What's On Your Mind? Liberty Mutual, Litton Loans, Spirit Airlines,Kodak

Liberty Mutual's ad campaign is built around people doing “the right thing.” It's a nice thought. Unfortunately, Michael, of Arlington, Va., thinks the insurance company isn't living up to it.

“I am two weeks following an accident in which a Liberty Mutual insured driver made a left turn against traffic from Columbia Pike in Arlington, VA onto S. Edgewood St. and literally took a bike out from under me broadside,” Michael told ConsumerAffairs.com. “The bike was a total loss and I was lucky not to be killed outright.”

Michael says he sent the Liberty Mutual claims adjusted the police report, photos of the bike from the bike shop, photos of all the lights on his bike, an itemized list of loss value of the bike, which came to some $1,950. The claims person, he says, was very attentive and returned calls almost immediately.

“The representative who is supposed to be investigating the property loss does not respond to emails or voice mail,” Michael said. Obviously, they are all about making sure you don't have an injury claim and then, when they are in the clear on that, wait you out on property.”

Michael says he has something to compare this experience to. In 1994 he was in an accident with a driver insured by Allstate. That company, he says, settled within a couple of days.

Familiar story

Rod, of Salem, Ore., is one of the many Americans trying desperately to hold onto their houses as the threat of foreclosure looms. His story of his experience with Litton Loans, trying to arrange a modification, has a very familiar ring to it.

“Every time I call to talk to someone about my request for loan modification I get the run around,” Rod said. “I've faxed all the information they've requested, yet they keep saying they haven't received some of the documentation. I just called and apparently someone new at Litton works on my case every month. When I call and leave voice mails for specific case workers, I don't ever get calls back.”

Rod thinks he's OK for now, but believes someone could come to the door at any time and evict him. He says he has no idea what is going on with the foreclosure or loan modification process. Rod needs to speak with an attorney right away, who can cut through the bureaucratic red tape and find out what is going on.

That mistake will cost you

Okay, this is a new one. Mary, of Troy, Mich., said she was checking in online for a Spirit Airlines flight when she mistakenly checked the box for a carry-on bag, along with a checked bag.

Spirit Airlines. Her credit card was charged for both.

“I called back within the hour, letting them know that this was in error,” Mary said. “They refused to refund the money for the carry-on.”

That's right. Mary is not taking a carry-on bag aboard the flight, but she is being charged for one anyway.

“They will issue a credit that has to be used by the same person within 60 days,” she said. “It has to be booked within 60 days.”

Once some companies have your money, it seems, they don't want to give it back under any circumstances.

What's wrong with this picture?

Angela, of Westtown, N.Y., loves her Kodak Z740 camera but is upset with Kodak.

“My software stopped working trapping 4000 pictures in my computer somewhere,” Angela told ConsumerAffairs.com. “I called customer support and their answer is that they no longer support the software/camera as it's 'old,' and that I need a new camera. So my 4000 pics are... lost? I guess so.”

First, the good news. Angela's pictures are not lost. They should be normal .jpeg files that can be opened with any photo software. We suggest going to Download.com and seaching for “free photo software.” The tricky part might be finding the folder on her computer where the pictures are located, if she doesn't remember where it is. She can do a search for “.jpeg” and probably find it that way.

Kodak would like for Angela to keep using their software and, we're sure, would like for her to purchase a new camera. But she doesn't have to.