Editor's note: to see a slideshow, summarizing Michael's first effort at televised psychotherapy, click here [1].

UCAN's Executive Director, Michael Shames, was recently drafted to appear [2] on the Dr. Phil show to help Dr. Phil explain to Mona Shaw why beating the heck out of Comcast's switching equipment and computers with a hammer is not an effective way to resolve a complaint with a large utility.

Mrs. Shaw is a 75-year-old grandmother whose patience was stretched to the breaking point after she switched her landline phone service to a bundled service with Comcast. Shaw achieved near hero status [3] after she was arrested for personally venting her anger on Comcast's office equipment.

Mona is not alone - there is even a Website by the name of "ComcastMustDie [4]," but if you live in San Diego, there is a solution: You can invoke the protection of the UCAN Fraud Squad.

UCAN started the Fraud Squad in 1998, with a special utility dispute hotline for San Diego residents. If you are a UCAN member [5], you don't need to resort to violence. Just file [6] your complaint and let us do the dirty work. We are also trained to offer dispute resolution advice and complaint referrals [7] for hundreds of the most common consumer gripes.

So the next time you feel like smashing up an SDG&E meter, destroying and AT&T phone line, or perhaps using miltary hardware on your cable company, remember, there is a better way: Join UCAN and let us do it for you.