Consumerist: wildfires

FEMA employees posed as independent reporters ...

Ben Popken — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:32:59 EDT

FEMA employees posed as independent reporters in a fake and staged news conference to ask softball questions of the agency's response to the California wildfires. [MSNBC]

CA Attorneys Offering Free Legal Help To Wildfire Victims

Ben Popken — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 12:05:16 EDT

California attorneys are banding together to provide pro-bono legal aid for victims of the the state's wildfires. Contact info here. American Association for Justice, Consumer Attorneys Of California, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, and United Policyholders are all helping out, as well as some individual attorneys. Filing insurance claims can sometimes require the assistance of a lawyer to make sure you're getting the full policy amount.

Southern California Fire Legal Help [Consumer Attorneys Of California] (Thanks to Eric!)
(Photo: CNN)

Washington Mutual Refunds Fees To Wildfire Victims

Ben Popken — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:08:15 EDT

A Washington Mutual insiders tells us that the bank will refund overdraft fees for victims of the California wildfires, if they couldn't get to an ATM, as well as ATM surcharges if they were forced to use non-WaMu machines. WaMu customer service confirmed the report. Victims can claim their refund by calling or visiting a branch location. A small but noble gesture, certainly better than AT&T | Dish asking customers if they remembered to pick up their receiver on their way out of the house and charging them $300 for not.

(Photo: ha_y_n_henna)

AT&T Asks CA Wildfire Victims If They Remembered To Pick Up Satellite Receiver As They Fled Their Burning House

Ben Popken — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 09:41:04 EDT

UPDATE: AT&T Won't Charge Couple For Leaving Satellite Receiver Behind In Flaming House

When this Azola couple got back from their honeymoon, they had about an hour of matrimonial bliss before being forced to flee as their house was engulfed in flames. So you can understand they had some things on their mind other than the status of their AT&T | Dish receiver as they ran for their lives. When they called to cancel service, the customer service rep asked if they had "remembered to pick up the receiver" as they left the house...

After the couple said no, AT&T told them they would have to pay $300 for the receiver and would not put any forbearance on the bill as the couple tried to get their life back together. Escalating to a supervisor yielded the same result. You would think AT&T would allow for some extenuating circumstances CONSIDERING THE WHOLE PLACE IS ON FIRE OF FEDERAL EMERGENCY PROPORTIONS! Still, AT&T has a right to recoup it's property... which makes us wonder if the couple's homeowner's insurance will cover it, as the receiver isn't actually theirs. Just an unfortunate situation all around.

In contrast, Washington Mutual is refunding overdrafts and ATM surcharge fees to wildfire victims.

(Thanks to Desiree!)