Current Events in April 2013

The number of teens giving birth has been falling for years, which is good. But what's not good is this: teens who are having babies tend to have more than one, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Repeat births can negatively impact the mother’s education and job opportunities as well as the health of the next generation," said CDC Director Tom Frieden. "Teens, parents, health care providers, and others need to do much more to reduce unintended pregnancies.”

The CDC's Vital Signs report found substantial racial, ethnic and geographic differences in birth rates.

• Repeat births: More than 365,000 teens, ages 15-19 years, gave birth in 2010, and almost 67,000 (18.3 percent) of those were repeat births.
• Racial disparities: American Indians had the highest percentage of repeat teen births, at 21.6%. Hispanics were next at 20.9% and Blacks next at 20.4$. Whites were lowest at 14.8%.
• Geographic disparities: Texas was the leader in repeat teen births at 22% while New Hampshire was lowest at 10%.
• Contraceptives: The report found that although nearly 91% of teen mothers used contraception, only 22% used the most effective types. 

What's even more annoying than  spam emails? How about robocalls -- those telemarketing calls placed by robots?

Hoping to stamp out at least of the most infuriating calls, the Federal Trade Commission took a page from "American Idol" and sponsored a contest, the FTC Robocall Challenge, offering a $50,000 prize for the best overall solution to block robocalls.

Today, out of nearly 800 submissions, two winners were selected. Serdar Danis and Aaron Foss will each receive $25,000 for their proposals, which both focus on intercepting and filtering out illegal prerecorded calls using technology to “blacklist” robocaller phone numbers and “whitelist” numbers associated with acceptable incoming calls.

Both Danis and Foss also proposed using a CAPTCHA-style test to prevent illegal calls from ringing through to consumers.

Two Google engineers were chosen in a parallel corporaate competition that doesn't include a cash award. Daniel Klein and Dean Jackson from Google were chosen for their Crowd-Sourced Call Identification and Suppression solution.

 “The solutions that our winners came up with have the potential to turn the tide on illegal robocalls, and they show the wisdom of tapping into the genius and technical expertise of the public,” said Charles Harwood, Acting Director, FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We’re hoping these winning proposals find their way to the marketplace soon, and will provide relief to millions of American consumers harassed by these calls.”

Brief descriptions of all the eligible challenge entries are available on a submission gallery at robocall.challenge.gov. 

There are plenty of electronic coupon sites these days, but Larky is a new, free app that lets you know when you can save money without a coupon -- simply because you have a membership perk.

From AARP to college alumni groups, members often get discounts on a wide variety of products and services. But who can remember all of them? Gregg Hammerman and Andrew Bank developed Larky as an automated reminder.

Over 120 million Americans are members of at least three paid organizations like alumni groups and museums that provide some type of perk. And they aren't confined to membership organizations.

"If you have health insurance, if you've got a credit card, you've got perks," Hammerman said. "You don't necessarily have to be a member of particular groups or organizations to have them."

Credit card perk

American Express cardholders, for example, can save every time they rent a vehicle.

"When you rent a car and you're standing at the car rental counter and they ask you if you want the collision insurance in case something happens while you're driving the car, that can be a big extra charge," Hammerman said. "If you're paying with an American Express card, American Express has you covered. You don't have to pay the extra $20 a day for that."

A personal experience set Larky in motion. Hammerman was traveling with his family in Florida and was visiting a children's museum in Miami. He went to the counter and asked what it would cost for his family to enter.

"It was a nice museum so the price was going to be $60 for my entire family," Hammerman said. "But then I remembered that we were members of the children's museum back home in Michigan. When I told them that they said,  'Oh, it's free.'"

Because of a reciprocity agreement between the museums, Hammerman saved $60, but only because he happened to remember to ask. Most of the time, consumers forget to ask.

Automatic reminder

"That's what I want Larky to do, I want Larky to pop up when I walk into a place where I've got a discount and remind me of the deal."

Larky's mobile app for the iPhone -- an Android app is in the works -- does exactly that. First, you enter all the memberships, credit cards and insurance you have -- just general information, no numbers or sensitive information. For example you might enter Visa, America Express, Aetna, AAA, AARP, etc. Larky does the rest.

"Once you tell us what things you are a member of we put together a dashboard that you can either browse through or check by category, asking what restaurants will give you a discount," Hammerman said. "Or you can do it by geography, saying 'I'm going on a trip to Washington, DC, what do I have there?' You'll pretty quickly see what hotels will give you a discount, where you can save money at restaurants and what museums or attractions will provide a discount."

Discounts large and small

The discounts can add up. If you ate at restaurants that gave you a 10% or 15% discount, that's a small savings. But a lot of alumni associations have discount arrangement with car companies. Savings there can be substantial.

"If you are a member of the University of Michigan Alumni Association you get a discount on Ford cars that's equivalent to about $1,500 off a car," Hammerman said.

Hammerman said his research showed only about 100 people took advantage of that discount in 2011, suggesting a lot more either forgot or never knew. But when you download Larky and walk into a Ford showroom, the app will automatically notify you that you can get a discount.

What are some other perks you have but might not know about? According to Larky, AARP members get $10 off their bill for 20 months when they sign up for DIRECTV; AAA gives you a discount on sports equipment at Dunhams, MC Sports and other national sporting goods stores; Blue Cross Blue Shield members get discounts at Reebok.com and most alumni associations provide members with discounts of 20 to 25% on prescriptions.

It can add up to significant savings, as long as you can remember to use them. Hammerman says his app will remember for you.

It’s safe to assume that most people would agree that birthdays are special.

It’s a day to celebrate making it another year above-ground—which is always a good thing—and it’s a day to spoil yourself without feeling guilty. But there are some people who go just a little overboard with the whole it’s-my-birthday-today thing. In fact, some people go way, way overboard.

I’m talking about those folks that make it their business to make sure every person on earth knows it’s their birthday, and they’ll do that either by constantly reminding people or they'll start talking about it at least six months prior, just so you're properly notified. 

Then there are the people who throw a party for themselves that many times inconvenience the guests.

I once attended a birthday party that started at midnight on a Wednesday night, just because my friend wanted everyone to gather and ring in her birthday as soon as 12:00 am hit.

You can tell that some folks are truly dissapointed that their birthday isn't a recognized holiday.

Then there are those people who never talk about their birthday and if you didn’t know them well or didn’t hear it from a mutual friend, you would never know when their birthday was.

And it’s those people you really feel like doing something for, whether it’s throwing them a party, calling their friends for a small gathering or buying them a gift—though sometimes money can get in the way of getting  something nice for them. The website Aggregift.com wants to help with that.

What is Aggregift?

It’s a site that combines the concept of crowd funding and gift-giving and mashes them together, so social media friends can band together online and contribute money to get someone a gift on their birthday or some other special day. This is always a nicer gesture than just posting a message on someone's Facebook page, which really doesn't quite get it, except for casual acquaintances.

The benefit of the site is that it allows friends to pitch in for one spectacular gift that ordinarily might be out of one person’s price range.

Here’s how it works:

First, the person who starts the crowd funding either chooses a gift on Amazon or they can choose from the gifts recommended by Aggregift.

Once that’s done, the site creates a special link and drops it on the recipient’s social media page, so everyone knows which gift was selected and that contributions have begun.

If friends would like to keep the gift a secret from the recipient, the link can be shared through direct email as well, but the creators of the site suggest  that contribution requests are posted on the receiver’s timeline to increase interest. Plus, having the recipient know about the gift is part of the entire Aggregift experience, the company says.

Greg Schvey, who created Aggregift with partner Austin Lin, says although gift-giving sites are pretty much ubiquitous these days, most have failed to make a real connection between social media, crowd funding and purchasing that ideal gift.

“People today are more connected than they have ever been,” said Schvey in a published interview. “There’s all this communication happening, but we realized that there’s a lack of ways for people to celebrate together. The gifting space has become a bit crowded, but what we’ve seen is that there’s still a huge gap in the products that are out there and the way people interact with each other.”

What’s good about the site is that it doesn’t reveal how much people donated towards a gift, and folks can contribute as little as $1.

Then after three days’ time, the recipient either receives the selected gift if the correct amount was reached or they’ll receive a gift card for the collected amount if contributions fell short.

4% fee

To use the service, Aggregift charges a 4% fee that’s extracted from the final tally and the company says using credit cards is safe, because the site uses the same encryption technology that PayPal and banks use.

However, the not so good part of using the site is that your information will be stored in Aggregift’s database for “demographic information,” says the company, but it explains that only non-personal information will be stored, like gift selections possibly, but not your personal information like your credit card number or your billing address.

And if you’re a person who doesn’t want their Facebook or Twitter pages to be shown on Aggregift’s site, the service might not be for you, because your pages will definitely pop up there.

Fortunately, there havent been any privacy complaints about the site, at least as far as we could discover, which probably has something to do with Aggregift letting people know upfront on its website, that the company stores your non-personal information.

Whether Aggregift will be a site for the everyday consumer and social media person remains to be seen, but at least the company has made it easier to give gifts on birthdays, which is far more convenient for people than having to attend some trendy lounge at midnight during the work week.

Because nobody should have to say their happy birthdays like that.

If you are struggling to pay a debt you may find a debt collector is calling you regularly, seeking to speed up payment. This is never pleasant and, in some cases, can be illegal, depending upon how it is done.

A number of ConsumerAffairs readers have cited General Revenue Corporation (GRC), a collection firm used by companies making student loans, as being particularly nasty. But nasty doesn't always translate into illegal.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is the law that governs debt collection. Consumers who owe debts should get familiar with it so they can better understand their rights and responsibilities. Let's look at some recent complaints and see how they fit with the letter and spirit of the law.

Tara, of Atlanta, Ga., said she owed money to the Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corp. She reports that a conversation with a GRC agent escalated into what she took to be an ominous threat.

Employer contact

"She then threatened to seek out my employer, as if I am not trying to cooperate with my debt voluntarily," Tara wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post.

Did this cross the line? You could certainly argue that a threat meant to intimidate the debtor violates the spirit of the law but Tara really had nothing to fear. The FDCPA allows a debt collector to contact an employer, but only to verify someone's employment or to obtain their contact information. Under the law, the collector is not allowed to tell an employer they are a debt collector or that the person they are seeking owes a debt.

Carmen, of Southfield, Mich., said she received a bill for an incorrect amount. The bill was for $4,467.61 and Carmen says she actually owed $337.61 -- a big difference.

"Today, I received another bill from them attempting to collect $4,467.61," Carmen writes. "Included is updated ledger from the school indicating I actually owe $337.61. They are still attempting to collect $3,100.00 more than I actually owe. Of course, they chose to be rude before they would acknowledge their error."

Rudeness is unpleasant but no crime

The dispute could well have been the result of sloppy bookkeeping but it sounds like Carmen was able to resolve the contentious situation with documentation. It was no doubt an unpleasant experience but rudeness, on its own, does not violate the law.

D, of Lansing, Kan., writes to say that a GRC agent called looking for her son, who owed money for a student loan.

"He demanded that I contact our son who had listed us as a reference," D wrote. "He used threatening tones and was extremely abusive--absolutely no tact. I tried to explain I had no recent contact with him, and after verbally abusing and interrupting me, he hung up."

Limits on family contact

The law allows a debt collector to call a family member about a relative's debt, but only once and only to learn how to contact the debtor. D believes she was subjected to "threatening tones" and "verbal abuse," but often that can be a matter of interpretation. Here's what the law has to say about that:

A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt.

Specifically, the law defines unlawful behavior as threats to inflict physical violence, the use of obscene language, publication of a debtor's name or calling repeatedly with the intention to harass or annoy.

It can be assumed that reputable debt collection firms know the law and train their collectors about where the boundaries are. But it is also a safe assumption that debt collection companies hire tough, hard-nosed agents who go right up to the legal line in their efforts to collect and sometimes cross it. The advantage they often have is they know the law. So should you.

What to do

If you are receiving calls from debt collectors, you should read and understand the FDCPA. You'll find it here. If you have any questions about your rights under the law, check with your state attorney general's office for advice.

In your dealings with a debt collector, keep your cool and remain professional. If you cite certain instances of your rights under the FDCPA you will serve notice on the debt collector that you are an informed consumer. If you show you can't be intimidated, you might even find you are treated with a bit more respect. 

For most of recent history, the weather forecast has mostly been a ho-hum kind of thing. Maybe it will rain, maybe it won't. Or it might get hot. Or not.

But not anymore. The weather has been downright erratic the last few years, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that's not likely to change anytime soon. Its last-term spring weather forecast calls for continued drought in the Great Plains and Southwest, warmer than average temperatures nationwide and a high potential for floods.

Global climate change, in other words.

The agency’s “U.S. Spring Outlook” is based on “current conditions of snowpack, drought, soil moisture, stream flow, precipitation, Pacific Ocean temperatures and consensus among climate forecast models,” among other things.

And based on what it sees in those tea leaves, NOAA says this year's weather will be much like last year's and may even be a bit worse. Considering that last year saw record drought and ferocious storms of all kinds, that's not so encouraging.

"This outlook reminds us of the climate diversity and weather extremes we experience in North America, where one state prepares for flooding while neighboring states are parched, with no drought relief in sight," said Laura Furgione, deputy director of NOAA's National Weather Service. "We produce this outlook to help communities prepare for what's likely to come in the next few months and minimize weather's impacts on lives and livelihoods. A Weather-Ready Nation hopes for the best, but prepares for the worst."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says has confirmed a multistate outbreak of E. coli attributed to Farm Rich brand foods. At least 24 people in 15 states have become ill and seven people have been hospitalized so far.

The products were distributed nationwide and were sold by local retailers and major chain stores including Walmart and Winn-Dixie. The company issued a recall of the affected products last week. 

The recalled products include Farm Rich brand frozen pizzas, quesadillas, philly cheese steaks and mozzarella bites.

The New York State Department of Health identified E. coli O121 in a package of Farm Rich frozen chicken quesadillas recovered from an ill consumer's home.

The number ill by state is as follows:

Alabama (1), Arkansas (1), Illinois (1), Indiana (2), Michigan (2), Mississippi (1), New York (3), Ohio (3), Pennsylvania (1), South Dakota (1), Texas (3), Utah (1), Virginia (1), Washington (1) and Wisconsin (2).

A lawsuit claims that unintended acceleration incidents are endangering owners of Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles manufactured between 2002 and 2010.

The suit, filed in Huntington, W. Va, charges that Crown Victoria, Escape, Taurus, Thunderbird and other models can surge out of control and alleges that they lack a fail-safe mechanism to stop the vehicle.

The suit, filed by Grant & Eisenhofer, a Delaware law firm, targets Ford vehicles equipped with electronic throttle control and says the control can malfunction, sending the vehicles out of control.

Besides endangering drivers and pedestrians, the suit charges that the alleged defect has diminished the resale value of the affected models.  The suit claims Ford has received "hundreds if not thousands" of complaints from owners, including police departments, about the problem.

In a response quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Ford said it has worked with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to address the problem, an approach it says is "far more scientific and trustworthy than work done by personal injury lawyers."