Current Events in June 2012

Last week ConsumerAffairs discussed a possible music industry takeover by Universal Music Group (UMG), as the megalabel announced its attempts to purchase EMI, which would make Universal one of the most powerful record labels in the business.

Both public interest groups and music industry insiders alike believe the potential merger would negatively impact music consumers by leading to higher prices for digital and physical music releases. Universal would also gain more ability to control when new music is made available, and have more power to influence the overall sound of popular music by withholding content.

In their report "The Role of Antitrust in Protecting Competition, Innovation and Consumers As the Digital Revolution Matures," Mark Cooper, Director of Research for the Consumer Federation of America, and Jodi Griffin, Staff Council for Public Knowledge, discussed the potential consequences of the merger, and how it could threaten competitiveness within the music industry.

ConsumerAffairs talked with Cooper and  Griffin, and they spoke specifically about what's in store for the music consumer if the UMG/EMI merger is finalized.

Piracy overstated

In the report the authors state that record companies currently over-estimate how much piracy and digital sales impact market power. In our interview they expanded on that.

"The paper shows that there is a huge amount of spending on digital music," the authors said. "So much so that the industry is shipping 50 percent more units that they ever did. The question for the antitrust authorities is whether piracy would prevent a major with much more market power from raising prices by 5 percent or more."

"Consumers are paying $2.4 billion for legal digital music. Raising the price of a digital album, for example, by 50 cents would not turn people into pirates or increase piracy substantially. The majors know this because of their own studies of elasticities of demand and marketing strategies."

The authors fear that improvements on digital music distribution could also be harmed, since Universal would have the power to govern a disproportionate amount of music that would be needed by distributors to further improve serviceability.

Less innovation

"Innovation could be reduced", the authors explained. "Because the combined UMG/EMI would be able to withhold must-have content that digital distributors need to build successful new services, or only license that content on onerous terms, like disproportionately high royalties, enormous advances, or requiring an ownership interest in the new service. As a result, innovative new digital music services will be unable to launch or unable to compete."

The detailed report contains a section entitled "Pricing Patterns: Illegally Fixing the Price of CDs." The section shows how record labels historically manipulated CD prices when technology allowed CDs to be made and distributed at cheaper costs. Both Cooper and Griffin believe that if the merger goes through, the same thing would be done to digital sales.

In addition authors say, the UMG/EMI label would be so powerful that it would eventually set an industry trend, influencing other labels to heavily manipulate content in terms of pricing, availability, and new music consumers have access to.

Push prices up

"Universal could lead the effort to push prices up or they could withhold content from business models they do not like, or demand equity shares in those that they do. The other majors would be more likely to follow, since there ar fewer of them. This reduces competition and innovation in the space," the authors detailed.

But, you may ask if the consumer will truly be impacted by price manipulation since many listeners pay small amounts for downloads, or listen to music for free on sites like Spotify, or GrooveShark.

"The initial and primary benefit of digital disintermediation (combined with two consent decrees) was to force singles back into the market, which labels do not prefer but have yielded huge consumer benefits," the CFA researchers said, adding:

"The growth of digital albums has been strong of late. The fact that market power has been reduced by law and economics does not mean it cannot return. At $10.41 for a digital album, the price may still be too high. The industry remains concentrated and the majors control the flow of product through licensing. The major labels have begun to exercise control over prices. The purpose of antitrust merger review is to preserve competition."

Universal will face a Congressional hearing on June 21, as it tries to explain why the merger with EMI won't be harmful to the music consumer and the overall industry. Stay tuned for the results.

After ordering a book for my dad for Father's Day at Amazon.com, two weeks prior to the actual holiday, I was told at the last minute that the book was out of stock and it couldn't be sent. This was a day before Father's Day.

No personal letter, no answer provided when calling, just a 'sorry for any inconvenience' kind of response.

Having to tell my father, "I sent you something Dad, but it's not coming and I have to reorder it" really stank! Especially because it was a gift for a man that's never missed a holiday, birthday, or any type of family deadline in his life. It led me to wonder, who else has experienced inadequate service from Amazon.com?

I found a large number of complaints from people like Daphne, who wrote ConsumerAffairs about Amazon keeping her money after they wrongfully sent her two books instead of one.

Daphne said after trying to contact the retail giant about the error, the company seemed to "hide from responsibility," and didn't provide any help, resolution, or refund.

One consumer, a Prime subscriber who places several orders each week, complained that he ordered a small item which never showed up, even though Amazon's system showed that it had been delivered.  He finally reached a human at Amazon, who directed him to an obscure menu entry where he could report missing shipments. 

"Although the Amazon representative seemed to think I was dense, I don't believe I would ever have found the menu entry on my own," this person, an online marketing executive, told us. He said the experience had shaken his faith in Amazon and made him less loyal.

"The representative was snippy with me and I spend thousands of dollars a year with them. I now make an effort to shop elsewhere whenever possible," he said.

There's no question Amazon has built a powerful brand. According to a ConsumerAffairs sentiment analysis of more than 12 million postings to social media over the last year, maintains a solid 60 percent positive net sentiment.

But some question whether Amazon's highly automated brand of service will sustain it as consumers grow more demanding and less tolerant of complications. Though most postings we analyzed were favorable, Amazon is not without its critics.

Mystery orders 

Some Amazon customers we heard from said they received orders from the company they didn't place.

Sandra of Woodridge, Ill., said she received two cancellation notices from Amazon for items she never ordered. "Is somebody placing orders in my name?" she wrote to ConsumerAffairs. "I hope that is not possible."

Unfortunately it is possible, as Amazon customers recently reported being victims of a widespread phishing scam, and received emails from "digital-no-reply@amazon.com." In the email it said that the customer's order had been completed and the money has been extracted from their bank accounts. Scary, right?

The fraudulent emails looked to be authentic, as phishing scams often do. An investigation is currently underway.

Also, with many Linkedin and eHarmony members having their passwords stolen recently, plenty of Amazon customers are also worried, since many consumers use the same password for multiple sites.

And as far as shipping,the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), a consumer watchdog group in the UK, said recently that Amazon's promise of overnight shipping is misleading. ASA's beef with the online retailer began after many customers didn't receive their packages in a day, although they paid extra for overnight service.

After a quick back and fourth between ASA and Amazon, an advertising loophole was revealed. It was learned that Amazon's premium one-day delivery service really meant packages could be sent one business day after the order is supposed to be shipped. Huh?

Oftentimes consumers will pay extra to use Amazon over third-party retailers, as a lot of consumers view the company as a trusted brand. But many customers have claimed Amazon's shipping services are no speedier or reliable than its cheaper and less known competitors.

When it comes to selling items on Amazon, many consumers say they preferred using eBay instead. According to a consumer survey conducted by the software company Vendio, 93 percent of respondents said the task of listing items on eBay's site was easier and less cumbersome than Amazon's site.

Between the potential of being the victim of a phishing scam, and being the victim of broken shipping promises, Amazon's record of consumer satisfaction is far from flawless.

Consumers should be aware of the fine print behind the companies advertising claims, while not being afraid of phoning Amazon and asking what its doing to ensure passwords and personal information isn't compromised.

Hopefully that will whip the company into better shape, so it can better provide for its many unhappy customers.

Many consumers walk into a new car showroom thinking they can go toe-to-toe with the salesman, driving a hard bargain and getting an exceptional deal.

But keep in mind, while you may buy a new car every five years or so, the salesman is probably selling three or four cars a day. Who do you think is going to be the better bargainer?

That said, there is no reason to approach buying a new car with fear and trepidation. Some careful homework beforehand can build your confidence and help you get a fair price.

Shopping tool

Automall Network, an auto broker used by consumers and insurance companies, now offers Competitive Market Price Reports through their recently launched website, IVONTaCar.com. The reports cost $50 but tell a new car shopper what a competitive retail price range is in their market for the vehicle they want, be it a cash purchase, finance or lease.

"If you can walk into a dealership knowing what a competitive price is, you can use this as a much better starting point for negotiations" says Viraf Baliwalla, President of Automall Network. "This saves time comparison shopping and makes negotiating much quicker and less painful."

Another shopping tool is the Dealer Invoice Price Report. The problem with it, however, is that many dealers don't typically sell vehicles at their invoice price. So it is important to consult a variety of sources and find out as much as possible about the competitive price of your vehicle choice. Even then, it can be a crapshoot.

Playing it close to the vest

"The problem with buying a new car is that most dealerships won't give you their best price until someone else has first" said Baliwalla. "Then they will match it or slightly beat it just to get the deal while you're in their dealership."

Because of the commission-based structure of the industry, the salespeople have the greatest incentive to sell you a car with a lot of profit. Time spent trying to charm the salesperson is pointless since, no matter how much they may like you, it's in their financial interest to get you to pay as much as possible for the car.

Automotive site Edmunds.com also offers new car-buying tools, including a True Market Value (TMV) formula.

Edmunds analysts look at the market, examine what other cars have sold for, consider the popularity of the car within your region and set the TMV price. It is the average amount that other buyers in your area are paying for the car. Usually, TMV is less than sticker price but more than invoice price.

Because it's an average, some people will pay much less than TMV and others will pay more. But by looking at TMV, you can get a rough idea how popular the car is and what you should expect to pay for it.

Closing the deal

Once you have made an offer the dealer will almost certainly counter with a higher price. If you feel, after considering your research, that it is a fair price, then its time to do the deal.

But if you think the salesperson will go a little lower, then simply begin to walk off the lot. If the salesperson is really willing to sell at, or near your price, it is at this point that they will let you know.

Precious metals may be precious but that doesn't automatically make them a good investment, as many consumers have learned after succumbing to a slick sales pitch.

One such pitch came from Sterling Precious Metals LLC, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges. The agency today charged Sterling with running a deceptive investment scheme that took in at least $10 million from predominantly elderly consumers, many of whom invested their retirement savings buying precious metals on credit without knowing the significant costs and risks.

According to the FTC's complaint, Sterling and its principals promised consumers they could earn large profits quickly by investing in precious metals with very little risk, without telling customers of the likelihood that they would have to pay more money later or lose their investment.

The investments were typically not profitable and carried a high risk of loss.

Total cost

As alleged in the complaint, the defendants failed to clearly disclose the investments' total cost, and often failed to disclose that about 80 percent of the purchase would be financed through a loan with interest. The defendants also allegedly misrepresented or failed to clearly disclose fees and commissions, such as a $200 account opening fee and that consumers would be charged as much as 39 percent of their investments in commissions.

The defendants also failed to tell consumers they were likely to receive equity calls on their accounts. When a consumer's equity decreased to a certain level, an equity call was issued, and the consumer had to invest more money or allow the investment to be liquidated at a loss. In some instances, consumers were not told their accounts were liquidated.

The FTC alleges that most of the defendants' customers lost money. Likewise, consumers lost the equity in their investments through the accumulation of fees and commissions, including storage fees and interest charges on the leveraged portion of their accounts. The FTC charged the defendants with violating the FTC Act and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule.

BMW is recalling about 2,600 X5 models from the 2012-2013 model years and X6 models from the 2013 model year.

The company said that power steering fluid may leak, which could cause an engine fire.

BMW dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the steering gear free of charge. Owners may contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417.

About 70,000 portable space heaters sold by Big Lots are being recalled. The heaters can overheat and melt, posing a fire or electric shock hazard.

Big Lots has received four reports of the product overheating and melting. There are no reports of injury, fire or property damage.

This recall is of two models of 1500 watt Climate Keeper ceramic heaters. Both models have a fan, two dials on top, a wire mesh panel in front and the name “Climate Keeper” and a label on the bottom with the model number and ETL 3130679. Model #FH107A has grey plastic housing. Model #PTC-902T is an oscillating heater with silver-grey plastic housing, a molded handle on top of the heater and a small extra button between the two dials which controls the oscillation.

The heaters were sold at Big Lots stores nationwide from September 2010 through March 2012 for about $20 for Model #FH107A and $25 for Model #PTC-902T. They were made in China.

Consumers should stop using the recalled product immediately and return it to a Big Lots store for a full refund.

For additional information, contact Big Lots toll-free at (866) 244-5687 between 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at www.biglots.com

Debt is bad and should be avoided at all costs, right? Wrong, says Ike Ikokwu, a financial planner and author.

“Money is opportunity, and having a blind spot for maximizing investment can drastically reduce one’s future options,” says Ikokwu, author of Winning the Money Game: Separating the Myths from the Truth. 

That blind spot is debt, Ikokwu says. Just as Americans have learned that are such things as good fats and good cholesterol, so too is there good debt for a prosperous financial future.

“The three most common ways people in this country get rich all involve using debt,” he says. “They use it to launch businesses, invest in real estate, or pay for advanced degrees in order to become high-income earners.”

Some myths born from the idea that all debt is bad include:

• Paying off your home mortgage provides financial security.
• A 15-year mortgage is always the quickest way to pay off your home.
• Putting money in your 401K or other qualified plan saves you taxes.
• The stock market is the only place to generate high, double-digit returns.

Admonishments to “stay out of debt” prevent people from gaining financial independence, Ikokwu says. Investing in education, a new career in another state or a new business may be more lucrative than paying down a mortgage.

Just enough

“My definition of being ‘debt-free’ is to have enough money so that you can pay off your debt at any time – if you need to,’’ he says. “But you don’t necessarily want to do that. Good debt can save you money on taxes, increase your investment gains and allow you to take advantage of wealth-building opportunities. Bad debt, on the other hand, is like having a big hole in your money bucket.”

Ikokwu developed a new personal financial plan after a period of successful investing imploded following the market crash in 2001. After filing for bankruptcy in 2003, he rebuilt his wealth – using his new plan – in five years. Today he is financially independent and his wealth secure.

“To a greater extent than many Americans suppose, money is plastic,” he says. “That means you do not have to be rich in order to gain more wealth, and we do not have to follow old, outdated paths. We can all mold the money we have to a shape that yields better return.”

More changes are coming to J.C. Penney's, the department store chain that began the year proudly boasting it was throwing off the past and embracing the future.

This week the retailer abruptly announced that company president Michael Francis, who had been brought in from Target Corp. to help redefine the brand, was leaving after joining the company late last year.

Apple alum and CEO Ron Johnson will assume the duties of president as well as CEO. While Johnson has been the public face of the new Penney's, analysts say it was Francis who had responsibility for installing a new marketing and pricing plan, both of which have been slow to gain favor with consumers.

Off on the wrong foot

The company seemed to hit a sour note in early January when it launched an advertising campaign featuring screaming women, which alienated many of the store's customer base.

In February it rolled out its "fair and square" pricing, doing away with sales and coupons. By the time spring arrived, it was clear many of Penney's customers just didn't get the changes.

"I used to love to shop at J.C. Penney's, but that is no longer the case," Edna, of Albuquerque, N.M., wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. "I am a woman and I can speak for a good majority of us! The pricing is not at all near a shopping deal, like we used to experience before this so called wonderful change! Just saying please change it back to our wonderful J.C. Penney's we once loved and once enjoyed the wonderful sales with coupons a woman so desires! We live for sales and coupons, what were you at the round table thinking?"

Customers get through

Apparently, enough customers like Edna spoke up that it got some attention. By early this month Johnson was telling investment analysts that the company was returning to its previous use of sales, discounts and coupons.

From all appearances Penney's changes were aimed at expanding its customer base from its traditional-value consumer to reach more upscale shoppers who frequented stores like Target, Macy's and Nordstrom. Instead, it appeared to drive away the very consumers who were supporting Penney's without pulling in new customers, or enough of them at least.

In the end Penney's bid for change proved costly. Penney's suffered a staggering $163 million loss in its fiscal first quarter. A year earlier, it had turned a $64 million profit.

If you are between 62 and 95 and sometimes struggle to recall a word that's "on the tip of your tongue," don't sweat it. New research from the University of Michigan (UM) suggests it's normal.

In fact, in a study of 105 healthy, highly-educated older adults, 61 percent reported this memory mishap.

To reach its conclusions, the study had participants complete a checklist of the memory errors made in the last 24 hours, as well as several other tests. About half the participants reported making other errors that may be related to absent-mindedness, such as having to reread a sentence because they forgot what it said, or forgetting where they placed an item.

Brain-training

Researchers hope to use the results to design programs to brain-train people to overcome memory problems they experience as a part of daily life.

"Right now, many training programs focus on the age differences in memory and thinking that we see in laboratory studies," said Cindy Lustig, UM psychology professor and the study's senior author. "However, those may not translate to the performance failures that are most common in everyday life."

The study uncovered an interesting occurrence. In a lab setting young adults usually showed better memory function than their elders. But in a real-world setting, older adults sometimes outperform young adults at things like remembering appointments because the former are likely to use memory supports such as calendars, lists and alarms.

Not a sign of Alzheimer's

Lustig cautioned that an elderly person occasionally forgetting a name does not mean he's in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease or other dementia.

"Everybody forgets," she said. "However, our findings suggest that certain types of memory errors may be especially important to monitor for increases, which then should be discussed with a clinician."

Lustig said future research should identify how people change their lives to avoid errors. If people restrict their activities to avoid memory errors, it could affect their independence.

Small and medium-sized businesses are committing more of their resources to try to reduce obesity in the workplace, alarmed at projected increases in healthcare costs associated with the condition.

A survey more than 500 employers conducted by the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH), with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Safety Council, find these firms are actively seeking new tools to help control obesity among their workforce.

Respondents said they are now investing in obesity prevention and those that are not are interested in what they might do, how to do it, and how to measure success.

"Given the amount of time an employee is at their place of work, there is an opportunity to positively influence the choices they make about their health," said Andrew Webber, NBCH president and CEO.

While obesity has an acknowledged impact on the economy, one obesity expert believes economics lies at the root of the problem. Dr. Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition at NYU and author of book "Why Calories Count," notes that obesity rates started to go up in the early 1980s.

Societal changes

"I think there were a lot of changes in society that took place at precisely that time," Nestle said in a web interview with Yahoo!'s Daily Ticker. "Mostly they were changes that made the food industry enormously competitive. Changes in farm policy, changes in Wall Street, that forced food companies to try to sell food in an extremely competitive environment."

To grow their profits, publicly traded food companies and restaurant chains had to attract more customers, offering more "value" for the money.

"They had to look for ways to get people to buy more food and they were really good at it," Nestle said. "I blame Wall Street for insisting that corporations have to grow their profits every 90 days."

In the Depression era people went hungry because there wasn't an abundance of food and it was expensive. Food is cheaper now but healthier food, like fresh fruit and vegetables, is more expensive than less-healthy food.

"It's wonderful that food is cheap because it means even poor people can afford to buy it," Nestle said. "On the other hand, having cheap food is one of the reasons people eat more of it and it encourages the food company to serve food in larger portions."

Parents may have the noblest of intentions and consider television and video programs to be a rich source of educational value for their children. But in truth, says one researcher, they're primarily using the video screen as a convenient and cheap babysitter.

Sue Schlembach, a recent master’s degree graduate from the University of Cincinnati (UC) educational studies program, says her research found that, for the most part, young children are watching TV, videos and other screen media while parents are trying to take care of other tasks in the home. The research also found that, although parents believed screen media could be used as an important learning tool for their young children, parents may rarely use it for that purpose.

The survey asked parents if they believed screen media could be an important educational tool and if they believed it was important to watch programs together with their child.

It asked parents if they used screen time for instructional purposes, set rules or restrictions on screen use, or mainly used it as a monitoring or recreational activity. And finally, it asked how parents felt - positively or negatively - about their children's screen-media use.

Confirms previous studies

Schlembach says finding supported previous national studies that parents may be doing other tasks while young children are watching TV. Furthermore, over half said they left the TV on during meals and 48 percent indicated that often, the TV was on when no one was really watching.

“This is a study that is certainly not meant to judge people, but rather to educate people about what’s going on at home,” Schlembach said. “For young children, meal time is a really important part of the day. It’s a time for parents to engage in conversation with their children, serve as role models for dining behavior and also build on language and social skills."

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations that there should be no screen-media viewing at all for children under age 2, and that for older children, parents should engage in viewing and interacting with their children about the program material.

Schlembach says she was interested in exploring parental attitudes about kids and screen time because she was interested in early childhood development and what role screen use plays in it.

Ultimately, Schlembach hopes health care providers will talk with parents about screen media time as part of their health checklist, and as part of efforts to educate parents about child development AAP recommendations.

There is a scene in the 1999 TV movie "The Pirates of Silicon Valley" where young Bill Gates is meeting in the 1970s with top executives of IBM, trying to sell them DOS. Gates explains that he will only sell the license to use it, that his company, Microsoft, will retain all rights.

After thinking a few seconds the IBM exec agrees, adding "everyone knows that the real money is in hardware." It's supposed to be a joke, since Microsoft went on to build a business empire built on software while hardware makers came and went.

Now, however, Microsoft is sticking a toe into the world of hardware with the announcement of Surface - it's own tablet that will run on the new Windows 8 operating system. Company executives showed off two Windows tablets and accessories Monday that Microsoft hopes will put it in the conversation with Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy tablets.

Windows 8

One model of Surface will run an ARM processor featuring Windows RT, and one a third-generation Intel Core processor featuring Windows 8 Pro. Surface for Windows RT will release with the general availability of Windows 8, and the Windows 8 Pro model will be available about 90 days later. Both will be sold in the Microsoft Store locations in the U.S. and available through select online Microsoft Stores.

Left unsaid is when, exactly, that will be and how much consumers will have to pay to get one. Tablet prices have been falling in recent months. The iPad remains at an entry price of $499 but Samsung's tablets are around $250 and Amazon's Kindle Fire sells for $199.

Both Surface models feature a built-in kickstand and a cover that flips over and functions as a keyboard.

"The 3 mm Touch Cover represents a step forward in human-computer interface," Microsoft said in a press release. "Using a unique pressure-sensitive technology, Touch Cover senses keystrokes as gestures, enabling you to touch type significantly faster than with an on-screen keyboard."

The cover will be available in a variety of colors. When not in use, the cover clicks into the tablet via a built-in magnetic connector, forming a natural spine like you find on a book, and works as a protective cover. You can also click in a 5 mm-thin Type Cover that adds moving keys for a more traditional typing feel, the company said.

Surface will feature a 10.6-inch display and weigh less than two pounds.

It's likely that anyone who has taken a Greyhound bus has some sort of interesting story.

Whether that story is attached to a good or bad experience will obviously differ from customer to customer, but anyone who has taken a Greyhound bus knows trips are rarely uneventful.

Susan of Chicago wrote to ConsumerAffairs about how she encountered a sleepy Greyhound bus driver on her way to Chicago from Memphis. She speaks of how she took this same journey twice, and coincidentally had the same driver. According to Susan, on both trips the bus operator was dozing off and swerving into different lanes. Passengers in the front seats had to talk to the driver to keep him awake.

"This driver nodded off several times before we got to Effingham, IL. The people on the front seats constantly talked to him to keep him awake. I was awakened one of the times he swerved back in his proper land. I joked with him in Effingham that he needed coffee, He said he didn't drink coffee."

Now before you say such comments aren't typical, consider this: ConsumerAffairs conducted a computerized sentiment analysis of more than 50,000 postings to social media over the last year to find out what consumers think about Greyhound.

The results show the company's net sentiment veers from roughly zero to a peak over 45% over the last 12 months, not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Greyhound has encountered its fair share of safety complaints in the past. In Texas, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1700 (ATU), whose members consist of Greyhound bus drivers, picketed a Greyhound station and protested against the the company's level of safety.

Americanos

The union members claim Greyhound has minimized its efforts to hire skilled, experienced drivers, and instead is using drivers from its subsidiary company, Americanos.

Drivers from Americanos belong to another union besides ATU, and many of these drivers were cited for serious safety violations. They also scored nearly the least in many federal driver safety tests.

"Many 'Greyhound Express' drivers in Texas are wearing Greyhound uniforms, but are really employed by the company's cut-rate line, Americanos, " said ATU. "Why are they disguising Americanos drivers, to hide poor performance?"

Many think of Greyhound as a safer option to the many mom and pop bus operations around the U.S., and around the globe. In May of 2012, 26 smaller bus companies were shut down by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), because of broken safety violations and recent cases of drivers falling asleep. 

As companies including New Century Travel, I-95 Coach, Apex Bus Inc., and other bus lines were shut down, Greyhound made vigorous attempts to pick up stranded customers. Shortly after the shutdown, Greyhound offered passengers $1 rides to certain locations, and marketed itself as a safer and more reliable option. But are they really?

Safer alternative?

In 2010, six people were killed in California, due to a Greyhound bus being involved in a highway accident. In April of 2011, 14 people were injured when a Greyhound bus driver lost control of the vehicle on a trip from St.. Louis to New York City.

In addition, a Texas woman was granted $7.2 million by a Dallas court for a serious Greyhound cash in one of the state's rural areas, and all three cases were related to Greyhound driver error.

Although many crashes are due to the errors of other drivers, a report by the FMCSA shows the majority of bus accidents are caused by the careless or negligent driving of bus drivers.

Abrupt lane changes, veering off the road, and traveling at high rates of speed  are all common bus driver errors, according to the report.

But safety issues aren't the only complaint the bus company has received. Poor customer service, un-kept schedules, and filthy buses have all been experienced by many consumers.

"I was a first time customer and my experience was horrid to say the least," said Adrian of Forth Worth, Texas, in our complaints and review section.

Other gripes

"First, the online system showed an error message at the end of my online transaction, which caused me to purchase my tickets a second time only to get the same error message. I gave up on the online purchase, but when I checked my email, I had received 2 confirmation emails from Greyhound. I called customer service and they said that one of the purchases would be refunded in 7-14 days.

Adrian eventually went down to a Greyhound station, and had the issue escalated to a manager. Did the manager save the day and rectify the double charge? Hardly. Here's what the manager told Adrian, "Yeah I know, and what do you want me to do about it." Cases about horrible customer service experiences are in the hundreds in our complaints section.

Back to those 50,000 consumers and their social media postings. This graph shows the most common emotions expressed in those postings:

ConsumerAffairs contacted Greyhound's headquarters to see if the company had any protocols in place to deal with such complaints, and if it was aware of how poorly it's viewed by many consumers.

After telling Tim Stokes, who is one of the company's media spokespeople, about the large amount of customer service complaints we have for Greyhound, his response was, "I would have to know what the complaints really were to answer you."

After telling him about Adrian's case, he replied "Customers can call our customer service number on our website."

Although no suggestions were provided for improvements on customer service, he did send us this statement concerning passenger safety:

Greyhound drivers go through extensive training to establish safe driving skills. Drivers starting with the company are required to complete 160 hours of behind the wheel and classroom training before they are qualified to drive for the company, and must continue training throughout the remainder of their employment. This amount of training far exceeds the federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's suggested industry standard of 90 hours of safety training for motorcoach operators.

Well, fine. It's up to consumers to decide whether Greyhound's response answers their concerns adequately and makes them eager to take the next bus out of town.

How big does a television screen need to be? For those who think bigger is always better, Sharp has introduced what it calls "the worlds largest LED TV."

It's the 90-inch AQUOS LED TV model LC-90LE745U measures nearly four feet tall and spans six feet, eight inches wide.

"Its picture quality is as stunning as its size, displaying crisp and clear content at the highest HD resolution available of 1080p," the company said in a press release. "Sit as close as you like, and see colors pop and never before seen details become visible. Sports and action sequences are as big as life."

The screen weighs 141 pounds without the stand and is less than five inches deep. It provides direct access to apps and video on demand from services like Netflix, YouTube, CinemaNow, Hulu Plus and VUDU. It also has web browsing and Skype capability and built-in Wi-Fi.

Smart TV

"Our 90-inch class LED smart TV offers size, picture quality and smart functionality unlike anything consumers have experienced with LED TVs to-date," said John Herrington, president, Sharp Electronics Marketing Company of America. "You can now experience Sharp AQUOS like never before."

The AQUOS LED is not only the world's largest TV, it might well be the world's most expensive. Sharp says it will be sold at select retailers for a suggested retail price of $10,999.99, meaning not every consumer is going to be rushing out to buy it.

An LED TV is actually an LCD screen that uses an LED for backlight illumination. They are considered an improvement over the previous generation of flat screens because they use less power, provide a better picture, and perhaps most important if you're going to spend $11,000 on a TV set, they are more reliable.

Many a consumer has purchased a large, expensive TV only to have to pay for major repairs soon after the manufacturer's warranty expired. Part of the problem with flat-screen TVs is the build-up of heat in a space packed with sensitive electronics. A reduction in heat might reduce some of those failures.

That said, consumers should proceed cautiously when considering any large flat screen since the product life has been shown to be a lot shorter than traditional tube TVs.

College is a lot of fun. Whether one goes away to a campus or commutes to a local college -- the partying, the learning, and the socializing can all be life-changing experiences.

But not everyone can go to college right after high school, as we all know that life has an interesting way of temporarily knocking you off your planned path. Thankfully, getting a degree online these days is as easy and accessible as downloading a song.

The University of Phoenix (UoP) is generally regarded as standing at the top of this particular area of higher education. It advertises heavily and markets itself as the primary go-to for those who need a more flexible college schedule.

But, like everything else in life, it doesn't always work out just the way consumers expect.

Nearly 800 consumers have complained to ConsumerAffairs about their experience, claiming they were overbilled, didn't have online access to classes they paid for or just didn't find the courses useful.

ConsumerAffairs conducted a computerized sentiment analysis of about 72,000 comments posted to social media over the last year and found consumers' perception of University of Phoenix hovering around the 50% positive mark.

It's not just consumers who've raised objections. The University of Phoenix has paid fair share of fines and penalties over the years.

UoP was forced to pay a sum of $6 million to the federal government in 2000, for including study-group meetings in its instructional hours. This allowed the school to receive federal aid, but didn't meet federal Department of Education (DOE) regulations.

$9.8 million fine

In 2004, UoP paid a whopping $9.8 million fine for violating the Higher Education Act, which among other things prohibits schools from paying their admission reps financial bonuses for recruiting students. Two admission employees of the online school alleged that they were paid according to the amount of students they recruited.

The online university has also been accused of making the college experience quite stressful for students. Many reported having professors who weren't available for instruction, or simply didn't show up for work. 

"Problems ranged from teachers simply disappearing for more than a week, not answering direct posts or emails, instructors not following their own written class policies, to a policy of allowing teachers to fail my courses due to a persistent bug in their system as a result of an UoP software upgrade," said one consumer who posted to ConsumerAffairs.

In a 2007 government audit, it was revealed that UoP uses more part-time professors than most universities, and at 16 percent, its graduation rate is among the lowest in the industry. This is according to results provided by the Department of Education.

The news isn't all bad, though. As this chart shows, many students are happy, even enthusiastic, about their experience with UoP.

History of complaints

While many students have graduated successfully from the school with no issue, UoP does have a lengthy list of complaints from consumers. 

In a past response to ConsumerAffairs, UoP said: "The University strives to provide excellent customer service, and our goal is to demonstrate this commitment in all of our actions. We are always eager to review any comments or concerns from students and will work diligently to review any opportunities for improvement." The full response from the school can be seen here.

But has the school improved since it offered that response a few years ago?

As recently as June 5, of this year, Ryan of Highland Lakes, N.J. said both he and his wife received poor services from the online university.

After not being able to attend some classes due to a serious family matter, Ryan was sent to collections for not paying tuition, while his wife was returned her money with no grade, explanation, or offer of re-enrollment.

"Do not attend," Ryan summarized.

And UoP's troubles don't stop at the U.S. border. In 2011, the school quit providing classes to its Canadian students, for reasons that aren't exactly clear.

Pressure from investors

Experts say the school is under a large amount of pressure from Wall Street to keep its earnings consistently high, even at the expense of not providing a full and carefully designed online educational experience.

"Wall Street has put them under inordinate pressure to keep up the profits, and my take on it is that they succumbed to that," said David W. Breneman, the University of Virginia's dean at the campus's Curry School of Education. "They have really stumbled," he said.

The University of Phoenix did not respond to requests for comment.

Motorists across the country have enjoyed the benefit of steadily falling gasoline prices in recent weeks. The national average price of self-serve regular has fallen to $3.50 a gallon.

But some motorists have actually seen prices jump in the last couple of weeks. Most of those consumers live in a handful of Midwestern states.

In Indiana, the average price of gas, as measured by the AAA Fuel Gauge Survey, is $3.69 a gallon. A week ago it was $3.59.

In Ohio, the average pump price has jumped from $3.58 to $3.69. Prices are also up by lesser amounts in Illinois and Michigan.

The reason for the surge when other states are enjoying falling prices? Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller says the Midwest's problems can be traced to the closing of one refinery and reduced operations at three others, all located in Illinois.

“While prices at the pump have increased so have our office’s efforts to monitor and track fluctuations,” Zoeller said. “It appears that this latest hike is a direct impact of the supply chain being disrupted. It is our hope that once these refineries come back online Hoosiers will start to see a lower price on the retail level.”

81 percent of refining capacity

The impact is being felt throughout the region. The four refineries account for 81 percent of refining capacity in Illinois and Indiana. Zoeller said this continued decrease in supply, on a regional level, has caused the unusual increase in prices for states in the Midwest.

The Wood River refinery, the 6th largest in the country, operated by Marathon is performing annual maintenance earlier than expected this year. In addition, this refinery will be addressing environmental quality issues related to a lawsuit filed by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

Zoeller said scheduled partial refinery closings in Illinois include Exxon Mobil in Joliet, Marathon in Robinson and CITGO in Lemont.

Zoeller said his office received 65 gas-price related complaints so far this month – with more than 90 percent of those complaints submitted last week alone. Zoeller said this month’s spike in gas-price related complaints is the highest number the office has received in 2012.

You like fruit? See how you feel after reading this:

• Some 98 percent of conventional apples have detectable levels of pesticides.
• Domestic blueberries tested positive for 42 different pesticide residues.
• Seventy-eight different pesticides were found on lettuce samples.
• Every single nectarine USDA tested had measurable pesticide residues.
• Grapes have more types of pesticides than any other fruit, with 64 different chemicals.
• Thirteen different pesticides were measured on a single sample each of celery and strawberries.

These are among the findings of the eighth edition of the Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce, published annually by the Environmental Working Group, this year with updated information on 45 popular fruits and vegetables and their total pesticide loads.

“The explosive growth in market share for organic produce in recent years testifies to a simple fact that pesticide companies and the farmers who use their products just can’t seem to grasp: people don’t like to eat food contaminated by pesticides,” said EWG president Ken Cook. “Our shopper’s guide to pesticides in produce gives consumers easy, affordable ways to eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables while avoiding most of the bug killers, fungicides and other chemicals in produce and other foods.”

“This year’s guide will also give new parents pause,” Cook added. “Government scientists have found disturbing concentrations of pesticides in some baby foods. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found weed killers widespread in finished tap water. Environmentalists have had important successes in forcing pesticides that presented unacceptably high dietary risks off the market. The latest USDA tests show we have much more work to do.”

Pesticides in baby food

For the first time since the inception of its pesticide testing program in 1991, USDA looked at pesticide residues on baby food. Department scientists analyzed about 190 samples each of prepared baby food consisting of green beans, pears and sweet potatoes.

Green beans prepared as baby food tested positive for five pesticides, among them, the organophosphate methamidiphos, which was found on 9.4 percent of samples, and the organophosphate acephate, on 7.8 percent of samples. EWG analyzed baby food samples in 1995 and found the two organophosphates in surprisingly similar concentrations.

Pears prepared as baby food showed significant and widespread contamination. Fully 92 percent of the pear samples tested positive for at least one pesticide residue, with 26 percent of samples containing 5 or more pesticides and 15 different pesticides on all samples.

Disturbingly, the pesticide iprodione, which EPA has categorized as a probable human carcinogen, was detected on three baby food pear samples. Iprodione is not registered with the EPA for use on pears. Its presence on this popular baby food constitutes a violation of FDA regulations and the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

"Federal testing of pesticide residue in baby food was long overdue, as infants are especially vulnerable to toxic compounds," said Andrew Weil, MD, Founder and Director, Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and a renowned medical expert on natural health and wellness. "Now that it has begun, the results are highly disturbing."

Sweet potatoes sold as baby food had virtually no detectable pesticide residues.

A Colorado woman and her mother are accused of running a Nigerian internet romance scam that allegedly fleeced 374 victims from the U.S. and 40 other countries out of more than $1 million.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers obtained the indictments against  Tracy Vasseur, 32, and her mother, Karen Vasseur, 74.

According to the 20-count indictment, which alleges violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, Money Laundering and Theft, individuals working with the Vasseurs lured unsuspecting women to internet dating sites by posing as members of the U.S. military serving in Afghanistan. 

After a phony relationship was established, victims were asked to send money and were led to believe that the soldiers would use the money to retrieve property, travel to the U.S., and pay other expenses. 

Military agents

The indictment alleges that Tracy and Karen Vasseur posed as military agents and accepted hundreds of payments sent by victims via wire over a three-year period.  The Vasseurs took a percentage of the stolen money and then wired the remaining money to associates in Nigeria, the indictment charges. 

The Vasseurs allegedly established 20 personal and business bank accounts at 11 local banks for the purpose of laundering the stolen money.  As part of the scheme, Tracy Vasseur also used a 16-year-old to fraudulently receive stolen money and then wire it to Nigeria.     

Tracy Vasseur faces up to 205 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Karen Vasseur faces up to 172 years in prison.