What's On Your Mind? T-Mobile, Emeril, Prescription Solutions

We've had another report of the bottom of an expensive cooking pot melting during use, this one made by Emeril.

“I was cooking with a pan when the pan got very hot,” Sarah, of Lake Forest, Calif., said. “When I removed it from stove the bottom of the pan fell out. The hot metal went all over the floor burning my foot. These pans are supposed to be high quality, but I guess not.

Actually, Emeril cookware has a pretty good reputation, and is favored by gourmet cooks. A possible answer to the dangerous mystery was offered by another of our readers, David, of Essex, Mass.

“If you've melted metal, you have used too much heat, period,” David told ConsumerAffairs.com. “And if you believe you have followed directions, it may be your your stove that's at fault. We have grown up using inefficient cookware, so it required pouring on the heat.”

David, who says he works in a commercial kitchen, says the key to Emerilware - and any cookware like it - is that you need to learn a new way to cook, and that means far less heat. Still, it seems that a pan capable of being melted by a stove burner is a bit dangerous.

Re-Upped

By now, every cell phone customer should know what replacing a phone or adding a service to their account means.

“I asked T-Mobile to shut down a line I didn't need while my daughter was gone for 18 months,” Craig, of Highland,Utah, told ConsumerAffairs.com. “They suggested I switch it to a "Kids Free Line" promotion. They didn't tell me this changed all lines on my account to two more years under contract!”

Craig feels like he was misled, but the policy – implemented by virtually all cell phone companies – is that any change to the account automatically resets the clock and begins a new two year agreement. It's in the terms of service. And no customer service representative is going to point this out to you.

Brand X

Most pharmacies, these days, will substitute a cheaper generic for a more expensive name brand prescription drug. But obviously not all do. Shengyan, of Simpsonville, S.C., switched to a generic cancer drug and mailed the prescription in to Prescription Solutions.

“I had not specified brand name on this new order form, Shengyan said. “It is very clear I want to order generic Anastrozole but Prescription Solutions mailed me an unauthorized brand name Arimidex.”

Shengyan said she has been unable to resolve the mistake with the mail order pharmacy. It's a reminder to always make sure the pharmacist knows you want to substitute a generic, when available.

Scheduling problems

Not everyone who owns a timeshare is desperate to sell it. Helen, of Arlington Heights, Ill., has a unit at Westgate Painted Mountain in Mesa, Ariz. Her problem, she says, is depositing it for exchange with RCI, trading with other timeshare owners.

“For the past three years, the week that is deposited is not the week I reserved,” Helen said. “The deposit week is typically several weeks earlier than my reserved week, which shortens the interval of time in which I can request an exchange.”

Helen wants to know if other timeshare owners have experienced this problem. If so, let us know and we'll pass it along.