try to sell you a 60-month contract

October 15, 2009 by Dave Lieber

Has the door-to-door alarm salesman knocked on your door? If not, he’s probably coming. He will try to sweet-talk you into an alarm system that, if you agree to it, you better love. Why? You’re going to have it for a long time.

Many contracts last from 39 to 60 months. And unlike with a wireless phone or electricity contract, you can’t buy your way out with a few hundred dollars.

As we first shared in the Oct. 11 Fort Worth Star-Telegram by Dave Lieber, Dan Lesley Sr. learned that the hard way. “A guy came by selling home alarm systems,” he recalls. “I bought one.”

Two months later, his life turned upside down when he learned that his wife wanted a divorce. He moved out of the house. But when he called Pinnacle Security and asked how much it would cost to get out of his contract, he was told he has to pay the $40 monthly fee for the entire 39 months. Pinnacle offered to transfer the account to another address, but he can’t because he’s staying with relatives.

Pinnacle said he could try to get the current resident, his ex-wife, to take over the contract. He couldn’t do that, either.

Contract disputes make up a quarter of the 836 complaints filed against Pinnacle in the last three years with the Better Business Bureau. Billing, sales practices and refund issues constitute much of the rest. The company has a BBB rating of F.

In August, the Orem, Utah-based company was cited by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection for telling customers that they could cancel at any time when they couldn’t, that their existing alarm companies had gone out of business or that they were representing the customer’s own alarm company when they weren’t.

The salesmen also told consumers about a rash of burglaries in the neighborhood to scare them, Utah authorities charged.

A hearing on the citation is scheduled for Oct. 20. You can read the Utah government’s Aug. 29, 2009 administrative citation against Pinnacle Security exclusively on the Internet here.

The company also got into trouble in June when its sales staff implied to customers in Wichita, Kan., that a competing company had gone out of business when it hadn’t. Customers were told they needed to change their equipment and sign new contracts.

Travis Coleman, Pinnacle’s executive complaint supervisor, said the company is working to fix any problems.

If misconduct on the part of its sales staff is found, staffers are disciplined, fined or fired, he said. Disciplinary measures were taken after a company investigation into the Wichita incident, he said.

Pinnacle Security and a second Utah-based company, Platinum Protection of Provo, recruit as sales staffers former missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who have experience going door to door. This sales force is especially heavy in the summer months, when college students are working, but sales activity goes on year-round.

A year ago, a Platinum Protection salesperson visited Mary Lou Branson and sold her a home security system, complete with a panic button. She signed a 60-month contract for $43 a month.

In April, she accidentally pushed the button. What happened next was an inadvertent test of the system.

First, she heard a voice in her house, but she didn’t know it was an employee of the monitoring service talking to her through the alarm system’s box. She thought it was her answering machine, so she picked up the phone but nobody was there.

About four hours later, a man who said he worked for a guard dispatch company showed up to check on her. He said he had come to the corner earlier and looked at the house.

“Apparently, it looked OK, because he did nothing more,” she recalls. “He certainly did not come to the door and check to see if I was alive.” Under her contract, she said, the company is supposed to respond to alarms in a timely manner. “I could have been dead several times,” she said.

The man told her that Fort Worth’s alarm ordinance required that a private guard check before police are called. That’s not true for residential addresses, only for commercial accounts, the ordinance says.

Angry, Branson decided to complain to the company. Turns out she was signed up for private guard dispatch, but she didn’t want that. The company altered her account. She still wanted to cancel.

Michael Melzer, Platinum’s manager of legal affairs, wrote to her defending the company against her claim that it is incompetent. (Platinum has a B-plus rating from the BBB.) He also denied her request for cancellation, saying the company upheld its end of the contract.

Platinum has a cancellation fee that is roughly 80 percent of the balance owed on the contract.

When I interviewed a top company official, who asked that his name not be used because he did not work for the public relations department, he affirmed that the company did nothing wrong.

A day later, however, the company e-mailed me this statement:

“We were concerned when we learned of Mary Branson’s complaint. Like any complaint we receive, we have looked into the situation. Although we understand that Ms. Branson’s situation is unique, we have honored her request to end her contract with Platinum Protection, and we will work to resolve the matter so we can continue to provide your community with the service and protection it deserves.”

The best tip is this: When an alarm salesman shows up at your door, ask to see his “pocket card” license. If you live in a state where these licenses are issued to door-to-door salesmen, that usually means they had to undergo a criminal background check. If the salesman doesn’t have one, he shouldn’t be there. Call the authorities.

What you can do

Customers who have a complaint about a Utah-based alarm sales company may file a complaint with the Utah Division of Consumer Protection at www.consumerprotection.utah.gov. Or call 801-530-6601.

Filed Under: Column Tagged With: burglar alarms, door-to-door alarm salesman, Pinncacle Security, Platinum Protection

Here’s how to take back some of the authority from the North Texas Tollway Authority

October 13, 2009 by Dave Lieber

As the North Texas Tollway Authority creeps more and more into our lives, drivers continue to have fits over steep fees levied when toll bills aren’t paid on time.

Apparently, the NTTA takes the word authority in its title quite seriously. It continues to charge customers who missed a few dollars in toll payments many hundreds of dollars in fines and fees. Some motorists say they never received the original bills. ntta

State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, says she has seen enough of what she calls “exorbitant” penalties. She says the $11 million in penalties collected from drivers since last year is the authority’s way of making up for lost revenue.

Watchdog Nation alert: Senator Nelson needs ammunition to take on the authority. Send ideas, stories and comments to Jane.Nelson@senate.state.tx.us or Senator Jane Nelson, P.O. Box 12068, Austin, TX 78711.

“It’s gotten out of hand,” Nelson says. “What really bothers me is this is not supposed to be a revenue source for the NTTA. A fine should be a reminder that you need to pay for the tolls. But $11 million? That’s a lot of fines.”

The authority says it also spent $35 million in staff salaries and postage to administer its billing system.

Nelson plans to hit the problem head-on in the Legislature: “The way we set it up, I’m not sure we didn’t give them too much authority. We need to go back and consider more oversight.”

More authority over the authority. That comes as welcome news to drivers who say they’ve been burned.

As Dave Lieber first reported in the Oct. 11 column in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, for those who don’t travel east of Tarrant County very often, drivers who use toll roads in Dallas, Denton and Collin counties are encouraged to buy TollTags to hang on their windshield. Tags are read electronically, and the driver’s account is debited.

For those without a tag, the authority photographs their license plate and then mails a bill at a higher rate to the car’s registered owner. The authority is phasing out toll booths where cash is accepted and building roads with few booths.

If a toll-road scofflaw goes too long without paying, the case is referred to a justice of the peace (5,295 cases this year). In the end, an unpaid 45-cent toll can cost hundreds of dollars with added court costs.

Geoff Hartford of Denton says a $3.17 toll charge cost him $139 in payments to a collection agency. He was charged with five late payment violations at $25 each.

“They sent the invoice to my old address in Argyle,” he says.

The NTTA says that the invoices are sent to the listed address in government records and that the vehicle’s owner is responsible for updating the registration.

Charles Evans says he received a bill for $518 for about $18 in tolls. Two employees told him that if he didn’t pay the bill, he could be arrested, he said. Then the NTTA agreed to settle for $187. But when he went to the NTTA’s Web site to buy a TollTag, he found that if he bought a tag he could pay the $18 and clear his account.

“Their whole billing, fee and collection processes almost seem illegal to me,” he says.

The authority changed its policy on negotiated settlements, but its computer system still asks customers to sign up for the old violation enforcement agreement. The NTTA says it is “currently working to correct” the problem.

Robert J. Tilka of Keller has complained to Nelson. He says the authority offered to cut his bill from $518 to $150.

“It’s like organized crime,” Tilka says “It is a total money grab on the citizens of Texas, in my mind. Is there not a way to get people fired from the board? What is the best way to dispute this government agency?”

The NTTA declined to comment on Tilka’s remarks except to say public comment is always welcome.

The NTTA says its board “accepts comments from the public at all posted meetings.” (Visit www.ntta.org to learn more.)

In September, tolls on the Dallas North Tollway and President George Bush Turnpike were raised 32 percent. The authority is trying to meet financial commitments, unify its system and respond to economic conditions, spokeswoman Sherita Coffelt says.

Last year, the authority oversaw the sale of $5 billion in bonds for refinancing debt and funding construction. This year the authority issued $1.2 billion in bonds.

The authority says it intends to revisit its fees and penalty policies at a meeting in November.

Former Fort Worth Mayor Ken Barr, who was appointed to the NTTA board last year, said he’s aware that the system has problems and is confident that the board will address them in the next few weeks.

“I think we need to take a very hard look at the authority’s procedures,” he said, adding that it’s important to collect all tolls.

“It is very frustrating to try to collect from everyone and have a lot of people who would appear to purposely avoid paying,” he said. “We’ve got an obligation to regular users to collect from everybody. But that’s extremely difficult to do.”

NTTA Executive Director Allen Clemson says on the authority’s Web site: “The NTTA realizes that mistakes happen, confusion occurs or invoices are overlooked. That’s why we will waive 67 percent of administrative fees incurred if any violator takes care of the balance before the outstanding invoice is transferred to the collection agency.

“The purpose of administrative fees is to help pay for the cost of collection. They are not considered an additional revenue stream.”

But Nelson disagrees. She says that when she has questioned the NTTA, “they’ve been very defensive.”

UPDATES: After this appeared, the authority has asked for a meeting with Sen. Nelson… Thanks also to Reese Dunklin, intrepid investigator for competition-across-town Dallas Morning News for his help in this movement with this much-appreciated post at at DMN Investigates Blog.

About the NTTA The North Texas Tollway Authority is authorized to acquire, construct, maintain, repair and operate turnpike projects in North Texas.

The governing board’s members are Chairman Paul N. Wageman, Vice Chairman Victor Vandergriff and directors Kenneth Barr, Gary Base, Bob Day, David Denison, Michael Nowels, Bob Shepard and Alan E. Sims.

NTTA customer service: 972-818-NTTA (6882); www.ntta.org

Source: NTTA

This is the FLOW CHART from NTTA showing the path of a fine.

Send your comments to State Sen. Jane Nelson at jane.nelson@senate.tx.state.us.

Filed Under: Column Tagged With: North Texas Tollway Authority, State Senator Jane Nelson, toll road fines, toll roads

This is touchy, I know, but it’s a good book

October 6, 2009 by Dave Lieber

For many months, women have approached me and asked that Watchdog Nation look at the difficulties women encounter after they become widows. I heard horror stories about how they could not access their bank accounts or utility accounts because their names were not listed on the accounts in the proper way – or so the institutions that gave them a hard time say.

I studied the problem in this Oct. 4, 2009 Watchdog column by Dave Lieber in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The point of that piece is simple: There are a lot of things wives can do before they lose their husbands to make their transition during a horrible time so much easier.

There was one resource that I mentioned only briefly in the newspaper column.

Corrine Jacobson, a Fort Worth widow, has co-authored a wonderfully simple “A Handbook for Widows.” The book is only $7.99. (Her co-author is Rose Rubin.)

A Handbook for Widows by Corrine Jacobson and Ruth Rubin

A Handbook for Widows by Corrine Jacobson and Rose Rubin

I read it, highly recommend it and wish I could buy one for every wife in the world and say, “Here, put this away with your important papers.”

If you know a woman who could use this book, I can’t think of a more thoughtful gift. I know it’s a touchy subject, but it’s worth it.

Best way to get it is on Amazon at this .

Filed Under: Column Tagged With: death, funeral service, funerals, widows

On Facebook, your friends could be your enemies

September 20, 2009 by Dave Lieber

On Facebook, which last week bragged about its 300^th million user and first-time profitability, you have “Friends.” You don’t have “Enemies.”

Or do you?

WatchdogNation.com wants everyone to learn some new Facebook terms that don’t necessarily show up in the company’s amazing corporate history.

Compromised account.

Account takeover.

Account hijack.

Definition: term used to describe when an unknown scamster gains control of your account, often resulting in a fairly believable plea to your friends for money to rescue you from disaster.

That’s my definition. Feel free to rewrite in the comments.

Let me show you how it works. This research first appeared in the September 20, 2009 Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the best paper in Texas, in the Dave Lieber column.

* * *

While on Facebook recently, Gary Rifkin received an instant message from his friend Karen Cortell Reisman.

“Hey Kar, how’s it going?” he typed back.

“Not too good at the moment,” she answered.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I’m in a deep mess as we speak and I need your financial assistance,” she answered.

She explained that she was in London “and we got mugged at gunpoint.”

“Oh my God,” Rifkin said. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Cash, credit card and phone got stolen. It was a brutal experience.”

“How are you going to get home?” he asked.

“That is the main problem now. I need your financial assistance.”

“How much do you need?” he asked.

“All I need is $1,300.”

“Where should I send it?”

The address was in London.

“Hang in there,” he advised, a transcript of the conversation shows.

Rifkin never sent the money. He knew he wasn’t talking to his friend but someone pretending to be her. He knew his friend was at home in Dallas.

Reisman, meanwhile, started getting frantic phone calls from friends asking, “Are you OK?”

As she told me later, “It was stunning to see how fast this grew over the course of one day.”

She calls the whole experience “the day I got hijacked on Facebook.”

Reisman uses Facebook as part of her speaking and coaching business. But she couldn’t get into her account because her password no longer worked. She tried to call Facebook’s corporate office in Palo Alto, Calif., but she couldn’t find the phone number. (Note: 650-543-4800)

She found the help page on Facebook that led to a contact form that put her in touch with the security team.

When Facebook e-mailed her a new password, she worried that it, too, was a hoax. But it wasn’t. She got her Facebook page back.

None of her friends sent money, but most called to see whether she was OK. “I was so touched by the concern of so many people,” she said.

In Facebook lingo, her account was compromised, company spokesman Simon Axten said.

Reisman has no idea how it happened. In all probability, Axten said, scammers learned her password through phishing.

That’s when a user goes to a fraudulent Web site that looks like the real thing. The person enters his or her login information, and then the crooks have what they need.

I can see how this happens. Sometimes I get an e-mail on an account that Facebook doesn’t know about. The e-mail asks me to look at Facebook photos. But I’d have to log in to Facebook. I ignore it.

The Facebook spokesman says scammers re-create e-mails that look like ones Facebook sends out. They might say that a friend has commented on your link or that you were tagged in a photo.

“We advise people to be careful when they’re clicking on e-mails, and especially links,” Axten said. “And when they do click on a link, check the URL [Web address]. If it’s not www.Facebook.com and it’s something else, most likely it’s a phishing site. Be careful.”

He suggests that when a friend claims to be in trouble, test the friend’s identity by asking key questions (“Where did we have lunch together last week?”).

The number of accounts compromised is very low, Axten said, considering that Facebook has 300 million worldwide.

“But obviously the consequences are pretty severe if someone ends up sending money. That’s a significant loss. As a result, we’re taking it very seriously, as we do any security threats.”

How?

Facebook monitors users who start sending out lots of messages or making “wall” posts. Facebook may block or disable the account until the mystery can be solved, he said.

Passwords should be complex, with a variety of letters and numbers.

Reisman changed all her passwords after her experience – for Facebook and for her bank, e-mail, other social media sites and credit cards.

Previously, she said, “I used the same password for everything because life is short and I can’t remember everything.”

Now she keeps a separate list of passwords.

Facebook isn’t as much fun for her now.

“It’s left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth,” she said. “But Facebook came through, in my opinion, because they really did react to the problem in a fairly quick manner.”

Do you use the same password for multiple accounts? Or simple passwords, easy to figure out, like the name of your dog?

Remember that the best password is a combination of letters, numbers and punctuation marks. Always be careful when entering it into any e-mail that is sent to you.

And please feel free to share your detailed stories about similar problems – along with suggestions about how we can protect ourselves in the comments below.

* * *

Learn more about protecting yourself in the national-award winning book about social change, Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong. Visit www.WatchdogNation.com.

Facebook Protection TIPS

– Be suspicious of friends who ask for money. Test their identity. Ask others who know them to verify any questionable situations that arise.

– If you see something suspicious on a friend’s account, go to the help link on the lower-right corner of a Facebook page and report it to the Help Center.

– Learn about security tips at www.facebook.com/security.

– Choose a strong password and don’t use it for other Web accounts.

– Use an up-to-date Web browser that offers anti-phishing features.

– Run anti-virus software on your computer.

– Reset your Facebook password if you suspect that your account has been compromised.

– Become a fan of Facebook at www.facebook.com/facebook to get the latest security announcements.

Source: Facebook

Filed Under: Column, Customer Service Issues Tagged With: Facebook, identity theft, social network, Twitter

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