Current Events in August 2011

The Canadian Web site operator who issued a false press release claiming that Internet Explorer users are less intelligent than other Web browsers is unapologetic and says he will continue to issue lies, false press releases and dummied-up studies.

"I'm going to do it again and again and again until IE 6.0 is eliminated," Tarandeep Singh Gill told ConsumerAffairs.com in a telephone interview today.  

Gill, of Surrey, B.C., Canada,  is listed as the administrative contact for AtCheap.com, a Web site which claims to be a "comparison shopping engine."

Asked how anyone could take anything on AtCheap.com seriously, Gill angrily said he was tired of talking about his deceitful actions and said he would have no further comment. 

How could readers know he had not fabricated the material on his shopping site, we asked.  Gill refused to answer and hung up.

IE for the Dumb?

It all began last week with a press release on the PR Newswire that carried the eye-catching headline: "Is Internet Explorer for the Dumb? A New Study Suggests Exactly That."

The release went out under the name of AptiQuant and a visit to the company's supposed website revealed the gist of the story. Over the course of a few weeks, 100,000 people had gone to the site to take a free IQ test. The company said it matched scores from participants with the browser they were using and determined those using Explorer had slightly lower IQs than those using other browsers.

Explorer users were outraged. An Explorers users group threatened to sue the company. And all of this was dutifully reported by media outlets like CNN, BBC, NPR and, CNET.  

A good story, but...

The only problem with the story? None of it was true. Gill fabricated it. There was no IQ test, there was no browser comparison, and there wasn't even a company named AptiQuant. Gill had set up the website, concocted the press release, and distributed it to the world, using one of the public-relations newswire services that distributes press releases.

While newsrooms don't have a lot of respect for the public relations trade in general, they do generally expect that material distributed by the p.r. wires is at the very least from the company it claims to be from.  In this, of course, we now know there is no AptiQuant.

Even though his deception has been revealed, Gill is still maintaining his fake website, where he has posted this explanation:

“AptiQuant was set up in late July 2011 by comparison shopping website AtCheap.com, in order to launch a fake 'study' called  Intelligent Quotient and Browser Usage. The study claimed that people using Internet Explorer have a below than average IQ score. The study took the IT world by storm. The main purpose behind this hoax was to create awareness about the incompatibilities of IE6, and not to insult or hurt anyone.”

Doesn't like IE Explorer 6.0

In another page of the site, Gill says he takes “100 percent responsibility” for the hoax but makes it clear he thinks Internet Explorer 6.0 is a plague upon the Internet, a claim few Web developers would argue with. He says he would be happy if his hoax caused just 100 people to stop using Internet Explorer.

Gill also takes a few shots at those of us who bit on his hoax, listing the reasons he thinks we should have quickly seen through it.

• "The domain was registered on July 14th 2011.
• The test that was mentioned in the report, “Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (IV) test” is a copyrighted test and cannot be administered online.
• The phone number listed on the report and the press release is the same listed on the press releases/whois of my other websites. A google search reveals this.
• The address listed on the report does not exist.
• All the material on my website was not original.
• The website is made in WordPress. Come on now!
• I am sure, my haphazardly put together report had more than one grammatical mistakes.
• There is a link to our website AtCheap.com in the footer."

Hours after debuting in Apple's iTunes App store Tuesday, free Facebook Messenger became the number one downloaded app. It's already collected hundreds of reviews, if not all of them are exactly flattering. The app has an average 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

The app allows users to send and receive messages through Facebook, updating in real time. If you have a new message, it pops up.

Isn't that a lot like texting, you ask? Exactly. The app allows you to reach out and touch a Facebook friend for free, bypassing your cellphone provider's charge for texts.

"Messenger is a separate app, so it only takes one click to get to your messages or send a new one,” said Lucy Zhang, writing on the Facebook Blog. “Messages are delivered through notifications and texts, so your friends are more likely to get them right away.”

Not all your contacts are on Facebook? Not a problem. Zhang says you can use Messenger to reach all of your friends -- whether they're on Facebook or in your phone contacts. All you have to do is type the person's name.

Facebook Messenger is available for both iPhone and Android devices.

America Online (AOL) has a free service as well as the premium service you pay for. So, how could a free service draw a complaint? It did, from Linda, of Lynn, Mass.

“My email has disappeared,” Linda told ConsumerAffairs.com. The new mail says 'folder empty!' I have a free account, there is no way to get help from AOL without paying. I have tried online and telephone to receive help. This is a nightmare for me as all of my emails are gone, a are my contacts - many are very important. Also my saved folders, etc. I am a student and also in a job search currently and now I cannot even retreve important documents that were saved.”

It may be of little consolation to Linda now, but there are other, reliable free email services out there, including Gmail from Google. They are definitely worth a try.

It pays to wait, if you can

Mathew, of Reseda, Calif., says he had been a Verizon Wireless customer for a little over a year when his phone broke. Verizon sent him a replacement that he says was in bad shape. He said he called to register his disappointment and to request a new phone.

“They will send me a new phone and end my contract early and start a new one,” Mathew said. “That would mean I would buy a new phone and start a new two year deal with them. Now they say I owe them a phone?”

Mathew doesn't think it's right that he has to return his ld phone and pay $500 for a new one, but that's how most cell phone contracts work. Verizon and others say they subsidize the cost of the phone over the two-year life of the contract, which they say is why they require two years. Mathew should request instead that he be allowed to pay an early termination fee on his old contract and start a new contract with a subsidized phone. He would probably end up paying less.

Clock watcher

Here's some advice from TC, of Seattle, Wash. When you pick up a rental car early, the clock starts ticking, no matter what your reservation might say. TC rented the car from Budget for a week, noon to noon.

“They gave me the car two and a half hours early but failed to tell me that the week rental ended two and a half hours early,” TC told ConsumerAffairs.com.” A $380 bill turned into a $520 bill.”

TC's only hope is that the contract actually states that the car is to be returned by noon, not 10:30 a.m. And even then, it will probably be a battle to get the charge adjusted. 

Safety concern

The Baby Trend Velocity Jogger is a stroller designed for moms who want to jog while having their kids in tow. It's JPMA certified but Penny, of Atlanta, Ga., thinks its dangerous.

“I received my stroller as a shower gift in December 2010 but did not begin using it until June 2011,” Penny said. “After the first week, the front swivel tire began to shake violently. I tightened the wheel housing nut as instructed in the manual, which seemed to correct the issue. The next day, while out jogging with my infant, the front tire completely came off. The wheel housing on the top of the tire was totally crushed. I was shocked, upset and luckily, my baby wasn't hurt. I called Babies R Us and Baby Trend but I was told nothing could be done since it was past 180 days. As a new mom, I tried to read all safety reviews for all the products my newborn has received but unfortunately I didn't read the compliants about this stroller.”

If Penny believes the stroller is, in fact, unsafe, she should express her concerns to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which only investigates problems when consumers alert them to them.

Apple iPhones are hot all right. So hot that they're becoming the principal players in a number of scams and organized theft rings around the country.  And victims?  They find little help from Apple or anyone else.

In San Francisco, a consumer named Patrick reported being approached by a stranger who asked if he would like to make $100 “real easy.”

Sure, he replied, and Patrick soon found himself in a nearby Apple store with the stranger, who bought five iPhones and put them in Patrick's name, using Patrick's driver's license and Social Security number.

The stranger then gave Patrick $100 and drove off with the phones.

“Yesterday I got a bill in the mail for $450 from AT&T," Patrick told us. “I thought I was just helping them to purchase the phones. I mistakenly assumed that they would be billed for the service.”

Not long afterwards, Patrick was hanging around another Apple store, he said, when another stranger approached him with the same offer. Patrick said he sought out the store manager and told him what was happening.

Tough, said the manager, who said the practice is legal because the victim of the scam is willingly supplying his information.

“This is a scam and Apple is in on it,” declared Patrick. “The ones getting screwed are AT&T, Verizon and the person who will get a ding on their credit report.”

Fences

Store personnel are also implicated in a series of arrests in the Washington, D.C. area. The FBI recently busted three men who worked at local shopping mall cell phone kiosks in Virginia and accused them of purchasing stolen iPhones and reselling them at a profit.

The arrests were the result of an investigation into the theft of a large number of Apple products from riders on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's buses and trains, the FBI said.

Two of the men were later indicted by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., on charges of brokering 27 stolen iPhones and 14 Macbooks. Another was indicted for allegedly paying $16,000 to buy 28 stolen iPhones and 14 Macbooks.

Victims

And what happens to those whose iPhones are stolen? Besides losing their valuable little gadget, some consumers also have a hard time recovering their data.

“Having had my iPhone stolen, I called Apple to see how to get acess to my telephone numbers that have been safely backed up on my home computer,” said Brandon of Mountlake Terrace, Wash.

“Apple's representative told me that there was no way for me to get the phone numbers from iTunes without buying another iPhone or borrowing someone else's phone. I now have no access to all of the numbers that I thought were safely available on my computer in the event that I lost my iPhone,” Brandon said.

Dennis of Brooklyn, N.Y., had his iPhone for only two months before it was swiped. When he called Apple to explore his options, he was told he could buy a new phone at the full retail cost, get an older reconditioned one for $299 or switch to a non-iPhone.

“To be punished for having my iPhone stolen (punishment enough I think) is outrageous and a travesty,” fumed Dennis. “Being told I have to pay retail to replace a non-insurable phone has got to be the best scam going between Apple and ATT. I guess these replacements get counted towards the total iphone sold number that is often trotted out in the press.”

A new study released today by the US Geological Survey shows that efforts to reduce nitrate levels in the Mississippi River Basin are having little impact. Nitrates come mostly from the over-application of chemical fertilizers on crops in the Corn Belt, fouling streams and rivers and eventually helping to swell the annual Gulf of Mexico "Dead Zone."

Corn lobbyists have been citing an analysis they commissioned in a bid to show that agriculture is not the source of nitrogen pollution in the Mississippi River Basin, despite scientific evidence to the contrary, the Environmental Working Group charged.

"Gulf fishermen and residents all along the Mississippi River Basin must endure this insult to their water while the culprits continue to deflect blame. It is time for the corn lobby to acknowledge that their cropping system is a major source of water pollution and take responsibility for it," said EWG analyst Andrew Hug.

Large industrial grain operations blanket their fields with nitrogen fertilizer and animal manure. They help push an average of 164,000 metric tons of fertilizer down the Mississippi River into the Gulf each year, creating a low-oxygen Dead Zone of more than 6,765 square miles – an area larger than the state of Connecticut, EWG said.

The excess nitrogen triggers massive blooms of algae that block sunlight and ultimately die off, consuming oxygen and driving out or killing marine plants and animals.

Not corn

The corn lobby's study concludes that corn production can't possibly be causing the pollution problem because all of the nitrogen applied ends up in the corn, not in the water. However, that conclusion is based on an outdated figure for the protein (and therefore nitrogen) content of modern hybrid corn, the EWG study found. In the past, corn tested at 10 percent protein, but current measurements indicate that corn's protein content has dropped 20-30 percent.

Corn lobbyists have long blamed others for the nitrogen pollution in the Mississippi River Basin, pointing the finger at urban lawns, golf courses and sewage treatment plants. But a previous USGS survey found that more than 70 percent of the nitrogen comes from agriculture, 52 percent from corn and soy production alone, EWG said.

Corn is the United States' largest and most subsidized crop, pulling in $77 billion in taxpayer dollars since 1995.

Today's USGS study details that nitrate transport to the Gulf of Mexico was 10 percent higher in 2008 than in 1980 and that none of the eight monitoring sites monitored showed any progress in nitrate reduction.

"The new USGS data clearly shows that we are making little progress in addressing nitrogen pollution in the Mississippi River Basin. Instead of putting out faulty studies and blaming others, it is time for the corn growers to end the cop out and actually become the environmental stewards they claim to be. Taking responsibility for their actions would be a welcome first step toward restoring Mississippi River water quality," said Hug.

Google can offer Gmail for free because it snoops on electronic messages that non-gmail accountholders send to people with accounts, and sells the information to use in targeted ads, a class action claims. 

Debra L. Marquis filed the case in Massachusetts Superior Court in Boston, alleging that Google's actions violate the Massachusetts Wiretapping Act, Courthouse News Service reported.

The suit seeks to represent all Massachusetts residents who do not have Gmail accounts but who have sent emails to a Gmail account holder.

Marquis charges that she and other non-Gmail users have not given their consent for Google to read their emails and that the practice therefore violates the state's wiretapping laws.

“Google intercepts, discloses or scans emails sent from non-Gmail users to Gmail users … acquires keywords or content from non-Gmail users' emails, and then sends ads related to those keywords or content,” the suit alleges. “For an example, an email exchange between a Gmail user and a non-Gmail user about cars would result in Google sending an ad for a car manufacturer to that Gmail user.”

Marquis said she has used AOL's email since the late 1990s. She seeks damages of $100 per day, injunctive relief and attorneys' fees.

“CyFi,” the screen name for a 10 year-old girl from California, stole the show at the Defcon conference in Las Vegas, drawing security experts from around the world.

“CyFi,” whose real name has not been divulged, made headlines with her presentation in which she revealed her discovery of a flaw in smartphone security. The discovery stemmed from her impatience in playing a game in which virtual crops had to grow. She discovered she could make them grow instantly by simply advancing the device's clock ahead.

The youngster reported that it was fairly simple to get around the game's security measures designed to detect such cheating. She said she repeatedly disconnected her device from wifi and moved the clock ahead in small increments.

Potentially dangerous flaw

Security experts say there is a lot more at stake than simply cheating at a child's game. They say it is these kinds of flaws that allow hackers to run their own code, taking control of a device.

While PCs normally run some type of anti-virus software, security experts worry that too many mobile devices are unprotected. And given the proliferation of smartphones and tablets in the last two years, it's a good bet that hackers have taken note.

Some providers say they have that base covered. For example, Apple says iPhone users' data is protected with hardware encryption and enhanced data protection. The company says users can security access corporate networks with iPhones and iPads.

Makers of anti-virus products for PCs have also begun offering security tools for smartphones.

To keep their smartphones secure, consumers should:

• Set a password for the phone, in case it gets lost
• Download updates
• Treat your phone like you would a computer
• Be careful when downloading apps, downloading only from trusted sites
• Don't enter sensitive information when connected to a public wifi
• Enable a “wipe” feature on your phone, so you can remove data if you lose your phone

How vulnerable is your computer to hackers? The first line of defense is your password, but surveys consistently show that consumers are making it easy for hackers.

For starters, they tend to show a lack of imagination when choosing a password. For example, ABC123 is one of the more common passwords in use.

Computer users also tend to use the same password for all their accounts. Once a hacker figures out the password to one account, they usually can find their way into the rest of your accounts.

Security experts say the best passwords are comprised of a random series of letters and numbers, something almost impossible for a hacker to crack. Sometime like YBN6FZ, for example.

But how in the world would you remember such a combination? You wouldn't, of course, unless the combination makes sense on some level, unknown to anyone else.

In this video, Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos Security Software, explains how it can be done.

A Chicago-based start-up is hoping to go Groupon one better, by letting consumers put together their own unique deals.

oBaz.com, which formally launches today after several weeks in begta, aims to help individuals get unique deals on products and services they actually want.

oBaz, short for online bazaar, lets anyone create their own group of like-minded buyers looking to get a good price on the same product or service. oBaz hagglers then reach out to merchants with the group sale opportunity to get the best possible deal.

As one oBaz insider explained it to ConsumerAffairs.com: "Instead of being business driven, it will be initiated by the consumer. General buyers forget that Groupon is an advertising model directed by merchants to get new customers in the door. oBaz is the opposite; they allow you to create your own offer on something and the more people you recruit, the better chance the haggler has to get your deal."

The oBaz haggling team leverages the size of the group through negotiations, which users build up with tools for inviting others to the group via Facebook, Twitter and e-mail. The group is then closed to the public after the best offer is posted.

Users are encouraged to join groups for anything they want because only group members are emailed access to the offer. However, group members are under no obligation to buy if they’re not happy with the deal.  

Outsourced haggling 

“Getting deals on what you want is a pain, oBaz eliminates the haggling and shopping-around that most people either dislike or simply don’t have time for,” said oBaz CEO and co-founder Brian Ficho, who also served as a founder-in-residence at Chicago-based high-tech investment fund Lightbank.

“oBaz is entirely buyer-driven—we’re here to help you find what you’re looking for, not just push what today’s advertiser is offering.”

How it works

With oBaz, its founders say, anyone can get awesome deals on almost anything. Step 1 is to visit oBaz.com and tell oBaz what you want. Step 2 is to either join an existing group (if there is one) or create a new group around that item or service.

Step 3 is to build your group—oBaz provides tools and incentives to users to invite friends and grow the group. Each group has 7 days to build to a critical mass (usually around 25 people, but this varies depending on the item).

Once a group is large enough, the oBaz negotiators go to work haggling the group a deal. Once the deal is found, it is posted to the site and users have 24 hours to buy. Deals are redeemed directly on merchants’ websites or in-store using promotional codes or printed coupons.

oBaz is ideal for virtually any product or service - businesses can even use the site to procure office equipment, supplies and other services.

Recent group deals on oBaz beta include: $300 off a Nikon camera kit that normally retails for $900; $130 Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses for just $80, $120 off a BOB Stroller; 50 percent off an online GMAT course; a free $45 coin purse when buying a Longchamp Tote; and a lacrosse stick that retails for $105 sold through oBaz for $30.   

“The beauty of oBaz is that whatever you’re looking for, there’s a good chance others might want it too,” Ficho said. “We handle the unwanted task of haggling to secure the best possible offer.”

By recruiting new members to join their buying groups, oBaz members not only have a better chance of getting a great deal, but they also earn points and status within the oBaz community.

Better for businesses?

For businesses, oBaz drives customers with intent to buy at zero up-front cost. The site issues unique promotional codes or coupons to customers who redeem them in-store or on the business’s website. oBaz allows businesses to tailor offers that make sense for them. oBaz also makes it easy for businesses to offload excess inventory and reach new customers in a fun, social, yet private way.

oBaz raised seed funding in June 2011 from Lightbank, the Chicago-based high-tech investment fund created by Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, co-founders of Groupon. Lightbank invests money, time and expertise to help innovative businesses achieve dynamic growth.

Where does the line fall between clever direct mail marketing and deception? Whereever it is, Cindy, of Littleton, Colo., thinks Bank of America (BOA) has crossed it.

“I received a letter in the mail from Bank of America with the following stamped notice, in red, on the front of the envelope: "REMINDER NOTICE/Sign and return the form inside,” Cindy told ConsumerAffairs.com. “The return envelope was stamped, in red, PROCESS IMMEDIATELY.”

Cindy said her family had a checking account with BOA so she quickly opened the envelop. Instead of a bill, she said she found a second attempt to sell her accidental death insurance.

“I find this to be deceptive,” Cindy said. “I can see how some, particularly seniors, would sign this and return without really looking at the material inside. Very deceptive.”

An ill-advised loan

Eric, of Falling Waters, W.Va., says he is about to lose his wheels. He and his wife took out a car title loan – very similar to a payday loan, except that a vehicle title is used as collateral. After paying off two previous car title loans with the company, Virginia Fast Auto Loans, Eric says he suffered a financial setback.

“I told them we cant pay and if they have to to come pick up vehicle,” Eric said. “They keep calling and harassing us to make a payment. I've recently learned that theses loans were not legal in West Virginia. What can I do? Can they legally take my vehicle?”

Ordinarily, yes. But in West Virginia, maybe not. State Attorney General Darrell McGraw has aggressively taken on payday lenders, which are illegal in West Virginia. McGraw just happens to be investigating Fast Auto Loans and in April, sued the company for refusing to turn over records in defiance of a subpoena. Here's what McGraw has to say about car title loans:

"We cannot prevent consumers from traveling to other states to get ill-advised title and payday loans," McGraw said. "But when companies contact West Virginians who allegedly default on the loans, they must obey our state’s debt collection laws. If companies break these laws, my office will not hesitate to intervene."

Eric should call McGraw's office ASAP. He may end up losing his car, but at least the company will have to obey the law if it takes possession.

Where's my refund?

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) raised a lot of hopes among air travelers last month when, after the federal airline tax expired, the agency said some travelers who paid the tax were due a refund.

“Paid for two airline tickets June 8 and while vacationing the news gave information about the FAA charging these tickets with a tax that needs to be refunded back to us, the customer, for both roundtrip tickets,” Darcelle, of Brighton, Colo., told ConsumerAffairs.com. “I'm filing this complaint just in case we ever see this refund.”

Sorry, Darcelle, you won't see a refund. The IRS just announced that, in its opinion, consumers aren't due a refund after all.

While there are computer programs that allow parents to monitor their children's online activities, at least one psychologist thinks they are a waste of time.

Dr. Larry Rosen, professor of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, served up that opinion recently at the 119th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, in a panel on social networking.

“If you feel that you have to use some sort of computer program to surreptitiously monitor your child's social networking, you are wasting your time,” Rosen said, “Your child will find a workaround in a matter of minutes.”

Indicator

That's not to suggest parents should ignore their children's use of the Internet. How teens use social networking sites, he says, can be an indicator, both positive and negative. But you have to come at it from a level of trust and understanding.

“You have to start talking about appropriate technology use early and often and build trust, so that when there is a problem, whether it is being bullied or seeing a disturbing image, your child will talk to you about it,” Rosen said.

He encouraged parents to assess their child’s activities on social networking sites, and discuss removing inappropriate content or connections to people who appear problematic. Parents also need to pay attention to the online trends and the latest technologies, websites and applications children are using, he said.

“Communication is the crux of parenting. You need to talk to your kids, or rather, listen to them,” Rosen said. “The ratio of parent listen to parent talk should be at least five-to-one. Talk one minute and listen for five.”

Heavy Facebook use not a good sign

In his presentation, Rosen said teens who use Facebook more often show more narcissistic tendencies while young adults who have a strong Facebook presence show more signs of other psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviors, mania and aggressive tendencies. If you child always seems to be on Facebook, he says, that could be a wakeup call.

He said daily overuse of media and technology has a negative effect on the health of all children, preteens and teenagers by making them more prone to anxiety, depression, and other psychological disorders, as well as by making them more susceptible to future health problems.

But there are also some positives. Online social networking can help introverted adolescents learn how to socialize behind the safety of various screens, Rosen says. Social networking can also provide tools for teaching in compelling ways that engage young students.

“While nobody can deny that Facebook has altered the landscape of social interaction, particularly among young people, we are just now starting to see solid psychological research demonstrating both the positives and the negatives,” Rosen said.

More than 90 percent of the potential dates on Match.com are canceled subscribers, people who never subscribed, duplicates, or phantoms the company created to snare its $40 a month subscription fee, a class action claims in Federal Court.

Match.com knows  this,  yet still  collects  $39.99  a  month  from  its Subscribers,  all  the  while  perpetuating  a  scheme  to the detriment and disappointment of  its subscribers, the suit charges.

"At bottom, Match.com is a scam," Jesse Kaposi of Novato, Calif., alleges in his suit, filed in federal district court in Dallas.

According  to  its  website,  "20,000  singles"  join  the Match.com community  every  day  and  "hundreds  of  thousands" of people  find  love  on  Match.com  every year, the suit notes.

Match.com has two types of  "Members" -- Subscribers and Non-subscribers. Unless  a Match Member is  a  paying  Subscriber they cannot  respond  to  contact from  other Members  (i.e.  e-mails, winks,  etc.)  or view the  profile  of  people who  contact them, the suit says. 

Match routinely offers new Members or cancelled former Subscribers free trial memberships that permit Non-subscribers access privileges normally restricted to paying Subscribers.  Match then lumps together  profiles  of  Subscribers  and  Non-subscribers  and displays them as if  they are the same, Kaposi charges.

Match.com  advertises  that it  has  15  million  "Members" but does not disclose that  only  1.4  million  of its  "Members"  are  actually "Subscribers," the suit alleges, quoting documents filed by Match.com owner IAC Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Less than 10%

"Thus,  less  than  ten  percent  (10%)  of  Match.com's  15 million Members can actually be reached by another Member," the suit charges. 

If  a Subscriber identifies an interesting online profile and desires to make contact, Match.com encourages the Subscriber to  send the person an email or a "wink".  Match.com also may  give the Subscriber a  signal that that  person is  "Online Now"  or  has  been "Active Within One Hour " -- which the suit charges is  often not true, alleging that Members  will  be labeled "Online Now" even when they are not logged into the Match site and have not been for months.

Only when the intended  recipient also is  a Subscriber, may he  or she receive the sender's  email  or  "wink."  On  the  other  hand,  i f the  intended  recipient  is  a  Non-subscriber, Match.com does  not inform the Subscriber sending the e-mail that the intended recipient cannot open,  read  and/or respond to  their emails  or "winks" and/or the intended  recipient  cannot view the Subscriber's profile, username or photographs - although Match.com has  the capability to do  so, the suit charges.

Kaposi claims that Match.com  uniformly  misleads  Subscribers  to believe  that  any  Member  may access  and  read  an  e-mail  and see  who  sent  it  by  proclaiming  in  the  Terms  of   Use that "Receiving  email  is  free;  you  can  receive  responses  even  if you  have  never  subscribed  to Match.com" -- even though such e-mails cannot be opened, viewed, read and/or replied to. 

"In  short,  only  a  fraction  of  the  people  Match.com  Subscribers attempt to  reach will ever be reached and not only does Match.com affirmatively conceal this fact but it misleads Subscribers to think that the opposite is true," the suit charges

It was just a few days ago that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was telling airlines they should refund federal ticket taxes they collected while the taxes had expired due to Congressional inaction.

But the tax was reinstated on Friday through a Congressional maneuver and now the IRS says travelers will not be getting a refund.

"Passengers who purchased tickets prior to July 23 and traveled between July 23 and the date of enactment of [Friday's] legislation are not entitled to a refund of the airline ticket excise tax. Additionally, the IRS intends to provide relief for passengers and airlines with respect to ticket taxes that were not paid or collected because of the lapse."

In other words, no refunds but also no retroactive payments by passengers whose airlines did not charge them the tax during the time it was not in effect. 

Boondoggle

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives declined to approve what would normally be a routine reauthorization of the measure unless new rules were adopted to make it more difficult for FAA personnel to unionize. 

The action led to fuloughs of some FAA workers, delays in construction projects and layoffs for workers employed by contractors.  Federal employees will probably get their back pay but employees of contractors will most likely be out of luck.

“I’m very disappointed that Congress adjourned without passing a clean extension of the FAA bill,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said last week. “Because of their inaction, states and airports won’t be able to work on their construction projects, and too many people will have to go without a paycheck. This is no way to run the best aviation system in the world.”

The tax in question generally is imposed on the “amount paid” for commercial air transportation. When a person purchases a ticket for air transportation, the airline collects the federal passenger air transportation excise taxes from the purchaser and then later pays the collected amount over to the IRS. 

The amount of tax collected from the purchaser is shown on the purchaser’s receipt as a separate line item, often labeled “federal taxes.”

The taxes include: 

• The 7.5 percent tax on the base ticket price;
• The domestic segment tax of $3.70 per person per segment (a single takeoff and single landing);
• The international travel facilities tax of $16.30 per person for flights that begin or end in the U.S., or $8.20 per person for a flight that begins or ends in Alaska or Hawaii; and
• The 6.25 percent tax on the amount paid for transporting property by air.

The whole affair put a kink in airport operations. The Federal Avaiation Administration (FAA) furloughed more than 4,000 employees in 35 states and halted numerous construction projects at airports around the country.

For the first time since 2000, Verizon workers have gone on strike.  The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) walked out Sunday afternoon after contract talks broke down.

"Since bargaining began on June 22, Verizon has refused to move from a long list of concession demands," the CWA said in a prepared statement. "As the contract expired, nearly 100 concessionary company proposals remained on the table.

"As a result, CWA and IBEW have decided to take the unprecedented step of striking until Verizon stops its Wisconsin-style tactics and starts bargaining seriously," the statement continued.

The strike affects field technicians and call center workers at Verizon offices from Virginia to New England.  It does not affect workers at Verizon Wireless, which is a joint venture of Verizon and Vodafone. 

The striking employees work on "land-line" services -- telephone, DSL and FIOS.  All but FIOS have been shrinking steadily in the last decade as consumers increasingly turn to wireless phones and cable television.

CWA and IBEW have about half as many members at Verizon today as they did in 2000, due to constant layoffs and job eliminations which Verizon says are necessary to stay competitive.

Deep concessions

Verizon is seeking deep concessions. It wants to freeze pensions, tie pay increases more closely to job performance, make it easier to fire employees for cause and require workers to contribute $100 or more a month toward health-plan premiums. The company also wants to eliminate the Veterans Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day holidays.

The union says the company's demands are unreasonable.

"Verizon continued to seek to strip away 50 years of collective bargaining gains for middle class workers and their families," the unions said. 

"CWA and IBEW members are prepared to return to work when management demonstrates the willingness to begin bargaining seriously for a fair agreement. If not, CWA and IBEW members and allies will continue the fight," the CWA said on its Web site.

Verizon said it has planned for the strike and will be using management and non-union personnel to fill in.

What's the one device you can use while driving, eating, going to the bathroom, feeding your baby, donating blood or having a profound and soul-searching discussion with your significant other?

Yes, of course, it's the smartphone, the addiction of choice for a fast-increasing percentage of the world's population.  Take, for example, a recent study in Britain, which found: 

• Over a quarter of adults and nearly half of all teens now own a smartphone;

• 37 per cent of adults and 60 per cent of teens are "highly addicted" to them;

• Smartphones are beginning to affect social behavior.

The study from the British research firm Ofcom found that over a quarter of adults (27 per cent) and almost half of teenagers (47 per cent) now own a smartphone.

Most (59 per cent) have acquired their smartphone, which includes devices such as iPhones, Blackberrys and Android phones, over the past year.

Users make significantly more calls and send more texts than regular mobile users (81 per cent of smartphone users make calls every day compared with 53 per cent of "regular" users).  Teenagers especially are ditching more traditional activities in favor of their smartphone, with 23 per cent claiming to watch less TV and 15 per cent admitting they read fewer books.

And when asked about the use of these devices, 37 per cent of adults and 60 per cent of teens admit they are "highly addicted."

In the bathroom and at the dinner table

The rapid growth in the use of smartphones – which offer internet access, email and a variety of internet-based applications – is changing the way many of us, particularly teenagers, act in social situations.

The vast majority of smartphone users (81 per cent) have their mobile switched on all of the time, even when they are in bed, with four in ten adults (38 per cent) and teens (40 per cent) admitting using their smartphone after it woke them.

Over half (51 per cent) of adults and two thirds (65 per cent) of teenagers say they have used their smartphone while socializing with others, nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of adults and a third (34 per cent) of teenagers have used them during mealtimes and over a fifth (22 per cent) of adult and nearly half (47 per cent) of teenage smartphone users admitted using or answering their handset in the bathroom or toilet.

Teenagers are also more likely to use their smartphone in places they’ve been asked to switch their phone off such as the movie theater or library – with 27 per cent admitting to doing so, compared with 18 per cent of adults.

Work/life balance

Ofcom’s research found that the line between work and social time is also becoming increasingly blurred.  Thirty per cent of smartphone users say they regularly take part in personal phone calls during working hours, compared with 23 per cent of regular mobile phone users. 

However, smartphone users are more likely to take part in work calls while on holiday or vacation.  Seventy per cent say they have ever done so, with a quarter (24 per cent) admitting to doing so regularly, compared with just 16 per cent of ordinary mobile phone users.

Generation App

The research also looked at the popularity of applications, or ‘apps’, among smartphone users and found that just under half (47 per cent) of adult smartphone users have downloaded an app – with many people taking advantage of the availability of free apps.

Teenage smartphone owners are more likely to have paid for an app download (38 per cent) than adult owners, amongst whom just a quarter (25 per cent) had paid for an app.

Teenagers are most likely to part with their pocket money for games, with a third (32 per cent) having paid for at least one game. Music is the next most popular genre amongst teens with 22 per cent having paid for a music-based app.

Adults are also most likely to pay for games (15 per cent) and music (8 per cent) apps, with maps/ navigation following close behind (7 per cent).

Chances are you haven't heard of a company called ReconTrust. Unless your home happens to be in foreclosure.

ReconTrust is a subsidiary of Bank of America (BOA) and is supposed to be an impartial foreclosure trustee when a mortgage goes into default. But Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna charges ReconTrust has repeatedly broken the law since the beginning of the foreclosure crisis.

McKenna has sued the BOA subsidiary, claiming it “has failed to comply with the Washington Deed of Trust Act, RCW 61.24, in each and every foreclosure it has conducted since at least June 12, 2008.” The company is also accused of violating the state’s Consumer Protection Act.

Ignored warnings

“ReconTrust ignored our warnings, repeatedly broke the law and refused to provide information requested during our investigation,” McKenna said. “ReconTrust’s illegal practices make it difficult, if not impossible, for borrowers who might have a shot at saving their homes to stop those foreclosures.”

ReconTrust is a foreclosure trustee that is legally required to act as a neutral party on behalf of both the lender and the borrower while conducting foreclosure proceedings in good faith and in accordance with the law.

McKenna discussed the suit at a news conference held in front of a foreclosed Seattle home. Foreclosed homeowners and a number of private attorneys also voiced their concerns.

“My home is being foreclosed on. The situation has caused great pain for my son and myself,” said Myra Cole, a single mother from Spanaway who said she struggled to find employment after a layoff.

Her loan servicer was reviewing her Spanaway, Wash., home for a loan modification when ReconTrust sold the house at foreclosure.

Got the runaround

“I couldn’t understand how this could have happened,” Cole said. “I got the run-around. I just can’t believe that the company that’s supposed to be helping me is foreclosing on me. We are trying to save our homes. We’re doing the steps they tell us. In the end, it’s all for nothing. It’s an injustice.”

Ruby Barrus told a similar story about the home where she and her husband live in Marysville,” Wash. During a time of financial hardship, their loan servicer promised not to foreclose while they worked out a loan modification.

“Our payments were never late,” Barrus said, adding that they only stopped making payments because the bank indicated they needed to default to qualify for the modification. “We just figured they knew what they were doing because they were our servicer. … Months later, we get a letter from ReconTrust saying they’re our foreclosure attorneys. We had never heard of them.”

Both women are in court battles to keep their homes.

No local office

McKenna said an essential requirement of the Deed of Trust statute is that a trustee maintains an office in the state where homeowners can go to ask questions, make last-minute payments and request a foreclosure be postponed for a legitimate reason. But ReconTrust doesn’t have an office in Washington.

“ReconTrust’s claim that the company doesn’t have to follow Washington law and procedures because it is a national bank is wrong,” McKenna added.

McKenna's suit contains a laundry list of allegations against the firm, claiming it failed to identify the actual owner of the promissory notes being foreclosed, provided confusing information regarding how borrowers defaulted and how they can cure that default.

The suit also charges ReconTrust failed to conduct foreclosures in a public place, instead holding them at private sites, including an office park in Bellevue. It says the company created or permitted the use of documents that were improperly executed, notarized or sworn to.

'Failed to exercise its duty'

Finally, the suit charges ReconTrust failed to exercise its duty of good faith toward the borrower by deferring solely to the lender when deciding whether to postpone a foreclosure.

Based on information obtained during its investigation, the Attorney General’s Office estimates that ReconTrust has issued 9,900 foreclosure notices since January 2008 in three Washington counties alone. ReconTrust forecloses across the state. 

It's unknown how many foreclosures may have been prevented had ReconTrust complied with laws, McKenna said.

In May 2010, the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division began investigating reports of lenders and trustee services not properly reviewing foreclosure documents or following other legal procedures.

McKenna sent letters in October 2010 and April 2011, outlining concerns and calling on trustees to suspend questionable foreclosures in the state. The office is investigating more than a dozen other trustees for suspected violations.

Meanwhile, private lawsuits against ReconTrust have been filed in Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon and Arizona concerning its role in foreclosures in those states, as well as by private attorneys in Washington.  The Attorney General of Utah sent a public letter to Bank of America threatening suit if ReconTrust continued to violate Utah foreclosure law.

We continue to hear from consumers who think their Cuisinart coffeemakers are fire hazards.

“I too had the same experience with Cuisinart Coffee Maker Model #DCC1100,” Karen, of Laguna Beach, Calif., told ConsumerAffairs.com. “It started to smoke and if we had not unplugged it, I'm sure it would have started a fire. We will contact Cuisinart about the problem, but it looks like they sVacahould be concerned.”

Karen is right to report the problem to the company, but she should take the additional step of reporting it to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It sounds like the kind of problem the agency should look into, and the more they hear from consumers who've had the problem, the more likely they are to investigate.

Do some homework first

The technology world is constantly changing, creating something of a challenge for computer shoppers. It's almost dangerous to buy a computer without doing some research first, as Sherri, of Vancouver, Wash., discovered after an impulse purchase of a eMachine PC at her local Walmart.

“Put it this way, if Walmart was giving eMachine computers away absolutely free, it wouldn't even be worth the gas you would waste driving there,” Sherri said. “This computer freezes up constantly, when it is actually 'working' it's slower than a man getting ready to go to his in-laws.”

When shopping for a computer, it's best to seek more than one opinion on a product. There are a number of computer and technology sites that are constantly posting reviews. A savvy computer shopper will take advantage of them.

Now you tell me

Paul, of Shelton, Wash., is another timeshare owner who paid a company an upfront fee to sell his timeshare, only to regret it.

“I was contacted by Vacation Property Resellers in September,2010,” Paul told Consumeraffairs.com. “I was told the company could put my timeshare in a sales rotation and could be sold in a short time. I called periodically to check on progress but could not contact my original sales agent, but did get 'Jim' to answer the phone. I was told of tough times in timeshare resales. Now the phones are not in service.”

Tough times indeed. Timeshare owners need to know there is almost know market for timeshares in this economy. Paul is out $869 and is still stuck with his timeshare.

Want out of your gym contract?

Gym memberships are notoriously hard to get out of. But Vanessa, of Steelton, Pa., has a very different problem with her local Gold's Gym. The gym's child care department has told her not to bring her three year-old child back, ever. That led to a meeting between Vanessa and her husband and the gym's child care manager and facility manager.

“During this conversation the manager was rude to the point of telling us we were bad parents by saying 'that's bad parenting' to everything that was being said about my three year-old,” Vanessa said. “The only 'help' he offered was to cancel my membership which I made clear I was not interested in doing.”

We have no way of knowing what actually went on in the child care area with Vanessa's child, but it seems if you want to get out of your gym membership, perhaps the best way to do it is to enlist the help of an unruly three year-old.

Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT), Ranking Member on the Labor, Education, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee and a strong food safety advocate, says “I told you so.”

As Cargill announced a recall of nealy 36 million pounds of ground turkey Wednesday, DeLauro said it was a reminder that the nation needs to strength, not weaken, its food safety system.

“This massive recall is yet another example of how critical it is to fully fund and support the agencies that are responsible for protecting our food supply,” DeLauro said. “It has been over four months since the first illness was identified and yet we just identified the facility and we still do not know definitively where the contamination occurred.”

Latest outbreak

The voluntary recall came amid the backdrop of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 78 consumers and killed one person in California. The current investigation centers on a single Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation plant in Springdale, Arkansas and distributed to consumers across the country.

DeLauro said she has consistently pushed for more resources for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies that inspect the food supply.

“But the House majority has slashed funding for the FDA and USDA, choosing to preserve tax cuts for the wealthy over investing in and improving our food safety system,” the lawmaker said. “By cutting their funding, we have limited their effectiveness and asked FDA and USDA to do more with less, and the impact of these cuts is starkly clear with this most recent recall.”

DeLauro said it is only because of the work of state and local health departments, the USDA, and CDC using creative traceback techniques involving the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System that regulators were able to identify this outbreak and trace it to a single plant.

“In addition, the simple fact that this outbreak involves a foodborne bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics heightens the risk to the health of American consumers,” she said. “The length of time already passed and the volume of this recall are outrageous, and it has already claimed the life of one American.

Last week the burning question was whether the U.S. Government default on its debt. Today, a perhaps more pressing question is “Will the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) default on its debt to the U.S. Govrnment?

USPS announced today its losses for the latest quarter total $3.1 billion, raising the possibility of default if the red ink continues.

The quarterly loss of $3.1 billion compares to a net loss of $3.5 billion for the same period in FY 2010, as losses pile on top of one another. Total mail volume for the period declined to 39.8 billion pieces for the quarter, compared to 40.9 billion pieces in the third quarter of FY 2010.

USPS said the third quarter revenue “reflects the anemic state of the economy during the past three months.” Additionally, it says the growth in electronic communications continues to erode core first-class mail volume. Net losses for the nine months ended June 30 amount to $5.7 billion in 2011 compared to $5.4 billion in 2010.

Post office closings

The mail service recently announced plans to cut its budget by targeting 3,700 postal facilities for closing. But it apparently needs to do a lot more cutting.

The more immediate problem is a scheduled $5.5 billion payment to the postal employee pension fund that is due next month. The postal service doesn't have the money. Unless Congress does something to postpone the payment, or relieve it of its responsibility, USPS says it will be in default.

“We continue to take aggressive actions to reduce costs and bring the size of our infrastructure into alignment with reduced customer demand,” said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe.

Some of those steps were outlined last month with USPS announced the targeting of branches for closing. It plans to expand its “village concept,” whereby post office functions are farmed out to local businesses, where consumers are already doing business.

Village concept

Instead of a post office, consumers would buy their stamps and drop off mail at an area retail establishment.

“By working with third-party retailers, we’re creating easier, more convenient access to our products and services when and where our customers want them,” Donahoe said. “The Village Post Office will offer another way for us to meet our customers’ needs.”

UPSP says it seek a “smaller, leaner and more competitive” postal system – and one, presumably, that can be operated with present revenue.

But just as many other large businesses discovered years ago, pension liabilities can be a crushing expense. Promises were made in labor negotiations that the present management is finding almost impossible to fulfill, giving the transition to electronic mail and private delivery services.

Until modern times, USPS was the U.S. Post Office Department, part of the executive branch of government. That changed in 1971 with passage of the Postal Reorganization Act, in which it was designated as an independent organization.