Current Events in June 2012

Verizon Wireless has made it official, rolling out its new “Share Everything” pricing plan that will replace its current plan structure for new customers, beginning June 28.

The carrier is, in effect, providing breaks on lower-demand services while exacting a premium for the one service all users seem to crave – data. Under the plan consumers will pay a monthly access fee for all smartphones, basic phones, jetpacks/usbs, notebooks and tablets. For that monthly access fee, the consumer will gets unlimited voice and texting.

Paying for data

However, all data usage will be measured and shared by all the devices on the account. One gigabyte of data per month will cost $50, with allotments up to 10 GB for $100 per month.

All device users on the account would have to stay cumulatively within their monthly allotment or the account would be billed for overage charges.

Verizon Wireless points out that tablet users stand to benefit under the change. Currently if a subscriber wants to add 3G or 4G access for a tablet, they must pay $30 a month for a data plan. That has resulted in some consumers putting off a tablet purchase, or has sent them to another electronics retailer where they purchased, at a lower price, a Wi-Fi only tablet.

Under the new plan subscribers would pay an additional $10 a month for adding a tablet. The tablet's data usage would then come out of the plan's monthly allotment. To Verizon Wireless, it's the wave of the future.

New standard

"Share Everything Plans are the new standard for wireless service,” said Tami Erwin, vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. “They are simple; customers no longer have to think about their voice and message plans, because both are unlimited.”

True, but they will have to think long and hard about data usage. 10 GB sounds like a lot of data, but it might not be in a family of four with two teens who, between smart phones and tablets, watch a lot of video, listen to streaming music and surf the web.

The costs under the new Share Everything plans are as follows:

• Smartphones - $40 a month
• Basic phones - $30 a month
• Jetpacks/USBs/Notebooks/Netbooks - $20 a month
• Tablets - $10 a month

Data charges

• 1 GB of data - $50 a month
• 2 GB of data - $60 a month
• 4 GB of data - $70
• 6 GB of data - $80
• 8 GB of data -$90
• 10 GB of data - $100

What's the difference between an advertised brand and a store brand? Sometimes it's just the label.

Sometimes, major food manufacturers also produce the same products that are sold under a store label. For example, ConAgra, which makes Peter Pan peanut butter, also produces Great Value peanut better for Walmart.

It's generally accepted that store brands cost less than national brands, but how much less? A survey conducted for an association of store brand labels says switching to store brands could save the average consumer as much as 36 percent off their grocery bill.

The survey looked at a range of basic food and non-food items that an average family might put on the shopping list for the summer outdoor season. It tracked pricing for 30 grocery items over a four-week period at a conventional supermarket.

Hot dogs

The survey compared prices for summertime staples like hot dogs, American cheese, BBQ sauce and freezer pops, as well as non-food items like sunscreen, charcoal, aluminum foil and paper plates.

When buying national brands, the total bill came to $109.70 on average over four separate trips, while the same purchases for the retailer's brands cost $69.89. For every category, a leading national brand was compared to a similar store brand product and prices were adjusted to account for all known discounts, coupons and promotions available. The survey took place over a four week period in a typical suburban supermarket located in the northeast.

Where can you save the most? Hot dog and hamburger buns were the cheapest when you opt for a store brand. In the survey the price was 62 percent lower than the price of name brand buns. Store brand soft drinks were 52 percent cheaper and ice cream yielded a 42 percent savings.

Is there any material difference between national and store brands? The national brands will argue there is. In fact, in some cases there may be differences in quality but in many cases, there simply isn't.

As a test, compare the ingredients labels on both products before selecting one.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has released a report that sheds light on the precarious financial state of the American family and may help explain why the economic recovery has been slow to take hold.

The Fed's Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) for 2010 shows that the median value of income between 2007 and 2010 fell 7.7 percent while median net worth plunged more than 38 percent.

But not everyone saw their fortunes decline. In fact, some groups experienced gains.

“Most noticeably, median incomes moved higher for retirees and other nonworking families,” the report said. “The decline in median income was most pronounced among more highly educated families, families headed by persons aged less than 55, and families living in the South and West regions.”

But the decreases in family income over the 2007-10 period were substantially smaller than the declines in both median and mean net worth. Overall, median net worth fell 38.8 percent, falling for most groups between 2007 and 2010. That decline is a product, in large part, of the collapse in the housing market.

“The decline in median net worth was especially large for families in groups where housing was a larger share of assets, such as families headed by someone 35 to 44 years old, whose median net worth fell 54.4 percent, and families in the West region," the report said.

Underwater

Families whose homes are “underwater,” meaning they owe more than the home is worth, have actually seen their net worth move into negative territory. Last month the real estate site Zillow.com reported nearly 16 million U.S. homeowners were "under water" in the first quarter of 2012. The company estimate “under water” homeowners comprise a total of $1.2 trillion in negative equity.

With the combination of declining income and declining net worth, the average U.S. family is not in a position to increase spending on discretionary items, which most economists see as necessary to maintain economic growth.  

Selling personal information about consumers is perfectly legal ... sometimes. It depends on what the purchaser does with the data.

In the caes of Spokeo, Inc., a data broker that compiles and sells detailed information profiles on millions of consumers, the Federal Trade Commission charge that by selling the information to human resources departments, background screeners and recruiters, it was violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

It's the first FTC case to address the sale of Internet and social media data in the employment screening context.

The FTC alleged that Spokeo operated as a consumer reporting agency and violated the FCRA by failing to make sure that the information it sold would be used only for legally permissible purposes; failing to ensure the information was accurate; and failing to tell users of its consumer reports about their obligation under the FCRA, including the requirement to notify consumers if the user took an adverse action against the consumer based on information contained in the consumer report.

The FTC also alleged that Spokeo deceptively posted endorsements of its service on news and technology websites and blogs, portraying the endorsements as independent when in reality they were created by Spokeo's own employees.

In addition to imposing the $800,000 civil penalty, the FTC's settlement order bars Spokeo from future violations of the FCRA, and bars the company from making misrepresentations about its endorsements or failing to disclose a material connection with endorsers.

Federal regulators have ordered railroads to make it a little bit easier for consumers to report unsafe conditions and equipment malfunctions at railroad crossings.

Railroads will be required to install signs at highway-rail grade and pathway crossings with telephone numbers the public can use to alert railroad companies to unsafe conditions.

“Safety is our highest priority,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.  “The sooner railroads can be made aware of potentially unsafe conditions, the faster they can respond to ensure the safety of everyone driving over or walking across highway-rail crossings.”

Under the final rule published in today’s Federal Register, railroads must establish Emergency Notification Systems (ENS) by installing clear and readable signs with toll-free telephone numbers at crossings so the public can report unsafe situations and for railroads to respond to malfunctioning warning signals, vehicles stalled on the tracks or other emergency situations. 

Depending on a railroad’s operating characteristics, calls may be received through a 24 hour call center, or for smaller railroads, through an automated answering system or third-party telephone service.

“The signs will help reduce the risk of certain highway-rail crossing collisions,” said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph C. Szabo.  “They will tell the public who to contact if they come upon a vehicle stalled on the tracks, or see problems involving flashing lights and gates.”

Upon receiving a call, the dispatching railroad is required to contact all trains authorized to operate through the crossing, inform local law enforcement to assist in directing traffic, investigate the report or request that the railroad with maintenance responsibility for the crossing to investigate the report.  

There are approximately 211,000 public and private highway-rail and pathway grade crossings in the United States.  Many major freight and commuter railroads already have systems in place to receive emergency reports. 

West Virginia has, in recent months, cracked down on debt collectors that violate state consumer protection laws.

The crackdown continues as give more out-of-state debt collectors agreed to terms with West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw, coughing up a total $772,286 in refunds and cancelled debts to settle charges that they engaged in unlawful debt collection within the state.

The investigation began after McGraw said he received complaints that four of the companies them were not licensed in West Virginia and all five were collecting illegal Internet payday loans. The five companies Frontier Financial Group, Henderson, NV; United Debt Holding, Castle Rock, CO; Skutr Financial, Las Vegas, NV; USCB Corp., Archibald, PA; and Mauconduit & Luna, Hapeville, GA.

In most cases, the debts were not only illegal, but also old. McGraw said the debt collectors had purchased charged-off debt for pennies on the dollar.

"State laws and regulations governing collection agencies are intended to protect both consumers and legitimate creditors from fraud and abuse," McGraw said. "The Tax Department has made it clear that debt buyers who buy charged-off debts for collection must comply with collection agency laws."

Second time around

McGraw also says his office had taken action in the past to prevent some of these same debts from being collected. For example, he says James Shuff, from Oak Hill, West Va., filed a complaint against Frontier Financial after he received a letter demanding payment of a $615 debt to Money & More, an Internet payday lender based in California. Because of information previously provided by McGraw’s Consumer Protection Division, Shuff knew that the debt had been canceled and Money & More had been banned from doing business in West Virginia.

Because Internet payday loans are illegal in West Virginia, the companies have no legal way to require their repayment. Internet payday loan companies make loans to West Virginia citizens at their own risk.

"Internet payday loans are harmful to consumers and have never been legal in West Virginia," McGraw said. "My office will continue to intervene whenever any agency, licensed or otherwise, is collecting unlawful debts here."

Aflac, an insurance company perhaps best known for its duck advertising mascot, is warning consumers its name has misappropriated by scammers.

“It has been reported that Aflac's name is being used in a fraudulent financial scam,” the company said in a statement. “This scam involves checks bearing the Aflac name and brand, leading consumers to believe they have won a sweepstakes.”

Here's how the way the sweepstakes scam works. A victim is contacted by phone or letter and told they have won a sweepstakes. They receive a check – perhaps for about $3,000 – and are told it is for use in payment of either taxes or a “processing fee.”

The money, of course, needs to be sent to the scammer but to do that, the victim first has to deposit the fake check in their checking account, then wire money back to the scammer.

By the time the bank discovers the check is bogus, the victim has already sent the cash. They then have to pay the bank back using their own money.

Counterfeit checks

Scammers are apparently turning out counterfeit Aflac checks because they seem more credible. A bank, for example, might not question a customer depositing a hefty check from an insurance company.

“We urge consumers to disregard any letter or check that suggests a promotional reward bearing the Aflac name — the letter and the check are bogus, and the check will not be honored by any financial institution,” Aflac said.

The company further points out that it would never require policyholders to wire funds prior to obtaining legitimate claims payments.

Aflac said it has been in contact with the FBI, the United States Secret Service and the Better Business Bureau regarding this scam.

The collection calls are continuing for some former customers of now-defunct Hollywood Video, judging by the increase in complaints received at ConsumerAffairs.

Consumers report getting calls from Universal Fidelity seeking to collect late fees on movies and games. The complaining consumers insist they don't owe the fees, which usually range from $12 to $160.

This is nothing new. Almost since the video rental chain went belly-up in 2010 the debt collectors were out in full force. In most cases, they present no proof – they simply say the money is owed.

Desarae, of Tacoma, Wash., is looking for advice about what to do after she got a call from Universal Fidelity telling her she owned $156.

Looking for advice

“I filed a complaint with the Washington Attorney General but it will take about four weeks to receive a response,” Desarae wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. “I called the debt collector and they stated I was unwilling to resolve the debt. I just need more advice while I'm waiting to hear back from the Attorney General.”

Desarae says she had the type of account that allowed her to keep out a number of movies in exchange for a monthly fee. She insists that she owes no money. In that case, she should write a letter to Universal Fidelity providing that information.

In addition, she is within her rights to request written proof of the debt. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, collection agencies must provide validation notices within five days of contacting consumers about debts.

If Desarae chooses to ignore the debt collector, there will likely be few repercussions. In 2011 attorneys general from around the country reached a settlement with the liquidating trustee for the stores. Among the agreement’s terms is a requirement that negative information be removed from consumers’ credit reports.

The right to dispute

“Collection laws require that consumers have a chance to pay or dispute their debts,” said Washington Assistant Attorney General Mary Lobdell, who helped lead the multistate investigation and settlement negotiations. “But starting in October, we received a flurry of complaints from Washington residents who told us they didn’t owe the fees or were never informed of these debts before they were reported to the credit bureaus.”

Complaints to the Washington Attorney General’s Office show that a young woman was turned down for her first credit card because of the negative mark. A man said his credit card limit was slashed from $8,700 to just $600. And yet another consumer blamed the late charge for preventing him from obtaining a mortgage.

The problem is that Hollywood Video, when listing its assets in its bankruptcy filing, showed $244 million in outstanding debts from customers, which might explain the persistent collection efforts. But it's obvious that many of their former customers dispute the notion they owe part of that $244 million.

We generally think that high blood pressure and being overweight are the main contributors to stroke risk. But researchers at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) say they have found another – too little sleep.

The researchers on the project say older adults who regularly get less than six hours of sleep a night have significantly higher risk of stroke symptoms. The study included more than 5,600 people who were followed for three years.

The participants in the study had no history of stroke or stroke symptoms at the start of the study. The researchers then recorded the first stroke symptoms, along with demographic information, stroke risk factors, depression symptoms and various health behaviors.

After adjusting for body-mass index (BMI), they found a strong association with daily sleep periods of less than six hours and a greater incidence of stroke symptoms for middle-age to older adults, even beyond other risk factors.

The study found no association between short sleep periods and stroke symptoms among overweight and obese participants.

Takes a toll

"In employed middle-aged to older adults, relatively free of major risk factors for stroke such as obesity and sleep-disordered breathing, short sleep duration may exact its own negative influence on stroke development," said lead author Megan Ruiter, PhD. "We speculate that short sleep duration is a precursor to other traditional stroke risk factors, and once these traditional stroke risk factors are present, then perhaps they become stronger risk factors than sleep duration alone."

The researchers say their findings mean physicians should discuss sleep habits with their middle aged and senior patients. It's especially important, they say, to have this conversation if the patient appears otherwise healthy and displays no other risk factors.

"Sleep and sleep-related behaviors are highly modifiable with cognitive-behavioral therapy approaches and/or pharmaceutical interventions," Ruiter said. "These results may serve as a preliminary basis for using sleep treatments to prevent the development of stroke."

Apple did its thing today, unveiling new products and goodies intended to intensify its competition with Google and Microsoft.

Taking center stage at the WWDC 2012 developers conference was the new 15-inch MacBook Pro featuring a high-defination Retina display, all flash storage and quad-core processors in a thinner and lighter case.

“The MacBook Pro with Retina display pushes the limits of performance and portability like no other notebook,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “With a gorgeous Retina display, all flash architecture and a radically thin and light design, the new MacBook Pro is the most advanced Mac we have ever built.”

It was Cook's first keynote speech at the event since the death last October of Apple co-founder and perennial emcee Steve Jobs. He was at times upstaged by Siri, who (or which?) opened the show with a few understated jokes.

"It's hard for me to get emotional, because my emotions haven't been coded yet," Siri admitted, perhaps ruefully. 

Cook said the new MacBook Pro Retina display is the "world’s highest resolution notebook display" with over 5 million pixels, 3 million more than an HD television.

Light & thin

With an aluminum unibody design and an all-flash storage architecture, the  new MacBook Pro is the lightest MacBook Pro ever and nearly as thin as a MacBook Air. The flash storage architecture also delivers improved reliability, instant-on responsiveness and 30 days of standby time, Apple said.

Apple claims the MacBook Pro battery delivers up to 7 hours of wireless productivity, and uses advanced chemistry and Adaptive Charging technology to provide up to 1,000 recharges. The MacBook Pro also features a FaceTime HD camera, glass Multi-Touch trackpad, full-size backlit keyboard, dual microphones, enhanced speakers, 3-stream 802.11n Wi-Fi and a thinner MagSafe 2 power port.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is available through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. Prices start at $2,199 (US).

iOS 6

Also at WWDC, Apple previewed iOS 6, introducing over 200 new features  and released a beta version to iOS Developer Program members. iOS 6 will be available to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users this fall as a free software update.

New iOS 6 features include: an all new Maps app with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation and a new "Flyover" view; new Siri features, including support for more languages, access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings; Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar, with the ability to post directly from Notification Center, Siri and Facebook-enabled apps like Photos, Safari and Maps; Shared Photo Streams via iCloud; and Passbook.

Apple confirmed earlier that it is dumping Google maps for a new in-house system that one Apple executive said will "blow your head off." By integrating its system more tightly with Facebook, Apple also throws yet another obstacle into the already rugged road Google faces with its Google+ social site, derided by critics as a "ghost town." 

“iOS 6 continues the rapid pace of innovation that is helping Apple reinvent the phone and create the iPad category, delivering the best mobile experience available on any device,” said Scott Forstall, Apple's senior vice president of iOS Software. “We can’t wait for hundreds of millions of iOS users to experience the incredible new features in iOS 6 including the new Maps app, expanded Siri support, deep Facebook integration, Shared Photo Streams and the innovative new Passbook app.”

There had been speculation that Apple might reveal its plans for an integrated TV, dubbed iTV, but that revelation apparently must wait until the time is right.

Many teens believe smoking pot is healthier than smoking cigarettes. This is according to a new study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that says teenagers are inhaling more cannabis than nicotine nowadays.

Advertisements about the harms of drug use were extremely prevalent in the 80s and 90s, as many remember the "this is your brain on drugs" commercials. But in recent years, health groups have focused more on the growing cigarette problem among teenagers, after statistics showed that teen cigarette smoking was on the incline. And the commercials seemed to work.

From 1993 to 2003, the amount of teen cigarette smokers dropped by a third, from 30.5 percent to 21.9 percent. Also, reports show those who smoked a full cigarette by the age of 13 dropped from 26.9 percent to 18.3. With cigarette health warnings working so well, kids chose marijuana smoking as their new and preferred form of rebellion.

Reports also show that 21.9 percent of teens used pot within the last 30 days, compared to 22.4 percent that admitted to smoking marijuana in that same time frame. And overall 23 percent of high school students said they smoked marijuana in recent days, while 18 percent said they had a cigarette instead, according to the CDC.

In the last couple of years many reports showed a small decline in the overall use of marijuana among teens, but numbers have begun to slowly increase again.

Other reports have indicated that 60 percent of kids who use drugs only use marijuana, and 4.8 million teens admitted to using it at least 20 days of any given month. Also, many studies and reports devoted to teen drug use reported that over 100,000 teenagers are treated for marijuana dependency each year.

Why?

What other reasons besides advertising have kids chosen pot over cigarettes?

Cigarettes have taken on a new stigma among younger generations. Once considered cool and rebellious, cigarettes now appear to be a sign of outdated thinking and unhealth behavior. Many of the entertainers of yesteryear, whether it be movie or rock stars, have used the cigarette as part of their hip motif, but no longer.

Many singers, rappers, and actors have openly discussed smoking pot, and arguably influenced younger and more impressionable fans to do the same. At the very least the entertainment industry has removed some of the taboo and criminal perception of marijuana, especially among teenagers. Also, with many states legalizing the medical use of marijuana, teens have taken it as a sign to consider pot less harmful.

 It will be even a bigger challenge to keep pot out of the hands of kids as more and more states in the U.S. are making it more accessible through commercial sale, which also makes it easier for more marijuana to be on the streets.

When consumers buy used cars – which often cost more than new cars did a few years ago – they want some assurance that the car they are buying doesn't have major, hidden damage. For that reason, services like Carfax are becoming gospel.

Carfax issues a report on every vehicle, collecting data from a variety of sources. If the vehicle has been the subject of an insurance claim or police report, the details are supposed to be listed in the Carfax report.

A ConsumerAffairs sentiment analysis of about 140,000 social media postings finds Carfax with a consistently positive perception, fluctuating from the 40%-85% range over the last year.

Some consumers have complained that they purchased a vehicle with a clean report, only to find that the car had suffered major damage that was not included in the report. That's understandable if there was no insurance claim or police accident report.

But at the same time, a few car owners, like Mario, of Houston, Tex., have complained that the Carfax report on their vehicle has incorrect information.

“We went to trade in my wife's Lexus IS250 and the dealer tells us that the Carfax report shows that our car had been a in a severe accident, therefore the value of the car is much less,” Mario wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. “The report did not have a date, just stated that the accident occurred in 2010 and was not reported. Our car has never been in an accident. I contacted Carfax and their answer was that the information came from a police crash report and provided a case number. Well, I checked the crash report number and it doesn't exist!”

Mistakes happen

A Carfax report has been likened to a credit report for vehicles. The information comes from a variety of sources and sometimes, just as with credit reports, erroneous information gets into the record.

Mario's only recourse is to appeal to Carfax to reevaluate its report on his wife's Lexus. The stakes are particularly high since the Lexus is an expensive car. No dealer is likely to touch it if there is a Carfax report that shows major damage.

Mario can probably successfully appeal this report but it will require some effort on his part. He will need something in writing from the police department referenced in the Carfax report that the case number cited in the report does not exist.

He will then need to contact Carfax again, asking how to go about reversing information and explaining that he possesses documentary evidence to support his case. Mario can start the appeals process.

In the wake of the LinkedIn password hack, a lot of computer users are changing their passwords. But instead of changing it from “yourname1234” to “yourname4321,” why not select something a little harder to crack?

Here are some ideas:

The longer your password is, the more secure it's considered to be. According to the security experts at Microsoft, a password should have, at a minimum, eight or more characters.

Make it complicated

They should also be complex. You should include letters, punctuation, symbols, and numbers. The greater the variety of characters in your password, the better.

It's also wise to change your passwords frequently and to not use one good password for all your accounts. But for most of us, this can present a problem.

It's hard enough to come up with one long, complex, secure password and memorize it. But to have to come up with several – and remember not only the passwords but to which accounts they're assigned? That seems a bit much.

That means you probably have to write down your passwords. But if you do, write them on paper (or write them to a memory stick), don't store them near your computer, and try not to make the document look like an obvious list of passwords. Don't call it "passwords.doc," in other words.

Security experts suggest using phrases, not single words, to construct passwords. For example, start with a sentence that might have particular meaning for you but few others, such as “My Best Vacation Was 1996.” From that you might get “mybestvacationwas1996.” For added security drop the “t” in best and replace it with “'”. The password is “mybes'vacationwas1996.”

Better yet, use a strong password generator. There are many out there. Here's one that is easy to use: http://strongpasswordgenerator.com/

Worth the effort

Why go to all this trouble? Robert Siciliano, a McAfee consultant and identity theft expert, says hackers use software tools that can effortlessly crack many passwords, especially simple ones.

“Don’t use personal information such as your name, age, birth date, child’s name, pet’s name, or favorite color/song, etc,” Siciliano writes on the McAfee blog. “When 32 million passwords were exposed in a breach last year, almost one percent of victims were using '123456.' The next most popular password was '12345.' Other common choices are '111111,' 'princess,” 'qwerty,' and 'abc123.'”

And while all accounts need to be sure, security is more important for some accounts than others. That's why passwords to access bank and brokerage accounts should be secure and changed often.

In this era of cell phone plans that treat local and long distance calls the same, it's easy to forget that long distance “collect” calls, in which the receiving party pays the charge, can be costly.

Indeed, the whole idea of a collect call, made from a pay phone (remember those?) now seems quaint. Quaint, maybe, but also costly. They are very expensive if they are made from jail, as Michael, of Lusby, Md., recently discovered.

“My Verizon bill contained a $70.48 item from Zero Plus Dialing (Network Oper Svcs) for a 15 minute collect call,” Michael wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. “From what I can tell, my son was incarcerated in a county facility about 30 miles away and the charge in question is associated with a call from him. ZPDI was willing to give me a $28.00 credit, which I turned down. Even with the credit, I am being charged about $2.83 per minute. There was no mention of a rate charge when asked if I would accept the collect call.”

Rules for collect calls

There should have been. When a consumer answers the phone and an operator asks them if they will accept a collect call from an individual, they have no way of knowing the rate. It can vary wildly, especially if it is being made by someone held in a correctional facility.

The Federal Communications Commission requires that, when an inmate places a collect call, each Operator Service Provider (OSP) must identify itself to the person receiving the call before connecting the call. Each OSP must also disclose, before connecting the call, how the receiving party may obtain rate quotations. Additionally, the OSP must permit the receiving party to terminate the telephone call at no charge before the call is connected.

These rules apply only to interstate OSP calls -- meaning calls from one state to another. Most states, however, have similar rules for intrastate OSP calls -- calls that occur within a single state.

Collect calls are much rarer than they once were and usually carry a very high rate per minute. But the rate of a collect call from a correctional facility is usually even higher.

Why are the calls so expensive? Very simply, phone companies charge more for a collect call from prison because they can. Prisoners have no alternative for calling friends and family. You might say they are a captive audience.

The jails get a cut

State and county governments, which operate jails, often receive a portion of the proceeds from these calls, in exchange for awarding the contract. While policymakers in some states have questioned these practices, in an era of shrinking state budgets, correctional facilities have generally fought to preserve the arrangement.

Several states -- including Nebraska, Missouri and New York -- have reduced or eliminated commissions and have passed the savings along to families and friends of those incarcerated, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights.

“The high rates for prison phone calls are being paid by the families of incarcerated people, who are already doing what they can to help their loved ones become law-abiding citizens,” the group says on its website. “The high cost of prison phone calls hinders these efforts.”

To provide options for inmates, some private companies have set up telephone relay units in the locality of a correctional facility. An inmate may call the unit as a local call, which is then forwarded to the inmate's family using a low-cost long-distance service.

Many correctional systems have prohibited inmates from using these services, citing the need to tightly control and monitor inmate communications. That's why inmates can't take cell phones behind bars.

Meanwhile, if you receive a collect call – especially from someone in jail – understand that the per-minute rate will be very high and conversation lengths should reflect that reality.

The folks at Terminix Pest Control have scoured the country and issued a list of U.S. cities with the most bedbug infestation. This year, Philadelphia wins the dubious honor.

The list was put together by compiling information supplied by all 300 Terminix branches operating in the U.S. The ranking is the result of evaluating service calls and confirmed cases by service professionals.

The 2012 ranking proves bedbugs continue to be a problem across the country, with five cities –Cleveland, Houston, Indianapolis, Miami and New Haven – joining the top 15 this year. Other cities, such as Columbus, Dallas, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., saw growing bedbug populations this year.

Lots of bedbugs in Ohio

Ohio continues to be a hotbed of activity, with three of its cities making the top 15. The complete rankings are:

1. Philadelphia
2. Cincinnati
3. New York
4. Chicago
5. Detroit
6. Washington, DC
7. Columbus, Ohio
8. San Francisco
9. Denver
10. New Haven, Conn.
11. Dallas
12. Houston
13. Indianapolis
14. Miami
15. Cleveland

"Bedbugs continue to increase their presence across the U.S.," said Stoy Hedges, an entomologist with Terminix. "While major metropolitan areas are most at risk, it is important to note that bedbugs have been spotted in cities and towns across the country."

Travel complaints

Bedbug have become a common source of complaints among hotel guests these days.

“My wife and I stayed at the Super 8 in Chillicothe, Ill., checking out early in the morning,” Willie, of Grand Forks, ND., wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. “The last morning we were in the hotel, we found bed bugs on the head board and under the mattress. Now we are back home and are washing/disinfecting all of our clothing, luggage and everything else we had in the room. Had I known the hotel was infected with bed bugs we would have never stayed there.”

If you're traveling this summer and staying at hotels and motels, here are some steps you can take to spot and avoid bedbugs:

• Check hotel headboards, mattresses and box springs for bedbugs and dark blood spots.
• Hang all clothing. Leave nothing lying on the bed or furniture.
• Avoid storing your clothing in the hotel's furniture drawers.
• Store suitcases on a luggage rack as far from the bed as possible.
• Vacuum suitcases when returning home, and immediately wash clothing in hot water.
• Between trips, store luggage in a sealed plastic bag in a garage or basement, away from bedrooms.
• If you suspect your hotel has bedbugs, ask for a change of rooms.

There's little progress so far in tracking down the source of an outbreak of E. coli that has made at least 14 people ill and caused at least one death. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the illnesses occurred in April and May and were spread across six states. The one reported fatality occurred in New Orleans, where a child died last week.

The strain implicated in the current oubreak -- O145 -- is one of the more dangerous strains of the common bacteria. Its first large-scale appearance in the U.S. came in July 2010 when it was blamed for a widespread recall of Romaine lettuce. At least two dozen people in five states were sickened in that outbrak.

The CDC has not connected the current outbreak to any particular food. It said that so far all of the known cases have occurred in Albama (2), California (1), Florida (1), Georgia (5), Louisiana (4), and Tennessee (1). Ages of those stricken range from 1 to 79 years.

It has been about four weeks since the last illness occurred, which could mean the outbreak is over, CDC said.

The only advice health officials can offer is to cook meat thoroughly, avoid unpasteurized milk and ciders and wash your hands thoroughly if you have a diarrhea-like illness.

Rhonda, of Waterloo, Iowa, is angry with Staples. About six weeks ago, she says, she went to the office supply retailer and purchased the Model SPL TXC 15A paper shredder.

After using it twice, she said, it stopped working. What happened next, which resulted in her anger, was probably caused by miscommunication.

“I called Staples and was informed that it only had a two-week warranty!” she wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. “Two weeks!! Are they kidding? I was assured by the salesman that it was the best shredder Staples carried. I am very upset and feel that I have been scammed out of $150. I have worked in retail for over twenty years and have never heard of such poor customer service. I know that you cannot return an item after two weeks, but this product should have a warranty longer than two weeks. I am very disappointed in Staples and will never shop there again.”

In fact, it does appear that Rhonda and the salesperson she spoke with are talking about apples and oranges. Most stores have a policy that they will accept a return of an item within a specified time period. Two weeks is not unreasonable and Rhonda acknowledges as much.

But Rhonda is under the impression that the warranty covering the product is only for two weeks, which is not the case. We were able to access the product information on the Staples website, where it clearly states the shredder has a one-year manufacturers' warranty.

Disconnect

When Rhonda called the store complaining that the shredder didn't work, she should have been told to contact the manufacturer. Maybe she was but just didn't understand. Or maybe the store personnel thought she just wanted to return it and explained that it was too late.

Consumers should understand that chain retailers especially don't get involved in warranty issues, unless they have issued the warranty, in the form of an extended service contract. Instead, when an item breaks in the first year of use, the consumer needs to contact the manufacturer directly.

That's why it is important for purchases like shredders to not only keep the store receipt, but to hang onto warranty information, and take the time and trouble to fill out the warranty card and send it in.

In its latest safety crackdown, the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) has ordered Wisconsin-based truck company WTSA US Express to shut down  immediately. The department said it found "serious safety violations that posed an imminent hazard to public safety."

"Commercial truck and bus companies that blatantly violate federal safety standards and jeopardize public safety will be shut down. Safety is always our top priority,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. 

The DOT said the action followed an extensive review of the company’s operations that discovered multiple federal safety violations in the areas of drivers' hours-of-service compliance, driver qualifications and drug testing requirements.

For example, DOT said investigators uncovered that the company employed drivers without valid commercial driver’s licenses and medical certificates, and the company allowed its drivers to operate without records of duty status. Additionally, WTSA US Express did not test its drivers for controlled substances.  

On May 30, in the largest single safety crackdown in the agency’s history, the department shut down 26 bus operations, declaring them imminent hazards to public safety, and ordered 10 individual bus company owners, managers and employees to cease all passenger transportation operations.