|
 Dose
of Dover #1
Tuesday,
August 6, 2002:
Tired of the credit reporting bureaus dragging
your good name through the mud? Wanna fight back
and sue the bastards? Good
news...and score one for the poor,
downtrodden, innocent consumer. Judy Thomas
stung the clowns from the worst reporting agency
on the planet, TransUnion
to the tune of $5.3 million! She got tired
of them reporting incorrect [and negative]
information about her, plead her case, papered her
trail, proved they were ignoring the evidence she
presented them with...then stuck it where the sun
never shines. Good for her...and great
news for the rest of us; The LA
Time's Kathy Kristoff had a nice column about
it...and some good tips for all
of us to follow when we're on the hunt for
justice.
Be
wary of strangers eager to show you their new phone or
camera; they could be operatives out to sell you
something instead! It's the
latest form of "guerilla marketing"
this time being rolled out by the U.S. arm of
Sony/Ericsson Mobile Communications. Hmmmm....imagine
that. Actors out to sell you a product; what
will they think of next? Some consumer advocate
whiners think it's too manipulative; I think it's a
great strategy.
You
decide for yourself.....
More
and more doctors will go back to the medical past and
start making housecalls. Why? Color it
green, of course...and I don't blame 'em!
Medicare raised what it pays for docs making
housecalls, and when the doctors [small businessmen
and certainly allowed and encouraged to make a profit
whenever and where ever possible!] figured out they
could make more seeing certain patients on their own
turf, they got out the black bag and their Thompson
guide [or Mapquest programs] and hit the streets.
Here's
more information from CBS News' website...
You've
signed up for your weekly "Dose of Dover"
e-mailed newsletter, haven't you?
Why not? It's free...and it'll make you smarter.
Sign-up
right on the front page of the website...
Not
all emergency rooms are created equal!
You oughtta know several things about a service I hope
you'll never need...before you need 'em!
According to a recent Wall
Street Journal, more ERs are
courting new business with aggressive marketing
campaigns...with some ERs promoting friendly,
efficient service, shorter wait times, and one ER is
known to be giving away movie passes if you have to
wait too long! Plan ahead:
1. Find
out where your family doctor has admitting privileges,
so they can guide your care, either in person or via
phone.
2. Find
out what your Doc's capabilities are; he-she may/may
not be equipped for certain emergencies...stuff like
pediatrics, cardiac care or trauma. In fact, you
might need to go to different ERs for different types
of emergencies. [A burn unit versus treating a shotgun
blast versus a car accident patient...you get the
picture]
3. Teaching
hospitals offer the advantage of having specialists on
premises all the time...but remember the name:
TEACHING hospitals. Their level of
experience/expertise might make you a little nervous,
you know?
4. Don't
waste your time or insurance company's dough taking a
sprained ankle or minor cut to the ER. Those
Doc-in-the-Box/Urgent Care-type clinics can usually
fill those non-life-threatening needs.
5. No
matter what you choose, know ahead time [as in map 'em
out!] the shortest routes to the closest and
appropriate Emergency Rooms or Urgent Care Clinics.
Are
you sleeping with a potential thief? Could one
of the biggest threats to your financial health and
stability be right under your nose [and roof]?!?
One of the biggest areas of increased abuse is
identity theft perpetrated by an insider. A
relative, a spouse...a friend with access to your
papers or personal information. Why?
Because most people are reluctant to throw a relative
"under the bus" so to speak. And the
credit card companies know this and will use this
leverage to get you [or them] to pay up. So who
do you trust? Hmmmmm...too much fertile ground
here, but you might wanna take
a minute to read one of my past columns on the
topic...
Trying
to find legal counsel but don't know where to go?
If it's someone to renegotiate debts or represent you
in bankruptcy court, lemme
know and I'll direct you to
options in your area. Or check out the National
Association of Consumer Advocates website:
www.naca.net
Having
problems with your bank jacking you around?
Wanna get their attention and get the attention [and
positive action] you deserve? From one of our
listeners-a former internal bank auditor-[thanks
G.S!] comes the following suggestions:
Following Ben's advice and steps outlined in the Six
Steps To Effective Complaining section,
add "cc:" to the bottom of the letter...and
of course include Ben on your list of folks you
"cc:" [c/o
KFI, Ben's direct FAX# (775) 261-6577]...add
the following organizations, when and where
appropriate:
1. For
FSB's and Savings and Loans it is Office Of Thrift
Supervision: www.ots.treas.gov
2. For
banks, send a "cc:" to the Comptroller of
the Currency: www.occ.treasgov.customer.htm
Think
your spouse or significant other is cheating on you?
Thinking about going through their e-mail to see what
they're up to? You might want to think
twice...you could end up facing some federal charges
and even jail time if you get popped.
Amazing, and even possible! Wanna
know more?
You're not naive enough to
have your mail delivered to your mailbox on your front porch or on the curb,
are you? C'mon...you're just waiting to get ripped off!!!
My friend J.D. had checks stolen out of his mailbox and the scumbags already
floated $2,000 of bad paper out there in less than 2 days. Avoid the
inevitable!!! Do yourself a favor and either:
1.
Get a locking mailbox [approved by the Postal Service...make sure the
carrier's gotta key!] on your porch or at your curb.
2.
Install a mail slot in your front door.
3.
Get a Post Office box.
4.
Get a mail drop address [like from MailBoxes Etc., for instance]. I
like the Mailboxes Etc. service, because they'll accept packages or courier
paks [like FedEx] for you, they'll call you when you've got something to
pick up...and you can call them and ask them to check your mailbox...and
save yourself a trip to your new "box." It's worth the dough
to protect yourself from the inevitable brain-damage you'll incur when
someone finally steals mail out of your current box. [You've been
warned!!!]
Gotta
question for Ben? Call in
and get your question answered live
on the air during his Sunday morning radio show (8-10
am Pacific/9-10 am Mountain/10 am-12 noon Central/11
am-1 pm Eastern) on KFI-AM/640,
Los Angeles:
(800) 520-1-KFI [And
you can listen
live via the Internet,
no matter where you are!]
You've
signed up for your weekly "Dose of Dover"
e-mailed newsletter, haven't you?
Why not? It's free...and it'll make you smarter.
Sign-up
right on the front page of the website... WWW.Benjamindover.com
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