Keep up with UCAN.org by following us on Twitter!
Thanks for visiting UCAN.org! Please remember our services are available because of grassroots donations from people like you. Please help us continue our work with a donation of any amount. Click here to visit our secure donation page.
Millions,billions,trillions...these days our politicians and news media toss the figures around like coins at a county fair, but most Americans haven't seen much of that trickling down to their pockets. In California, especially, what the Feds giveth, the State taketh away.
Recently, Vice President Joe Biden was assigned the happy task of announcing that Social Security recipients who qualify will receive a one-time, $250 "recovery payment" in May. To be eligible you must have received Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Railroad Retirement or Veterans Benefits in November or December of 2008 or in January, 2009.
No one needs to do anything to receive this payment. It will be delivered the same way your benefit check is delivered and will be separate from the usual benefit check. The payment will not count as income or earnings for Social Security purposes.
The Social Security Administration warns the public that no one will be contacting you about this payment in person or by phone so do not give out any personal information to anyone claiming to be a Social Security representative. If you need more information or have questions, go to the Social Security link below or phone your local Social Security office.
Advice for victims of Best Windows and Doors bankruptcy and the NERF, National Energy Rebate Fund scam
1) Notify the police.
Your local police Department will likely refuse to take the complaint on the grounds that this issue is better handled by the District Attorney. We advise you to make the attempt anyway (keep reading).
2) Contact the California Contractor's State Licensing Board (CLSB).
We advise completing the online complaint form. We also suggest you print it and visit them personally. That way, it will be more difficult to ignore you, which is what they would prefer you to do. Here is a map to their local office.
Tatiana Leone, Enforcement Representative
Dept. of Consumer Affairs
5280 Carroll Canyon Rd, Suite 250
San Diego, CA 92121
Cell: 858-395-6509 Fax: (for your documents if not mailing)
858-455-0112
2) Go to
https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/ConstructionComplaint/BeforeFilingComplaint.aspand
file online and print out 2-3 copies or print and fill out if unable
to
do so both online and by downloading form and printing it.
* 3) *Go to http://www.nationalenergyrebates.com/ to find out how to
collect some of your money back.**
* *
* 4) *Email lara sutherlin <sutherlinla@doj.state.wi.us or call the a.g.
offices in wi & colorado to see what steps to take to see if & how you might
qualify for any of the $4+ million in Christiana bank. They have access to
the trust account that was supposed to pay out the voucher rebates.
**
* 5) *File complaints online with CA Attorney General and local District
Attorney
6) Make copies of all of your paperwork---everything including checks for
the Contractor's Licensing Board.
NOTE: Make sure to tell all you are seniors and that you JUST learned of
Best Windows and owner's personal bankruptcies---no notice from anyone.
Make sure to tell all agencies in writing and verbally that Best told you
that NERF was a "certified" government rebate and that Best was "approved"
by the BBB. Please also send me a copy of your brochure that makes this
claim.
Advice for victims of Best Windows and Doors bankruptcy and the NERF, National Energy Rebate Fund scam
1) Notify the police.
Your local police Department will likely refuse to take the complaint on the grounds that this issue is better handled by the District Attorney. We advise you to make the attempt anyway (keep reading).
2) Contact the California Contractor's State Licensing Board (CLSB).
We advise completing the online complaint form. We also suggest you print it and visit them personally. That way, it will be more difficult to ignore you, which is what they would prefer you to do. Here is a map to their local office.
Tatiana Leone, Enforcement Representative
Dept. of Consumer Affairs
5280 Carroll Canyon Rd, Suite 250
San Diego, CA 92121
Cell: 858-395-6509 Fax: (for your documents if not mailing)
858-455-0112
2) Go to
https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/ConstructionComplaint/BeforeFilingComplaint.aspand
file online and print out 2-3 copies or print and fill out if unable
to
do so both online and by downloading form and printing it.
* 3) *Go to http://www.nationalenergyrebates.com/ to find out how to
collect some of your money back.**
* *
* 4) *Email lara sutherlin <sutherlinla@doj.state.wi.us or call the a.g.
offices in wi & colorado to see what steps to take to see if & how you might
qualify for any of the $4+ million in Christiana bank. They have access to
the trust account that was supposed to pay out the voucher rebates.
**
* 5) *File complaints online with CA Attorney General and local District
Attorney
6) Make copies of all of your paperwork---everything including checks for
the Contractor's Licensing Board.
NOTE: Make sure to tell all you are seniors and that you JUST learned of
Best Windows and owner's personal bankruptcies---no notice from anyone.
Make sure to tell all agencies in writing and verbally that Best told you
that NERF was a "certified" government rebate and that Best was "approved"
by the BBB. Please also send me a copy of your brochure that makes this
claim.
UCAN interviewed with Channel 10 reporter Michael Chen regarding a new twist to the tax reassessment letters offering to lower your annual property taxes for a fee. The letters are very official looking and even include late fee penalties. As will be shown by Michael Chen, the service is free of charge through the San Diego County Assessor's office. Go to http://www.10news.com/video/18747844/ to see the entire story including an 82-year old victim who paid $186 for a promised annual savings of over $600 on her property taxes. She hasn't heard from the company since she sent and received the canceled check showing it was deposited quickly.
The first round of letters were sent to Californians before tax time in 2008 and the return address was . The second round of letters is now hitting consumer mailboxes. Last year consumers were sent letters by a Los Angeles-based group and this year, letters show the company return address as California Tax Reassessment with a San Diego phone number of 619-288-3340. Another letter recipient who lives in San Francisco is an attorney and noticed some irregularities due to the Los Angeles return address and the phone number listed as 888-879-4259.
An attorney at the San Diego District Attorney's office informed UCAN yesterday that any people who believe they have been victims of a scam or fraud, must first call their local police department to request a police report. What is unclear at this point, is why the D.A. website has consumer fraud division phone numbers listed. If the procedure is to file a police report, it might be more helpful to consumers if the D.A. website states this information.
Advice to Consumers: 1) If the return address is not San Diego County
Administration Center at 1600 Pacific Hwy, Room 162, San Diego, CA
92101-2474 and if money is requested, don't be quick to
write a check for a service that is provided for free;
2) Call or visit your local police department to file a report if you are a victim of a scam or have been a victim of fraud;
3) File an on-line complaint with your D.A., City Attorney and your Attorney General offices and make copies of all original documents pertinent to the fraud or scam; and
4) If you are receiving unwanted mail, the San Diego D.A. suggested removing your name from all lists by writing to the Direct Marketing Association's "Mail Preference Service" at P.O. Box 643 Carmel, NY 10512. Please know that UCAN does not endorse any service that polices itself in certain states and lobbies to get rid of existing legislation and pending legislation in applicable states. See
http://www.the-dma.org/donotmail/CRSDoNotMailReport.pdf .
UCAN's real advice is to read every piece of mail thoroughly or take correspondence you don't understand to a trusted friend to read with you. UCAN advises you to call numbers on letters to ask detailed questions. As my mom and grandmother always said; when in doubt, don't do!
While it's probably not a stretch to suggest that the exit of Tom Daschle from a key health care leadership role in the Obama Administration may slow plans for health care reform, one of the first priorities of Obama's new health care team might be to scrap the poorly designed Medicare Part D prescription plan and start over.
The Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the Medicare program, has reported that "insurance companies involved in the Medicare prescription drug program have overcharged subscribers and taxpayers by several BILLION dollars." (capitalization for emphasis).
No one really knows what the overcharges might be because Medicare has failed to do the required audits, reports David Goldstein of McClatchy Newspapers in the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Enacted in 2003, Part D was championed by the Bush Administration as prescription cost relief for America's senior citizens. Instead, it's caused more headaches and stomach aches for Medicare recipients than it is worth. Of course, that's good business for the drug companies! Medicare Part D covers nearly 27 million beneficiaries who pay added premiums through their Social Security checks.
Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker called Part D "...probably the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s... because we promise way more than we can afford to keep." There are well-documented reports that the real cost of the legislation was covered up during congressional consideration in order to muster the votes for passage.
Financial assistance with ever-increasing prescription costs for seniors, and, for that matter, all other Americans, is a worthy goal but there are better-designed, and more cost-efficient, ways to accomplish that.
If you are enrolled in Medicare Part D, post your comments on our Web site and let us know if your experience with Medicare's prescription drug program has been a positive or negative one.
For more information:
http://www.medicare.gov/Default.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_Prescription_Drug,_Improvement,_and_Modernization_Act
More than 40 angry consumers, many elderly and disabled, packed the U.S. Trustee's hearing room for a Jan. 26th bankruptcy hearing. They peppered Mike Chavez, owner of the now-bankrupt Best Windows and Doors, with questions about non-existent NERF rebates, unfinished and unstarted jobs, unpaid subcontractors, mechanic's liens, questionable financing and undisclosed assets. Two Contractors' State License Board representatives attending the hearing told the consumers and the Trustee that CSLB is investigating Best Windows and encouraged consumers to file complaints with CSLB and the District Attorney.
Media
San Diego 6 News story at http://www.sandiego6.com/
Complaints to UCAN
Follow this link to file a complaint against Best Windows and Doors with UCAN, attaching all Best Windows, NERF, financing and other documents, if possible.
http://www.ucan.org/energy/energy_efficiency_alternatives/best_windows_a...
Complaints to the Contractors' State License Board
Contractors' State License Board representatives attended the hearing, and announced they have opened investigations against Best Windows and Doors on the basis of several consumer complaints.
If you need help filing a complaint or with providing information, call Tatiana Leone, CSLB Enforcement Representative, at 858-395-6509
On-line information about filing complaints is at
For submitting the completed forms, and copies of supporting documentation (contracts, proof of payment, and other related paperwork), here is the mailing address for the San Diego Investigative Center:
CSLB 5280 Carroll Canyon Road, Suite 250 San Diego, CA 92121
Complaints to the District Attorney
The District Attorney's Office advised UCAN that consumers should file complaints with the Contractors' State License Board (contacts in the section above) and/or with local police. Both investigate complaints and may refer complaints to the District Attorney for prosecution.
Complaints to the United States Trustee
If you have any information regarding bankruptcy fraud or abuse, please contact the United States Trustee in writing at 402 West Broadway, Suite 600, San Diego, CA 92101 and/or by calling 619-557-5013.
Related links on UCAN's website
Best Windows and Doors Complaint Form
Best Windows & Doors files for bankruptcy
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Best Windows petition and attachments.pdf | 577.21 KB |
Hiring a contractor can be a complicated, and expensive, proposition -- especially if you've never done so before. The first thing you should know is that while there are many reputable contractors in California there are also some very bad apples.
One of the first places you should go when needing a contractor is the Web site of the California State Contractors' License Board (CSLB). Their mission is to protect consumers and keep tabs on complaints against contractors.
On their Web site you can find educational materials about hiring contractors and the construction process. Examples of some of the materials available include: Ten Tips for Making Sure Your Contractor Measures Up; A Checklist for Prescreening Contractors, and What Seniors Should Know Before Hiring a Contractor.
You can also check the status of a contractor's license, find other important Contractors License Law information and, if necessary, file a complaint.
It's worth your time, to get several bids when planning a project that will require a contractor and then research the ones you are interested in on the CSLB Web site at http://www.cslb.ca.gov/. When you get to the site, click on the CONSUMERS heading.
Spending the time up front may save you a lot of money and frustration if the job you contract for isn't done properly.
You might think that sending out a mass faxing (aka a fax blast) would be a good use of your business' marketing funds. Probably not. I say this partly because most people detest them and mostly because, under most situations, they are illegal.
Why not send faxes? Well, first, there's the cost to the consumer. Each time a person gets a fax, if they are using a typical fax machine, it costs them money for paper and ink/toner which adds up over time. It also takes time for employees to peruse the material and determine if it's valuable business correspondence or not. The old "just delete it" defense doesn't hold up because my time and/or money is involved. You can lose customers by angering them.
More directly, it's illegal in most circumstances in most states. The Federal TCP Act prohibits junk faxes if you have no prior business relationship (unless faxed by a non-profit or political candidate, and don't get me started on "what makes THEM so special?"). California SB 833 (Bowen, 2005) even disallows for an existing business relationship, requiring express permission (http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bill/sen/sb_0801-0850/sb_833_bill_20...) but is only applicable when the advertiser (not necessarily the faxer) and the recipient are in CA.
What brings this up is a fax blast I got today for a job faire. It was illegal for 2 reasons; first, it did not contain an obvious statement of how to opt-out (not that I ever opted-in in the first place) with a toll free number. Second, they did not ask my permission first (and they were a commercial entity).
"All unsolicited commercial faxes must now include an opt-out provision on the first page of the fax, providing a cost-free, 24-hour means for the recipient to request to be removed from the fax distribution list. Also, all fax numbers can now only be obtained either directly from the recipient or from a public source to which the recipient gave the number for publication (i.e., a Web site, advertisement or directory)." (as per semasan.com)
Web sites that this faxer should have referred to before their fax blast:
http://www.junkfax.org/fax/basic_info/basics.html
http://www.dmaresponsibility.org/FaxAlert/
http://www.loeb.com/californiaenactsunsolicitedfaxbill/
Being a major fan of the First Amendment, the right to free speech comes to mind in looking at this issue, as well as email spam and telemarketing calls, philosophically. Here's an excellent quote from a well written site with a LOT of info on this subject (http://www.junkfax.org/fax/basic_info/junk_fax_qa.htm):
Your right of free speech stops at my mailbox. The constitution does not give you the right to electronically barge your way (uninvited) into my home, demand the use of my equipment and ink and paper supplies to present your message, shifting all your selling costs to me without my permission or request.
Can you imagine a whole new class of "door-to-door" salesmen who knocked on your door, entered your house uninvited, demanded the use of your possessions, showed their product and then claimed that you had no right to stop them because it would violate their right of free speech?
What to use then? Newspaper, TV/cable/radio, internet (your own web site plus search engines - Google Adwords, e.g.), bus, sign, & billboard advertising do not intrude. I can look or not look. Your Free Speech Rights are preserved. Even mail inserts and junk mail, arguably, enable you to get your message to your intended audience, arguably without costing them time and money. BTW, throwing a rock on my front lawn with your ad attached or canvassing my neighborhood and leaving junk on my porch is probably illegal under litter laws. I'm sure you can be more creative.
There's good news for all of us baby boomers who may be ready to sign up for Social Security or Medicare benefits. The Social Security Administration is now accepting applications for those programs online instead of requiring a trip to the local Social Security office.
The online application, takes about 15 minutes, according to the Social Security Administration. Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue explained, "There are no paper forms to sign and usually no additional documentation required."
"If we need more information, we'll call you," he said.
The online application is designed to help Social Security handle the nearly 80 million baby boomers who will become eligible for benefits in the next few decades. Anyone who still wants to apply at a Social Security office may do so.
By the way, you are a baby boomer if you were born between 1946 and 1964.
To access the online application, go to www.socialsecurity.gov
There's good news for all of us baby boomers who may be ready to sign up for Social Security or Medicare benefits. The Social Security Administration is now accepting applications for those programs online instead of requiring a trip to the local Social Security office.
The online application, takes about 15 minutes, according to the Social Security Administration. Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue explained, "There are no paper forms to sign and usually no additional documentation required."
"If we need more information, we'll call you," he said.
The online application is designed to help Social Security handle the nearly 80 million baby boomers who will become eligible for benefits in the next few decades. Anyone who still wants to apply at a Social Security office may do so.
By the way, you are a baby boomer if you were born between 1946 and 1964.
To access the online application, go to www.socialsecurity.gov
Utility Consumers' Action Network
Terms & Conditions
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!
Don't buy a cell phone without our Mobile Phone Plan Checker!
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.
Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Propeller
Reddit
Magnoliacom
Newsvine
Furl
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
Icerocket
Post to Twitter
