Current Events in May 2011

While the rising prices of gasoline and food get all the attention, health care costs have been rising for years, and a new study suggests the results are taking a toll on public health.

Regardless of income, consumers aren't taking their children to the doctor or buying prescription medicine as much as they once did, and University of Wisconsin researchers trace the change to the belief that “it costs too much to be healthy.”

Previous research has shown that families who have difficulty paying their medical bills may delay or forgo needed care. In this study, researchers tried to determine factors that affect families' decisions to put off or go without care, including the cost of health care relative to a family's income and having a child with a physical, social, behavioral or cognitive limitation such as asthma, autism or obesity.

Investigators, led by Lauren E. Wisk, a doctoral student and graduate research assistant in the School of Medicine and Public Health at University of Wisconsin, Madison, examined data from the 2001-2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys on 6,273 families with at least one child.

Health costs exceeding 10 percent of income

Excessive financial burden was defined as insurance premiums and out-of-pocket health care expenses exceeding 10 percent of family income. Delayed or forgone care was defined as putting off or going without medical care or prescription medications for a parent or child due to cost and/or insurance-related reasons.

Results showed that experiencing excessive financial burden, having a child with an ongoing activity limitation and a parent having intermittent insurance all increased the likelihood that families would delay or go without care. However, when the parent and child had the same insurance, they were more likely to get the care they needed.

There were also significant disparities when it came to race and income, the researchers found. For example, non-Hispanic black families were less likely to report delayed or forgone care than non-Hispanic white families.

Meanwhile, families whose income was less than 100 percent of the federal poverty level were more likely to delay or go without care than families with incomes at or above 400 percent of the poverty level.

Just so much money

"Every U.S. family has a finite amount of resources available to them, and every day they have to make decisions about how to allocate those resources,” Wisk said. “This is especially true in today's economy where you hear people talk about 'feeling the pinch.' This study shows the unfortunate reality of the situation. Families aren't choosing to spend their money on going to the doctor when someone is sick because of how much it cost them to see the doctor last time. They're sacrificing their health because it costs too much to be healthy."

What does that mean for the future? Wisk and fellow researchers say they are planning to study how delaying or forgoing care affects health down the road.

"We expect that if people aren't getting the care they need, they'll be sicker as a result," Wisk said. "When you put this all together and look at the big picture, the cost of health care in the U.S. could actually be causing Americans to be sicker."

What's the purpose of an extended warranty? The consumer, and the seller of the warranty, may have two different ideas.

“On April 11,2011 I called Home Depot Extended Warranty for service on my ice-maker, they told me they were having trouble locating service for my area,” Joy of Sopchoppy, Fla., told ConsumerAffairs.com. “They said someone would call me back within 24-48 hours.”

But Joy says they didn't call. She said she called again on April 13 and was told they were still having trouble locating service in her area. They would call her back, they said.

“On April 15 I called and they told me they could not find anyone and that I could find my own service and they would reimburse 250 dollars. I declined that offer,” Joy said.

On and on it went. Finally, in late April, Joy said someone was found to service her refrigerator under the extended warranty. But getting them there was another thing entirely.

“On Monday, April 25, the service guy from A & E called me at work around 10 and said he would be at my home in approx. 30 minutes,” Joy said. “That was done with out any contact with me. I work in a hospital and cannot just leave when I want to. The service guy said he would reschedule me for the next Monday.”

Joy said she called on Friday, April 29 to confirm the service call and learned the wouldn't be coming until May 2.

“I called customer relations to see what had happened and she said she would check into it and get back to me,” Joy said. “No call back! Not one person has ever called me back!”

The last we heard, the guy didn't show up on May 2, either.

The disappearing extended warranty

While we're on the subject of extended warranties, here's a story from Jennifer, of Pompano Beach, Fla., who purchased two air conditioners from Ubid.com back in September of 2009.

“I was told by the sales person that if I purchased the three year extended warranty for them that they would be covered for anything,” Jennifer said. “When I left there, I was given only a sales receipt and a pamphlet for the extended warranty through Banker’s Warranty Group.”

When one of the units broke down, Jennifer called the number listed on the receipt, getting in touch with Ubid.com, who told her she needed to contact Banker's Warranty Group.

“I contacted them, but they have absolutely nothing on me nor my purchase,” Jennifer said. “BWG even told me that they canceled warranties from them and refunded Ubid, but I never saw anything back from them! When I called Ubid back, they say that their hands are tied and there is nothing they can do.”

Jennifer paid for two extended warranties and has absolutely nothing to show for it. If Ubid.com collected money from Jennifer and failed to follow through on the warranty purchase, that could easily be construed as fraud. Jennifer needs to have a chat with someone in Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's office if she can't get her money back from Ubid.com.

Jumping to conclusions

We'll say it again. If you use one of those online travel sites, you better be sure your plans aren't subject to change. In the case of Janet, of Seattle, Wash., it wasn't that her plans changed, but the travel site made a mistake.

“I did 'name your own price' on Priceline on April 29 but the dates I put it were changed to the next day, April 30/May 1,” Janet told ConsumerAffairs.com. “I did not catch it until after my bid was accepted. I was not worried because I had paid the extra $5 for trip insurance 'because plans change.'”

Within minutes of receiving the email confirmation that her offer had been accepted, Janet began to try to file a claim with the travel insurance.

“The Priceline website asks you to contact them first then file a claim, so after searching and calling the numbers listed, I have been unable to speak with a live customer service representative,” she said. “I did request a claim form from the Travel Insurance and followed it up with a call. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the only reason I could get a refund using the insurance was if I had a medical issue and that had to be verified by a doctor's note.”

Janet says she made the mistake of “jumping to the conclusion” that the phrase “because plans change” meant something it didn't. Pretty reasonable assumption, if you ask us. Meanwhile, she says she has been unable to talk to anyone who can explain the policy and why it wasn't spelled out more clearly.

“I am frustrated with the lack of help or information available once Priceline gets your money,” she said.

Read your statements carefully

Most of us probably fail to read our bank and credit card statements are carefully as we should. Fortunately, Christopher, of Dixon, Calif., reads his.

“In January 2011, I changed my Bank of America checking account from MyAccess to eBanking to avoid monthly maintenance fees if my checking account were to go below a certain dollar amount,” Christopher said. “There is no minimum balance for eBanking. The only caveat is that you will only be charged with a fee if the account ever deals with a teller.”

But on April 13, he says he was charged with a monthly maintenance fee of $8.95.

“I called Bank of America, BOA, as to why they charged me and they could not give me a reason,” he said. The phone representative told me that there should have been no reason for them to charge me any fee. The refunded me $8.95.”

Christopher doesn't think it was a simple error. He thinks it was purposeful, in hopes he wouldn't notice. He wants to know how many others are charged a wrongful fee and don't catch it, and urges other consumers to read their statements carefully each month. Good advice.

It's happened again. Sony has temporarily shut down one of its online computer game networks, saying that hackers may have gained access to personal information for nearly 25 million users.

The latest disruption involves Sony Online Entertainment, which provides multiplayer games for computers. It shut down its service late Monday amid concerns that hackers may have hijacked information including names, addresses and birth dates.

In a notice to its customers today, Sony said: "Our ongoing investigation of illegal intrusions into Sony Online Entertainment systems has discovered that hackers may have obtained personal customer information from SOE systems.  We are today advising you that the personal information you provided us in connection with your SOE account may have been stolen in a cyber-attack."

On April 20, the company shut down its PlayStation Network after hackers lifted information on some 77 million users.

The company insists that the latest shutdown is not due to a second hacking incident, and says it believes that the additional 25 million users' data may have been stolen during the same break-in as the one reported earlier.

The latest shutdown affects “EverQuest,” one of the more popular online games.

Under attack

Sony executives apologized Sunday for the original breach and said the company is working to increase security. Sony says its online services have been under attack for at least six weeks. The company is working with the FBI to try to identify the attackers. Sony is not being so forthcoming with Congressional investigators, though.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R.-Calif.) sent a letter to Sony last week asking executives to testify before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The company declined but said it would provide written answers by Tuesday.

“I am deeply troubled by this latest data breach.  It reinforces my long-held belief that much more needs to be done to protect sensitive consumer information,” Rep. Bono Mack said in a statement.  “Most importantly, Americans should be quickly informed when their personal information has been hacked, especially in instances like this where there is an obvious potential for large scale identity theft.”

It has not been entirely clear when Sony learned of the intrusions. It shut down the PlayStation Network on April 20. It has said the attack occurred on April 16 and 17.

“Clearly, consumers need additional safeguards, and I will soon introduce legislation designed to provide it.  In addition, I have directed subcommittee staff to begin a thorough investigation into this latest incident to determine if hearings are needed”, she said.

What to do

Sony customers who think their data may have been breached should put a fraud notice on their credit records at the three major credit bureaus:

Experian: 888-397-3742;www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
Equifax: 800-525-6285;www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
TransUnion: 800-680-7289;www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

The Federal Trade Commission offers extensive information for consumers who believe they may have been the victims of identity theft.

A consumer searches for concert tickets on Ticketmaster's website, only to find the event is “sold out.” But they might then be invited to continue searching on the company's resale site, TicketsNow.

Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler says it happened plenty before a 2009 Bruce Springsteen concert at the Verizon Center, and that Ticketmaster failed to disclose that TicketsNow was a resale site where tickets were brokered at inflated prices.

Gansler says his Consumer Protection Division has entered into a settlement with Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc., Ticketsnow.com, Inc. and TNOW Entertainment Group, Inc., settling charges stemming from complaints.

The Ticketmaster companies agreed to pay the State $10,000, which may be used to pay damages to consumers who purchased, but did not receive, tickets to the 2009 Bruce Springsteen Verizon Center concert if the consumers were not already fully compensated by Ticketmaster. The Ticketmaster companies will also pay the State costs in the amount of $25,000 as well as a $90,000 civil penalty.

Misled consumers

“Ticketmaster misled consumers when it offered tickets without informing them that they were being sold by brokers at inflated prices, and then, even at the inflated prices, it failed to provide the purchased tickets,” Gansler said. “Under this settlement, Ticketmaster must be more transparent when it steers consumers to its resale website so that consumers understand what they are purchasing.”

The Ticketmaster companies denied that they violated the Consumer Protection Act. But, under the terms of the settlement, the Ticketmaster companies agreed to inform consumers who opt to continue searching for tickets on the TicketsNow website after they are unable to purchase tickets on Ticketmaster's primary site, that they are being transferred to a resale website where tickets are being offered at prices that exceed their face value.

The settlement also requires the Ticketmaster companies to clearly describe the tickets that are being offered for resale, including, where applicable, that the tickets are not in hand, but rather, are being offered by a reseller who is speculating that it will be able to provide the tickets.

Speculative tickets

Speculative tickets must also be displayed differently on the TicketsNow website so that consumers can easily distinguish them from actual tickets. The settlement also requires the Ticketmaster companies to cease using deceptive guarantees, including a statement that tickets are “guaranteed” or “100% guaranteed,” unless Ticketmaster will guarantee to deliver the tickets.

Ticketmaster and its related companies settled similar charges with the State of New Jersey in 2009.

Southwest Airlines today completed its acquisition of AirTran for about $1 billion, eliminating a low-fare rival and giving itself an opening into lucrative East Coast markets and, if history is any indication, forcing incumbent carriers to lower their fares.

AirTran has routes and airport gates in key markets including New York and Washington, where Southwest has been underrepresented. It also gets Southwest into Atlanta, where it does not now operate.

The carriers will continue to operate separately while operational details of the merger are worked out.

In an email to its Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program this morning, Southwest said the AirTran A+ Rewards program will be merged into Rapid Rewards over time.

“With a larger and stronger combined network, including new international destinations, and the recent launch of the All-New Rapid Rewards, the unification of the two programs will create a superior experience for all Members.,” said Kevin Krone, Southwest's vice president for marketing.

“Both Southwest and AirTran are about low fares and great Customer Service. As a combined company we intend to strengthen and expand low-fare competition,” Krone said. “While we will operate separately for a time, Southwest and AirTran are now one family and our commitment to creating the best customer experience is stronger than ever.”

It's the third major U.S. airline merger in recent years. Delta acquired Northwest in 2008 and United acquired Continental last year.

Based on current operations, the combined airlines would have nearly 43,000 employees and serve more than 100 million customers annually from more than 100 different airports in the U.S. and near-international destinations. In addition, the combined carriers' all-Boeing fleet consisting of 685 active aircraft would include 401 Boeing 737-700s, 173 Boeing 737-300s, 25 Boeing 737-500s, and 86 Boeing 717s.

Southwest says the average age of the aircraft is approximately 10 years, making it one of the youngest fleets in the industry. Southwest also announced, previously, that it is evaluating the opportunity to introduce the Boeing 737-800 into its domestic network.

A survey by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) finds that banks are using misleading and aggressive marketing to sell their consumers on overdraft protection.

The Federal Reserve issued its rule requiring banks to obtain customer consent before approving debit and check transactions that would overdraw their accounts. The Fed was trying to protect consumers from unwittingly subjecting themselves to $34 fees for each overdraft incident.

But the survey found instead of providing customers with simple and informative explanations about the program, banks instead launched hard-sell campaigns to sign consumers for the high-profit overdraft protection, which is more accurately described as a high-interest, short-term loan.

The center's survey found that marketing materials often created the false impression that emergency action was needed on the account. For example:

We Need to Hear From You . . . To keep your account operating smoothly . . .  To avoid any interruptions in how we service your account, we need to hear from you.

Your Debit Card May Not Work the Same Way Anymore Even If You Just Made a Deposit.

Please keep in mind that this option [not opting in] may prevent you from completing everyday transactions including Any store and gas station purchase, Emergency home and car repair...Purchases when traveling, Medical or health emergencies.

Banks also conflated the treatment of checks and debit cards, implying that opting in would protect them from bounced check fees:

Save money by avoiding retailers’ returned check fees

Relax and protect yourself from the inconvenience of an overdrawn account and retailer fees

The Bounce Overdraft Program was designed to protect you from the cost and embarrassment of having your transactions denied. (emphasis added).  

You can protect yourself from the inconvenience of declined transactionsand additional fees normally charged to you by merchants for returned items. (emphasis added)

Survey Shows Low Opt-ins, Misperceptions

Even given misleading marketing, only 33 percent of accountholders opted-in to overdraft coverage, and most who did based their decision on information that was deceptive.  The survey found:

• Sixty percent (60%) of consumers who opted in stated that an important reason they did so was to avoid a fee if their debit card was declined. In fact, a declined debit card costs consumers nothing.

• Sixty-four percent (64%) of consumers who opted in stated that an important reason they did so was to avoid bouncing paper checks. The truth is that the opt-in rules cover only debit card and ATM transactions.

• For almost half of those who opted in, simply stopping the bank from bombarding them with opt-in messages by mail, phone, email, in person, and online banking was a factor in their decision.

These findings strongly suggest that an opt-in rate of 33 percent exaggerates interest in high-cost overdraft coverage for debit card transactions. Rather, the banks succeeded in confusing and wearing down some of their customers to the point that they accepted a product that would ultimately cost them unnecessary, exorbitant fees.

The crackdown on consultants promising desperate homeowners they can “rescue” them from impending foreclosure continues. The State of Florida has sued three South Florida companies allegedly charging upfront fees for their services.

It's against the law in Florida to charge upfront fees for services to modify mortgages or otherwise mitigate a foreclosure.

Home Owner Protection Economics, Inc., DC Financial Group, Deleverage America, Inc. and owners Dennis Fischer, and Christopher S. Godfrey purportedly collected thousands of dollars monthly in upfront fees for loan modification services that were never provided, according to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Assets frozen

As a result of the lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s Office, the Palm Beach County Circuit Court ordered the defendants’ assets be frozen. In addition, they are forbidden from operating until further order of the court.

According to an investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Division, these companies, located in Delray Beach, were allegedly charging upfront fees ranging from $495 to $2,000 for foreclosure-related loan modification services that were never rendered.

The complaint charges the defendants falsely represented to homeowners that they would work with lenders to reduce the homeowners’ debt and prevent foreclosure, when in reality the lender banks were never contacted on the homeowners’ behalf. The companies were allegedly soliciting hundreds of homeowners nationwide via telemarketing, direct mail, e-mail and Internet, print and TV advertising.

Restitution

Based on the court order, the businesses and individuals are prohibited from engaging in loan modification services or accepting any upfront fees while the litigation is pending. The lawsuit seeks to force the companies to return homeowners' money and asks for civil penalties of $15,000 for each violation of the Foreclosure Fraud Prevention Act, and reimbursement for fees and costs related to the investigation.

Florida is among the states waging an ongoing battle with foreclosure rescue outfits. The state has been fertile territory for these schemes because it has suffered so many foreclosures.

Minnesota, Texas, New York, California, Nevada and Ohio are among the states that have also sued foreclosure rescue firms over the last couple of years.

Five students say the Tri-State Institute, Birmingham, Ala., lied about its ability to qualify them to take the national exam to be health information technologists.

The students say that admissions counselors told them the field of medical record processing and other medical and health related fields was “wide open” and offered an abundance of jobs in the Birmingham area.

The students agreed to enroll and school employees helped them fill out the application forms and apply for federally-insured student loans, the suit alleges.

Upon completing their studies, the five applied to the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) to take the examination required to become a Registered Health Information Technologist, but were told that because Tri-State was not accredited, they would not be eligible to take the exam.

The students say they “now have exhausted certain available student loans and have expended an enormous amount of time that is essentially useless in the furtherance of their expected careers. ”

The suit, filed in Jefferson County, Ala., Circuit Court, asks the court to award appropriate damages for the students' loss of time and money.

Starting this week, anyone signing up to receive Social Security benefits will have only one option – direct deposit. New recipients will no longer be able to receive a paper check, delivered through the mail.

“Getting your Social Security or Supplemental Security Income payment by direct deposit or Direct Express is safer and more reliable,” said Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security. “You don’t have to worry about your check being lost or stolen and your money is available immediately on your payment date There is no need to wait for the mail to arrive.”

For consumers, the government says there is added security and speed in receiving their money. Last year, the Treasury Department says, more than 540,000 Social Security and Supplemental Security Income checks were reported missing or stolen and had to be replaced.

Saving money

For the government, there is a big cost savings. The cost of printing and mailing checks will eventually disappear as new recipients begin receiving their benefits electronically.

The Social Security Administration estimates the cost to generate and mail each paper check at around 92 cents. More than 18 million Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age over the next five years and every day 10,000 people become eligible for Social Security benefits. The savings, the government says, will add up.

The new Treasury Department rule will eventually phase out paper checks for federal benefit and non-tax payments by March 1, 2013. Anyone applying for benefits from now on will receive their payments electronically, while those currently receiving paper checks will need to switch to direct deposit by March 1, 2013.

How to make the switch

Consumer who currently receive paper checks, but would like to switch to direct deposit, are encouraged to do so. You'll need your routing transit number and type of account (checking or savings). If you don't have a bank account, you can have your money put onto a pre-paid debit card.

The switch can be made online at www.GoDirect.org, calling the U.S. Treasury Electronic Payment Solution Center at 1-800-333-1795 or by speaking with a representative from your bank or credit union.

For more than a year, federal and state safety officials have been trying to stop of the use of certain drop-side cribs, because of the danger of infant suffocation. A year ago the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled all Simplicity drop-side cribs because of the problem. But Tim, of Sacramento, Calif., reports a problem trying to return his crib.

“As per the CPSC Simplicity Crib Recall and confirmed by JC Penney's own recall web page I attempted to return my recalled Simplicity Vienna Crib and Changer Combo for a refund or store credit,” Tim told ConsumerAffairs.com. “However, JCP refused to honor the recall because we were not the 'original purchasers' of this crib/combo set, therefore we lacked an invoice or receipt. It was actually a baby shower gift from former co-workers, emphasis on former as I no longer work there and neither do the people who likely purchased the crib for my baby shower gift. After hours trying to get JCP to read their own press release - they actually had the nerve to tell us they would refund $5.97.”

Here is the CPSC's original recall notice. Nowhere in it does it say a consumer has to be the “original purchaser.” Since the manufacturer is no longer in business, retailers like Penney's have to eat the cost, and may be looking for ways to have consumers like Tim eat some of the cost as well. Tim should report this to the CPSC.

Big help

It's bad enough that a company can't repair a problem with their product, but what if they return it to you in worse shape? That's what Adrianne, of West Chester, Pa., says happened with her Toshiba laptop.

“I sent my laptop in for warranty repair as some of the characters on the Keyboard were not registering,” Adrianne said. “They called and stated it was spill damage not covered under warranty, and they would return the laptop to me.”

When she got her computer back, Adrianne said the keyboard was not reattached.

“They also, neglected to include the black strip they removed above keyboard to secure it down,” she said. “They sent me back the laptop with pieces missing on it and not put back together as I sent it to them. I asked for the pieces back they said no.”

Andrianne said Toshiba told her that once technicians see damage they immediately stop work on the product and return it to customer as-is.

“Their policy states, they will return it to me as they received it,” Adrianne said. “That was not the case here.”

Adrianne isn't arguing with Toshiba's decision not to repair her computer. She simply wants all the parts back. We have to agree, this doesn't seem like an unreasonable request.

Another 'free' trial

All kinds of products that are offered on a 'free' trial basis usually end up costing consumers a lot more.

I was offered a "free trial" for Prado's electric cigarettes on the Internet through my hotmail account,” Nancy, of Laguna Beach, Calif. , told ConsumerAffairs.com. “ All I had to pay was $12.95 for the shipping.”

But Nancy reports a few weeks later two unauthorized charges of $149 and $69 appeared on her credit card statement.

“I never agreed to these charges, nor was I ever aware they existed,” she said. “I promptly returned the merchandise unopened to Prado and I have the tracking numbers.”

But Nancy encountered fierce resistance when she tried to get her money back. Though Prado had charged over $200 to her card, Nancy said they would only agree to refund $40. She ended up cancelling her credit card.

It's just another reason to never agree to pay a small “shipping and handling fee” with your credit card to get a “free trial.” Once any company has your credit card, nothing will be “free.”

Avoid debt settlement schemes

We continue to get a lot of complaints from consumers about debt settlement companies. These firms promise to help consumers reduce their credit card debt or other bills, but it hardly ever works out.

“I hired Impact Debt Settlement to help with debt reduction but they took $4200 and did nothing but increase my debt,” Stephen, of Franklin, Mass., said. “Stay away from this company.”

Actually, the best advice is to stay away from any company that charges an upfront fee with the promise of providing relief from debts. That is no longer allowed under federal law.

Debt settlement companies usually advise consumers to stop paying their creditors and to instead set up a special account to build savings that will be used in the future to negotiate a settlement. As the consumer deposits savings into the account, the debt settlement company withdraws money to cover its fees even though it hasn't reached a settlement with creditors. By stopping payments to creditors, the consumer ends up with a worse credit score, additional penalty fees and more interest charges.

Gas prices are within a few whiffs of $4 per gallon and President Obama is urging Congress to end the $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies that the oil and gas industry enjoys each year.

“When oil companies are making huge profits and you’re struggling at the pump, and we’re scouring the federal budget for spending we can afford to do without, these tax giveaways aren’t right,” Obama said in his weekly radio address and on his White House blog. “They aren’t smart. And we need to end them.”

In their weekly response, Republicans blamed Obama for high gas prices, saying he hasn't done enough to open up other domestic oil sources.

“Americans are looking for leadership to tackle the rising gas prices, but President Obama has only offered a tax increase on energy and the prospect of reduced supply,” Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said. 

Senate Democrats are likely to introduce legislation cutting the gas and oil subsidies this week but it's unlikely the bill will go anywhere in the Republican-controlled House, at least initially. For that matter, it's not clear that cutting the subsidies would do anything to reduce prices at the pump and might actually increase them.

In his address, Obama turned aside GOP proposals that he cut spending on alternative energy.

“I refuse to cut things like clean energy that will help America win the future by growing our economy and creating good-paying jobs; that will help make America more secure; and that will help clean up our planet in the process,” he said. “An investment in clean energy today is an investment in a better tomorrow.”

Surging prices

The average price of self-serve regular gas was $3.909 a gallon Friday, up from $3.846 the previous week, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Survey. The price is up more than 31 cents a gallon in the last month.

Diesel fuel prices rose a penny a gallon, with the average price at $4.146.

“Crude oil flirting with $115 per barrel coupled with the change from winter-blend to summer-blend gasoline taking place in many parts of the country means drivers have seen the price of gasoline at the pump continue to rise,” said Andrew Delmege, AAA's manager of regulatory affairs.

Surging profits

Oil companies’ reports of surging profits couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Exxon Mobil Corp.’s report that its first-quarter earnings surged 69% came just as Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke said shoppers are running out of money and buying less as their family budgets are depleted by higher gas and food prices – and just as the U.S. Commerce Department said economic growth slowed more than expected in the first quarter, to 1.8%, sharply below the previous quarter’s 3.1%.

Republicans have been quietly warning the oil companies that, with an election approaching, they may not be able to take the political risk that would be involved in publicly opposing repeal of the oil and gas subsidies.

House Speaker John Boehner (R.-Ohio) took the first step late last week, expressing he was open to discussing ending the subsidies. Obama said he was “heartened” by that.

“Our political system has for too long avoided and ignored this important step, and I hope we can come together in a bipartisan manner to get it done,” Obama said.