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AT&T has sued Cox Communications for anti-competitive behavior at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). AT&T wants access to Channel 4, a Cox property that shows upwards of 150 Padres baseball games. The move is ironic.
A Sprint PCS customer in Connecticut wrote UCAN the following question and explained her personal story: How does joining an international calling plan for about a mone-month trip to Israel end up costing double the entire cost of the trip? The customer stated she couldn't find out how this amount was derived because her bill had no itemized call breakdowns to show how the billing total was determined. The customer called to dispute the bill and requested itemization of her bill. The response was a demand for payment or service termination within ten days of the date of the notice. The notice was recieved on or about August 18, 2008 and was dated August 10, 2008.
UCAN wants to know: Were you sold a bundled package where any of the 3 services couldn't be delivered by AT&T, Verizon or any other carrier because they sold you services in an area where they were unable to deliver? For example, UCAN received a Verizon complaint where the company was unable to provide phone service because the customer was in an exclusively AT&T service area. The customer signed up based on the promise of a printed advertisement. In this case, the customer was told that the TV part of the package had to be installed first. The customer was then not able to cancel the DirecTV service without an early termination penalty even though the phone service part of the bundled plan couldn't be provided.
Without question, Don Bauder, a former editor and financial columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune is one of the most respected business reporters in Southern California. Today, The San Diego Reader has published his story "Spinrise," which exposes his former colleague, Robert A. Kittle, as a "pathetically fatuous" servant of San Diego's "overlords." Pretty strong language, indeed! What's more, says Bauder, Kittle's statements about UCAN and the Sunrise PowerLink are a "rank deception." Read all about it.
Recently I had to "choose" a broadband Internet provider. After having my "choices" narrowed down for me by a serious lack of competition ( I hear U-Verse is on its way some day), I went with my first, last, and only choice, Time Warner. Despite feeling trapped, the Time Warner customer service rep wooed me with promises of a new broadband paradigm, Roadrunner "turbo." For some reason this "15 Mbps down, 2 Mbps" up Internet was cheaper than the default 8 Mbps/ 1 Mbps option of yesteryear, so I pounced on the deal like a caged tiger given extra scraps of meat at dinner.
The moral of this story is to check the bandwidth you're getting from your broadband Internet provider.
National Dealers Warranty FINAL NOTICE scam letters are sent to unsuspecting consumers with Customer ID #s to make people believe they already have a 5-year. 100,000 mile extended warranty on their cars. Victims are lead to believe that they are getting an employee discount price if they renew within 48 hours.
Using a cell phone without hands-free equipment while driving is now unlawful. However, studies show that hands-free driving isn't necessarily any safer than having a cell phone glued to your ear, and that simply talking on any phone is as dangerous as driving drunk. Yet oddly, talking to a fellow passenger while driving or listening to the radio does not seem to be a significant cause of accidents. Why? Is it possible that driving poorly while talking on the phone is a function of age? More.
Older Americans are at-risk as gas and food prices rise and assets dwindle. MORE
California law prohibiting handheld cell phone usage takes effect July 1st. This blog explains the details, limitations, and exceptions to the law.
Today, Senator John McCain announced plans to open up more oil leases. The idea is simple: with an alleged 21 billion barrels in oil reserves on U.S. lands, we could easily replace the oil we get from the Middle East with oil from U.S. real estate. It's a great idea that sounds good on paper and is heartily endorsed by the oil lobbyist on John McCain's staff. Too bad it won't work.
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UCAN's affiliate New Media Rights is hosting a discussion forum on the future of media and journalism in San Diego. Join in on the discussion now!
How to protect your own blog or website from liability for user generated content
Is Youtube putting advertisements on user videos without permission?
Essential free and open software toolkit for consumers
How to find free music, images, and video you can use or remix in your own creative works
How to Listen to Music on the Internet for Free...Legally
How to make a Podcast... for free
Visit NewMediaRights.org
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What are you packin? Is it anything like UCAN's new and improved Consumer Complaint Directory? If not, you should really pick up a copy. This thing is chock-full of hard-hitting consumer punch.
