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Consumer News & Alerts

Feb. 3, 2003

EVERY PARENT'S NIGHTMARE
Keeping little kids safe isn't easy. We rely on the manufacturers of toys and child-care equipment to do their part to help. Sometimes they do, but not always, as Robert learned when his nine-week-old suffered a fractured skull in a tumble from his Snugli. It's true that accidents happen but dig through our increasingly cluttered Evenflo toy chest and you'll find some that could have been avoided.

JUSTICE DENIED
We wrote last week about Virginia of Worcester, MA. After years of working in the healthcare field and paying into a UnumProvident disability policy, she contracted a fatal, progressive disease. UnumProvident refused to pay, as it has in many other cases. Virginia's only realistic recourse is to find and retain an aggressive trial lawyer.

We'd say Virginia's case is a good example of why we should resist further encroachment of our right to redress in the courts. Individuals' (though not corporations') right to sue is being systematically taken away under the guise of "reform.". We got an interesting response from Cindy Schnackel of Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, who put it better than we could.

A VALUABLE LESSON
Marketers are always trying to find a way to snag students during their middle and high-school years, when they are at their most impressionable. Sometimes they're not too paticular about how they accomplish this feat. Take the case of Education Research Center of America (ERCA), which last week agreed to cop a plea and settle federal charges that they misled students, parents and teachers by claiming that information gathered in their student surveys would be used for "educational purposes" only.

SUPER ZAPPER LACKS A CERTAIN SOMETHING
A Swiss company has been selling something called the Super Zapper, which, believe it or not, supposedly cures cancer, AIDS and who knows what else. How? Why, by using electricity to kill parasites in the body, of course. There are some problems with this, aside from the complete lack of any correlation between parasites and the aforementioned diseases. Biggest problem is the thing doesn't appear to do anything at all. The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against the company in federal court last week.

"FAT MAGNET" DERIDED
Forget the Zapper, here's something even better -- a "fat magnet," the Super Slim Solution. This magic potion claims to "trap" fat globules while you sleep, then zap them off to never-never land, leaving behind a slimmer you. In charges filed last week, the Federal Trade Commission said Super Slim's claims were, in a word, false.

IF IT HAS FEATHERS ...
Not all bogus cures are as stupendously self-evident as the Zapper or the fat magnet. To become a better informed health care consumer, you might want to visit Quackwatch.org, an independent site that can help you spot quackery, dubious cures and ill-founded claims.

THE PERILS OF NEXTEL
We wrote last week about a class action lawsuit that charges Nextel raised its rates without notice. That's mild compared to what Nextel did to Andrew, who paid not one but two $500 deposits and still had his service shut off and his credit damaged.

A CINGULAR ANNOYANCE
Another company that seems to have trouble remembering what it agreed to is Cingular. Its customer service seems to be on a par with everyone else though, meaning it's pretty much nonexistent.

WHITE HOUSE MEDICARE PLAN IN MELTDOWN?
Democrats in Congress were quick to pronounce the Bush plan to "reform" Medicare as privatization in sheep's clothing. Republicans, frightened by the lack of subsequent clarification from the White House, were soon saying that drug coverage could not be tied exclusively to private HMO-style plans.
http://atsh.org/news/plan.html

DRUG STORES NIX DRUG DISCOUNT PLAN
Chain drug stores have succeeded in blocking the Bush Administration's attempt to launch a drug discount plan for seniors. The drug stores argued that the plan exceeded the government's legal authority under the 1965 law that created Medicare.
http://atsh.org/news/discount_nix.html

A FUZZY PICTURE
Way too many consumers are spending big bucks on big-screen tv. First of all, the picture quality is usually lousy but more importantly, most of us would be much better off putting that money in an IRA or mutual fund, assuming we actually had the money. Most don't, of course, and wind up buying on credit. It's easy to fall for a no-payments, no-interest line but be sure to read the contract and be certain you know precisely what the terms are. As Gabriel will tell you, the picture may be somewhat murky.

THE PERILS OF COFFEE
There's constant back and forth about whether coffee is good for you ... or maybe the debate is just about how bad it is. At any rate, a side effect we've frequently noted is that coffeemakers -- the electric drip models -- have a bad habit of overflowing the last few years. Our personal theory is that this happens when the coffee is ground too finely but Mary Ann thinks it's just lousy design. We might both be right.

RECALLS
•Build-A-Bear's "Founding Bear" The nose can come off and present a choking hazard.
•Baseline Design Beanbag Chair Basically, infants can eat the beans and choke.
•500-Watt Halogen Bulbs They're a serious fire hazard when used inside.
•Zenith Analog Projection TVs It can overheat.

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