NAAG's list:
1. Debt Collection
2. Auto Sales
3. Home Repair/Construction
4. Credit Cards (tie)
4. Internet Goods and Services (tie)
6. Predatory Lending/Mortgages
7. Telemarketing/Do-Not-Call
8. Auto Repair
9. Auto Warranties (tie)
9. Telecom/Slamming/Cramming (tie)

NAAG writes that credit card and predatory lending complaints are new entrants on the list, reflecting the current economic times. We're confused why telecom issues, slamming, and cramming are joined as one category; we assume this is a reflection of problems with cable and internet providers, and not some massive phone slamming epidemic that we weren't aware of.

Top Ten List of Consumer Complaints of 2008 [National Association of Attorneys General]
(Photo: onlymefairmay)

Cuomo's office says that Lifeystyle Lift's president believed negative customer reviews were hurting the company's reputation, so instead of addressing the source of the dissatisfaction he explicitly ordered employees to go forth and plant fake reviews:

Internal emails discovered by Attorney General Cuomo's investigation show that Lifestyle Lift employees were given specific instructions to engage in this illegal activity. One e-mail to employees said: "Friday is going to be a slow day - I need you to devote the day to doing more postings on the web as a satisfied client." Another internal email directed a Lifestyle Lift employee to "Put your wig and skirt on and tell them about the great experience you had."

We like Cuomo's own review of the company business practices: "cynical, manipulative and illegal."

Both lawsuits were settled out of court in March 2008. The terms were confidential, but the settlement had no impact on our ability to enable an open and unbiased discussion about the Lifestyle Lift. Consumers continue to share their Lifestyle lift experiences and reviews.

The current ratings (http://www.realself.com/Lifestyle-lift/reviews) indicate 36% of consumers considered their Lifestyle Lift procedure worth it.

Just as an interesting side note, you may want to look at this site, an example of their phony patient sites alluded to by the AG (that appears to be their response to RealSelf): http://web.archive.org/web/20080213084517/http://www.cosmetictoday.com/index.html

"Company Settles Case of Reviews It Faked" [New York Times]
Official press release by NY OAG [NY Office of the Attorney General]

RELATED
"Plastic Surgery Company Sues Consumer Site For Negative Customer Reviews"

As part of the agreement, TicketsNow will cease operating any Web sites that have misleading domain names and will refrain from affiliating with any Web sites that use similarly deceptive tactics. As a result of Madigan's investigation, TicketsNow has already disabled more than 100 suspect Web sites.

"Our investigation revealed that consumers who purchased concert tickets at TicketsNow Web sites often believed they were purchasing tickets from the actual event operators for their original value," Madigan said. "This agreement will substantially impact how the TicketsNow online brokers market popular event tickets so that consumers clearly understand that they are making purchases from a ticket reseller at marked-up rates."

In the course of the investigation, Madigan's office determined that TicketsNow, which is based in Rolling Meadows, Ill., was operating hundreds of affiliated ticket resale Web sites with misleading domain names that incorporated into the Web site URLs unique names of local venues, sports teams or performers. The TicketsNow-affiliated Web sites failed to clearly state that they were ticket resellers and had obtained tickets from secondary sources, such as season ticket holders, event promoters and venue operators, in advance of the public sale. As a result, consumers did not realize that they were ordering marked-up tickets from a TicketsNow-affiliated reseller.

The wires aren't yet saying how long TicketsNow will need to wait before reselling tickets at inflated prices.

This isn't the first time Ticketmaster has been pressured into abandoning questionable business practices. Back in February, Ticketmaster settled a complaint from New Jersey's Attorney General by agreeing to stop linking directly to TicketsNow. It just goes to show how many questionable practices Ticketmaster exploits.

MADIGAN: TICKETMASTER AGREES TO SHUT DOWN DECEPTIVE TICKET BROKER WEB SITES (Press Release) [Illinois Attorney General]
TicketsNow, Illinois Atty Genl Reach Agreement On Marketing [The Wall Street Journal]

Central Coast Nutraceuticals, Inc. ("CCN"), and its Phoenix-based owner Graham Gibson have agreed to pay nearly $1.4 million total, but a million of that goes to the state. $350,000 has been set aside to distribute among customers nationwide who were victims of CCN's misleading upsells and deliberately bad customer service:

According to the complaints, consumers who purchased the low-cost "risk-free trial offers" of CCN's health supplements were also charged for costly products and services that they did not request. These included pre-selected "up-sell" products that the consumer had to actively de-select in the online order form to avoid being charged. When consumers tried to contact CCN regarding the unauthorized charges, they often faced hold times over an hour and their e-mails never received a response.

The Better Business Bureau, which says they receive over 2200 complaints about the company in the past 12 months, says consumers can file a complaint whether they live in Arizona or not.

Victims of CCN [can] file a complaint via phone at 602.542.5763 or 800.352.8431(toll free) or via email at consumerinfo@azag.gov by August 17.

Those same consumers can save even more money by not buying any more miracle drinks via infomercials or websites.

CCN Settlement Press Release (PDF) [Arizona Attorney General]

RELATED
"Careful, Those Free Acai Products Might Come Attached To A Delicious Scam"
(Photo: Ian Muttoo)

But back to his collection agency side business. According to the Associated Press,

During one call recorded by a debtor, a man who vaguely identified himself as an investigator from "the warrant division" said one victim was about to be "picked up."

"Make sure you have somewhere for your kids to go. Lock up your house. Get some clean clothes, because you're not coming home anytime soon," the caller said.

In reality, authorities said, the business was run not by lawmen, but convicted felons. Its owner was former drug dealer who goes by the nickname "Bags of Money" and served 13 years for attempted robbery.

According to the Buffalo newspaper Business First, Boyland's debt collection agencies included:

Central Resource Management, Final Claims Asset Locators, Final Control Asset Locators, Interchange Payment Solutions, Next Step Services, Portfolio Asset Assurance, Silverbay Services, and Teleport.

"NY shuts down debt collection company run by felon" [Associated Press]
"AG shuts door on collection operation" [Business First of Buffalo]

RELATED
WhoCallsMe thread on Boyland [whocallsme.com]

"U.S. Fidelis hires Ashcroft firm" [St. Louis Business Journal]

"It's the biggest scam I ever got involved with," she told Today. She eventually got her warranty refunded after threatening to report US Fidelis to her state's Attorney General; this may have something to do with the fact that 40 state Attorneys General are currently investigating the company for misleading consumers.

The Today show goes on to point out that the company has 1100 complaints with the St. Louis Better Business Bureau. The St. Louis BBB president told Today, "In my 35 years of experience I've never seen this kind of activity on a company, where so many people have told us that this company is using deceptive practices and misleading advertising."

One hilarious detail pointed out by Today is that US Fidelis calls itself a "faith based" company and incorporates a halo in its logo. A halo! They must be trustworthy, then. On a related note, they point out that founder and president Darain Atkinson served time in prison in his 20s.

Still not convinced the company is crooked? (We know, you probably don't need any more convincing, but it's fun to talk about this stuff.) Here are a couple of interviews with former US Fidelis employees from the exposé:

Here's the capper: ex-con Atkinson is currently building a $17 million dollar mansion in Missouri. The only things missing from it are bats flying out of the uppermost tower.

Watch the full story here:

"Do extended car warranties protect you?" [Today Show]

Who is eligible for restitution under the Dell multi-state settlement?

Anyone who bought Dell goods or services between April 1, 2005 and April 13, 2009

AND experienced one or more of the following may be eligible for restitution:

• A problem with a Dell financing offer
• A problem with a Dell rebate
• A problem with Dell financing
• A problem with a Dell repair, warranty or servicing

Residents of the following 34 states are eligible for refunds:

Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

Filing a claim form does take a little bit of actual work in that you have to go to your state Attorney General's page and fill out a form, but this is a rare chance to make Dell pay for their shoddy service. Spend five minutes finding the form and submit it before the April 13 deadline.

Dude, don't wait on that Dell refund! [All Consuming]
PREVIOUSLY: Dell Settles With 34 States Over Anti-Consumer Practices
(Photo: DM Rosner)

A Philips spokeswoman points out that retailers and customers had pretty much made the choice easy: "We made a business decision to move out of BPA. Babies R Us was banning it, Target was going to, CVS was going to, and so the distribution channels were lessening and lessening. We felt like we had hit a tipping point with our consumers and with our retailers."

"No BPA For Baby Bottles In U.S." [Washington Post]

• 1. No more linking to TicketsNow directly from a Ticketmaster transaction screen. This applies nationwide.
• 2. Ticketmaster will pay New Jersey $350,000 to cover the cost of the investigation.
• 3. Ticketmaster will stop an advertising agreement with Google which redirected Ticketmaster searches to the TicketsNow website.
• 4. Ticketmaster will hold a lottery to sell 2,000 Springsteen tickets at face value to customers who complained about the botched sales. Another 1,000 customers who don't win the lottery will be given $100 gift certificates and an opportunity to purchase tickets to an upcoming NJ Springsteen concert.

All in all, it's a pretty good smackdown of Ticketmaster's misleading and unfair business practices, although we suspect Ticketmaster caved so quickly partly to improve its reputation as the government begins to look at their upcoming merger with Live Nation.

"Ticketmaster will stop linking customers to subsidiary" [NJ.com] (Thanks to Doug!)

RELATED
"Congressman Wants Ticketmaster Investigated For 'TicketsNow' Website"
(Photo: alexik)

Beneath Cash4Gold's shiny veneer, a dull reality [LAT] (Thanks to Anthony!)
PREVIOUSLY: 10 Confessions Of A Cash4Gold Employee

...Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

To make a claim, contact your state Attorney General's office and file, postmarked by April 13, 2009.

To find the contact info for your state, check out this post.

Some eligible for restitution in Dell settlement [Chicago Tribune] (Photo: Ryan McFarland)

According to the local Fox news station, the woman bought two pair of diamond earrings at 60% off their "original" prices, which were $550 and $320. When she got home, she noticed the price tags covered older tags, so she peeled them off. Surprise! The earrings were originally priced at $425 and $250—they had been marked up 28-30% before being put on sale.

She paid $348 total for the jewelry, but if the discounts had been applied to the original prices, she would have only paid $250.

Fox News says Kohl's says it is looking into the issue. They also contacted the Maryland Attorney General's office and were told that although stores can raise prices at any time, they can't do it solely to make their discounts look better than they are.

At the end of the video clip, the woman gives some good advice for other shoppers, at Kohl's and elsewhere: "Look at the boxes, look at the prices, ask what the original price was, ask what it's marked down from. Just be an informed consumer."

"Price Concerns" (video) [WBFF Fox 45] (Thanks to Wayne!)

First on the cut list is a $10 million severance package for its former CFO. AIG has also announced that it will work with Cuomo's office to help "recover tens of millions of dollars in improper expenditures, including compensation given to two former top executives" (which we discussed in this post yesterday).

Under the terms of the agreement, A.I.G. will provide the attorney general’s office with an accounting of all compensation paid to its senior executives. A.I.G. also agreed agreed to cancel all junkets and benefits that are not justified by legitimate business needs. AIG will immediately cancel more than 160 conferences and events, some exceeding more than $750,000 per event, for a total savings of more than $8 million.

On Thursday, the company also agreed to establish tighter management controls on future expenses to prevent any future unwarranted spending on salaries, bonuses, stock options, severance payments, gratuities, benefits, junkets and perks.

AIG also hinted to ABC News that they'll let their contract for a luxury suite at Madison Square Gardens expire in February, although we suspect they'll wait to see whether the public scrutiny has passed by then.

"A.I.G. to Help Cuomo Recover Millions in Executive Pay" [DealBook at New York Times]
(Photo: Gene Hunt)

Bill, who sent us the tip, writes,

Note that to replace this service, a person would have to buy at least a $7.99 per month service from a Usenet provider. But Comcast is not going to lower the price of their Internet service to compensate customers for the loss of Usenet access.

(Photo: Getty)

From the Associated Press:

Citigroup's "account sweeping program" automatically removed positive balances from customers' credit card accounts, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. said. For instance, if a customer double-paid a bill by mistake or refunded a purchase for credit, that positive balance was then taken from the customer without notification, Brown said.

The news stories that announced the settlement last week don't explain why the sweeping program was set up in the first place, or why it ran for so long. They do point out, however, that a whistleblower brought the program to the attention of an internal audit team in 2001, but that person was ignored and later fired.

One unnamed Citibank executive explains Citibank's position pretty succintly in the AG's press release:

In the words of a Citibank executive, “Stealing from our customers is a business decision, not a legal decision.” The same executive later said that the sweep program could not be stopped because it would reduce the executive bonus pool.

Citibank says it admits to no wrongdoing, although we're not sure how you can characterize pocketing overpayments and credits for yourself as crime-free.

According to the settlement (PDF), Citibank must identify all affected accounts and mail a notice via first class mail to the account holder's last known address, or to the person in charge of the customer's estate. You'll have to respond within 60 days of this notice, and then will be reimbursed the skimmed fees plus 10% interest. The bank has until June 1st, 2009 to refund the money.

"Citi pays $18M for questioned credit card practice" [Associated Press]
"Citibank Stole From 53,000 Customers" (Thanks to Claire!)
(Photo: Getty)

Acrylamide forms naturally when starchy foods are baked or fried. Studies have shown the chemical, which also has industrial uses, causes cancer in lab animals and nerve damage to workers who are exposed to high levels. The Food and Drug Administration is researching whether acrylamide in food poses a health risk.

''Everybody's trying to figure out how to lower levels (of acrylamide) without significantly, adversely affecting taste,'' said Michele Corish, an attorney for Lance, which produces Cape Cod chips.

Corish said the modified snacks will be available nationwide. Messages left with the other three companies were not immediately returned Friday night.

The attorney general's office said the levels of acrylamide in most Cape Cod chips are already near the compliance level as defined by the settlement. However, Brown said Cape Cod Robust Russets contain 25 times the acceptable amount.

Corish said ''Robust Russets'' chips are no longer being sold.

Pringles was not included in the settlement because they are not potato chips, and Proctor & Gamble along with McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, and KFC agreed back in 2005 to either "properly label their products or lower levels of the chemical."

Settlement will reduce carcinogens in potato chips [AP]
(Photo: Getty)

McCollum said the main culprits are third-party companies that advertise ringtones and other services on the Internet, often promising that the service will be free. When customers—often teenagers—sign up, they or their parents are then surprised to find charges on their wireless bill.

"They will download this thinking it's free because the advertising on the Internet says it's free," McCollum said. And when the charge shows up on the bill, it's not always clear what it is, either, he added.

"This advertising is wrong, it's deceptive ... and it's all over the Internet," he said.

AT&T (T: 35.06, +0.23, +0.66%) Mobility has agreed in the settlement to police such agreements with third-party providers and make it clear what the charges are for.

"It's going to say 'ringtones,' and it's going to give them an opportunity to cancel," McCollum said.

"AT&T to repay Florida customers" [Orlando Business Journal]
"AT&T Mobility Agrees to Pay Consumers for 'Free' Ringtones" [Fox Business]

She writes:

When I went to pay for the order, I noticed a gratuity already included on the bill. I told the waiter, "this is take out gratuity is not included."

He looked at me and said "that's how we always do it." I sat there staring at my bill scratching my head wondering if i should sign this receipt. A few seconds later they told me that they were out of what i had ordered. Good I thought. Cancel my order completely, but I'm taking the receipt.

...Rule 12A- 1.011(11), F.A.C., provides that the unless the following conditions are met, a gratuity is taxable as part of the total sales price:

• The charge is a voluntary gratuity or tip added to or by the purchaser to his bill or money given freely by the purchaser over and above the sales price of such food or drink product; and
• Separately stated on the purchaser's bill or invoice as a gratuity or tip; and
• All such voluntary gratuities must be distributed in full to the employees at least every six months with no part accruing to the benefit or advantage of the dealer.

Restaurants and Bars Standard Industry Guide [Florida Department of Revenue]

Under the new regulations:

• Lenders will be required to treat all borrowers fairly and equally;
• Lenders must have a "reasonable belief" that the borrower can repay the proposed mortgage;
• Lenders would be required to offer the cheapest loan for which the borrower qualifies;

The Massachusetts Senate in June adopted many of Governor Deval L. Patrick's proposals for increased regulation. The version before the House today is similar. Mortgage brokers and lenders must be licensed, pay an annual fee and be subject to greater regulation and oversight by the Massachusetts Division of Banks. The money would be used to finance housing counselors who would assist first-time homebuyers planning to use adjustable-rate loans.

The legislation would also give borrowers a 90-day grace period in which to catch up on loan payments if they fall behind. And it limits the fees lenders can charge if borrowers convert from adjustable-rate loans to fixed-rate loans, which are generally easier to repay.

State toughens rules on mortgages [Boston Globe]
(AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Missouri doctors cited numerous objections to the pilot program, which was halted and is being redesigned. For example, most faculty members of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis were initially excluded from the quality rankings because university-based care is generally more expensive. Doctors in major specialties were ranked by cost alone.

Tyler Mason, a spokesman for UnitedHealthcare, said the company had been meeting with the attorney general's staff. He said: "We share their commitment to looking at cost and quality. That's exactly what this is about. The assertion in the letter that sometimes higher cost equals higher quality is actually not what experts nationwide find. Sometimes lower cost means higher quality."

N.Y. Attorney General Objects to Insurer's Ranking of Doctors by Cost and Quality [NYT]
(Photo: Waldo Jaquith)

This happened to me last week. 2 people came to my door from IDT, impersonating ConEd.

I called the Attorney General's office at 212-416-8000 and they said this was the first they had heard of it. They need more complaints about IDT in order to start an investigation.

If IDT Energy attempted to slam you or someone you know, be sure to call and register the complaint. Obviously, not enough people. Then again, Andrew Cuomo's team is in there now. Maybe Elliot Spitzer's team didn't just leave good notes. — BEN POPKEN

All Floridians who filed a complaint with the AG's office are eligible to take part in the settlement. Visit Myfloridalegal.com for more info.

See, this is why it's important to file official complaints! — BEN POPKEN

AOL settles over consumer complaints [Miami Herald] (Thanks to Sean!)

The office of the Attorney General sent a letter to the ISP on June 28th demanding answers. The letter was sent on June 28th, fifteen days after Vinny's phone call hit the net.

In August of '05, AOL and Spitzer struck a deal after whereby AOL agreed to revamp its retention procedures to make it easier for consumers to leave, agree to third-party verification and pay $1.25 million in costs.

Steve Case's heirs must have a spanking fetish. Good thing Spitzer's got a big paddle and we hope he's going to use it, and not just for consumer's sake. Otherwise, he risks looking like a chump, not a particularly well-advised fashion to sport prior to his November gubernatorial bid.

"Spitzer says AOL customer woes remain an issue" [Reuters] (Thanks to Vincent & Philip!)

The company operated sites like FreeiPods.com; FreeCDs.com; FreeDVDs.com and FreeVideoGames.com. Users typed in their contact info in hopes of getting something for nothing.

According to readers Mary O. and Adrian, Gratis actually DID give people iPods and Mac Minis and such. They also gave them chum buckets of spam.

Billions of dollars, after the jump...

Gratis has a privacy policy which claims, in several places, in several different ways that it "We will never give out, sell or lend your name or information to anyone." However, Gratis did exactly that, selling the data to three different "email marketers" who sent millions of pieces of spam to the addresses. No doubt, these companies also then sold the lists to other marketers, who also emailed to the lists and sold them, and so on and so on.

According to the notice of verified petition, the prosecution is recommending a penalty of $500 (or such other amount the court deems appropriate) per user unlawfully sold.

Based on the amount of data they are conservatively projected to have sold to Datran, just one of the three companies they provided data to, if the court fined Gratis Internet the full $500 that would equal over 73 billion dollars.

The total amount Gratis is estimated to have earned selling the records is $413,117.

The press release believes the Gratis case "to be the largest deliberate breach of privacy in internet history." Perhaps only in recorded history. There's hundreds of companies like Gratis, Datran, JDR and Jumpstart, in various shades of off-black. Hopefully this lawsuit will send them a message.

Suit Accuses Website Operator of Massive Privacy Breach [OAG.NY via Digg]

A few months ago, a consumer complaint launched an investigation by Eliot Spitzer (pictured) of Kaufman's, which was found guilty of engaging in various deceptive marketing and advertising tactics.

For example, Kaufman's conducted a near constant sale of a high-end coffee maker from September 29, 2005 through December 31, 2005. During this time, the store offered the Braun Tassimo Hot Beverage System at a sale price of $169.99, discounted from its regular price of $219.99, for 74 out of 94 days. However, the MSRP is is in fact $169.99, and could be widely found in other stores for that price.

"This is the second agreement that Kaufmann s has entered into with the Attorney General s Office. In the first, which was signed in January 2005, Kaufmann s agreed to stop promoting fake sales. As revealed by the Attorney General s more recent investigation, however, Kaufmann s failed to do so," reported the press release.

More shenanigan details in the press release.

New Yorkers wanting to file a complaint about false advertising can call the Attorney General s consumer help line at (800) 771-7755.

Don t worry, it s absolutely free. We re doing a special promotion a Best Buy cashier allegedly told Chelsea Tulin at checkout.

After getting home, she checked receipt and saw at the bottom Best Buy had given her credit/debit info to Time. They also gave Time permission to charge her card after the 8 issue free trial for 24 issues at 24.95 and to auto charge renewals every 6 months afterwards.

On Time s website you can get 84 issues for $29.95

Dawn Bryant, a Best Buy spokesperson, told the SF Gate that, the reasoning behind this promotion is for us to give customers things they can appreciate. It s to best serve the customer.

Tell that to the attorney generals of Wisconssin, Ohio and New Jersey, who all filed suits against Best Buy for deceptive practices.

Chelsea canceled her subscription once she saw what was happening. "It shouldn't be up to consumers to have to stay on top of these things," she said, "But it is."

Magazine Offer Not a Best Buy [SF Gate]