FreeCreditReport.com is the heavily advertised company that offers “free” credit reports (if you sign up for a trial offer for their monitoring service with a monthly fee. They have huge billboards at Shea Stadium, where I will be tomorrow to see the (currently) first-placed Mets.

Keep in mind that the place to get truly free credit reports, three times per year (once from each bureau) as mandated by law is AnnualCreditReport.com. FreeCreditReport.com took clear advantage of the media surrounding the law when it was introduced a few years ago and convinced many people to sign up for “free” credit reports. Many customers feel deceived because they didn’t realize that they were at the wrong website and that they signed up to pay a monthly fee after a trial period.

Lately, FreeCreditReport.com has improved their disclosure, and the company is still a reminder that you should either read and understand all fine print before signing your name to anything or accept the consequences of ignorance.

Nevertheless, if you feel you were duped into signing up for FreeCreditReport.com’s Triple Advantage, you can still request refunds for what you’ve been charged. This is another reminder to check your bank and credit card statements at least once a month so charges like this don’t go unnoticed.

Here is Consumerism Commentary reader akk’s experience with getting refunds from FreeCreditReport.com.

I called this number to cancel my account and get a refund: 877-481-6826. First thing I did was ask for the name of the person I was talking to and her employee ID number. I told her that I wanted to cancel my account and get a full refund. The lady said that she would cancel my account but I could not get a refund.

She said that this automatic subscription is stated clearly on the web site, blah blah blah blah blah. I told her that I wasn’t going to stop until I got a full refund. She then offered me a one month refund. I told her that was great, but again, I am not going to stop until I get a full refund and I wanted to speak with her supervisor. She put me on hold to talk with her supervisor, then voila, I got a full refund.

For me, they weren’t that bad when I actually called. Just don’t let them try to convince you that you do not deserve a full refund. Just keep demanding a full refund and hopefully they will do it.

At this point, FreeCreditReport.com understands they’re in a tight spot and they want to improve their reputation. They may be more willing to provide refunds even if the company is not completely at fault in all cases. From a business perspective, it may be better to provide the refunds now than deal with angry consumer groups.

Here is the third part of the list of gas stations in New Jersey that are ripping off customers. For more information, see this first part and the second part.

The first part also contains a map of every gas station fined for violation of a variety of regulations.

This list begins with Morris County. Read the rest of this article »

Here is the second part of the list of gas stations in New Jersey that are ripping off customers. For more information, see this first part. The first part also contains a map of every gas station fined for violation of a variety of regulations.

This list begins with Essex County. Read the rest of this article »

If you buy gasoline in New Jersey, you may want to avoid the gas stations listed in this article. The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has fined 350 stations out of 1,025 total inspected during a recent three-day operation across the entire state. Most of the stations fined were guilty of innacurate pump calibration, providing customers with less gasoline (fewer gallons) than appear on the pump’s display.

Other violations include inaccurate octane ratings, missing registration, prices posted incorrectly and multiple price changes in a 24-hour period.

Here is a map of the stations cited and fined, and you can find out the violations for which each station on the map is guilty by zooming in and clicking on the marker. For a list of all stations in violation, read this full post.

If you believe you see a violation in New Jersey, call the Division of Consumer Affairs at (732) 815-4840.

Continue reading for the full list of gas stations in violation, grouped by county. Read the rest of this article »

Last year, a reader wrote into Consumerism Commentary with a story about how her elderly father was convinced to buy a variable annuity, locking away his money until after his likely passing. He had wanted to talk to a financial adviser, but found his way to Banc of America Investment Services.

Recently, Dateline took a look into Annuity University, seminars designed to teach brokers how to sell annuities to the elderly. Undercover, the Dateline producers infiltrated seminars and sales calls to show how the salesmen deceive would-be customers.

Dateline’s four-part special shows how these particular salesmen play down or intentionally ignore surrender fees, claim annuities are more liquid than CDs, and “puff up” their credentials by putting their photos on official-looking books and magazines and by creating recordings of fake radio shows.

Agents in these seminars are taught to treat the elderly like they are 12 years old and use scare tactics. They are instructed to tell clients that money is riskier in an FDIC-insured bank account than in an annuity product.

I firmly believe that any customer has the responsibility to research any financial product before purchase. Problems arise when seniors (or others) are trusting and when agents flat out lie. It’s difficult to make informed decisions if the information you receive is intentionally incorrect or misleading.

Not all annuity salesmen follow these tactics, of course. I would suggest being wary of any salesperson whose fiduciary interest is in their own commission from the sale. Not all annuity products are bad, either. Even Ben Stein is a big fan (with friends in the annuity business).

Please take the time to view the four-part Dateline presentation which uncovers the truth about Annuity University and some of its “graduates.”