We are pretty smart people who did some pretty stupid things and now we are just trying to get out of debt. We know exactly what to do in the future to manage our spending, savings and credit score. And we both agree that nothing is worth putting on a credit card if we cant go home and transfer money to the card to pay off the balance when we get home. But that doesn't change the fact that we are currently facing a staggering mound of debt and see no end in sight.

J, you've got two choices:

To pay off your debt you will need one, a method, and two, a madness. First, pick a method: Snowball, or Highest-Interest First.

SNOWBALL
1. Commit yourself to making the minimum monthly payment on all debts
2. Figure out what extra amount you have in your budget to put towards debt repayment
3. Take your lowest amount bill
4. Pay the minimum plus the extra on that bill until it is paid off
5. After it's paid off, put all the money you were putting towards that bill to the next lowest bill
6. Repeat until out of debt

HIGHEST INTEREST FIRST
Do the same thing as above, except choose your debt with the highest interest first.

PROS, CONS: Many people find the snowball method to be the more psychologically gratifying. The highest-interest first method will result in you paying off the debt faster and at a lower cost. If you get depressed about your debts and it demotivates you from paying it off, the snowball method might be better to go with if it keeps you on track better.

NOTE: It's important to make sure you're current with all your lenders. This means making regular payments and not dodging their letters and calls. They're not just going to go away like a CD-of-the-month-club, they, or the shady debt collectors they sell your debt to, will keep after you until you pay up or declare bankruptcy. If you don't have enough to make the minimum payment, try calling and negotiating for a lower one. They're willing to work with you if your payments are regular and scheduled and lower than if they're getting no money at all.

HANDY TOOL: Whichever method you use, this free Excel spreadsheet can help. Just enter your credit cards, their balance, and interest rate. Then enter your required minimum monthly payments and the maximum possible amount you could put towards it, based on your budget. Select which style of repayment you want, such as snowball or highest interest first. The program then spits out an effective payoff strategy. It calculates how much interest and the total you'll end up paying, and how long it will take to get out of debt.

THIS IS SPARTA!

The deeper you're in, the more hardcore you need to be about getting out. This is the "madness" to your "method". Suffer, cut back, say no. For instance, you can cut up the credit cards and go cash only. Sell extra things around the house and use the money to pay off debts. Sell the car and get a beater, or a bicycle. Take on a second job or work longer hours. Maybe you even have to move back in with your parents while you pay off your debts. Whatever it takes, attack your debt like a hungry wolf. Intensity is the number one difference between those who become truly free and escape debt slavery, and those left staring out the prison bars.

Share your stories about struggling with debt in the comments.

(Photos: samwilkinson.org, kamshots)

First, he tried firing everyone who knew anything about the products that Circuit City sold (about 3,400 experienced salespeople) then, he responded to the inevitable tsunami of blood that followed... (2nd quarter losses of $62.8 million, and 3rd quarter losses of $207.3 million) by unveiling a retention program that would reward each top executive with $1 million.

Meanwhile, Circuit City's human resources department was wading through their own entrails and trying to hire their own fired employees back.

Finally, Blockbuster tried to move in and take over Circuit City — hoping to "differentiate products in both Blockbuster and Circuit City stores by offering exclusive content and content-enabled devices." Whatever that means. After taking a good hard look at Circuit City's books, Blockbuster decided that whatever Circuit City had, they didn't want to catch it, and called the deal off.

It's clear that Circuit City's new CEO, James "Tourniquet" Marcum, has his work cut out for him, but here at Consumerist we're pro-success. In the spirit of a new beginning, we've decided to share your suggestions with Mr. Marcum.

These comments were all written by you, the shopper. If Marcum wants to turn it around, he'd better listen up.

• CC lost their best employees, which in turn meant they lost their best trainers for new employees.

  How would I fix it? Hire arsonists and collect the insurance money. You're going down in flames, you may as well get paid.
  

• Firing competent, experienced staff so they can hire incompetent inexperienced staff at a lower hourly rate is only one step above off-shoring (which is kind of difficult to do if you want your store staffed with live people on-site!). Scumbags, that's what Circuit City's upper management are: Scumbags. And honestly, I'm insulting scumbags by making the comparison.
  
• When spending at least $2,000 on a HDTV or Plasma TV, I don't think that I can trust the expertise of a 17 year old high school dropout to guide me into choosing which one might be best for me.
  
• Fix the damn CD and DVD sections. Seriously, can anyone find one thing they're looking for?... Highlight the gadgets! I hear people like little handheld things these days. Maybe make them easier to find, easier to fondle etc... Blow everyone away with friendly returns/customer service. Unlike Best Buy where they like to accuse you of committing a crime when returning something.
  
• Stop selling Monster Cable! They would sell exponentially more cables if they didn't want $103 for 6' of HDMI cable. If I see a retailer selling Monster Cable, I will usually look for an excuse not to buy something from them.
  
• The only *good* thing about Circuit City customer service is that it's SO bad, they usually just ignore you. And ironically, I count that as a plus, as there's no faster way to turning me off in a store than to be pestered by incompetent customer service. At least when I walk into a Circuit City, I know that the reps are all going to be huddled together in the part of the store farthest away from me, so I'll be left alone to browse at my leisure.
  
• Make the executives work for a month at random Circuit City stores, with no power or authority to make changes. Spend one week at each in the "Customer Service Booth", and require them to provide responses to each and every inquiry.
  

• What do I find wrong with Circuit City?
  They have higher prices than their competitors, and most of the time they don't have what I want. How do you fix that?
  Cheaper prices. Better selection. Aggressively letting people know that they have both.
  

• Reduce the size of the stores and aim for the higher end customers. Make sure everyone selling an item is an expert on that item, or at least on that category. Spend money on wages, benefits and training to attract and retain those people.In other words, become the opposite of what Circuit City is now, because you're not the best at that and you probably never will be.
  
• Integrate the CircuitCity stores with the CircuitCity website, with the goal of making shopping easier and less stressful.
  
• Does anyone get that good feeling that they get in BB when they walk into Circuit City? No. The stores look ancient, the cust. service is just piss poor, there are never any cash registers open at any store.
  
• Most of these kinds of stores put a bunch of cheap ass computers on display, then hire a moron to help customers. Real computer experts only go to CC or Best Buy because they are in a pinch- not because they want to. I could go to Target and get the same stuff they sell at CC, but it is cheaper.
  
• Stop selling the same thing as Best Buy. Switch to high-end computer parts and systems only. At least then you'd have something different... as it is, there is nothing different between Circuit City and Best Buy.
  

• I would love it if I could feel like when I go in and need to ask a question, it's not being answered by someone who just picks up the box and reads what I just read.

Hire people who know what they're doing. Offer a better selection of products that will interest high-end cash-heavy consumers, and staff your store with people who know at least as much as they do. Clean your stores. Hire enough people so that you can have a register open at all times. Concentrate on the products that people actually want to buy, like handheld devices, cameras, consoles, and other gadgets. Mop the floor and tidy up. Don't let your employees huddle in the back of the store. Make shopping through the website easy. Lower the prices on your accessories to compete with Best Buy. Find friendly people and put them to work behind the customer service desk.

Good luck.

If you're older, you can make sure your investment mix is balanced and in-line with your investment plan. For instance, this easy calculator from the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System can you give you some ideas. Just adjust the sliders to correspond with your age, income requirements, etc, though it is of course only a starting point in your research. A recent Vanguard article on the importance of asset allocation is another good place to begin.

The one thing that you can do, regardless of age, if you're investing in any kind of fund is make sure your expense ratios are low. These are the various fees your fund is charging you to invest it. Typically index funds offer the lowest expense ratios. Expense ratios work like the fund earning compound interest on your money, which, after years, can add up to tens of thousands of dollars less in your pocket. (see our post "What Are "Expense Ratios?" and "How Your 401(k) Is Ripping You Off"

If this sounds like the same stuff you always hear, that's because it is. The point of that same old stuff is that you make a solid long-term plan and you stick with it, whether times are good, bad, or apocalyptic. Now, as ever, timing the market is unwise. Dollar-cost-averaging, where you put the same amount every month, is a good way to go. In general, and over time, the stock market rises. And, eventually, Washington will figure out a bailout plan.

(Photo: Getty)

I was the best at what I did at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (WFHM) for years. What did I do? I was a collector. At Wells, collectors are in charge of most aspects of a loan, notably ability to repay (like repayment plans) and loss mitigation aspects (loan modifications, etc). I was also part of WFHM's disaster team. I no longer work there, thank god (and can take bathroom breaks that total more than 6 monitored minutes a day!). Here's what I learned that can save you from people like the kind I used to be:

1. Chances are your mortgage is serviced (worked) by someone who has just graduated high school. A large majority of WFHM employees in major call centers have no college experience.

2. WFHM Training barely mentions loan laws and regulations. I had to download my own copy of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and even then most people in WFHM have been told that they are "legally outside of the FDCPA."

3. Do not threaten bankruptcy. Legally we had to get the names of all those who mentioned bankruptcy to corporate attorneys, and that results in a fee. Bankruptcy will not forgive a mortgage debt.

4. Fight your bankruptcy fees with a passion! WFHM tacks on all fees regarding bankruptcies on to the loan, but these fees are not simple document fees. They are normally multiple $600+ fees regarding attorneys. WFHM will not talk about these practices with collectors. I have seen upwards of $4500 in fees regarding ONE chapter 13 bankruptcy, and when I was asked to send documentation of these fees I was told we "could not."

5. WFHM wants to appear concerned about foreclosure, but their actual policies tell a different story. In the two years that I worked in the servicing call center the repayment plans constantly went DOWN in number of months available. In other words, when I started we could spread out a missed payment or 3 over 18 months; when I quit it was only 6 (on a Freddie Mac loan). Making things harder to repay does not help people avoid foreclosure.

6. WFHM does not actively investigate instances of deceptive lending practices. More than once I got an account that was a predatory loan, and WFHM will not do anything about it (even after telling us they would).

7. The Loss Mitigation department has NO CLUE what they are doing. The department that is supposed to be in charge of Load Modifications and such will almost always "lose" key documents to the modifications, and you will go into foreclosure. I normally kept track of loans that went to Loss Mit and 85% of the time 3 months later it had not been touched. If the loan was 4 months past due that now makes it 7 months past due. These are not low numbers either, we are talking about 85% of tens of thousands of loans.

8. Call center employees frequently hang up or transfer homeowners back into queue to avoid work. I would say it happened on 1 out of 3 calls. If someone needs to "transfer" you for a simple question, politely ask why. If you detect any attitude whatsoever speak with a supervisor.

9.Call early in the day. Calls are monitored by Quality Assurance (QA) in the mornings. All the reps know this. Low QA scores for collectors means no end of month bonus (if other criteria is met). In some cases that means an extra $300. Collectors take this very seriously.

10. Morale is dangerously low at WFHM. Most employees leave without notice or give 1 days notice. WFHM wants to achieve 98% utilization, meaning that only 2% of the day can go without talking to someone (in other words, 540 seconds without talking to someone in an 8 hour shift). Nepotism is also rampant at WFHM. The employee handbook states that family members are not supposed to have a superior-subordinate relationship in the same department, yet on my floor alone there were at least 2 supervisor-underling families.

11. Don't argue about the due date. The due date, on 99.5% of loans, is the first. I cannot count how many people, on a daily basis, argue this. As soon as you argue the due date, don't expect any help from the collector. Collectors at WFHM hate this more than anything else. A grace period is a GRACE period, not a blanket due date.

12.Know what you are doing when you call, because likely the collector will not. Also, if you can, deal with a local agency about your loan being past due. It's not something to be embarrassed about. At the end of month Wells has a delinquency rate of something like 2.5% (grossly inaccurate). With an 8.5M loan portfolio that means 212,500 people are late with you. Use this website to find a counselor.

Pike Place Roast Coffee:

Chris: "I like the old "burnt" coffee just fine."

Ben: "This tastes like 'coffee.' Like 'acme brand coffee.'" Meg: "Like from Looney Toons?" Ben: "Yes, exactly."

Carey: "Easily overwhelmed by the milk."

Meg: "If you told me this was Dunkin' Donuts coffee I wouldn't punch you in the face and call you a liar."

Apple Bran Muffin:

The Apple Bran Muffin has 330 calories and costs $1.75

Ben: "This muffin is the sh*t. It has a lot of sugar, though."

Carey: "It tastes like Frosted Flakes in muffin form. It's Grrrrrrrrreat."

Meg: "I can get behind this muffin." Chris: "Don't you pretty much just love muffins, though?" Meg: "Ok, well. Yes. Shut up."

Perfect Oatmeal:

Perfect Oatmeal has 140-390 calories depending on the toppings you choose. It costs $2.45.

Chris: "I just don't get it. It's nothing you wouldn't do at home with instant oatmeal. There's no Starbucks touch to it. People who eat oatmeal eat it at home or microwave it at work. It tasted fine, but I don't get it."

Carey: "I'm offended by the term 'perfect oatmeal.' It wasn't perfect. It was all right. And it costs $2.45."

Meg: "The nuts are good. I don't know about $2.45 good, but good."

Ben: "Once you add the nuts, there's something to talk about."

Captain Duvel Moneycat:"NOM NOM NOM NOM GET OUT OF THE WAY NOM MOVE OVER NOM"

Power Protein Plate:

The Power Protein Plate has 330 calories and costs $4.95. It contains a hard-boiled egg, peanut butter, a small bagel, grapes, apples and cheese.

Chris: "This is a good package, but I don't like hard boiled eggs."

Ben: "Good portion size. I like it."

Carey: "This is an airplane breakfast."

Meg: "I would buy this at the airport and take it on United Airlines because it doesn't cost 9 %#%@-ing dollars."

Which of these options, if any, would you personally buy? Any final thoughts?

Chris: "I have already bought the "Stella" (280 calories, $1.75) and will again. It's a "not unhealthy" choice. I'm impressed with the changes Starbucks has made overall. It's true that the breakfast sandwiches stink up the place. It was not a good smell. Regularly brewing the coffee makes a difference as well."

Ben: "I'd have to have a reason to eat at Starbucks, but if I did, I'd get the protein pack. That's your 4 food groups right there, and its a sensible portion. It's convenient. And there's pepper. For the egg. They even peel it for you. That's great."

Carey: "If Starbucks showed up every morning with a breakfast like this, there are some days when I would open the door."

Meg: "The oatmeal was a little pricey for what it was, but it did taste good, especially once you added the nuts. I would eat that muffin again. Damn, I love muffins."

Captain Duvel Moneycat: "I love this oatmeal more than anything I have ever known. It has opened my eyes and given my life purpose. Never again will I take for granted the miracle of God's finest creation — the oat. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to lick the floor where someone accidentally dropped some."

Part I: Preventing the old switcharoo.

You should always assume that the other customers are criminals and scammers, and the store's employees are Al Capone. Why should you assume this? Because that's what the store assumes about you. It's nothing personal. It's just business.

That's why you should you always take the following steps when making a major purchase.

1) Pay with a major credit card that offers purchase protection and extended warranty protection.
You may not like credit cards. In fact, you may hate them. In that case, consider a charge card. For the small annual fee, a charge card will offer you many of the same warranty protections that Best Buy and it's ilk are trying to sell you. If you eventually enter into a dispute with the store, it pays to have someone on your side. Do you think Best Buy is going to argue with itself on your behalf just because you bought a warranty from them?

2) Open the box before you leave the store and inspect the item. If you find old phone books or a severed head instead of your new laptop, it will be easier for everyone if the store knows that there's no possibility that you were the scammer/decapitator. Otherwise, they will assume that you are the guilty party and no amount of arguing will convince them otherwise.

3) Check to make sure the serial number on the item matches the serial number on your receipt. If it doesn't, the store will assume that you are the one who switched the item. Again, do this before you leave the store so there can be no question about it.

Part II: Self-Defense Tools

Credit Cards: Buy large purchases with a major credit card or charge card that has "Purchase Assurance," "Purchase Protection" and "Extended Warranty Protection." Purchase Protection is usually a 90-day window in which loss from accidental damage and theft are covered by your credit card company, provided that you paid for the item with the card. Extended Warranty Protection extends the manufacturer's warranty. These are both good things to have.

Paperwork: Keep your receipts. You're probably saying "duuuuuuh," but that's only because you don't read our tipline. Buy a folder. Get a magic marker and write RECEIPTS on it. Put your receipts in it. Put the folder in a safe place.

Camera: If you have a camera, take pictures of whatever goes wrong. Lots of pictures.

Part III: How to take advantage of these tools so that you never get stuck with a pile of crap.

Now, let's say that for some reason or other you've still managed to get yourself into a pickle. You've bought a box full of bathroom tiles from Best Buy and they're refusing to take it back.

1) Document everything. Take photographs of everything, save all the paperwork.

2) Contact your credit card company and report the fraud. Selling people boxes of bathroom tiles, or used, broken piles of crap instead of the real product is fraud. Fraud, fraud, fraud. It is not OK to sell fake stuff just because you are a multinational corporation and have a policy that says it's not your fault. "Policies" do not supersede laws.

3) Consider reporting the incident to your state's attorney general and/or department of consumer affairs. You may also want to inform the local police. It's possible that whomever put a ringer in your box is committing some sort of systematic retail fraud, and your report may help the police to catch them.

If you've followed these steps, your credit card company should be able to issue a chargeback. That's what happened with the real bathroom tile guy. There's no reason why you should be any different.

Epilogue:

If all else fails, or you find yourself in a situation not covered here, consider small claims court. Small claims court can help you force a company to uphold a warranty, and they can help you recover damages if you're unwittingly sold a used, defective, or broken product. Here's a success story from one of our readers who sued Best Buy over a defective washer. Best Buy said it was their policy that they were not responsible for selling a broken washer because the consumer didn't pay for their delivery service, but thankfully for our reader, policies aren't laws.

Most Fee Crazy Airlines:

1. U.S. Airways: Not only does U.S. Airways have the distinction of being the only US airline to charge for water, they were also the first to discontinue free snacks. They've also decided to do away with in-flight entertainment. So what will you think about while you're bored, hungry and thirsty? How about that $15 first checked bag fee, the $25 second checked bag fee, the $5-30$ fee to choose your favorite economy class seat, and the whopping $250 fee you paid to change your ticket. Oh, yeah, and remember when they made everyone crazy by charging a $5 fee to book a ticket... with their own website?
2. United Airlines: United is following U.S. Airways lead with a combination of cutting amenities and introducing fees. They've done away with snacks and are selling "snack boxes." Soon, United will be raising the prices for these items and economy class passengers will be expected to pay $9 for a sandwich. While you're munching on that overpriced nonsense, you can add up the following fees: $15 to check your first bag, $25 for the second bag, and $125 for the third. Then there's the $25 you paid to book your ticket over the phone, the $125 you paid for the privilege of traveling with your pet in the cabin, and of course, the $349 per year that you pay to be able to "stretch out and relax in comfort in seats located at the front of the Economy section,".."if available."
   
3. (tie) Delta Airlines & American Airlines: American was the first airline to charge for the 1st checked bag, and Delta has managed to resist that fee — but Delta's other fees are just so darn expensive that we had to call this one a tie. Ultimately, it costs more to check two bags with Delta than it does with U.S. Airways, United, or American. American currently charges $15 for the first bag, $25 for the second, and from $3-6 for snacks. Delta charges nothing for the first checked bag, but if you're thinking of checking two bags, get ready to pay $50 for the second bag, and $125 for the third bag. Ouch! Delta's snacks are complimentary, but they charge from $1-10 more for certain special items.

Least Fee Crazy Airlines:

1. Southwest Airlines: Southwest is the only major airline that isn't charging a fee to check two bags, and the third checked bag will only cost you $25. There is also no fee to change your ticket. Instead, you'll get a flight credit that is good for one year. They don't charge a fee to book over the phone or in person, and they don't charge a fee for an unaccompanied minor.
   
2. AirTran: AirTran has fees but they're lower than a lot of its competitors. For example, the 2nd checked bag is $10 and the third is $50. The ticket change fee is $75, and unaccompanied minors will only cost you $39, as opposed to $100 on Delta, United, etc. You will pay $6 for an advanced seat assignment and $20 to sit in an exit row.
   
3. JetBlue: JetBlue keeps threatening to go over to the dark side with new charges for things that used to be free (headsets $1, blankets and pillows $7) but they still have some of the more reasonable fees in the industry. There is no charge for the first checked back, and the second bag will cost you $20. Changing your ticket will cost you $100, and expect to pay from $10-20 more for their mini-business class "extra legroom" seats. Snacks and non-alcoholic beverages are plentiful and free, however. Love those blue potato chips.

If you're looking for an easy way to compare fees, check out this excellent PDF from the folks at SmarterTravel.com, Airfarewatchdog.com, and SeatGuru.com.

(Photo: Jenna Belle )

1) Don't waste money on pre-chopped food.
Pre-chopped or single serving food is expensive! Want to save money? Buy a good knife and some plastic bags.

2) Pay attention to unit pricing.
Just because something is bigger or has a sticker on it that says "special value," doesn't mean it costs less per unit. If you hate doing math, use a calculator!

3) Try store brands. It might be the exact same food you're used to eating.
The no name food you see in stores is often made by the exact same factories that produce the brand name stuff. For example, Walmart "Great Value" peanut butter is really just Peter Pan with a different label. Try the store brands. You might like them.

4) Compare prices in different areas of the store.
Deli meats, cheese and olives may be a better deal than similar products in other areas of the store — or they might not. It pays to walk around and compare, says Consumer Reports.

5) Try other stores.
The grocery store isn't always the cheapest place to buy food. Sometimes drug stores have good deals on things like milk, and liquor is cheaper at warehouse stores. Discount stores like Aldi can have great deals. Farmer's markets are fun and often inexpensive. Be careful not to blow your budget by driving all over the place to save $0.50 on organic turnips, however.

6) Make a list that fits within your budget.
Wandering around the grocery store when your hungry is a terrible idea, particularly if you don't have a set budget or a list of items you need. Take a few moments to plan your trip. You'll be done faster and you'll have saved money.

7) Eliminate waste.
People waste a lot of food. The New York Times says we Americans toss about a quarter of what is available to eat. That's not cool. The Guardian has a list of tips that will help you cut down on the food you waste.

Hate coupons, but love money? Share your coupon-free tips in the comments.

(Photo: flyingember )

There's a lot of information below, so here is an executive summary:

• Regardless of who the merchant uses to process credit card transactions, merchants that add a surcharge or require a minimum purchase to accept a Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card are violating their merchant agreement, and you should report them to the bank that issued your card.
• American Express does not forbid minimum purchase requirements, but they require parity with the other credit cards, so a minimum purchase requirement just for American Express, but not for Visa, is not allowed. American Express does not allow surcharges, unless they are assessed as a convenience fee...
• Convenience fees are allowable surcharges for specific types of payments, generally to schools and government entities (like taxes or fines).
• Asking for ID is not prohibited, but refusal to show ID cannot, by itself, be a reason for the merchant to halt the transaction.

Does this only apply to credit cards? What about when I use my [Visa, MasterCard, American Express]-branded debit card?

We've mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating: the merchant agreement applies to a consumer who uses a debit card with a major credit card company's logo on it, regardless of whether he signs it or uses a PIN. Note that this is for things like minimum purchases, surcharges, and requests for ID; a credit card often offers additional consumer protections for chargebacks, warranty extensions, and buyers assurance plans.

What's the deal with third-party processors?

After we posted about a McDonald's adding 25¢ to credit/debit card purchases, commenter Corporate Shill wrote in to tell us that many small businesses, like bars, use a third-party credit card processor to offset the expenses of purchasing credit card terminals and accepting different cards:

3rd Party CC Processing Companies offer Merchant Bank services to small businesses that cannot afford to offer CC services to their customers, or to businesses that have been denied CC processing by Merchant Bank.

(In simple legal terms the 3rd Party Companies will act as a straw man between the Merchant Bank and the business that actually accepts the CC from the customer.)

In addition to offering Merchant Bank services the 3rd Party CC Processing Company will often provide the data terminals and supporting equipment at a very low cost or even free to their clients. The data terminals, because they are accessing the 3rd Party network rather than an actual Merchant Bank network, can be programmed to accept an even wider variety of CC's and perform other functions, such as check clearing.

We asked the credit card companies whether a merchant that contracts with a third-party processor still has to adhere to the merchant agreement: MasterCard simply said "Yes," and American Express said that these merchants still sign a contract with the credit card company regardless of how they sign up for card acceptance. Corporate Shill disputes this, saying that using a third-party processor does not require the merchant to sign an agreement with the credit card companies, but the companies, at least American Express, disagree.

Are government and educational entities exempt from these rules? What is the exception for convenience fees?

MasterCard says:

We allow a "convenience" to be charged by certain educational institutions and public sector merchants, including:

• Elementary and secondary schools for tuition and related fees, and school-maintained room and board
• Colleges, universities, professional schools, and junior colleges for tuition and related fees, and school-maintained room and board
• Local, state, and federal courts of law that administer and process court fees, alimony, and child support payments
• Government entities that administer and process local, state, and federal fines
• Local, state, and federal entities that engage in financial administration and taxation
• Government Services; merchants that provide general support services for the government

In addition, a merchant is permitted to charge a fee (such as a bona fide commission, postage, expedited service or convenience fees, and the like) if the fee is imposed on all like transactions regardless of the form of payment used. For example, a merchant that has a website that accepts MasterCard, Visa and direct debit to a checking account as its three forms of payment, may ask for a surcharge IF the fee is applied to all three methods of payment. The same applies to a merchant that has a physical store that accepts cash, checks, MasterCard and Visa. The store can charge a fee as long as the fee is applied to all four methods of payment.

American Express says such fees are only allowed "in very limited industries, for example, taxes."

Can a merchant ask for ID with I pay with a credit card? Can I refuse to show it?

We've addressed this before, too, and it also bears repeating, along with a little elaboration from MasterCard: "However, to be clear, the MasterCard rule does allow merchants to ask for ID. Our rule prohibits the merchant from refusing to perform the transaction solely on the basis of the cardholder refusing to provide the ID. (If the merchant asks for ID and the cardholder refuses, then the merchant can either perform the transaction or call their acquirer for direction.)"

That being said, this isn't going to help you when you're out of cash and the guy at the convenience store won't let you charge that can of Drank. But reporting these violations, to the credit card company, to your issuing bank, and to us (preferably with pictures), will draw enough attention to the merchant that it will, hopefully, change its way.

...6098 to 4826, a solid trouncing of Comcast, which had been favored to win by many commenters. After 67 rounds and five months of fierce battling, Countrywide climbed to the top of the poop pile and affirmed its well-deserved status as the absolute nadir of capitalism. It looks like in the end, we all decided that the destruction of a giant chunk of the American economy by greed and fraud was more reprehensible than an unsatisfactory internet experience.

The Lucky Golden Shit award will get shipped to Angelo "Golden Boy" Mozilo, former Countrywide CEO, who steered the ship of financial doom from its inception to the height of its unfettered raping of the American Dream, just as soon as we find a good mailing address for him. The receipt for the Lucky Golden Ship will get mailed to Bank of America CEO Kenneth D. Lewis, along with a certificate of completion.

Congratulations to our top 10 runners up

Comcast
Walmart
Bank of America
American Airlines
Capital One
Diebold
Exxon
United Health Care
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Microsoft

You're champions, all of you. Better luck next year.

Our tipster writes:

If you aren’t aware, Asus makes an estimated 1 in 3 computer main boards sold globally and in addition to their own brand of products also provide system boards to a number of major OEM builders such as HP/Compaq and Dell. In January, AsusTek split into three separate entities – Asus, which deals primarily with Asus-branded PCs and laptops including the wildly popular EEE PC, ‘Pegatron’, which handles the motherboard business (though we keep the Asus brand name on them), and ‘Unihan’, which handles many of the other non-PC related Asus product line. As a result, each entity was suddenly responsible for its own profitability. No biggie, right? Well, as most of your readers know, customer service and support play a key role in the buyer experience. Given that so many products are similar in specification and performance these days, often it’s the after-the-sale support that can mean the difference in long term repeat business and losing a customer.

Not long after the company split, management began obsessing over numbers, and how to make what is normally an accepted expense (customer support) profitable. It was determined that the new company, ‘Pegatron’, would charge the parent company (Asus) for each technical support phone call, email, or live chat session that was received and responded to. While I cannot attest to the actual dollar amount charged for each call, I do know that phone calls generate the most income, followed by live chats, then emails. Ok, you say, no big deal, how does that affect me? Well, that’s what I’m about to show you, with 10 steps anyone can take in an attempt to get the best possible support by circumnavigating the games played with customers to generate revenue.

1. If you need technical support for any Asus product CALL.
Do NOT send an email, and use the live support feature at your own risk. A single phone call generates more revenue for the company than a couple of Live Support sessions, and more revenue than half a dozen email responses. As a result, nearly ZERO emphasis is placed on answering them, and emails are often replied to with canned ‘cut and paste’ responses which may not be relevant to your case.

2. Best Times For Calling With Low Hold Time
When calling, there are times that give you the best chances to get through with a minimal hold time. Since the support center is based in the Eastern Time Zone, and the best time to call is before 12 noon EST. The very best days to call are Tuesday through Thursday. From Noon-6pm hold times can be somewhat lengthy, as by that time working hours are in play nationwide. At any given time there are only 8-10 staff to take phone calls (yes, we’re grossly understaffed), email queries and answer Live chats. The U.S. office supports all of North America including Canada as well as Western Europe. That translates into a very heavy call volume for a small amount of people.

3. We're stressed, don't take it personally
If the representative you speak to seems curt, ill tempered, or rude, it’s not on purpose, nor personally directed toward you. All support representatives are instructed to strive for taking 70 calls per day. When you factor in a lunch hour and 2 fifteen minute breaks it leaves 450 minutes in a day. For us to reach our goal, we must be off the phone with you in 6.42 minutes. We aren’t supposed to care that it’s the tenth time you’ve called us (which isn’t toll free), or that you can’t stay on long enough to accurately even describe your issue.

4. Can I take a message?
We have recently adopted ‘messaging’ in order to achieve an objective from management that all incoming calls be answered in 60 seconds or less. To that end, we have hired a few people from temp services to answer calls, and when we experience a heavy load, they take your name and number with the promise of a return call. While calls are returned, it may take hours, if not days to get a return call. This serves three hidden purposes. If we message your call, we get paid for taking it even though no support was rendered. When we call you back, we get paid again for making a call. And currently, management has contests running offering cash rewards for most calls handled by a person during the month. Guess what? If we take a message, call you back once or twice, or you yourself call back out of frustration, we may get paid 2 or 3 times before you can speak with someone, all in the name of bonus money.

5. Don't get through? Call back in 10 minutes
If you do get ‘messaged’, you’re better off calling back in 10 or 15 minutes if you have the time. While messages should be returned within 2 hours, it’s often not the case, and generally messaging is done only long enough to clear the incoming call queue, so it’s unlikely you’d be messaged twice in that amount of time. (unless someone is intentionally messaging you, then calling back to generate more revenue and a chance at a nice cash bonus)

6. Write down your case number. Really.
When you FINALLY reach someone, you will likely be assigned a case number. This is a good thing, as it will document the nature of the call and enable someone qualified (hopefully, more on that later) to answer your questions. If you already have a case number, please state it when you first begin your conversation, it will give the technician more time to troubleshoot your problem.

7. It's just like in a game, except not fun
There are 3 ‘levels’ of tech support. Level 1 technicians primarily answer the phones and generate case numbers. There isn’t much point in trying to go into detail about your problem, as most will have a better grasp of basket weaving than solving PC issues. They will most likely transfer you to our level 2 support, where the fun begins. Many of our representatives are competent enough to handle your questions, but if you EVER question the accuracy of the advice you are getting, you can request to be connected to the top tier of support (Level 3) at ANY time.

8. We have the long-term memory of a snail
The reason you may wish to ask for Level 2 or 3 support immediately is this: Pegatron/Asus offers zero informational training about Asus products – past, present, or future. Typically we are not aware that a new motherboard/router/PDA has hit the street until we start getting calls about it. There is no ‘informational meeting’, no product info cheat sheets, or anything of the sort offered to the support team. Normally, the more senior members are tech-oriented, and stay up to date from home, so your chances improve greatly of getting the help you need by asking for a higher tier. Sadly, even some Level 2 agents are lacking basic skills and cannot help you with BIOS settings, RAID setup, installation of an operating system and so forth, nor will they know offhand the specs of the latest and greatest boards.

9. There is no such thing as a ‘known issue’.
Every company that has every produced a physical product has occasionally put out a junk product. We are under direct orders not to confirm ANY problem as a ‘known issue’, EVER. It doesn’t matter if every single model ‘X’ PDA plays ‘Jingle Bells’ every time you turn it on, it’s not a ‘known’ issue and we will not admit to one. If you happen into one of these products that turns out to have ‘known issues’, calling tech support won’t get you anywhere. We will offer to exchange it for an identical product only, which is just as likely to have the same ‘nonexistent’ issue. Since Asus does not sell direct to the public, you won’t be getting a refund either. Sad, but true, so you may wish to browse a few forums and seek outside input before considering any purchase.

10. Merchant refunds and returns are your special friend
If you do have a problem with a new Asus product and are within the return or exchange window offered by your reseller (often 14 to 30 days), don’t waste your time calling us. Simply return the defective product for an exchange or refund. Generally speaking, returning a product to Asus (motherboards in particular), can mean a 2-3 week wait before you see your board returned to you. In addition, it’s likely a refurbished motherboard which likely underwent no extensive testing before being dropped into a Fed Ex box and sent back to you. There is a separate department on the repair floor to handle 2nd and 3rd time returns, and once you’ve reached that level, you r chances of getting a tested board improve marginally. However, these boards won’t be cleaned, and may have thermal paste, grease, smudges, fingerprints, etc on them. It’s no fun to invest $300 in a new top of the line board, only to have an issue with it and get one back that looks like Timmy kicked it down the street for half a mile before putting it in your box. Not fun.

11. BONUS!!!!!
If you do weave your way through the Asus maze and find a helpful soul on the other end of the phone, don’t bank on he or she being there if you need them in the future. We have experienced close to 100% turnover in the past year, and those who remain are constantly threatened, both verbally and via email (proof available upon request, Ben) that they will lose their jobs for failure to make objectives. Sad, yes, but painfully true.

Do you have any tips for dealing with Asus, or Asus tech support stories to share? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Here's what VISA says should happen when you present an unsigned card:

1) The merchant will ask for your government ID.
2) You will be asked to sign the card. If you sign it, the signature on the card will be compared to the signature on the government ID. If you refuse, the card will not be accepted.

Here's VISA's official statement on "See ID":

Some customers write “See ID” or “Ask for ID” in the signature panel, thinking that this is a deterrent against fraud or forgery; that is, if their signature is not on the card, a fraudster will not be able to forge it. In reality, criminals don’t take the time to practice signatures: they use cards as quickly as possible after a theft and prior to the accounts being blocked. They are actually counting on you not to look at the back of the card and compare signatures—they may even have access to counterfeit identification with a signature in their own handwriting. “See ID” or “Ask for ID” is not a valid substitute for a signature. The customer must sign the card in your presence, as stated above.

Most merchants don't follow this policy, but some (most notoriously— the U.S. Postal Service), are quite strict.

2) The Maximum Liability For Unauthorized Use Of A Credit Card* Is $50 According To Federal Law
The Fair Credit Billing Act protects you from suffering damages due to unauthorized use of your credit card. If you report a lost or stolen card before anyone uses it, you are not responsible for any charges. If you do not report it before an unauthorized use you are liable for a maximum of $50.

(*Credit cards only. Debit cards and ATM cards are covered under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and your liability depends on how quickly you report the loss. Unlike credit cards, debit and ATM cards can have unlimited liability in certain circumstances.)

3) Merchants Cannot Require You To Present ID, Unless Your Card Is Unsigned
Some consumers enjoy it when a clerk asks to see their ID. Others do not. In some states, it's actually illegal for a store to record any additional information (such as an address or drivers license number) as a condition of processing a credit card transaction (unless the address is needed for shipping, of course.) For some reason this is always a hotly debated topic, so we'll go right to VISA for the answer:

Although Visa rules do not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID, merchants cannot make an ID a condition of acceptance. Therefore, merchants cannot refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID. Visa believes merchants should not ask for ID as part of their regular card acceptance procedures. Laws in several states also make it illegal for merchants to write a cardholder’s personal information, such as an address or phone number, on a sales receipt.

We think that's pretty clear. Don't want to show your ID? Don't.

4) Merchants Cannot Require A Minimum Transaction Amount
It's a violation of the credit card company's merchant agreement to refuse a transaction because it is below the "minumum."

VISA says:

Imposing minimum or maximum purchase amounts in order to accept a Visa card transaction is a violation of the Visa rules.

Mastercard says:

A Merchant must not require, or indicate that it requires, a minimum or maximum Transaction amount to accept a valid and properly presented Card

5) Merchants Cannot Charge A Surcharge For Using A Credit Card, However, They Can Offer A "Cash Discount"
You may have noticed that gas stations are starting to offer a different, higher price for credit cards. This isn't technically allowed— unless it is marketed as a "cash discount." In other words, if you fill up your car and find that you've been charged more than advertised because you paid with a credit card — that's not allowed. If, however, you decide to pay with cash because you saw an advertised "cash discount" to the "regular price" — that's ok. A subtle distinction, but an important one.

(There is something called a "convenience fee" that some institutions are allowed to charge if they do not typically accept credit cards in their normal course of business. The example VISA gives is a utility company where the customary way is to pay by mail or in person. The rules for charging this fee are somewhat complicated and there are loopholes, etc.)

6) Many Credit Cards Have Programs That Will Automatically Double The Manufacturer's Warranty And Other Excellent Benefits
We get a lot of complaints that can be easily solved by the complainee's credit card company. We've helped readers get laptops replaced out of warranty, and helped them get their money back when Best Buy sold them a box full of bathroom tile instead of a hard drive. Your card may come with extended warranty protection, 90 day accidental damage protection that includes vandalism, rental car insurance, road side assistance, baggage insurance, and return protection. You should be aware of what benefits your credit or debit card offers so that you remember to use them when you need them.

7) Merchants Are Not Allowed To Make You Give Up Your Right To A Chargeback
You might see a receipt that has suspicious-looking waiver stating that you're agreeing to give up your right to issue a chargeback against the merchant for any reason, no matter what, period. These waivers are the result of some crafty entrepreneurs selling sales-receipt paper with the waiver printed on it, claiming that it helps protect the merchant. It's all nonsense and it isn't allowed. If you see it, you should report the merchant.

8) Merchants Are Not Allowed To Place A Hold For The Estimated Tip
Because so many consumers have instant access to their account information, merchants aren't allowed to place an "authorization" for an estimated tip. For example, if you go to dinner and the bill is $100 and you pay with a credit card, the restaurant might be tempted to "authorize" your card for $120—a 20% tip. If you choose to leave a 15% tip and then check your balance — it will appear that you have been overcharged. This apparently results in lots of angry customers, so the practice has been forbidden in VISA's merchant agreement.

9) If Merchants Suspect You Of Fraud They Are Supposed To Call With A "Code 10"
If a merchant is suspicious of you, they are supposed to make a "Code 10" call. They are instructed to take your card, call in, and say “I have a Code 10 authorization request." They will then be asked a series of questions that can be discreetly answered with either yes or no. The merchant bank will then authorize or deny the card. They are not supposed to threaten to call the police or try to detain you. Mastercard says that if the police need to be involved, the "Code 10" operator will call the police while the clerk waits on hold.

10) If Merchants Break These Rules, You Can Report Them To The Credit Card Company
Here's Mastercard's Merchant Violation form. To report merchant violations to VISA, they ask that you report them to the financial institution that issued you your Visa card. You should be able to find the number your on Visa statement or on the back of your card.

(Photo: Maulleigh )

As far as the other policies go: AT&T and Verizon have similar pro-rating plans, (for each month that goes by they deduct $5 from the ETF) but Verizon starts discounting earlier than AT&T, according to Consumer Reports.

When you look at 1 year contracts, T-Mobile's plan looks a lot better. Their discounts beat both AT&T and Verizon after 6 months. Also, if you cancel T-Mobile in the final month of either a 2 year or a 1 year contract, you'll have to pay either $50 or your monthly fee — whichever is less.

Something to watch out for: T-Mobile's trial period is only 20 days, while AT&T and Verizon both give you 30 days.

T-Mobile announces pro-rating of termination fees [Consumer Reports]

The average debit card transaction triggering an overdraft is for a $26 purchase. For this transaction,the bank makes an average loan of $19.95, or the amount overdrafted, and charges an average fee of $33 for each incident. This amounts to an average of $1.65 in fees per dollar borrowed. Thus, older adults pay more in fees than they receive in credit for the average debit card purchase triggering an overdraft.

Since Social Security payments are disbursed only once a month, a consumer on Social Security can rack up substantial daily balance fees waiting for her next check— trapping her in a cycle of overdraft fees and debt that's eerily similar to a payday loan scenario. If the consumers on Social Security were instead given a line of credit they could avoid this cycle of debt.

The Center for Responsible Lending illustrates this difference by sharing the story of Mary, a real consumer entirely dependent on Social Security:

Mary begins the year 2006 with $420.56 in her checking account, held at a large national bank. She makes a $380 ATM withdrawal and several smaller point-of-sale purchases on January 3, comes up short, and is overdrawn by January 4. She incurs a $34 overdraft fee for the initial overdraft. After two more purchases, and two more overdraft fees, she finds herself almost $200 below zero on January 9. For the next eleven days, Mary doesn’t spend any money from her checking account, but her checking account loses money, nonetheless. Her bank charges her a fee of $7 a day because of her ongoing negative balance. By the time a scheduled electronic withdrawal is made to pay a bill for $32.38 on January 20, Mary’s account is overdrawn by more than $300, and the bank rejects the transaction. Her bill goes unpaid, although the bank continues to charge daily negative-balance fees.

Finally, on January 25, Mary receives her monthly Social Security check of $904. However, her account is already $335 overdrawn and she still has an additional $500 in expenses for the month. Once these payments are made, Mary only has $31.09 left to live on until her next Social Security check comes in late February. Because of this, Mary almost immediately has a negative checking account balance again, once she makes three small ($20 or less) purchases on February 1. Over the next two days, Mary incurs two overdraft fees because of these purchases and conducts another transaction for $50, which also results in an overdraft.

Mary does not make any more purchases between February 8 and February 17. However, the bank again continues to charge her a fee of $7 a day because of her ongoing negative balance. On February 18, an automatic bill payment causes Mary’s account to go even farther into the red—a transaction that the bank approves even though her account is already below zero and she cannot even repay the $7 daily negative balance fee. Once Mary’s account dips to $314.91 below zero, the bank finally begins to refuse additional transactions, rejecting a utility bill for another month. The $7 daily negative balance fees continue to be assessed through February 21.

Finally, on February 22, Mary’s Social Security check comes in, and the account balance ends up above $400 once the bank subtracts the overdraft fees. Unfortunately, because Mary still has to pay her end of the month expenses totaling about $410, she is left with only $18.48 to tide her over until the end of March. This meager sum—even less than the $31.09 she had to make ends meet after being charged for overdrafts in February—virtually guarantees that Mary will continue to remain trapped in a cycle of accumulating overdraft fees month after month. In January and February, Mary paid $448 in overdraft fees in return for receiving $210.25 in credit from her bank, and was forced to live on $20 from a Social Security check of nearly $1,000. If Mary’s bank had instead offered her an 18 percent APR line of credit to cover overdrafts, she would have only paid about $1 in total fees for her overdrafts.

As you can see in the graph above, if Mary would have been offered a line of credit, she would have ended up with $420 at the end of two months and would have been able to pay her utility bills.

The Center for Responsible Lending is working to stop banks from being able to automatically drain Social Security funds from checking accounts, but the important takeaway for us is this: It's important that you or your family consider switching to a bank that allows you to link a savings account or offers a less expensive line of credit so that you can avoid these fees — particularly if you or your loved ones are retired and on a fixed income. There will likely be a fee for this service, but when you consider the alternative, it may be a wise choice.

Here's some basic information about overdraft protection from Bankrate. You can also compare accounts and overdraft fees with Bankrate's checking account finder.

Shredded SecurityOverdraft practices drain fees from older Americans (PDF) [Center For Responsible Lending via CL&P Blog]
(Photo: michael.kinne )

I looked around the site and didn't see any handy guide for a situation that I, and I'm sure many others, are in. We have an older car that still runs, but occasionally needs work. At what point do you begin experiencing diminishing returns on your investment? I know there is no hard and fast rule but there has to be reasonable guide lines when it comes down to how much to put into an old car before its just not worth it anymore. I don't meant to make a request (especially since Consumerist helped me out before) but I think an article on this might not go unappreciated.

Brenden,

Essentially, what you have here is a math problem. There are several factors that you'll want to consider when making your calculations.

1) How much money have you been pouring in to the car? Grab all of your receipts and total them up. Then ask yourself this question: "What is the current state of my car?" If you've just fixed it up and it's going to be running great for some time, you might want to keep it for awhile. If you're barely keeping up as one thing after another breaks... it might be time to say goodbye. If you're unsure about this part of the process, call your mechanic or a trusted friend who knows something about cars. Ask if parts for your car are getting expensive, and if it is going to be worth maintaining.

2) Do you own this car? Your relationship with your car depends a lot on whether or not you actually own it. Everyone's situation is going to be different. What is the actual value of your car? Can you get anything for it if you sell it? If you're not used to paying a car payment, are you going to want to start? Run the numbers and see what this car means to you financially.

3) Does this car get good gas mileage, and what does it cost to insure? Calculate the operating expenses of your car. A newer car may save you money on gas, or it may not. It's probably going to cost more to insure. Once you know what your current car costs you, you can compare it to the numbers for your potential new(er) cars.

Now that you have an idea of what your car is actually costing you, you can start comparing it to what a different car might cost. You might find that your old car is very cost effective, despite the repairs. Or you might not. Generally speaking, however, a car you own is better than a car your bank owns. Personally, we enjoy buying slightly used cars (that we can afford) with cash. Good luck!

Anything we missed? Share your tips for Brenden in the comments.
(Photo: The Joy Of The Mundane )

1) I don't need any extra features or accessories, so don't bother trying to sell them to me.
Cellphone sales reps are under a lot of pressure to sell features and accessories. Go ahead and use this information to your advantage. Avoid expensive accessories, but go ahead and see if you can't use extra features as leverage. Need that data plan anyway? They don't need to know that. Let them convince you.

2) I'm under contract with you guys, can I have a better phone anyway?
The answer to this question is "no." If you're under contract, the sales reps have no reason to give you a deal on a phone, unless you're close to your contract expiration date. Even then, you'd be better off waiting until your contract is up and shopping around for the best deal.

3) I've been a loyal customer for many years! There's no way I'm switching! Reward me!
You can try calling your cellphone company and asking for a "loyalty credit" before heading over to the store to begin your negotiation, but keep in mind that sales reps tend to get less commission for retaining customers than they do for getting new accounts. You're probably going to get the best deal from a company that considers you a new customer.

4) Yes, I would like a 2 year contact!
You ideally want no contract. If that's not possible, you'd like a one year contract. Cellphone reps tell us again and again that there's no real benefit to you, the consumer, for signing up for a 2 year contract. Sometimes you can't avoid it, but you owe it to yourself to try.

5) I have not shopped around, I do not know what your competitors are offering, and I have no idea what the hell is going on right now.
Shop around. Look at each company's website. Check out the phones. Read reviews. Learn about the plans. Then go around to each company and ask when they're willing to offer you. Write each offer down. Now you can start your negotiation. Don't believe this is possible? Check out this letter from a reader who used tips from Consumerist to save lots of money on his new cellphone plan.

Bonus Tip: Go cellphone shopping at the end of the month, when some reps are under increased pressure to meet their quotas.

We know you have lots of cellphone shopping tips. Add them to the comments and help your fellow man.

(Photo: medalian1 )

Cablevision is lying to customers by claiming that the FCC will require all subscribers to upgrade to digital cable boxes in 2009. Digital cable boxes cost $6.50 per month, plus an extra $10.95 for digital service. Cablevision recently sent a letter to all boxless subscribers threatening to cut several channels unless they forked out a bundle of extra cash for digital service. When one of our family member called for an explanation, Cablevision shirked responsibility and placed the blame squarely on some crazy new FCC mandate. We called shenanigans and decided to call back and record our chats with several customer service representatives. Inside, the recordings of Cablevision lies and the FCC's flaccid response.

Before we get to the recordings, let's look at Cablevision's fairly innocuous letter:

40 million American families don't use a digital cable box. Assuming all cable companies use Cablevision's rates, operators stand to pick up an extra $698,000,000 per month by convincing all 40 million families to shell out an extra $17.45 for digital service. That small piece of change is worth more than the yearly GDP of several small nations.

Cablevision is well within its bounds to charge whatever it wants for service. They can tell us we need a cable box, and that service will now cost $300 per month. That's a freedom afforded by the market. What they can't do is cowardly hide behind the FCC and blame their money-grubbing on the government. Let's listen as they try to do just that:

We spoke with four representatives, each of whom blamed the FCC for forcing us to upgrade to digital cable. We asked one representative how this information was conveyed to the CSRs, and she explained that Cablevision had specifically trained them to point to the FCC.

Let's be perfectly clear: the FCC decision has absolutely nothing to do with the channels Cablevision is taking away, nor does it require anyone to upgrade to a digital cable box.

Don't believe us? Let's see if we can find someone to refute Cablevision.... Maybe Cablevision is up to the task?

We spoke with two representative at the FCC who claim that several cable companies have engaged in similar deceitful and fraudulent actions. According to the representatives, the Commission is powerless to take action. One even defended the cable companies, saying:

"Most of [the cable companies] are blaming it on the FCC. It's easier for us to take it. We have broad shoulders, you know? We're the ones who have to explain it to all the consumers anyway when they find the 800 number and then they start calling and asking us: "why is my cable company doing this to me? I want to file a complaint."

Unfortunately, there are no mandates for good customer service. I wish there was! I would really like there for to be a mandate that says: "I'm sorry, but people on the phone at my cable company have to be nice to me and they have to tell me the truth." I wish there was, but there's not.

A mandate for good customer service couldn't be enforced by the 82nd-airborne, but lying? Regulated companies should not be allowed to lie to their customers.

Thankfully, the bespectacled bossman helming the FCC takes a different view. Chairman Kevin Martin recently slammed retailers for lying about the digital transition, dishing out several million dollars worth of fines to Sears, Best Buy and Walmart. Why can cable companies lie, but not retailers?

We know that Chairman Martin is a good guy who likes consumers. Let's go back and listen to the sweet consumer-protecting swan song he sung so graciously in our defense last year:

If the cable companies had their way, you, your mother and father, or your next door neighbor could go to sleep one night after watching their favorite channel and wake up the next morning to a dark fuzzy screen. This is because the cable operators believe that it is appropriate for them to choose which stations analog cable customers should be able watch. It is not acceptable as a policy matter or as a legal matter.

Kevvy was announcing that cable companies would be required to carry broadcast channels (CBS, NBC, ABC, etc...) until 2012, and not Travel Planet or RAI, which Cablevision is preparing to yank. The Chairman did, however, explicitly endorse our right to enjoy cable service without a box, and Cablevision's right to require us to rent one:

...the Commission is not forcing consumers to purchase or lease a set top box to continue watching their favorite channels. This decision lies in the hands of the cable company. They can avoid the need for new boxes bychoosing to downconvert the digital signal into analog at their headend. This downconversion would permit analog cable subscribers to continue watching broadcast television just as they do today without disruption.

This isn't the first time Cablevision has used the DTV transition to beat customers like cash-spewing pinatas. The cable giant was previously caught sending letters to prospective customers telling them that TV would disappear in 2009 unless they started paying $240 per year, despite the availability of $20 converter boxes that will keep the Price Is Right up and running.

Cablevision is clearly engaged in a pattern of deception and fraud. The FCC has a responsibility to investigate and admonish Cablevision for their abusive conduct. Predatory upseling simply cannot be tolerated in a responsibly regulated marketplace.

PREVIOUSLY: Cablevision Uses Digital TV Transition To Upsell Basic Cable
Sears, Best Buy, Wal-Mart And Others Fined For Not Warning Consumers About Analog Obsolescence
FCC Takes Action To Prevent Cable Companies From Dropping Digital Broadcast Networks From Analog Cable

Here are our criteria:

• Had to be from a top nationwide burger chain.
• Had to be on the regular menu.
• Had to be a burger. No chicken.

Special Awards:

Most Ominous New Burger: McDonald's 1/3 Angus Deluxe with Bacon has 860 calories, but isn't available everywhere yet. When it's nationwide, it'll bump the Baconator™ off the top 5.

Some Burgers With Fewer Calories:

A WHOPPER JR.® has 370 calories. You could eat 3 full WHOPPER JR.® sandwiches (bun and toppings and mayo) and it would still be less calories than the TRIPLE WHOPPER® with cheese. A Wendy's Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger has 310 calories. [ed. note—In the interest of fairness, a friend who recently ate one says that the Baconator™ is significantly more delicious than the 2.6 Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers he could eat for the same calories.]

Best Name for A Butt-Blimping Burger:

Baconator™, duh.

Wendy's
McDonald's
BK

(Photo:MortonFox)

You're probably convinced that there's a huge conspiracy going on to get you to pay for a bunch of crap you don't want.

You might be right. According to the American Cable Association (an organization that is obviously quite biased toward the cable industry) it's not your cable company's idea to force "Lifetime Movies" on you, it's the big media companies themselves that dictate cable line-ups through a technique called "tying and bundling."

According to the ACA, big media companies "tie" certain less desirable channels to the "must have" channels. For example, if you're a cable company and you want to offer ESPN, Disney says that you have to also offer a whole menu of other channels in order to get ESPN for a reasonable price. Big media companies will also mandate that these other channels be placed on the "basic" tier, regardless of how many cable subscribers are actually interested in the channel.

ACA says that in order to get the 13 most "desirable" channels, cable companies are obligated to distribute over 60 other channels. They say that this is preventing or limiting the cable company from offering more customizable options to the consumer. For example, if a cable company wanted to offer an expanded tier of kids programming, it might be prevented from moving certain stations away from the "basic" tier, because they had been bundled with a popular channel like Nickelodeon or The Disney Channel. The smaller the cable company, the harder it is to stand up to big media.

Here's a few examples of bundled channels from the ACA's FCC filing:

If you want: Disney Channel
You get: ABC Family, SoapNet, Toon Disney, ESPN Channels

If you want: USA
You get: MSNBC, CNBC, Sci Fi, Comedy Central, Bravo, Olympics surcharge

If you want: ESPN
You get:ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPN Classic, ESPN 360 (Internet), ESPNU

If you want: USA HD
You get: Chiller, Sleuth

If you want: Disney Channel HD
You get: ABC Family HD, Toon Disney HD, ESPN News HD

If you want: Fox Sports
You get: National Geographic, Fox Soccer, Fox Business, Fox Sports College, Fox Reality, Fuel, Big 10 Network, Fox Movie Channel

If you want: Food Network
You get: HGTV, DIY, Fine Living

If you want: CNN
You get: Headline News, TBS, TNT, WTBS

If you want: MTV
You get: TV Land, CMT, VH1, Nickelodeon, Noggin, VH1 Soul, CMT Pure Country, MTV Jam

If you want: Discovery Channel
You get: FitTV, Animal Planet, TLC, Travel, BBC America, Discovery Kids, Science Channel, Discovery Channel, Discovery Health, Discovery Home

The ACA argues that they'd be able to offer more cost-effective and consumer friendly cable packages if big media was forced to offer reasonably priced single channels and was prevented from dictating which channels they had to place on which tier.

What do you consumers think? Would you like to see more themed tiers? Do you trust the cable industry to provide more consumer friendly packages? Do you think things are fine the way they are?

Public Comments on the Review of the Commission's Program Access Rules and Examination of Programming Tying Arrangements (PDF) [FCC]

This is the Chairman's second romp to the Hill in defense of his ill-fated plan. Though at the last hearing in the House, Martin's plan received tepid support, today he appears before Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), who led the Senate Commerce Committee to pass a resolution ordering the FCC to delay its planned December 18 vote by at least 120 days.

Today's showdown features one panel with all five members of the FCC. Can Kevin Martin and Spectacles of Hope prevail over Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and the Scowl of Doom? Start hitting refresh at 10 a.m. to find out.
(AP Photo/John Bazemore)

9:55: Today's video link comes in two flavors: Real Media Player and Windows Media Player/Quicktime.
10:12: We begin our liveblogging now.

10:14: One caveat: C-SPAN3 is broadcasting a panel of women who are confident that the nation is ready for a female President. Whoa, simply whoa, man. The Committee's webcast promises: "coverage begins momentarily." Until then, we'll cover this panel. Liveblogging warmup.

10:16: This woman got her education in a one-room school, and supports bipartisanship.

10:16: There is another question. The question that came before this was: "I want Hillary to be the next President, but I hear that it won't ever happen because people don't like Bill. Will Hillary ever be a President?" C-SPAN also promises that the hearing will begin as soon as this is over.

10:17: "Raising children is such a critical job, that it be done well."

10:18: We're having fun imagining the Senators and the FCC Commissioners sitting in the Russell Building watching this fascinating discussion on feminism.

10:19: We think this woman wants money for raising her son.

10:20: Bumper sticker: Motherhood = unpaid labor.

10:20: "Unpaid labor is a huge issues in the United States that needs to be brought into feminism."

10:20: This would almost be better than our media ow