Current Events in March 2013

Not too long ago, there was a search engine named Google. You could use it to find things and then go look at them. For example, if you wanted to buy a car, you could run a search and find the websites that had the car you were looking for.

This helped businesses like Cars.com, Autotrader.com and Edmunds.com  prosper and grow.

But what Google giveth, Google eventually taketh away, as just about every business sector has learned by now. And it appears that online car sites are about to be the latest to learn this sometimes bitter lesson.

Since last summer, Google has been experimenting with running its own car-listing service in the San Francisco area, allowing consumers to browse dealers' inventory and check prices without leaving Google's pages.

That pilot is now about to be extended throughout California and, presumably, into other states. Google did something similar with travel information last year. You can now check flights from SFO to IAD, for example, and get an instant answer right on Google's search page.

This has perhaps not been a good thing for Expedia, Kayak, et. al. but we haven't heard any consumers complaining. For one thing, the results are rendered instanteously, without the lengthy waits would-be travelers used to encounter. For another, they appear to be objective -- not favoring one carrier or agent over another, something that isn't necessarily true with many travel sites.

Come on down ...

Of course, it's not like Google will be selling cars directly. You'll still have to go to a dealer or the individual who's trying to sell what you're hoping to buy, at least for now.

And it's not like this is something completely new. Dealers say that more than 90 percent of car buyers begin their shopping online and something like two out of every three visitors who wander onto a dealership's website get there through a Google search.

According to Automotive News, dealers who sign up with Google will be able to  list their new-vehicle inventories with no upfront or monthly fees. They will, however, pay Google for the leads they get. As with all things Google, dealers will have to bid for placement in the results. It's thought the average per-lead fee will be around $15. 

Every year consumers – especially seniors – are urged to get a flu shot to guard against the seasonal virus. But these vaccinations can have a spotty record when it comes to preventing disease.

The vaccine for the 2012-13 flu season didn't cover a couple of the strains that actually appeared, reducing its effectiveness. To improve your chances of avoiding illness, health experts suggest a simple precaution – keep your hands clean.

“Hands usually contain anywhere from two to 10 million bacteria,” said Barry Michaels, who has over 30 years of experience in infectious disease prevention and who writes a hand hygiene blog for Deb USA, a make of hand hygiene products.

And that's just normal, everyday hands. Really dirty hands may contain up to 60 million bacteria.

Germs' playground

“Hands play an important role in transmission of pathogens in many types of environments, such as food preparation, healthcare, at work and in public places like schools, theaters, sports events and the home. Each year tens of thousands of people die in the U.S. alone due to hand transmission of human pathogens.

Flu germs, in particular, are easily spread through hand contact. The supermarket can be germ central.

Let's say a shopper is suffering from the flu, or is carrying the germs and doesn't know it. They arrive at the store and pick up a grocery cart and begin pushing it around the store as they shop. When they are finished, a healthy shopper arrives and takes the cart from the rack.

The healthy person's hands are holding the same part of the cart held by the germ-carrying shopper. They load their groceries in the car, take them home and put them away.

Unless they clean their hands first, they can spread the flu germs to the food as they put it away and, if they eat something with their hands, they introduce the germs into their body. That's why most supermarkets now have a dispenser for moist antiseptic wipes. It's a good idea to take one and thoroughly clean your hands on the way out of the store.

Sanitizer products

“Sanitizers should be used when hands are not visibly soiled or when soap and water is not available,” Michaels said.

What kind of commercially-available sanitizers are best? Michaels says liquids are impractical, wipes slide over the skin and leave a film of antimicrobial liquid, while gels are usually not as effective as a foam. Foams, he says, deliver around 5,000 bubbles that result in an exploding cascade lasting between 15 and 30 seconds.

But washing with soap and water is the basic building block of good hand hygiene. It doesn't require you to be obsessive/compulsive about it, but there is a right way to do it. Michaels says good hand hygiene is particularly important for seniors.

“Hand hygiene is the act of removing or killing potentially harmful microorganisms on hands, preventing transmission of frank and opportunistic pathogenic microorganisms,” he said. “They can be removed from hands by washing with soap where surfactants make water wetter, and latch on to dirt or soils containing the microorganism or the microorganism itself. Friction during rinsing and drying removes any remaining transient bacteria of concern with the rinsing process, hopefully washing harmful microorganisms down the drain.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees that hand washing is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of many types of infections. Running your hands under the water for a few seconds, however, isn't enough. Here's how the CDC recommends you wash and dry your hands:

• Wet your hands with clean running water (warm or cold) and apply soap.
• Rub your hands together to make a lather and scrub them well; be sure to scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
• Continue rubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice.
• Rinse your hands well under running water.
• Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry.

If you ask me, people are way too snarky these days.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of a little snarkiness sometimes and I can appreciate a certain brand of sarcasm in the right situation, but only if these approaches are interspersed with some kindness and straight talk, which many snarky and sarcastic people forget to do.

Being around someone who is always snarky and sarcastic makes me wonder if people are purposely being that way or if there’s an underlying reason, like being stressed, that causes it.

According to the folks at LivingStressFree.com, stress typically brings on feelings of resentment, annoyance, negativity, cynicism, pessimism, and, yes, sarcasm. So maybe a person who seems to be annoyed at more things than they're inspired by  may be living in a constant state of stress, and the only outlet they have to express their negative feelings is cynical speech.

New research findings released by the American Psychological Association (APA) and conducted by Harris Interactive found that 39% of U.S. residents said their stress level had increased in the past year and 44% said stress for them increased over the past five years, and as people continue to live with these feelings, it doesn’t only lead to negative and sarcastic talk, it can lead to a host of serious health problems as well.

“Various studies have shown that chronic stress is a major driver of chronic illness, which in turn is a major driver of escalating health care costs in this country,” said Dr. Norman B. Anderson, APA’s CEO and executive vice president.

“It is critical that the entire health community and policymakers recognize the role of stress and unhealthy behaviors in causing and exacerbating chronic health conditions, and support models of care that help people make positive changes.”

Chronic pain

A constant amount of stress doesn’t only have the potential to cause serious illnesses, it can have a lot to do with people experiencing chronic pain too, researchers say.

Doctors at the University of Montreal said there is a common link between stress levels and pain levels and those who have a lot of activity in the hippocampus, which is the area of the brain that deals with emotion and memory; stressed-out people had raised cortisol levels and an increased amount of chronic pain too.

In the study, doctors gathered 24 patients, who were either living with chronic pain or were totally healthy with no pains at all. Then saliva samples were taken from each person and they were asked to share how much chronic pain they experienced.

The subjects of the study then received brain scans to determine the size of the hippocampus and received an additional scan to track the brain’s response to pain.

Afterwards, researchers found those people with the smallest hippocampus volume had an increased vulnerability to pain, which means if you’re living with stress and continue not to do anything about it, you should probably expect your pain to continue or maybe even get worse.

“Cortisol, a hormone produced by the adrenal glands, is sometimes called the ‘stress hormone’ as it is activated in reaction to stress," said lead study author Étienne Vachon-Presseau. “Our study shows that a small hippocampal volume is associated with higher cortisol levels, which lead to increased vulnerability to pain and could increase the risk of developing pain chronicity.”

Treat the stress

The co-author of the study, Dr. Pierre Rainville, says people should be seeking stress treatment as well as pain treatment to rid their body of pain, and they should deal with the fears and anxieties that are associated with being worried about their pain flaring up.

“Our research sheds more light on the neurobiological mechanisms of this important relationship between stress pain, whether the result of an accident is illness or surgery, pain is often associated with high levels of stress,” said Dr. Rainville.

“Our findings are useful in that they open up avenues for people who suffer from pain to find treatments that may decrease its impact and perhaps even prevent chronicity. To complement their medical treatment, pain sufferers can also work on their stress management and fear of pain by getting help from a psychologist and trying relaxation or mediation techniques," he said.

But how else do you eliminate stress? Because as most people know, it’s much easier to pick it up than to get rid of it.

According to HelpGuide.org—a non-profit organization that provides information on conditions like depression, bipolar disorder and stress—it’s first important to recognize why you’re stressed and learn exactly what it is that’s stressing you.

In addition, HelpGuide says it’s important to take full responsibility of your stress level and you should stop blaming things like other people, your job and your lifestyle.

Furthermore, if you always consider your stress level to be temporary and you’re always waiting for it to subside, it probably isn’t temporary at all, and you should seek help as soon as possible.

So again, if you hate more things than you love or roll your eyes in annoyance more than use them to recognize the beautiful aspects of life, it could be a sign that you’re living stressfully and need to do something about it, especially since being stressed can lead to a host of life altering ailments and increase the physical pain that you’re already living with.

In a recent report the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) noted that identity theft continues to be the top generator of consumer complaints. In 2012, the agency received more than 369,000 reports of stolen identity.

Of those, more than 43 percent were related to tax or wage fraud. Unlike in a burglary or armed robbery, the victim isn't usually aware of the crime right away. The longer it goes undetected, the harder it is to recover.

Here are the top five signs that your identity has been hijacked:

Unexplained bank withdrawals

Sometimes identity theft takes the form of someone stealing your bank account information. If you fall for an Internet scam and provide your bank account information to what you believe to be a legitimate business, the person with that information can gain access to your bank account and take all the money in it.

Sometimes they make a very small withdrawal at first, just to make sure the account is still active. That's why it's important to look at monthly statements. Even better, if you have online account access, look at your account every day or two.

Missing tax refund

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in recent years has wrestled with the growing problem of identity theft. In these cases, a scammer gets access to someone's Social Security number.

They create a phony W-2 form and then file a federal income tax return showing a large tax refund. They use your name but a different address, so that the refund check comes to them.

When you get around filing your real income tax return, the IRS kicks it back since it has already processed a return linked to your Social Security Number. That's why you should file your return as quickly as possible, before a scammer has a chance to use your identity for a phony return.

Your phone starts ringing

In the most dangerous form of identity theft, the scammer uses your name and social security number to open charge accounts, get credit cards, even buy cars or take out mortgages. They naturally have no intention of paying.

Once the accounts go into default, debt collectors will finally track you down and start calling. You, of course, won't know what they're talking about. It can take years to straighten out. That's why it is very important to safeguard your personal information.

Mysterious health conditions

You might be the picture of good health but suddenly you find medical providers are billing your for a variety of services you've never used. Your health plan might reject your legitimate claim because their records show you've reached your benefits limit.

You might even find that a a new health plan you're applying for won't accept you because they show you with a condition you don't have. All of this could mean that someone has assumed your identity, using your Social Security number, to receive health benefits.

Strange chapters in your credit history

You may be in the process of buying a car or applying for a mortgage and are surprised to learn that your credit history contains a number of accounts, with large balances, that you've never heard of. That can only mean that someone has hacked your identity and has been merrily spending borrowed money in your name.

That's why you should carefully read your credit reports from the three credit reporting agencies every year. Thanks to federal law, you are entitled to a free report from each of the firms by going to www.annualcreditreport.com.

Florida leads

In a state by state comparison, Florida still ranks first in government benefit and tax-related identity theft, with 72% of the reported complaints involving tax or benefits fraud. In terms of overall identity theft, Alaska saw the largest year-over-year increase, with the crime up 30 percent.

“These types of cases very often involve the use of Social Security numbers making them more complex than other types of identity theft, said Eva Casey Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). “As we are fully into tax season, we anticipate that there will continue to be increases in the reporting of this crime. Government related identity theft has averaged approximately 25% of total cases handled by the ITRC for the last two years and was 25% of our total cases in January 2013 as well.”

As with any type of identity theft, consumers need to have a better understanding of what has occurred, in order to further understand how they should react. At a minimum, if you think you have been victimized you should report the incident to police and the appropriate financial institution, such as your bank or credit card company.

Since the Chicago Board of Education passed a new policy that says sex education will start at the kindergarten level, the topic of educating children about sex has once again become a national discussion.

Chicago’s new sex education and health programs will begin in two years  and officials say the main purpose of the classes is to not only teach kids about the basics of sexuality—but more specifically, it’s supposed to help them approach it with an understanding that will hopefully stay with them throughout their lives.

“It is important that we provide students of all ages with accurate and appropriate information so they can make healthy choices in regards to their social interactions, behaviors and relationships,” said Barbara Byrd-Bennett, Chicago Public School System’s CEO.

“By implementing a new sexual health education policy, we will be helping them to build a foundation of knowledge that can guide them not just in the preadolescent and adolescent years, but throughout their lives," she said.

But just how effective is sex education among students when it comes to making proper decisions in the future? And if they do decide to engage in sexual activity when they become older, are they still able to pull from the information they learned when they were little kids in elementary school?

Teen births

In a study conducted by Washington University in St. Louis, researchers found that states that implemented full-on sexual education programs had lower teen birth rates compared to those states that didn’t use sexual education in the same way.  

In the study, the research team examined school curriculums in 24 states across the U.S. and examined the birth rates of teenage girls between the ages of 15 to 17 and overall it was confirmed that sex education had a direct impact when it came to condom use, HIV prevention and other areas of sexuality, which tended to stay with the students as they became older.

However, the researchers said the results and the success levels of the sex and health courses varied by state, and when coupled with things like a family’s religious or political beliefs, those beliefs had a direct impact on teenage birth rates and the other sexual statistics.

“Although the teen birth rates and teen pregnancy rates are dropping year after year, we still have disparities between states, and we have higher teen birth and teen pregnancy rates when we’re compared to other industrialized countries,” said Patricia Cavazos-Rehg,

 one of the study authors.

All these variables are cited by critics who say that talking about sex in schools—especially among younger students—won’t be a determining factor when it comes to pregnancy prevention or avoiding sexually transmitted diseases.

“There can be enormous variation between what goes on in one state and what goes on in another state even if they both indicate that they discuss how to use a condom or pregnancy prevention,” said teen sex expert Amy Bleakley, who wasn’t involved in the study.

A separate study led by a team of Scotland researchers found that even more direct methods of sex education didn’t quite produce the results that school officials were looking for.

When administrators provided condoms to teen students as a part of its sex education program, it had little to no impact on teenage pregnancy or the rate of teens getting sexually transmitted diseases.

“Poorer young people made more use of sexual health services, but this didn’t translate into behavior change,” said lead study author Lawrie Elliott. “Sexual inequalities remained, particularly among girls.”

Anyone listening?

So the questions remains, just how closely are students listening to the educational messages involving sex?

With two thirds of the schools in the U.S. having sex programs, some would say the percentages of teens having sex doesn’t seem to be dropping, and the number of teens having sex responsibly doesn’t seem to be falling all that much either.

According to the CDC, almost 40% of teens said they had sexual intercourse without using a condom in 2011 and 76.7 % of girls said they didn’t use birth control pills or Depo-Provera to prevent pregnancy when last engaging in sexual activity.

In addition, the CDC showed that out of the 19 million new STD cases that were recorded in 2009, almost half of those cases were from people in the 15 to 19 year old age range, which could easily make one question just how successful sexual education really is.

The folks who put together the National Sexuality Education Standards released a report last year that suggested sex education is more about younger kids learning tolerance than anything else.

There's “a pressing need to address harassment, bullying and relationship violence in our schools, which have a significant impact on a student’s emotional and physical well-being as well as on academic success,” read a National Sexuality Education Standards report.

But just how successful the Chicago school system will be in changing some of the future perceptions about sexuality in teenagers remains to be seen, but undoubtedly parents and educators will continue to discuss not only when sexual education should begin, but if it’s really needed at all, since so many other factors come into play.

OK, be honest now. What do you really hate about flying? If you said cramped seats, you're right in step with the times. That was the top complaint among more than 2,000 travelers surveyed recently by TripAdvisor.

Southwest Airlines tops the most popular airline list, by the way, with 19% of travelers naming it their favorite. 

Here are the top five biggest complaints about air travel, according to the survey:

1. Uncomfortable seats / limited legroom
2. Costly airline fees and ticket prices
3. Unpredictable flight delays
4. Long security lines
5. Other passengers (e.g. loud children)

Thirty-eight percent of respondents say that giving "more legroom" is the number one thing airlines should do to improve the in-flight experience.  While seat comfort is a priority for travelers, most are reluctant to pay a premium for the benefit:

• 44% have never paid extra for a better seating assignment.
• 85% of travelers said they would pay less than $25 for a seat upgrade on domestic flights, 81% would pay $50 or less on international flights.
• If they had it their way, 58% would take an aisle seat, 42% would choose the window, and four% prefer the oft-dreaded middle seat. Why? They didn't say.
• 81% would be willing to go without in-flight entertainment for a significantly cheaper flight.
• 63% are not willing to pay to sit in a designated "quiet" section of the airplane if airlines offered such a section, while 23% said they might pay less than $25.

The five most annoying airline fees, according to respondents:

1. Checked baggage
2. Carry-on baggage
3. Seat selection
4. Printed boarding pass at airport
5. In-flight amenities

Ready to taxi

But, complaints notwithstanding, very few of us are planning to stay home. The survey found 91% intend to take a domestic flight at least once in 2013, up from 86% who said they flew domestically last year.  Additionally, international travel is taking off, with 67% planning such flights, compared to 56% that did so in 2012.

"Flyers continue to voice concerns about the challenges associated with air travel, such as extra fees and limited legroom," says Bryan Saltzburg, general manager of TripAdvisor Flights. "However, it seems equally clear that these challenges are not limiting the increasing demand for flights."

If you are a cigarette smoker, would you give up the real thing for one of those electronic jobs? A lot of people have tried them.

A study released the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that about 21% of adults who smoke traditional cigarettes had used e-cigarettes in 2011, compared with about 10 percent in 2010.

Overall, about six percent of all adults have tried e-cigarettes, with estimates nearly doubling from 2010. The study is the first to report changes in awareness and use of e-cigarettes between 2010 and 2011.

Moving to e-smokes

During 2010–2011, adults who have used e-cigarettes increased among both sexes, non-Hispanic whites, those aged 45–54 years, those living in the South, and current and former smokers and current and former smokers.

In both 2010 and 2011, e-cigarette use was significantly higher among current smokers compared to both former and never smokers. Awareness of e-cigarettes rose from about four in 10 adults in 2010 to six in 10 adults in 2011.

“E-cigarette use is growing rapidly,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH. “There is still a lot we don’t know about these products, including whether they will decrease or increase use of traditional cigarettes.”

Is it safer?

Although e-cigarettes appear to have far fewer of the toxins found in smoke compared with traditional cigarettes, the impact of e-cigarettes on long-term health must be studied. Research is needed to assess how e-cigarette marketing could impact initiation and use of traditional cigarettes, particularly among young people.

“If large numbers of adult smokers become users of both traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes -- rather than using e-cigarettes to quit cigarettes completely -- the net public health effect could be quite negative,” said Tim McAfee, MD MPH, director of the Office on Smoking and Health at CDC.

Purina is defending Beneful dog food from consumers' allegations that it made their dogs ill. But whether consumers accept the explanation remains to be seen.

"We have reviewed our consumer contacts and are confident there are no product quality or safety issues with Beneful, and consumers can continue to feed Beneful with complete confidence," Beneful spokesman Keith Schopp said in a statement to ConsumerAffairs. "Purina’s quality control procedures are among the strictest—if not the strictest—in the industry, and our products are formulated by professional pet nutritionists and veterinarians."

Schopp was responding to complaints posted on ConsumerAffairs and elsewhere by pet owners who say their dogs became ill or died after eating Beneful.

While no one has been able to definitively determine whether or not Beneful or any other substance was responsible for the incidents portrayed in the consumer postings, that hasn't stopped pet owners, bloggers, reporters and others from speculating heatedly about the controversy, a process that veterinarians say doesn't accomplish much.

"These statements are not backed by any scientific studies, and the conditions described in the postings are amongst the most common conditions seen in everyday veterinary practice," said Dr. Stephen Ettinger after reviewing many of the posted consumer reports.

Ettinger, a Cornell graduate who has been a practicing veterinarian for 40 years, is a Nestlé Purina Fellow in Veterinary Medicine but is not a Purina employee. He is the editor and a contributing author of the Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine, a book used throughout the world by veterinary students and clinicians for peer-reviewed information on veterinary medicine, including nutritional aspects of medicine.

"When a pet is sick, pet owners often look first to the pet’s food as the cause. However, it is rare that their food is responsible for the illness," Ettinger said in an article published by DVM360.com, a trade publication for veterinarians.

"I’ve read through many of the current comments regarding Beneful and believe they do not provide any evidenced-based rationale for making such claims," Ettinger said. "[F]rom these internet descriptions, it seems possible that these animals were ill to begin with and thus the diet (Beneful or otherwise) likely had nothing to do with the illness."

"I do agree that ANY abnormalities noted by pet owners should be brought to the attention of their veterinarian, and any concerns with a particular product should immediately be brought to the attention of the manufacturer so that information can be collected and products appropriately monitored," Ettinger said. "The veterinarian and the pet owner then can decide whether to contact the FDA, as well. To date there has been no evidence that Beneful has caused any problems when fed to dogs."

Sincere but misguided?

While Purina and Ettinger seek to assure pet owners and veterinarians that there is no scientific evidence to tie Beneful to pet illnesses, others have gone after the pet owners themselves, accusing them of fabricating the complaints. Some have criticized ConsumerAffairs and other sites for posting the complaints. One blogger even suggested we made up the complaints.

We placed calls to several consumers whose complaints were recently published on our site, to verify that they had submitted the complaint and that they considered them truthful.

"Maxxie left us this morning," said Liz Korfin of North Miami Beach in her ConsumerAffairs posting. "We had the pleasure of 12 AMAZING years with an incredible doggie."

We telephoned Ms. Korfin, whose dog Max is pictured here, and got her permission to use her last name. Consumer reviews are posted to our site using just the consumer's first name but we collect additional information that is not normally published. Several of the consumers we talked to gave their permission to use their full names. Some, like Korfin, also supplied photos of their dogs to lend credibility to their postings.

"I can't say it was 100% Beneful that caused the problem but why won't someone help us -- help us figure out why all the dogs are dying?" Korfin said.  

We next contacted Katherine Hudson of Palm Harbor, Fla., who confirmed her posting, in which she said that she read complaints posted here by others when her dog began showing signs of illness and switched her to homemade food.

"I have no doubt that you saved my dog's life," Hudson said, referring to consumers who had posted their experiences on ConsumerAffairs. Hudson was less complimentary about Purina. She said Purina offered to reimburse her for some of her expenses when she called their corporate office.  

"I told them that wasn't necessary. I wasn't contacting them for money, I was giving them a heads-up," she said. Hudson also filed a report with the FDA and had heard nothing in response when we spoke on Feb. 26.

Tell the FDA?

Some who have criticized consumers for posting their complaints on sites like ours have said they should instead file a report with the FDA.

One consumer, Nina of Berrien Springs, Mich., took that advice to heart. She not only posted to ConsumerAffairs about the problems her dog Kopper had with Beneful, she also decided to file a complaint with the FDA, hoping to get some action beyond just posting her complaint publicly.

"It took me over three hours and multiple attempts to get the complaint submitted -- VERY frustrating -- so that is possibly why there's not many complaints filed," Nina said. 

Then there's Samantha Hyatt of Moore, Okla., who submitted her posting Feb. 26.  Her Westie died after exhibiting many of the symptoms described by others. 

"Yes, of course you can use my name," she said. "I want to share my experience in the hopes that we can save pets!"

Others we spoke with included Samantha Kellstrom of New Hampshire, who said her dog has been improving on a hamburger and rice diet, and Patty Hogan of Hopatcong, N.J., who said she has just passed the $500 mark in veterinary expenses but is beginning to see some improvement in her dog.

Vets get blamed

Pet owners who bundle up their sick dog and rush to their veterinarian are often dismayed to find that the vet has heard nothing about problems with Beneful. Veterinarians respond that this is because there has been no evidence of problems with Beneful products.

A review by ConsumerAffairs of the alerts sent to veterinarians by the FDA and professional organizations found nothing regarding Beneful.  

"Nothing had been provided through any of the professional channels about problems with Beneful," said Marie Steele, a Ph.D. candidate who has spent $650 so far on her ailing dog. "The vet hadn't heard a thing about it."

"My 3-year-old French Bulldog became sick two weeks ago. I took her to the vet that morning and they found her ALC Liver score was high," said Shannon Smith of Medford, Ore. "The vet keeps asking me, 'What could she be getting into?'"

Shannon told us her dog is kept inside except for short periods of time in a fenced yard, leading her to suspect that the food is the culprit.

It's not surprising the FDA has no information on it, said Steele, who said filing an online complaint with the FDA was nearly impossible because of the level of detail the online form asked for and the inability to save the form and come back to complete it later.

Timeline

Whatever is happening, if anything, it started about a year ago on Feb. 28, 2012. That's when we received the first complaint about Beneful. A total of 182 complaints were sbumitted in 2012. In the first 56 days of 2013, 275 were submitted. 

The geographic distribution of the complaints is not as uniform as one might expect. This chart shows the top 15 states for Beneful complaints to ConsumerAffairs:

Not surprisingly, most of the complaints come from the most populous states but there are far fewer complaints from California, New York, New Jersey and other megastates than would typically be the case in a nationally distributed product.

With a sample size of fewer than 500 complaints, however, it's not really possible to draw any meaningful conclusions. 

Purina's assurances

"We stand by the quality and safety of Beneful dog food," spokesman Schopp insisted. He listed these quality control measures that are applied to all Beneful products:

• Suppliers of ingredients for Purina products must meet our stringent standards for ingredient specifications, product safety, sanitation and manufacturing practices.
• We closely monitor and control each step of the pet food production process, from raw ingredients through finished goods.  We have a comprehensive food safety program, which is specifically designed to prevent food quality or safety issues from occurring in the first place.  HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points) plans and preventative controls are a standard best practice not only for pet foods, but also for human foods, and the U.S. FDA will soon require these types of preventative controls. 
• Additionally, we conduct physical inspections and analysis of finished products to ensure they meet our quality assurance specifications.
• We carefully monitor and review all information provided to us by consumers and can confidently state that there are no product issues with Beneful.

What to do

What should consumers do if their pet falls ill? The first step is to contact their veterinarian and take the animal in for examination as soon as possible.

If food is suspected, save all packaging and keep a sample of the food itself. Always wash your hands thoroughly after handling pet food.

The consumer or, preferably, the vet can file a report with the FDA if food or snacks are thought to be responsible. The online report form is long and complicated and many consumers find it difficult to complete, so it may be a task best left to the vet.  

Schopp said consumers should also call the manufacturer of the pet food if a problem is suspected. 

"We take all comments from consumers seriously.  We encourage any consumer with a question or comment about one of our products to call and speak with us directly at the toll free number on every package," he said.

And, while critics may question the usefulness of consumer sites, filing an online report helps make other consumers aware of issues that may affect them. Even if it turns out that some consumers may reach the wrong conclusion in their postings, sparking a public discussion helps raise awareness of the importance of monitoring pets' health -- and it's worth noting that there have been cases of contaminated pet food and snacks that have come to light through online postings. 

That plop you heard? That was the other shoe dropping as struggling daily deals site Groupon ousted its CEO, just a week after rival LivingSocial raised $110 million in what some critics said was a desperation move.

Andrew Mason, the company's 32-year-old co-founder, was shown the door yesterday by the Groupon board of directors after the company reported a worse-than-expected quarterly loss amid heightened skepticism about whether the Groupon/LivingSocial business model is fatally flawed.

"After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding—I was fired today," Mason said in a note to the Groupon staff.

Mason's departure was hardly a surprise following Wednesday's dismal earnings report, when it revealed a net loss of $81.1 million, shrinking margins, declining cash flow and weakening sales. 

Mason was seen as eccentric even by Internet standards. He is a musician by training and started the Chicago-based site that became Groupon more as a community organizing tool than a business. 

It had been reported that tensions had flared between Mason and Groupon Chairman Eric Lefkofsky, who will serve as interim co-CEO with board member Ted Leonsis, a wealthy former AOL executive and sports impresario in Washington, D.C., where he owns the NHL Capitals, the NBA Wizards, the WNBA's Mystics and a big chunk of the downtown Verizon Center. 

"Groupon will continue to invest in growth, and we are confident that with our deep management team and market-leading position, the company is well positioned for the future," Leonsis said.

Whether shuffling the chairs in the executive suite will do the track is a good question. Daily deals sites in general are suffering from fading customer interest, skepticism among local retailers and questions from investors are whether their business plan is fatally flawed. 

Even if the business model can be tweaked, daily deals sites have a big problem: Google has tweaked its advertising sales model, making it easier for merchants to do daily deals and discounts along with their other online ads. 

Cash in, dollars out

The problem analysts see with Groupon and LivingSocial is that their  business model relies on a rate of growth that may prove unsustainable. Both companies take in wads of cash from consumers but a large percentage of that cash must be paid back out to the merchants who floated the discounts that drew in the consumers.

Back in November, Groupon was reported to have about $1.2 billion in the bank but it owed about half of that to its merchant partners. Meanwhile, it has high sales and overhead costs that must be paid.

Over time, as growth slows, incoming revenue may not be sufficient to cover the merchants' share, raising the scary prospect of running out of cash.

Late last year, observers thought that crunch-time for one or both of the sites would come early this year. It looks like that prediction was just about on target.

Bearing the risk

So who's at risk if one or both companies flame out? Investors, of course, and the merchants who are the cash cows for both Groupon and LivingSocial.

Both companies are essentially financing their operations with the money they owe to their merchant partners. If either company fails, or seeks bankruptcy protection, the merchants as unsecured creditors will be last in line.

The merchants would not only lose the money owed to them by the daily deals sites but would still be obligated to make good on the coupons purchased by consumers.

Consumers' losses in this scenario would amount to pocket change. 

It came as something of a shock this week when J.C. Penney reported fourth quarter earnings that were a disaster, even by recent J.C. Penney standards. The retailer reported a quarterly loss of $552 million, amounting to $2.51 a share.

Company revenue declined more than 28%. Same-store sales plunged 32%, worse than the previously worst 26.1% in the third quarter. Online sales dropped a stunning 34.4%.

If Wall Street was surprised, ConsumerAffairs readers were not. A year ago, when newly installed CEO Ron Johnson instituted radical changes in marketing and product line-ups, long-time Penneys customers turned to ConsumerAffairs to vent their anger.

Hate it, hate it, hate it

“I hate the new pricing that J.C. Penney recently implemented,” Jeannette wrote in a post at ConsumerAffairs a year ago. “All of my coworkers, family and friends feel the same way. I hope the CEO or whoever that made these changes will change things back to the way they were or at least improve the pricing! I predict that many stores especially in my small community area will be closing if something does not change. Listen to your customers!”

Johnson, who ran Apple's retail business, instituted the changes in February, doing away with sales and coupons and going to what he called a three-tiered pricing system. He also initiated a more youthful, off-beat marketing approach, apparently designed to attract younger, hipper shoppers. In so doing, Penneys has managed to alienate a large portion of its customer base while failing to snag the new customers it covets.

In a blunt article this week, the Wall Street Journal noted the retailer has lost $4.3 billion since Johnson has been at the helm. That article prompted Lisa, of Rochester, N.Y., to rush to the retailer's defense.

At least one happy shopper

“I've had a super easy time finally finding things I love at great prices at Jcp,” Lisa wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post this week. “I saw the Wall Street Journal's article today & wanted to put in a good word for a company that makes shopping fun again.”

But Lisa is definitely in the minority among posters at ConsumerAffairs. More typical over the last year is Diane, of Menomonee Falls , Wis., who this week dropped a big, “I told you so!”

“Attention big stockholders of JC Penney, if their are any left, HEAR US. You allowed this one CEO 'high tech' idiot to destroy what took a century to build. I am (was) a loyal JC Penney customer. I am 54, ex-New Yorker who spent a zillion hours shopping in my life while always hunting for a good sale. GOOD SALE! Which you took away! Why did you allow this to happen?? Why have did you stopped fun sales? You allowed this non-retail person to end fashionable, affordable lines for ladies who are not 15 and a size 0. Those people don't shop in JC Penneys anyway. You lost the middle age shoppers like me.”

If Penney's shareholders and retail gurus want to figure out where Penney's went wrong, they might do well to read through the ConsumerAffairs reviews over the last year. They will not only find angry longtime customers like Diane but customers who are really trying to give the new makeover a try but end up frustrated.

Problems online

“I bought a complete Van Heusen suit, shirt, and shoes for my 10 years old son online at JCPenney.com,” writes Paul, of Freemont, Calif. The jacket to the suit was to be shipped about three weeks after ordering, due to backorder. The rest of the items were shipped within a week.

"After more than three weeks of waiting, I received a cancellation email from JC Penney informing me that the jacket is no longer available. A visit to a local JC Penney shows the same jacket/size is available on the rack for a full price instead of the sale price which was on sale when I placed my order. A call to JCP's customer service seemed like a run-around with no real solution to get it resolved. JCPenney just lost another loyal customer that had been shopping in their stores/on-line for years.”

Kathy, of Sheridan, Wyo., reports a similar experience. She reports ordering some blinds online and receiving a thank you email.

“After a week I went to check on the order but it said I had no order so I ordered the blinds again,” she writes. “My bank account showed a pending transaction for this order but eventually was not charged. I checked my order status and no orders where displayed. After a month I called JCP and they told me nothing was ever placed. I ordered my blinds somewhere else and received them within a week.”

Ironically, during this week's post-results conference call, Johnson raved about a new Oracle IT system that, presumably, should make sure Paul gets his suit and Kathy gets her blinds.

“The problem with JCPenney's IT strategy is that it needs the business to deliver results as well,” tech site ZDNet observed in its report on the conference call.

But if you ask a lot of our readers, J.C. Penney may be running out of time.

If you're thinking of taking a spring break trip but are just now getting around to planning it, you may find there are still plenty of good deals, depending on where you want to go. Finding these deals can be the key to having fun but staying on a budget.

"Hotels, airlines, cruise lines and even local establishments are pushing last-minute spring break deals," said Gabe Saglie, senior editor for Travelzoo. "You just have to know where to look for the deals.”

For starters, flexibility can save you money. Traveling the week after Easter just might save you the most. You could find an additional 15% in savings on top of 30% to 50% discounts. As an example, Travelzoo points out Curacao, a four-star beach and golf resort is $139 a day that week, down from the regular price of $279.

You'll also find savings of up to 50% if you shop around for end-of-season ski resort destinations. Taking a trip to a major city, like New York or Chicago, can save you as much as 40% on hotel rooms. Flying on Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday can knock up to 40% from air fare.

Airline fees

If you are traveling by air, make sure you don't just consider the fare but take a close look at fees too. Kiplinger, a personal finance publication, recently highlighted a number of ways to avoid costly airline fees, starting with flying Southwest or JetBlue, two airlines that have limited baggage fees. JetBlue allows passengers to check one bag for free and Southwest allows two checked bags at no charge.

Before leaving for the airport, measure and weigh your bags. If you fly an airline that does charge a baggage fee, make sure you don’t pay more than you have to by meeting the weight and size requirements.

Book early and online. Airlines are reserving more seats for frequent flyers and those willing to pay seating fees; by booking in advance you’re more likely to get a good seat that doesn’t require a fee. Some airlines now charge anywhere from $15 to $45 for booking a ticket over the phone.

When you book your flight, do it through the airline's website. Some airlines charge an extra fee for tickets purchased through a third party, such as travel sites or travel agents. And keep in mind that many third party sites are very inflexible if you have to cancel your plans.

Travel scams

While it is great to save money on travel, by all means make sure you don't lose money on travel. That can happen if you fall for a travel scam or do business with a travel operator who, while well-intentioned, does not have the resources to actually provide what you've paid for.

Before doing business with any travel company, check their reputation online. Be especially skeptical of postcards, phone calls and e-mails that promise a free vacation.

Businesses may use giveaways to persuade consumers to call and then pressure them into buying an over-priced package or travel club membership. You may be able to find better deals with a local, reputable travel agent. Other times, you will be able to save money by booking your own travel.

While using a third party site often looks cheaper, it's easier to run into problems, as Maya, of Brooklyn, N.Y., discovered.

“Booked a vacation package via Cheaptickets.com to months before traveling,” she wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. “The hotel overbooked my Villa and told me that there were no rooms available in the hotel to try back the following day. All hotels were overpriced and booked due to the long holiday weekend.”

Watch out for sales presentations some travel companies offer. These typically turn into high-pressure sales pitches.

If you attend a sales presentation, you may be encouraged to make a purchase on the spot. Instead, insist on time to think about the deal and do not make a payment until you have all the information you need to make a decision. Don't do business with companies that make you feel uneasy or rushed.

Think twice before joining a travel club in order to receive what appears to be an attractive travel discount. First, the discount may not turn out to be all that attractive. Second, a travel club contract may include annual fees, maintenance costs or other unexpected charges. To avoid surprises, read the contract to find out exactly how much the membership will cost and how you can cancel it. Look for exclusions or conditions that will limit your ability to get a refund.

Finally, pay with a credit card. When you pay with a credit card, federal law allows you to dispute unauthorized charges of more than $50 with your credit provider. You may not have the same protections if you pay with a debit card.

After showing little change over the past month, mortgage interest rates are showing some movement -- downward.

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.51% with an average 0.8 point for the week ending February 28, compared with 3.56% the week before. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.90%.

The 15-year FRM averaged 2.76% with an average 0.8 point, down 11 basis points from last week's average of 2.77%. A year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.17%.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 2.61% this week with an average 0.6 point, versus last week when it averaged 2.64 %. The 5-year ARM averaged 2.83% a year ago.

1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.64% this week with an average 0.4 point, down one basis point from last week's average of 2.65%. A year ago, it averaged 2.72%.

"Mortgage rates eased somewhat as the consumer price index in February held steady for the second month in a row,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac. “House price indicators, however, showed gains in 2012. The S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index rose 7.3% last year, reflecting the largest four-quarter growth since the third quarter of 2006. This, in part, was a driving force that pushed up the number of existing and new home sales in February to the highest levels since July 2007 and July 2008, respectively."

Bankrate

Bankrate.com's weekly national survey showed a retreat in fixed mortgage rates, with the benchmark 30-year FRM rate falling to 3.73% this week, with an average of 0.33 discount and origination points.

The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate slipped below the 3% mark, to 2.96 %, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage plunged to 4.1%.

Adjustable rate mortgages were also lower, with the 3-year ARM inching down to 3% and the 5-year ARM sinking to 2.68%.

Mortgage rates declined following renewed concerns about the global economy and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's reassurances that stimulative bond-buying will continue. Mortgage rates had moved modestly higher in recent weeks on worries that the Fed would prematurely curtail their purchases of long-term bonds, but Bernanke cast those notions aside. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds.

The last time mortgage rates were above 5% was April 2011, when the average 30-year fixed rate was 5.07%. At that rate, a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,082.22.

With the current 3.73% average rate, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $923.96 -- a difference of $158 per month for anyone refinancing now.

Consumer spending continues to be stuck in the mud, according to the Deloitte Consumer Spending Index. The Index, which tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer outlays,declined again in January for the third consecutive month.

“The Index is down primarily due to slowing increases of new home prices,” said Patricia Buckley, director, economic policy and analysis, Deloitte LLP, and author of the monthly Index. “Looking ahead, gradual improvements in initial unemployment claims and real wages may help the Index reverse its course. In the near term however, spending may remain constrained as consumers contend with tax hikes and rising prices at the pump.”

Post-holiday pause

The Index, which is made up of four components -- tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home prices -- fell to 3.87 from a reading of 3.93 in December.

“Shoppers are taking their annual post-holiday pause and may slow their spending even more as they adjust to higher payroll taxes,” said Alison Paul, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and retail & distribution leader. “The hit to consumers’ paychecks is likely to be more pronounced among lower- and middle-income Americans who may put household necessities on hold, not just discretionary items.”

Paul suggests retailers hone in on price sensitivity, basket size, and traffic data using analytics to respond quickly with appropriate pricing, assortment and promotions rather than lose a shopper to a more competitive retailer.

The component performance

• Tax burden: The tax burden fell slightly over the past two months and is just below 11 percent.
• Initial unemployment claims: After rising in November to 405,750 due to Hurricane Sandy, jobless claims fell 11 percent in December to 361,400. On a year-over-year basis, unemployment claims remained relatively unchanged.
• Real wages: With inflation in check, hourly real wages have risen over the past two months to $8.76.
• Real home prices: Home prices continue to rise and are up 12 percent over a year ago, though the pace of increases is slowing.  

Personal income fell by a whopping $505.5 billion -- or 3.6% -- in January while personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inched up 0.2% or $18.2 billion

Figures released by the Commerce Department show private wage and salary disbursements decreased $44.8 billion in January, in contrast to an increase of $49.1 billion in December. The January level of private wages and salaries was reduced by $15.0 billion in January, after a boost of $30.0 billion in December, reflecting the impact of accelerated bonuses in anticipation of changes to individual income tax rates.

Payrolls of goods-producing industries decreased $3.3 billion in January, manufacturing payrolls were down $3.3 billion and services-producing industries' payrolls dropped $41.5 billion. Increases of $1.1 billion in government wage and salary disbursements and pay raises for military personnel of $1.9 billion failed to offset the declines.

Personal spending and saving

Personal outlays -- PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments -- increased $22.0 billion in January, while PCE itself was up $18.2 billion.

Personal saving -- disposable personal income less personal outlays -- was $283.9 billion in January. The personal saving rate -- personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income -- was 2.4 percent in January.

Weekly jobless claims

Separately, the Labor Department reports initial applications for state unemployment insurance fell by 22,000 in the holiday-shortened week ending February 23 -- to 344,000. The previous week's figure was revised downward by 2,000 -- to 366,000.

The 4-week moving average, which is less volatile and considered a more accurate gauge of the labor market, was 355,000, a decrease of 6,750 from the previous week's revised average of 361,750.

A year ago, initial claims totaled 373,000 while the 4-week moving average was 366,750.