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service plans
Does This Potty Seat Need An Extended Warranty?
Kelly just bought a plastic Baby Bjorn potty seat at Babies R Us. When the cashier rang it up, the system told her to ask Kelly if she'd like to pay another 30% of the purchase price for a service plan. More » -
facebook
Depressed Lady Loses Benefits Because Of Her Facebook Photos
A depressed woman has lost her benefits because her insurance agent found Facebook photos where she appears to be having fun. More » -
find flu shots
Quickly Find Nearby Flu Shots With Google Maps
Want to quickly and easily know where you can get a flu shot nearby? More » -
personal information
Your Credit Report Isn't The Only Report You Should Monitor
When an insurer decides whether to offer you a new policy, or whether to raise rates on a current one, he most likely pulls a CLUE report that lists any homeowner or automobile insurance loss claims (or sometimes even just inquiries) that you've made over the past 3-7 years. Hopefully you monitor your consumer credit report for errors, but as you can see, that's not the only one you should keep an eye on. More » -
insurance
10 Strategies To Lower Your Auto Insurance
Over at the Mint blog they've posted a list of 10 ways to reduce your car insurance premium. You'll want to contact your current insurer and ask some questions, like whether they offer a discount for paying up front, or if they'll cut you a deal for being a long-term customer. More » -
bad decisions
What To Consider Before Buying An Extended Warranty
The New York Times has an article about why consumers buy extended warranties for electronic products and other appliances, especially since we rarely have enough information at the moment of sale to make an informed decision. Here are three things to watch out for the next time you're buying some fun electronic device. More » -
follow ups
Capital One Activates Payment Protection Plan Thanks To EECB
Earlier this week, I posted about a college student who couldn't get Capital One's Emergency Payment Protection Plan activated on his account because of missed deadlines. Andon wrote back today to say that after he sent an EECB to the credit card company's executives, they apologized and activated the service. More » -
in your wallet
Capital One Tricks Customer Into Not Activating Emergency Payment Protection Plan
Cory wrote in earlier to complain about Capital One's nasty habit of having their collection department call you to upsell you on other products. At almost the same time, Andon wrote to us to let us know that the company's protection plan—the sort of thing they're trying to sell to people like Cory—is useless unless you can manipulate time (Andon can't). More » -
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insurance
6 Things Your Insurance Agent Doesn't Need To Hear
MSN Money Central posted a list of five things not to tell your insurer. More » -
pre-existing conditions
Skinny Toddlers Also Can't Get Insurance?
We guess we should have seen this one coming. After news broke of the uninsurable fat baby last week, MSNBC found a similar case on the other end of the spectrum. A Colorado family with a 22-pound two-year-old says that United HealthCare told them their daughter Aislin is too small to qualify for insurance under their guidelines. More » -
sorta happy endings
Ryder Charges Guy $200 For Damages He Didn't Cause, Gives Money Back
It doesn't take much to please some customers. Patrick tells us Ryder charged him $200 for moving truck damages that already existed before he rented the vehicle. More » -
pre-existing conditions
Fat Little Babies Can't Get Insurance?
Up until yesterday, 4-month-old Alex Lange was considered uninsurable by Rocky Mountain Health Plans because he was above the 95th percentile for height and weight for his age—that gave him a pre-existing condition of obesity, and earned him a stamp of rejection. More » -
health care
The Best States For Health Care
A new report has been published that ranks the quality of health care for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It's not looking too swell for people who live in the South. More » -
officemax
OfficeMax Won't Send Customer A Refund Gift Card That Works
When Dave bought a monitor from OfficeMax he opted for the MaxAssurance insurance plan. His bet that the monitor would break paid off, but he's been unable to cash out because OfficeMax keeps sending him gift cards that won't work. He writes: More » -
insurance
How To Reduce Your Insurance Premiums
Kiplinger has put together a list of ways to reduce costs for auto, home, and life insurance. For auto and homeowners insurance, boosting your deductible from $250 to $1000 can lower your premiums between 15-25%. If you haven't looked at your life insurance policy in a while, don't wait any longer to shop around—rates have "dropped significantly" over the past 15 years but are now on the rise. And when calculating homeowners insurance, don't fall into the market value trap: make sure you're covering the true cost of replacing only the home and what's inside, not the value of the land.
"Slash Your Insurance Costs" [Kiplinger]
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choose your own adventure
How Would Health Care Reform Affect You?
Consumers Union has put together a breakdown of the health care bills in Congress to let you see how they would affect you, based on your age and what kind of insurance you currently have (if any). It's an interesting tool to see what the various proposed changes are. More » -
videos
344 Now 224 lb Reader Featured On TV, In Newsweek
Reader Tyler Weeks, who started a blog to chronicle his journey from 344 pounds to his current weight of 224.6, was recently featured in Newsweek and on his local CBS news station for his weight reduction success story. Nice job! Here's the video. More » -
your health
Homes With Cats 8 Times More Likely To Contain MRSA
You may have thought you could only get MRSA at hospitals and the beach, but apparently researchers have discovered that it can be transmitted via pets and lead to repeat infections, reports the New York Times. One recent case involved a baby elephant and 20 human caretakers at the San Diego Zoo last year, but at the domestic level it looks like cats (and dogs, but not to the same degree) somehow contribute to cycle of infection at home. More »


















