Home / consumerist.com rss archive / September-20-2007


Energy: Get Rid Of "Phantom Power Usage" In Your Home
Trent at thesimpledollar.com is on a mission to cut the extra fat from his budget, and he's found that one step is to reduce the amount of unused power that goes into his home. Everything you leave plugged in continues to draw a small amount of power, and although the cost for these small drains is minimal on a per-item basis, they can add up faster than you think.Whenever you leave a device plugged into a wall socket, it continues to constantly draw a small amount of energy, without cease. Usually, this is on the order of 1 to 5 watts, which means that it would take 200 to 1,000 hours for a single device to even use a single kilowatt hour, which costs $0.10.Let's say you can find fifteen such devices in your house, and they use an average of 3 watts. That's 45 watts around the clock - more than a kilowatt hour each day. Three bucks, every single month, without fail, and that's assuming your devices are minimally draining. For example, my laptop charger uses 30-40 watts all...

Foreclosures: The Case Of The Man Who Should Have Known Better
Back in 2005, my wife and I bought our first condo. We live in the Central Coast of California, in San Luis Obispo, where the property values were skyrocketing, and were not supported by the wage base, similar to Monterey and Santa Barbara. It was the top of the market and I knew it, but we had a very slick mortgage broker who got us qualified (it wasn't a no-doc loan, but it was a 100% finance, 80/20 with a first and a second, the first was a 6.5% 2/28 ARM, the second a 9% fixed.) We were assured at the time and up to as recently as this Summer, that we would have no problem re-fi-ing that loan (and even paying off our lower-interest student loans by taking some cash out in the process=wtf???) by the same broker. Of course that didn't happen...We came into some money in the time in between and paid off a bunch of student debt, credit cards, and car loans, and took some trips AND significantly, spend 60k improving that condo. We did not pay off the second or any principal...

Financial Advice: 4 Strategies To Help You Live Debt Free
"Americans collectively spent more than we earned after taxes for the past two years in a row," says SmartMoney in their latest cover story, "Live Debt-Free". Their point: we spend a lot of time thinking about how to save and how to invest, but not enough time working out a healthy debt strategy that doesn't eat away at our happiness, not to mention our retirement savings. They offer four different strategies for reducing your debt to little or nothing, so that you can apply your income to more worthwhile activities than fighting off your liability monster."Change the monthly mind set"No more "low monthly payments" for you. This means their answer to the windfall question is to apply it all to a high-interest credit card account, for example. The sooner you pay these sorts of loans off, the more you'll save. If you pay 1/12th more each month on your home loan—the equivalent of one extra payment a year—you can shave 7 years off a 30 year mortgage."Fix it...

Usury: Payday Loans Die In DC
In a victory for consumers, Washington D.C. effectively outlawed payday lending today with the passage of the Payday Loan Consumer Protection Act capping lending interest rates at 24%. The bill was the focus of various lobbyist shenanigans, perhaps best encapsulated in the person of former mayor Marrion Barry, who, despite initially co-sponsoring the bill, today ended up casting the only vote against it. ""We are putting this industry out of business," he said, concerned about the bills effect on they payday loan cartels and their employees. Um, yeah, wasn't that the whole point?District of Columbia Passes Payday Lending Bill [CL&P Blog]

Better Side Effects: Exercise Helps Depression As Well As Meds, Says New Study
If you're blue, but not into treatments that require a prescription, hit the gym. In a recent study of 202 depressed adults, researchers found that those who participated in "group-based exercise therapy" showed the same results as those treated with antidepressants, while those who exercised at home showed slightly less improvement, and those who were given a placebo pill remained depressed.The difference between this study and past ones is the presence of the placebo group, which addresses criticism that the very act of therapy was positively affecting depression studies. After 16 weeks of treatment, 47 percent of those given antidepressant and 45 percent of those who exercised in a group setting were no longer diagnosed as depressed. (We're not sure if "group-based" and "group setting" mean taking a class, or running on a treadmill surrounded by other exercisers.)For home exercisers, the number was 40 percent; for the placebo group, 31 percent. "Exercise on par with drugs...

Help Us Help Ourselves: "Recent events have exposed weaknesses in ...
"Recent events have exposed weaknesses in our nation's food safety net," says the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which has released a blueprint to strengthen federal oversight of food safety by making new FDA guidelines mandatory, requiring proof of compliance from suppliers, and increasing the FDA's budget. The association's support of the plan has pleasantly surprised some consumer advocates and politicians. [Reuters](Photo: GoldenEel)

Scaring New Parents: "Parents, Don't Use Crib Bumpers" Says Study
From 1985 to 2005, crib bumpers—the soft padded things parents use to protect their little bundles of dna from injury—have caused 27 deaths and 25 injuries in babies 2-years-old or younger, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Two universities are now cautioning that crib bumpers may not be worth the risk.One of the authors behind the study says that babies sometimes get tangled in the padding and can't squirm free:Many infants lack the motor development needed to free themselves when they become wedged between the bumper pad and another surface. If the pads are too soft, the baby's nose or face can get pressed up against it, and the baby suffocates. If they are too firm, the baby can climb up on the pads and fall out of the crib.Of the 22 commercially available crib bumper products the study looked at, they found that "several had long ties that could strangle babies," and all left space between the bumper and the mattress, where a...

Health: Sample Letter For Appealing An Insurance Claim Denied For A Specific Procedure
Bankrate has a good example letter you can use if your health insurance company denies your claim for based on a specific medical procedure. It's in "Madlibs" style, so you'll need to replace all the items in red with your personal information. The argument is based on the premise that the insurance company must not been properly informed with the full information, and requires getting additional specialist letter(s) testifying to its necessity, as well as including articles about the procedure. There's no guarantee of its success, but it can at least serve as an initial salvo before escalating your issue elsewhere.Form letter for denial of specific medical procedure [Bankrate]

Economy: U.S. Dollar = Canadian Dollar For First Time Since 1976
According to the Associated Press the U.S. Dollar and the Canadian Dollar have reached parity for the first time since 1976, although Google is currently claiming that the ratio is 1 Canadian dollar = 0.987069 U.S. dollars. Fun!Congratulations, Canada. Please come and spend your valuable dollars in our many fine retail locations.Canadian dollar equals U.S. dollar for first time since 1976 [AP](Photo:AP)

Stats Feed: Today's most popular headlines are Customer ...
Today's most popular headlines are Customer Catches McDonald's Refilling Milkshake Machine With "Soiled Towels Only" Bucket (5,358 views today), New High-Tech Sprite Makes Its Own Ice When Opened (4,761) and Despite Winning $54 Million Pants Lawsuit, Drycleaner Shutters (3,359).

Goodbye Roxanne: About a third of Amsterdam's red light district ...
About a third of Amsterdam's red light district brothels will soon close as part of a $35 million real estate deal, so if you're planning on visiting the city, you'll have 51 fewer windows to tempt/amuse you. [Reuters](Photo: hmvh

Subprime Meltdown: In Wake Of Fed Cuts, Mortgage Rates Rise Slightly
Bankrate has a really interesting article about the effect that the Fed's rate cuts are having on the mortgage industry. As constant readers of the site are already well aware, the subprime meltdown has lead to a crisis in the secondary mortgage market—investors are no longer interested in purchasing non-conforming loans. Non-conforming loans include the troubled ARM loans as well as "jumbo" loans. Jumbo loans are those mortgages over $417,000. One of the goals of the Fed's rate cut was to "unstick" the jumbo loan market. Will it work? Who knows... What we do know is that it doesn't necessarily mean that mortgage rates are going to drop. In fact, according to Bankrate, they've already dropped and now are rising again. Bankrate explains:So why did mortgage rates go up this week, instead of heading down? Mortgage rates got ahead of the Fed, that's all. Two months ago, the benchmark rate on the 30-year fixed was 6.82 percent. Not long after, investors started to get clued...

Medicine: House Approves Drug Testing Bill, Senate & Prez Expected To Follow
This week, the House of Representatives passed a new bill that gives the FDA the power to require new warning labels on existing prescription drugs, and the power to request "post-approval" studies of medicines as warranted. It also gives the FDA the authority to levy fines as high as $10 million to companies that fail to comply. The bill passed with a 405-7 vote on Wednesday and is expected to be passed by the Senate and approved by the President.The bill was sparked largely by problems with the painkiller Vioxx, sold by Merck & Co Inc., which was linked to heart attacks and strokes in some patients.Some other features of the bill:It increases the amount that pharmaceutical companies will have to pay to support FDA safety studies—about $87 million more than current levels beginning October 1st of this year;It requires pharmaceutical companies to pay $225 million over the next five years to support FDA safety monitoring for drugs that have reached the market;It...

A Warning Shot: The U.S. House of Representatives approved ...
The U.S. House of Representatives approved "passenger rights" legislation today when it approved a bill to fund the Federal Aviation Administration. The passenger rights amendment gives the government the ability to force airlines to change their schedules if they "aggravated delays by operating too many flights at peak periods at the busiest airports." Also included in the bill: a hike on the passenger facility charge on a ticket, from $4.50 to $7. [Reuters]

Copper: The Copper In Your House Is Worth Lots Of Money
If you're getting some work done on your house and the contractor wants the old copper, think before just handing it over. It's worth a lot of money. Reader Julie writes in with this helpful reminder:I recently hired a plumber to do a rebuild on an existing small bathroom. During the demolition phase, the plumber remarked that he would be reclaiming the old copper pipe and that it was worth around $25. I thought nothing of it due to the extreme nastiness of the plumbing involved. As it turned out, the plumber bailed on the job and I hired a neighbor to continue the demolition. He took the same plumbing down to the reclamation center and reported back to me later that it was worth over $200. He ended up not charging me for the demolition because of what he got for the old copper piping. If I had stayed with the original plumber I would have ended up paying him for the demolition and losing the value of the pipes. I hope this helps out others who are doing upgrades in their houses....

Cars: Motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles may be ...
Motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles may be too small to trigger green lights at many intersections, but not if you attach some powerful Neodymium magnets. Save time and gas. [Instructables]

Telephony: Cell Service Coming To NYC Subways
The New York CIty subways are going to get cellphone service, according to the Daily News. The "bad" news is that it'll take 6 years and phones still won't work on the actual trains. Several riders said they looked forward to being tuned-in underground."It's a good idea because sometimes stuff happens to you in the subway and you need to call for help," said Marlene Rice, 32, a Brooklyn hospital volunteer. "Crazy stuff happens on New York City subways."Others said they didn't want to listen to others' banter."I don't want to hear everybody's conversation," said Micah Pastore, 31, a production assistant from Brooklyn. From our experience, it seems that most people consider speaking on a cellphone on par with cigarette smoking when it comes to rude things one could do when in a confined area with strangers. Cell phone service coming to subways, but it'll take 6 years [Daily News](Photo:terren in Virginia)

Disgusting: Customer Catches McDonald's Refilling Milkshake Machine With "Soiled Towels Only" Bucket
Cellphone cameras may well be the downfall of fast food: A McDonald's customer in Orlando witnessed employees refilling the milkshake machine from a bucket market "Soiled Towels Only" and snapped a picture with her cellphone. She sent the photo to Orlando's WFTV. WFTV sent the photo to McDonald's. Here's their response: "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have taken swift and immediate action to resolve this matter. Nothing is more important to us than the safety and quality of our food."McDonald's sent a different email to the picture-taking customer: "The machine was cleaned that morning. They sanitized the bucket to capture milk and after the repair work was done they put the milk back in the machine. This was an isolated incident."WFTV says the McDonald's in question has had numerous sanitary violations in the past. For those of you in the Orlando area, it's the McDonald's on "Narcoossee Road in the Lake Nona area."Yuck. Alleged Milkshake Mistake Turns Stomachs,...

Bad Consumer: Despite Winning $54 Million Pants Lawsuit, Drycleaner Shutters
The ordeal of battling the $54 million lawsuit over a pair of pants finally got to the DC drycleaners and they've closed up shop. Business hasn't recovered since the crazed judge put up defamatory fliers around their neighborhood, despite winning the initial case. Just goes to show that sometimes proactive consumers go too far, way too far, though the reality is most of the times they don't go far enough. Not that we're saying "Fancy Pants" Pearson was justified in what he did. Far from it. He's a jerk. This story has a "bad consumer" tag. Beyond the simple fact that he was WRONG to begin with, he violated a cardinal rule of good consumerism. The amount of time and money he poured into trying to "get what he deserved" far outweighed the initial cost of whatever offense he felt the drycleaner had caused.[Washington Post] (Thanks to Garry!)(Photo: Jacquelyn Martin)

Telephony: AT&T Promises Nationwide Naked DSL By The End Of The Year
Naked DSL, (DSL without the requirement to have a landline), will be available nationwide by the end of the year, according to statement made by AT&T to the Wall Street Journal. AT&T Inc., the nation's largest phone company, isn't fighting the consumer shift, partly because its cellphone unit, which launched Apple Inc.'s iPhone this summer, is benefiting from the trend. Ralph de la Vega, AT&T's group president for regional telecommunications and entertainment, said in some parts of the country, the company is no longer requiring customers to buy land-line voice service in order to get a discounted rate on high-speed Internet access. He says: "Our point of view is, if you don't want it, we won't force you to buy it." The plan will be available nationwide by the end of the year. AT&T is required to offer naked DSL as part of concessions made to the FCC in order to acquire BellSouth (and take control of Cingular), so this was expected. However, it is nice to hear...

Fees: Roundup Of Various Credit Card Late Fees
"ConsumerMan" Herb Weisbaum over at MSNBC says that banks have messing around with their late fee structure lately—adding a third tier of pricing, raising fees, etc. Those of you with higher balances might be paying more if you're late. We think that's not cool, so we're posting a round-up of current fees.Discover: For billing periods after Oct. 1, the late fee will be $19 on balances up to $250 and $39 on balances over $250.Chase: Added a third tier. It now charges $15 on balances up to $99.99, $29 on balances between $100 and $249.99, and $39 on balances over $250.Bank of America: $15 on balances up to $100; $29 on balances over $100 up to $250; $39 on balances over $250Amex: $19 on balances up to $400 and $38 on balances of $400 and overCapital One: $19 on balances up to $100; $29 on balances of $100 up to $1,000; $39 on balances of $1,000 and overCitibank: $15 on balances up to $100; $29 on balances of $100 up to $250; $39 on balances of $250 and overPay your...

Subprime Meltdown: Countrywide Gets Another $12 Billion In Bailout Money Financing
Reuters is reporting that Countrywide has announced that it has secured an additional $12 billion in financing to help it hang on through the housing slowdown. Countrywide, which eliminated 12,000 jobs on Friday, says deeper job cuts may be coming. The mortgage industry has already lost 50,000 jobs this year, according to Reuters.New mortgages funded by Countrywide are down 17.3% from last year.Countrywide gets $12 bln new financing, shares jump [Reuters]

Roundups: Hot Consumerist Forums Threads
Reader orders what they think is a PG-13 movie from BlockBuster Online. While watching movie with kids they discover a scene of "intense nudity." Reader explains why it is difficult to discern whether you are ordering unrated versions of movies.Monster.com gets you noticed....by scammers.Reader posts resume on the popular job hunting website only to be targeted by hordes of hungry con artists.What's the deal with those "Crazyfox" work at home ads? Check out a mini-expose and a first hand account from someone who bought into the scheme.

Followups: On Monday, we reported that TD Ameritrade ...
On Monday, we reported that TD Ameritrade knew since May 2007 about data breaches that resulted in thousands of its customers getting penny stock spam, but it turns out the breach could have happened as early as November 2005. [Network World]

New And Exciting Products: New High-Tech Sprite Makes Its Own Ice When Opened
Do you like half-frozen Sprite? Move to the UK. That's where Coca-Cola Company is debuting "Sprite Super Chilled." Apparently, the drink is stored in special custom vending machine that keeps it at a certain temperature. When the drink is opened, some sort of "mechanism" inside causes the drink to form ice out of the Sprite inside. We do not understand this, but if its successful, expect to see Coke and Diet Coke as well. Coke plots 'Sprite with ice' with help of new technology [Marketingweek via Buzzfeed](Photo:Abandoned In Place)

PSAs: Introducing Commenters Moderator ACAMBRAS
We're pleased to introduce long-time commenter ACAMBRAS as your new comments moderator!She's been keeping an eye on comments for a few weeks, checking out your flagged comment reports, and now for the next step, entering the fray directly. When necessary, she'll dispense yellowcards for comments which are out-of-line but not ban-worthy. When warranted, bad apples will be banned.We hope the result is more enjoyable conversation, at an even higher consumer-helping level, and an even stronger community. Welcome, ACAMBRAS!PREVIOUSLY: A Call For Better Comments

Investing: How Many Stocks Should You Own?
Been looking over your portfolio and noticing a bit of this, some of that, and a touch of whatever else you could find? Us too. If your portfolio looks more like a stamp collection -- filled with one of everything -- then consider simplifying your strategy. It will not only make your money easier to manage, but will also benefit your bottom line, according to CNN Money. They suggest a simple, two-part strategy for maximizing your investment returns...1. Direct 90 percent of your U.S. equity allocation into a total stock market index fund that automatically gives you a stake in thousands of companies. That guarantees you a piece of every superstock that already exists or might emerge later - and, more important, it means you'll be adequately diversified and your investing costs will be at rock bottom. 2. Pursue your search for the next Microsoft or Google by researching the daylights out of a very small number of companies and putting the remaining 10 percent of your portfolio...

Airlines: Southwest Ends "Cattle Call" Seating In November
Starting November, Southwest will change its completely "grab any seat" policy. Instead, you will get assigned a letter and number. When your letter is called, everyone in that group lines up in order by number, boards, then grabs any seat they feel like. In case this is difficult to understand, Southwest has an interactive minisite set up to explain the process.Southwest Airlines puts an end to 'cattle call' [CNNMoney via More Than Points]

Economics: How The Fed Rate Cut Affects You
The Fed cut interest rates Monday, but what does this mean for your wallet?Savings yields: You'll earn less interest from money market funds, certificates of deposit, and the like.Stocks: As we've seen, there's been a big rally.People with option-ARM mortgages: Oops, you're still screwed.What a Fed rate cut would mean to you [AZ Central via Money Crashers](Photo: Ms. President)

Retail: WSJ Editor Caught After Accidentally Stealing From Kmart
Kmart detained Wall Street Journal editor Laura Landro after she accidentally stole $8 from them by putting a more expensive pair of flipflops in a box with a cheaper price tag. "Did I seem to him like someone who would cheat the store out of $8 and risk this kind of treatment? Unmoved, he told me that he had seen what I did, and "people like you come in here all the time and do this.""Not anymore. Though Kmart acted within its rights and according to procedure, Landro, along with the hundreds of dollars she usually spends, has vowed to never enter another Kmart again if she can avoid it.The Accidental Thief [WSJ via BoingBoing](Photo: Kim Salomon)

Shopping: Morning Deals
Woot: Oreck XL Professional Air Purifier for $99.99Amazon: Sony STR-DG510 Home Theater Receiver for $99.98 ShippedProctor & Gamble: Free Tide, Downy and Bounce Pure Essentials samplesHighlights From DealhackNewegg: Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 17 Deluxe $5Buy.com: Turtle Beach Noise Canceling Headphones $30 ShippedGuess Factory: Save an Extra 30% off All Orders Store-Wide

Personal Finance: Learn The Basics Of Money
Kiplinger has launched a new site designed to teach the basics of money management and handling your personal financial life. If you're getting started, or starting over, there's numerous good articles here about budgets, investing, picking banks, retirement plans, insurance, etc. etc, delivered in the straightforward and personable manner for which Kiplinger is known.The Basics Of Money [Kiplinger](Photo: Getty)