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As you awaken to a lazy Saturday of family time, running errands, and watching college football you may want to put that all on hold as it is possible the House of Representatives -- YOUR representatives in Congress-- may be voting on a 1900-page health care reform bill that will affect your family's health and pocketbook for years to come. The bill -- HR 3962 -- picked up major endorsements from AARP and the American Medical Association (AMA) this week.
The legislation -- in its present form -- runs more than 1900 pages so if you don't have any other plans for the weekend, you might want to read through it and send your thoughts and comments to your Member of Congress. It's easy to do by e-mail. Even if the bill passes, there will be more much more to be done on the matter in Congress before passage of reform is accomplished, but it appears that some kind of national health care reform is likely to be approved before the end of the year. If you have an opinion about it, now is the time to express to those who will be voting on it.
USE THIS LINK TO EMAIL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS:
WARNING: SAN DIEGO WATER CUSTOMERS
MAKE SURE YOU DIDN'T THROW AWAY YOUR JUNK MAIL OR
YOU WILL HAVE LOST THE FORM NEEDED TO
PROTEST THE WATER RATE INCREASE.
HOW TO PROTEST THE NEXT WATER RATE HIKE SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 17, 2009:
STEPS YOU CAN TAKE:
1) Notify your neighbors to make sure they fill out and mail their forms too
2) Use Email to notify others and include a link to this PROTEST FORM
3)If people don't have the form, write a protest letter immediately;
4) CALL YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS --
Click on the individual councilperson's photo to get to his/her website for individual contact phone number
5) Show up at the NOVEMBER 17TH HEARING and HAND IN PROTEST FORMS there.
Try to find the 3rd class four-page flyer without an envelope from the City justifying another round of rate increases. Mine arrived Tuesday September 22nd; one of the busiest mail days of the week. It came mixed in with other junk mail including grocery store flyers and drug store coupons. It came with ads we usually throw away. The entire last page (page 4) of this flyer is the protest notice with the form at the bottom. Page 4 of the mailer says "You Can Protest the Proposed Rate Adjustment. If 50% + 1 person fills out the protest form and mails it in, the huge rate increase cannot legally be implemented.
Print our form, find your own or write a protest letter ASAP. The original 3rd class mailing says "NOTICE of Public Hearing sent by the City of San Diego". (Click on attachment to see the flier and form.) If you choose to protest the rate hike, make a copy just in case someone says your protest form never arrived.
NOTE: WHEN THE CITY IS COLLECTING OUR MONEY, BILLS ARE SENT OUT 1ST CLASS MAIL. WHEN IT BENEFITS THE CITY FOR US NOT TO RESPOND, IT'S SENT AS JUNK MAIL.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| water-protest-form.pdf | 185.76 KB |
Applying for a loan is a tedious and often frustrating ordeal. The application requires a lot of information and the process may take a lot longer than you think it should. And now we are learning that you may be denied a loan for being a good consumer.
That’s right. For being a diligent consumer and dedicated to monitoring your credit report you may be denied a loan.
The problem? Fannie Mae’s automated underwriting system has been rejecting applications where there is a notation on a consumer’s credit report that he or she has disputed an account. A consumer -- despite validly disputing a debt under the Fair Credit Reporting Act -- is now being denied a loan.
In response to a Washington Post inquiry, see the article here, Fannie Mae explains that it does not actually reject the loan, but rather sends it back to your lender for manual underwriting. However, lenders rarely engage in manual underwriting. Therefore, you are basically going to be denied a loan.
This conduct is outrageous and it is even sadder than Fannie Mae wants to blame the lazy lender. Yes, the lender should do a manual underwriting, but Fannie Mae’s system should not be rejecting applications based upon disputed accounts appearing on a consumer’s credit report.
Such a practice appears to put consumers in a Catch 22. Dispute inaccurate information and get denied a loan. Leave inaccurate information on your credit report and get denied a loan because of the bad credit it causes.
What is the solution? One is to convince Fannie Mae to change its policy and two is to have lenders perform manual underwriting when the situation calls for it.
Consumers should not stop disputing inaccurate information on their credit report. A credit report needs to be accurate and the owner of the record is the only person who can validate whether the listed information is correct.
Unwanted messages! Is there anything more annoying? There is nothing worse than getting a text message from some company you have never heard of trying to sell you their latest product or service that you never wanted. It's even worse when someone sending you text messages phishing for your personal information. Perhaps the hardest part is for those who do not have unlimited plans knowing these burdensome texts are taking away from our text message pool or costing us 20 of our hard earned cents.
Take heart, however, there are ways to try and prevent these unwanted text messages. UCAN has created a new consumer resource detailing steps you can take with wireless providers to prevent these unsolicited texts. We also give a little guidance on the best way to complain about them.
Check out UCAN's new guide here.
If you're one of the unfortunate few SideKick owners who lost personal data when the huge Microsoft server farm hiccupped recently fate may be smiling on you. As per T-Mobile Forums:
Beginning [10/20/09], log into the My.T-Mobile website, where there will be a recovery tool to restore contacts you may have lost during the recent service outage. This tool will enable you to view the contacts you had on your device as of October 1.
Here's what Microsoft says, in a press release from earlier this month. It's a sad situation but one that we can all learn from: Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Everyone of these poor folks should have been doing local backups as well as counting on M$. This goes for all of us and for all forms of electronic storage - if it's important back it up AND archive it.
Backups and Archives
There are two actions here with slight differences.
"Backing Up" something typically means having it available in case of a complete loss. Backups are typically overwritten with new data as it changes. A backup lets you reload all of your data when something fails, like a hard disk.
"Archiving" something means having various versions of those backups - these are backups that you save forever. An archive lets you go back and grab an earlier edit of something or an item you've deleted. People often make "snapshots" of their data once a month (whatever period is prudent for their work) and keep it offsite, maybe in a safe deposit box or at Iron Mountain. People who do backups by rotating a set up takes over the period of a month or so typically rotate OUT one of those tapes. It goes to the permanent storage location and a new tape replaces it. This also ensures that, over a year or so, all tapes get replaced with new ones.
Offsite Backups
With today's more ubiquitous high-speed Internet connections, offsite storage has become a popular way of backing up and archiving. Companies like Carbonite and Mozy provide a simple "client" (program) that sends copies of your files, over the Internet, at predifined intervals (or whenever changed). The up sides to this are:
The down side is simply TIME. You've got gigbytes of data and megabits of speed. Typically, when they first sign up for it, a business using a service like this must let all their data get sent to the service over a weekend or longer. Once it's up-to-date, only the changes to the data are sent which takes much less bandwidth and time.
Storage Devices
For businesses, companies like SonicWALL make appliances that do backups locally to a hard drive (so that people can have access to deleted files and for quick repair of damaged hard drives) AND send a customer-specified fraction of that data offsite (typically, stuff they could not live without if THE WORST happened, like accounting files, HR records, order data, etc).
Even a simple flash drive, an external USB/Firewire hard drive or a Network Attached Storage (NAS) drive can at least provide backups of your files and even versions of them, if not the bennies of offsite storage. NAS is like an external drive except that it connects over your local ethernet or WiFi LAN. And since it's networked, every PC in your home or small office can use it. If you're tech savvy, you can create a simple NAS machine by using an old PC to run Windows, MacOS, or Linux - just stick it someplace out of the way and let it collect files.
It's a Cinch to Synch
I work from home. I am connected to a Windows server across the Internet. I store many of my files, including My Documents on that server. I also use Windows' Sync Manager to make them available to me when the Internet is down or when I switch to my laptop. Every time a file syncs to the server, an invisible copy is stored on my PC. If my Internet connection (or even the remote server) fails, I can use and even edit the "offline copy". Once it comes back up, Windows knows to update the server version with any changes made in the interim. If I edited the file on my laptop, the server will get this new version as will my PC. Since the originals are stored away from my home on this server, it counts as an offsite backup as well as a way to synchronize between multiple machines.
Major online presences like Google allow you to store files there. You can use free Google Docs to store files so you have backups and so they're available to you virtually anyplace. The downside is that you have to upload and maintain these files manually and they aren't encrypted.
A little known credit check that telecom and utility companies do among themselves may have a significant impact on your ability to receive services and whether or not a deposit will be required. The National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange (NCTUE) is a member-owned database managed by Equifax. According to the NCTUE website, the database exchanges information on new connects and defaulted and/or fraudulent accounts among members. It also gives the companies access to consumers' current contact information on defaulted consumers, and provides treatment and collection strategies for alleged unpaid bills.
The twist here is that not only have you never heard of this company, but according to the latest issue of Privacy Times, NCTUE may be running afoul of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
According to the Privacy Times, it appears that some of the companies using the database may not be providing notices to consumers when the companies take an adverse action against a consumer based upon the information in the NCTUE database.
Neither Equifax nor NCTUE specifically responded to the Privacy Times inquiry as to whether it believed NCTUE was subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act or whether consumers have access to the information in their files and the ability to dispute and have corrected inaccurate or incorrect information.
What seems clear though is that the NCTUE should be subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act because it appears to be providing a consumer report within the statutory definition.
UCAN, therefore wants to know about your experiences.
Have you ever been denied service or charged a deposit based on your NCTUE file?
Has a telecom or utility ever sent you a notice that adverse action has been taken based upon your file in this database?
Have you ever requested to see your file from NCTUE or Equifax and did they give you access?
Having an accurate credit profile is a necessity today and any database that affects your ability to receive essential services such water, gas, electricity, and phone should be available to you.
The Privacy TImes is edited by Evan Hendricks. The referenced article "Is Little Known Database Subject to FCRA? Equifax, NCTUE won't say," is available in Vol. 29 No. 19 October 23, 2009 of the Privacy Times.
Back when Congress passed the Credit Card Act, it instituted a delay to implementation to allow the credit card companies time to make adjustments to their billing systems and generally adjust for the coming changes.
Rather than take steps to begin implementing those changes, the credit card companies decided to take their remaining time and start raising every rate and fee they had plus introduced new fees all while cutting consumer spending limits ensuring further economic difficulties. Senator Dodd has apparently seen enough.
Though not long ago Senator Dodd was seen as a strong advocate for the financial industry which included a very favorable loan from former Countrywide Financial Corp. He has taken to championing the consumer financial cause (he is up for reelection next year after all).
Dodd has proposed an immediate freeze on credit-card interest rates. Whether Congress will act and put this freeze into place is anyone's guess.
At this point at least the appearance that Congress is not going to continue to allow the financial Industry to do whatever it wants at the expense of consumers is at least refreshing.
It must mean that we're busy communicating, which is generally a good thing! All over the country, the public phone system is running out of numbers in the existing telephone exchanges and, therefore, new ones must be added. If you live in an area presently covered by the 760 area code you're going to have to do a little more button pusing for local calls!
First it was fax machines. Next it was modems for early Internet access. Now it's cell phones. Even though most people today are using broadband Internet access and have forsaken the modems, the number of numbers needed keeps going up. To keep up, either a geographical area has to be split up with one part keeping the old area code and the other getting a new area code, OR, a new area code must be added to the same geographical area as an old one. This latter method is called an overlay because you can think of it as a piece of clear plastic having been overlain on a map, with the old area code underneath and the new one on top.
A Little History
In the past splits have been the norm. Did you know that all of Southern California originally had 213 as its area code (it was one of the original US area codes from 1947)? It was split in 1951 so that all of So. Cal except LA had 714. In 1982, 714 was split so that San Diego, Imperial, and parts of other counties to the north got 619 and 714 stayed with Orange County. In 1997-1999, 619 was split so that (roughly) Mission Valley-and-south kept 619, the north part of The City and some contiguous towns got 858, and the rest of the old 619 a/c got 760. http://www.area-codes.com/area-code-history.asp From a single Southern California area code in 1947 to at least 19 today, each allowing for roughly 8 million unique numbers, we've been ordering a lot of phone numbers!
The Pros and Cons
SPLIT: Originally, the San Diego County section of the 760 area, shown here, was going to be given the new 442 area code. An advantage of this approach is that people calling neighbors and businesses in the same area code only have to dial 7 digits. The downside is that businesses having billboards, phone numbers on vehicles, stationery, etc. must pay to change this all. The folks at Keep760.org, aided by UCAN's Michael Shames, felt this was costly. They got the PUC to change to an overlay.
OVERLAY: With an overlay, you simply have 2 areas codes in the same geographical area. It wasn't possible to do this until the 1990's. So, businesses with 760 stationery can keep it. A new business, perhaps right next-door to that one might, after November 21, 2009, be issued a 442 area code phone number. The down side - and it isn't much of one - is that a person in (e.g.) Oceanside, having a 760 phone number, will have to dial 1-760-555-0100 to ring their next door neighbor. That's 11 digits vs 7. This is necessary because the local phone switching equipment would not know if that neighbor was 760-555-0100 or 442-555-0100 if you simply dialed 555-0100.
Considering the facts that we're using quickly dialed touchtone phones vs the old dial phones (do young people today even know why we say to "dial" a number?) and that many people have their favorite numbers stored in memories anyway, and that many of the numbers we dial today are outside our local area code and, thus, require 11 digits ANYWAY, the overlay was clearly less of a hassle for people who would have to change things and a minimal hassle for those who will have to dial extra digits.
Still A Local Call
Many "experienced" humans equate area codes with Long Distance and thus CHARGES!!!! Fret not, those of us who remember dialing MA5-1212! These days, long distance charges are based, truly, on distance, and not the phone number. See my posting on Phones and Zones: How AT&T bills you for calls not considered long distance which will help you understand how to know what calls you might have to pay for.
So 760-folks, just go ahead and call that friend up the street and don't worry about costs changing. You might consider editing your speed dials and contacts, though, so they all have 1 + the area code. And when 442 numbers start appearing just treat them as neighbors, too!
If it's a pain in the butt to connect your smart cell phone to your PC and get it to sync, open as a storage device, connect as a speakerphone, do your laundry, etc., Windows 7 should help.
Scheduled for release on October 22, 2009, Windows 7, the much awaited REPLACEMENT for Vista (which just never got the love M$ had hoped) has some interesting new features. One is called DEVICE STAGE. You can see a brief video about it here. In essence, when you connect your phone by USB (or probably by Bluetooth but I don't know that for a fact), the phone is recognized by Windows which shows a picture of your specific phone in a small window. If you click on that window you get a list of all tricks the phone can do with Windows 7. Windows 7 also does this with printers, flash drives, digital cameras, etc.
As soon as I get a chance to actually play with Windows 7 I'll let you know if it does Device Stage as described. In the meantime, if upgrading to Windows 7, be sure you have enough RAM and horsepower and be sure to read about XP Mode and the machine requirements.If you have XP or Vista you can download and run this convenient Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor tool that not only vets your hardware but also your drivers and software and tells which of these latter 2 may not work on Windows 7.
President Obama has proposed sending a tax-free check of $250 to Social Security recipients in the early part of 2010. The president wants the checks to replace the annual COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) that Social Security beneficiaries normally receive but won't next year because of the current state of the economy. This payment would be in addition to the one-time payment made to seniors as part of last year's economic stimulus legislation. That payment was taxed.
The one-time check proposed by the president would cost $13 billion over a 10-year period, the White House estimates, and it would add to the nation's ballooning deficit.
The first thought that popped into my mind was: Gee, $250...that might pay for a few prescriptions or a utility bill, and while that's helpful, what happens after that?
There is no doubt that seniors have been hit hard by this recession in many ways: lower interest rates on their savings plans; reduced or lost pension plans and health benefits; rising medical costs;investments that have been depleted--or stolen--by scammers such as Madoff and his ilk. Then add inflated prices for gasoline, groceries and insurance and, of course, utilities -- especially in San Diego. Also. many seniors have had to come to the aid of their children and grandchildren who are also being affected by the economic meltdown as well--lending them money and even having them move in with them.
Then add in the State of Califonia's budget crisis that has resulted in many programs that assist seniors being cut. The safety net has been shredded by the state's economic problems.
Of course, if we look at the President's proposal through cynical eyes, giving senior citizens a tax-free check in an election year isn't a bad move either. Even Republicans might jump on that band wagon with amazing speed but hold on -- adding $13 billion to the deficit for a one-time shot in the arm? I am not so sure.
If I was going to place a Vegas bet on this, I'd put my money on the payment being approved by Congress, but there are other things that could be done that will help America's seniors and disbaled in the long run.
Instead of sendng a $250 check, I'd suggest that greater priority needs to be given to see that the nation is restored as soon as possible to economic well-being to protect and stablize the retirement dreams and benefits of so many. We need to put real teeth in the regulation of banks and other financial agencies responsible for this economic meltdown,and take steps to assure the solvency of Medicare and Social Security for current and future generations of seniors. Why not put more funding into quality programs that help seniors on the local level because those funds will go to seniors who really need assistance, and let's not forget about the current debate on health care reform.
This nation is aging fast, and our government has done little to prepare for that reality. That fact is a recipe for the next huge national crisis (see below).
Maybe investing that $13 billion in expanded health care and assistance
on the local level for our seniors is the better way to go.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta gives a clear picture in a report on Healthy Aging:
"The United States is on the brink of a longevity revolution. By 2030, the proportion of the U.S. population aged 65 and older will double to about 71 million older adults, or one in every five Americans. The far-reaching implications of the increasing number of older Americans and their growing diversity will include unprecedented demands on public health, aging services, and the nation's health care system.
"Chronic diseases exact a particularly heavy health and economic burden on older adults due to associated long-term illness, diminished quality of life, and greatly increased health care costs. Although the risk of disease and disability clearly increases with advancing age, poor health is not an inevitable consequence of aging.
"Much of the illness, disability, and death associated with chronic disease is avoidable through known prevention measures."
Utility Consumers' Action Network
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UCAN.org is made available by the Utility Consumers' Action Network to assist you in becoming what you always knew you could be, a consumer ROCK STAR! We take no corporate money, and are beholden only to you, the consumer. As such, the site is here for educational, advocacy, and empowerment purposes, as well to to give you general information and a general understanding of the law. Just remember this site is NOT here to provide specific legal advice. By using this web site you of course understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the Web Site publisher, UCAN. The Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.
That said, get to digging on the site, inform yourself, speak your mind, and earn Watchdog Bones! This is YOUR site, and we mean it. So comment on any of the content, discuss the latest issues in the forums, file a complaint on a company with the fraud squad, and generally cut loose.
See our Privacy Policy and Copyright Policy, Some Rights Reserved
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
We are currently looking for blog posts from both attorneys and consumers. If you would like your work published on a site with thousands of daily visits, send a submission to tips@ucan.org.
Get personal assistance with your consumer complaint about a company by using our Online Complaint Forms. Or, call the Fraud Squad Hotline at (619) 696-6966!
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Register to get it FREE right now!
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.
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