CONSUMER NEWS & ALERTS, April 4, 2005

[Guest guest]

Consumer News & Alerts | April 4, 2005THE BELLS TROLL FOR VOIP VoIP is a technology that is used to converse -- i.e., make "telephone calls" -- over the Internet. If both parties are using the Internet, the process can completely bypass the local phone companies. Is this something the local phone companies like? Oh no, it is not. Are they going to sit still for it? Not very likely.Having ground the likes of AT & T and MCI into dust and having destroyed the many independents that popped up to offer competitive telephone and DSL service, the Bells are turning their sights on the pure-play VoIP providers, like Vonage. Last week we reported that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott had sued Vonage for not clearly disclosing that it is not integrated into the emergency 9-1-1 network. Now SBC, headquartered in Texas, is refusing to participate in a test of Vonage's proposed solution, thus ensuring it doesn't get into the 9-1-1 system. This may be the ultimate test of Congress' determination to let the Internet remain a relatively unregulated medium. We predict the Bells will move the VoIP threat to the top of their agenda and Vonage, Skype and other jaunty start-ups will soon find themselves entwined in a matrix more baffling and byzantine than any engineering diagram -- to wit, the legislative-regulatory complex that supposedly oversees but in fact protects what are known as The Incumbents -- BellSouth, Qwest, SBC and Verizon.Cingular's #1 Big companies provide the best service, you say? Well, Cingular, owned by SBC and BellSouth, is now the nation's biggest cellular company and FCC records indicate it had the highest rate of complaints in the last quarter, as do our own tallies. Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal had to file a Freedom of Information Act to get the FCC figures. But isn't that public information? Yes, but that doesn't mean it's readily available to the public. Wouldn't want to embarrass anyone important. THE TRUTH ABOUT ROLLOVERS When a car -- or, more likely, an SUV -- rolls over, does it matter whether the roof collapses on the occupants? The answer seems self-evident but for years American automakers have contended that many injuries and deaths occur when occupants dive into the roof, rather than when the roof collapses on them. It sounds like semantics but it's not. A report released by Public Citizen shows that most severe neck and head injuries occur after the roof collapses. The organization charged that automakers have purposely deceived consumers and regulators for years. Razorbacks Stand Up to Ford As we noted last week, Ford has been strong-arming police departments that have dared to sue it for producing police cars that tend to explode into flames when rear-ended. Illinois backed down but Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe bristled and said his investigators are rooting through mounds of evidence and intend to press ahead with the case.Time to Get Out the Dodge Ford may regret its get-tough approach. Chrysler is rolling out a police version of its Dodge Charger, bringing some much-needed competition to the rear-wheel-drive police car market. MEDICARE PULLS BACK THE CURTAIN Medical care is increasingly a market-driven consumer service. But unlike refrigerators, SUVs or credit cards, it's hard to find any hard data on how well various providers actually perform. Medicare has launched a new Web site that's a good first step. www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/ measures how successful hospitals are at treating heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia. It compares hospitals with each other and with state and national averages. More health news ...Aspirin Better than Coumadin? A new study finds that the death rate in a group of stroke patients was higher among those taking the prescription drug Coumadin than among those who took a high dose of aspirin. Warning! Don't try this at home -- don't stop taking your Coumadin until you discuss the study with your physician. The study findings may not apply to you.Finding Lower-Cost Drugs There's something nearly everyone can do to cut health care costs -- find low-cost generics to substitute for expensive brand-name drugs. Consumers Union has published a new report that identifies several likely candidates.Another Tysabri Setback Just a short time ago, Tysabri was seen as having great potential for treating multiple sclerosis. But researchers have attributed another death to the drug, this time from a rare brain disease contracted by a patient in a controlled study. The drug was withdrawn in February when a patient suffered a fatal reaction.Killer Beds The FDA has seized a number of Vail Products enclosed hospital beds. The agency says the beds have been implicated in 30 entrapments, including seven deaths.Killer Kits Further, the FDA warns that Globus home medical test kits imported from Canada are not approved for use in the U.S., may not be safe and may not give accurate results.STATES BUST BLOCKBUSTER Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have reached an agreement with Blockbuster to settle allegations that it deceived consumers in advertising its "No Late Fees" program. The ads were misleading because they failed to clearly and conspicuously disclose that a consumer who rented a video or game from Blockbuster and kept it more than seven days after its return due date would be charged for the selling price of the video. The company agreed to be more explicit and to provide refunds, credits and coupons. Tip: Read those coupons carefully! You May Not Be a Winner! The Reader's Digest Association has agreed to a $196,000 settlement with the state of Connecticut for deceptive marketing of its sweepstakes contests. The state said Reader's Digest deceived consumers by claiming that purchasing more company products increased their chances of winning the sweepstakes. In reality, additional purchases had no effect on the likelihood of winning.More scams and outrages ...• Inmate Phone Scam Warning It hardly seems necessary to say this but you should be suspicious of any calls you get from jail inmates, especially if the calls are collect. Also, don't pick up hitchhikers near your local lock-up.• Diet Patch Peeled Away And underneath was ... not very much. The feds charged diet patch promoters sold products that didn't work and used illegal spam to do so.• Springtime Is Home Disimprovement Time This is the time of year when fly-by-night home improvement shysters make their rounds. Homeowners should get all agreements in writing and deal only with established firms. To be avoided: anyone who goes door-to-door saying he is doing some "other jobs in the neighborhood."• Colorado Mortgage Broker Barred from Making Deceptive Claims PWR Processing, Inc. promised consumers "no-fee," low-interest home mortgages following a process of multiple refinances. What it delivered was something else.• Three Debt Management Firms Settle Federal ChargesNational Consumer Council, Debt Management Foundation Services and Better Budget Financial Services allegedly scammed consumers out of more than $100 million by falsely promising easy debt relief. The companies and their owners will pay more than $6 million to settle federal charges.• Ponzi Artist Scams Investors A California man sold bogus investments in accounts receivable factoring, collecting a quarter billion dollars from nearly 7,000 investors and causing $150 million in losses. Larry Toshio Osaki pleaded guilty to a series of fraud and money-laundering charges.• Payday Lenders a Blight on African-American Neighborhoods Payday lending is not just a consumer scam but also a civil rights issue, a new report says.ELDER ABUSE ON THE RISE? With the number of elderly persons increasing, it's logical to assume that elder abuse cases will be increasing. Sure enough, Illinois reports a 31 percent jump between 1997 and 2003. It has created an elder abuse task force in its state police department.RECALLS & SAFETY ALERTS • Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex Fined $1.2 Million The company was slow to report safety problems in its toasters, slow cookers and juice extractors. • Hyundai/Kia SUVs There's a problem with the stability system. • Mercedes-Benz Battery and alternator problems in 31 milion vehicles worldwide. • Bombardier DS650 ATVs There's a problem with the axle. • Mr. Heater Big Buddy, Tough Buddy Propane Heaters They can leak. • TechnoBrands Rope Candles They can catch fire. • Nature’s Finest Gel Candles See above. MILLER MADNESS Consumer groups, driven to distraction by March Madness Bud and Miller ads, want the NCAA to ban beer advertising on college sports broadcasts. They say the ads, which show slender, vigorous, athletic types cavorting in a sea of suds, conflict with colleges' efforts to end binge drinking. Maybe the ads should show bald, pot-bellied, arthritic middle-aged guys struggling to get to the refrigerator? ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER Consumer News & Alerts is published by ConsumerAffairs.Com Inc., which is solely responsible for its content. You are on the list either because you asked to be or because you filed a consumer report at our site. See removal instructions below. The editor is James R. Hood. You can reach him through our Contact Form. This is a private form exclusively for readers of our newsletter.