Between a brick and a hard place (Sept.
6, 2010)
Pair want inspector to file claim for chimney damage they say he missed. Click here.
With recalls or defects, companies hold
the cards (Aug. 30, 2010)
Registering about products doesn't mean consumers will hear about problems. Click here.
Wedding happiness turns sour (Aug. 23,
2010)
Two year dispute over photography services is clouded shaded in gray. Click here.
Making the exchange (Aug. 16, 2010)
Also,
a follow-up on Community Surgical Supply, which drops small claims cases after Bamboozled asks questions. Click here. Plus, a few corrections. To read the original story, click here.
Contracting job left undone (Aug. 9, 2010)
Bamboozled steps in when pay for new windows is not returned.
Click here. Plus, an update on an insurance dispute with NJM
and a car repair company.
Click here for the original story.
Toys "R" Us return policy (Aug. 2, 2010)
Savoring some success (July 23, 2010)
Couple win $90,000 from their broker. Also, a Caller ID mystery is cracked.
Click here.
Puzzling policy (July 19, 2010)
Allstate
drops a 29-year client over a missing form (he says he returned it) Click here.
Turning off a pesky bill (July 12, 2010)
Couple
refuses to pay a DirecTV bill they didn't owe, and collections comes calling. We make it right. Click here.
Phone company finally IDs caller's
problem (July 5, 2010)
Verizon steps up with Caller ID fix. Plus, a taxpayer finally gets her refund, and yes, that is
a real check. Click here.
Only one thing was staying cold: customer
service (June 29, 2010)
A woman goes 54 days without a working refrigerator. Then
she called Bamboozled. Click here.
At last, a refund (June 22, 2010)
Consumer
Affairs steps in to help a couple get their money back. Also, Bamboozled helps recover credit card payments misplaced by two
credit card companies. Click here.
A bill that shouldn't be (June 15,
2010)
Medicare seeks repayment by firm that overbilled for wheelchair rental. Click here.
Easier said than done (June 8, 2010)
For two
couples, runaround from contractors is dizzying. Click here.
Auto-body odyssey (June 2, 2010)
Couple's attempt to
get Toyota repaired turns into an epic. Click here.
A $59,000 mistake (May 25, 2010)
Social
Security reverses its decision about a big Social Security overpayment, and EPPICard fraud strikes two more consumers. Click here.
Fighting for refunds (May 18, 2010)
Woman fights for a refinance deposit from Chase,
and another consumer has a deposit dispute with a photographer.
Click here.
Social Security horror story (May 11, 2010)
Government demands woman
pay back nearly $59,000 it says she was overpaid. Click here.
He overpaid on property taxes. Now he can't
get reimbursed. (May 4, 2010)
After 19 years of paying for a piece of his neighbor's property, he's told he's missed
the appeal deadlines. Click here.
A big headache returns (April 27, 2010)
Another
woman gets runaround with EPPICard charges. Click here.
Couple out $100,000, but who's to blame?
(April 20, 2010)
In long-term investment at Fidelity,
money ended up in the wrong fund.
Click here.
Broken promises (April 13, 2010)
Woman's name left off
Verizon settlement agreement. Plus, resolution for our flood insurance couple, the missing mortgage payment finally arrives
for another homeowner and a few choice words for email hucksters. Click here.
Flood of headaches over insurance (April
6, 2010)
Couple ends up paying twice for flood insurance and no one will help. Click here.
Getting what's due (March 30, 2010)
Verizon
not only makes customer whole, but also admits a mistake. Click here.
Hounded homeowner's mortgage payment found (March 23, 2010)
Bank of America finally comes through, but not
with a check, yet. Plus, how much the EPPICard provider receives from New Jersey and tips on buying at auction.
Click here. To read the original Bank of America story,
click here.To see how the Bank of America case was resolved,
click here.
Fight back with $5,000 at stake (March 16, 2010)
Man can't
get T-Mobile to recognize fraudulent calls to Guatemala on daughter's cell phone. Click here.
Still stuck with debt (March 9, 2010)
After
hiring a firm to renegotiate debt, a mom finds her debt piling higher. Click here.
Art buyer concerned false picture was painted
(March 2, 2010)
A man pays $16,000 for a painting at a school's charity art auction and later learns the piece can't be authenticated.
Click here.
This time, a cranky elevator cooperates (Feb 24, 2010)
We revisit Platform 222 at Port Authority Bus Terminal, plus a cemetery idea and a false ad made right. Click here.
Account closed? Maybe (Feb. 17, 2010)
Homeowners canceled their home alarm service contract, but the bills kept coming. For 18 months. Click here.
Taking on the IRS when you're in the
right (Feb. 9, 2010)
A new homeowner, due the First-Time Homebuyer Credit, is denied by the IRS. To learn about her fight, click here.
Bank and Switch (Feb. 2, 2010)
A homebuyer
is hounded for already-paid bills after his lender sells his mortgage. Click here. Bank of America finds the payment, but doesn't pay up, yet. Click here.
Same old problem, same inept response (Jan.
26, 2010)
Two more EPPICard users are defrauded and ACS, the company that manages the cards, does absolutely nothing to help.
Click here. EPPICard has a history with Bamboozled.
Click here to read the second EPPICard fraud case we covered.
To read the first EPPICard fraud case covered by Bamboozled,
click here. For more on how much New Jersey pays the EPPICard provider for services, click here.
Worker fired for letting his sleeping dog
lie (Jan. 19, 2010)
PetSmart fires an employee for "theft of service" after he keeps his dog in the empty doggie day care facility
while he does a favor for the store. Click here.
Facing bureaucracy in a time of grief (Jan.
12, 2010)
Woman waits on state tax rebate before closing out an estate. Also, man waits for a refrigerator rebate and more on
a postal scam. Click here.
Paying dearly for financial advice (Jan. 5, 2010)
A couple
seeking conservative investments loses nearly $227,000 after a broker's questionable asset allocation. Click here.
Costly definition (Dec. 29, 2009)
Family
pays twice the estimate for a plumbing job because "confined space" requires a second plumber. Click here.
Her rough ride (Dec. 22, 2009)
A woman claims a car company's
ad is misleading, Bamboozled helps a reader get an overdue referral fee from Brad Benson Hyundai, and trouble at the Port
Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. Click here. For an update on the Port Authority escalator, click here.
Fixing the repairs (Dec. 15. 2009)
Bamboozled
helps two customers solve pricey problems with two chimney companies. Click here.
Sorry, wrong number (Dec. 8. 2009)
A Verizon customer is socked
with $6.76 per minute charges on calls to India. Plus, a holiday package scam and legislation that could help Elizabethtown
Gas customers. Click here.
Grave problem (Dec. 1, 2009)
Attempts to find relatives'
burial sites hits a big-ticket hurdle, until Bamboozled gets involved. Click here.
Relief at last (Nov. 22, 2009)
Thanks
to Bamboozled, AIG agrees to reinstate a grieving family's $100,000 insurance policy. Click here.
A phantom line, but real bills (Nov. 17, 2009)
When
a recent widower examined phone bills, he found charges for a second line he never had. Plus, help for frustrated Jersey City
residents. Click here.
Bungled bills (Nov. 10, 2009)
Three
customers complain about bill errors by Elizabethtown Gas. Click here. To read about legislation that could stop billing problems, click here.
An old problem nails a new victim (Nov.
3, 2009)
Another victim of EPPICard fraud, shutting the windows case and a job scam warning. Click here.
Losing a lifetime of belongings (Oct. 27,
2009)
Storage facility sells items when bill isn't paid. Click here.
Beware credit fakery (Oct. 20, 2009)
Take on debt problems with
solid counseling. Click here.
Being Judgmental (Oct. 13, 2009)
Winning
in court doesn't mean problem is solved, Bamboozled tackles gas card, revisits Caller ID mishap. Click here.
A window into home dispute (Oct. 6, 2009)
When a window company didn't keep a family updated on delays, satisfaction kept sinking. Click here.
When saving costs (Sept. 29, 2009)
Modifying a mortgage to cut
monthly payments could impair your credit rating. Click here.
The paper chase (Sept. 22, 2009)
A medical billing error creates a recurring nightmare for
a 74-year-old widow.
Click here.
Landing a new deal (Sept. 15, 2009)
Getting a mortgage modification isn't easy, but it can be done.
Click here.
Checks and low balances (Sept. 9, 2009)
$10,000 of fraudulent charges are restored to a woman's benefits card - the
EPPICard - but the card, thanks to hefty fees, may not be worth the plastic it's imprinted on.
Click here.To read about a second EPPICard fraud case,
click here.
Caller ID fixes, lawyer trouble and Sears does right (Sept. 1, 2009)
Verizon steps up and corrects more Caller ID mix-ups,
a lawyer scares an ex-client into staying silent and Sears makes good on customer service troubles.
Click here.
Just shocking (Aug. 23, 2009)
A JCP&L power surge causes extensive damage to a couple's home, but the
utility says it's not responsible.
Click here.
Dresser drama (Aug. 18, 2009)
Furniture shop Raymour & Flanigan finally comes through with its promise to
replace a damaged dresser.
Click here.
Chilly service (Aug. 11, 2009)
Ongoing malfunctions with a Sears refrigerator, coupled with frustrating customer service responses, leaves
a woman in the cold.
Click here.
Read the fine print (Aug. 4, 2009)
Health insurance coverage confusion and a giant bill for out-of-network services almost cost a couple big
money.
Click here.
One victory, one warning, one loose end (July 28, 2009)
Story pressures Hess Visa to honor a promise and cardholders win, car negotiations
that can land you over the rainbow and JCP&L refuses to reconsider pension benefits -- but she finds new ammunition for
her fight.
Click here.
Sorry, wrong caller (July 21, 2009)
Several years of phone calls and still, a man can't get phone providers to correct his Caller ID.
Click here. To read a Letter to the Editor about this story,
click
here.
Paved with promises (July 14, 2009)
A contractor promises he'll correct shoddy work on a family's
driveway, but he never shows.
Click here. A driveway finally is installed, and this one is
free.
Click here.
Let's make a deal - but let's make it in person (July 7, 2009)
Even consumer columnists can fall for scams
-- almost.
Click here.
The waiting game (June 30, 2009)
A man asks, begs, Elizabethtown Gas to send him a bill.
Click here.
Speaking up means happier customers, here's the proof (June 23,
2009)
Hess Visa customer gets the rewards he was
promised, a phone charge mystery is solved and more possible trouble for two-named New Jersey drivers.
Click here.
No gain but lots of pain (June 16, 2009)
One man fights against unfair New Jersey tax law.
Click here.
Taking credit (June 9, 2009)
Hess Visa changes its rewards program, then switches the rules again.
Click here.
Driver confronts E-ZPass bumps - (June 2, 2009)
A case of mistaken identity leads to fines and headaches, and no one will look
at sure proof of innocence.
Click here.
Smart shopping pays off with less-expensive health coverage (May 26,
2009)
Confirmation that employer-sponsored health
plans are not always the best deal, the feds pull the plug on robo-callers and I-bonds are not so profitable these days.
Click here.
Sleuth unravels mysterious phone charges
(May 19, 2009)
Woman can't find the source
of charges to her Verizon bill
Click here.
You can learn from vacation nightmare - May 12, 2009
Continental doesn't respond to couple's request for something, anything,
to make up for mishaps.
Click here.
AT&T retiree finds health care savings outside the company (May
5, 2009)
Conventional wisdom says employer-sponsored
health insurance plans are the cheapest for workers and retirees. Not necessarily.
Click here.
Hardly a case of fraud, just of $850 oversight (April 28, 2009)
A car repair company claims a customer owes more money for
completed work because of an insurance payout.
Click here.
A lesson in economics (April 21, 2009)
TD Bank gives a boy a financial bonus for a summer
reading program, then his account is swallowed by bank fees.
Click here.
Small victory: credit score, MVC updates (April 14, 2009)
Credit scores can be affected if you cancel a credit card,
a reader finally gets referral fee and not all New Jersey two-named drivers have an incorrect license.
Click here.
Cruel timing (April 7, 2009)
A JCP&L employee dies 17 hours before his official retirement date, effectively slashing his widow's
pension benefit in half.
Click here.
Good credit won't save you from rate hikes (March 31, 2009)
Even borrowers with great credit histories are watching their
interest rates skyrocket, and lenders aren't budging to help.
Click here.
Social Security slip-up (March 24, 2009)
Confusion over a "Jr." and a "Sr."
stops Social Security benefits for someone who relies on those checks. Click here.
Double names spell trouble at the
New Jersey MVC (March 17, 2009)
Some
New Jersey drivers can't have their legal names on their licenses because of an antiquated computer system.
Click here. To read a Star-Ledger Editorial written about
the column, click here.
Wary consumers, I'm here to help (March 10, 2009)
