Short Prologue
HAVE YOU BEEN ROYALLY SCREWED?
By Myron Bernstein
This book is for anyone who has ever felt helpless when dealing with consumer rights and the oxymoron that is called “customer service”. It’s a shame but customer service has deteriorated from talking with nice, helpful people on the phone to a voice machine at some call center halfway around the world. The message one gets is we will call you back in 24 hours if you leave your name and number. It really means we will call you if and when we feel like it.
Anytime I purchase a product it comes with a warranty. Have you ever noticed that it is really called a “limited warranty” and covers nothing? Often the cost of mailing the item back is more than tossing the product out and simply buying a new one. Yet, as limited as the warranty seems, there are certain consumer rights that apply. Knowing how to use your rights is what this book will try to demonstrate.
Insurance is another one of those industries designed to spin the consumer around in circles with such excessive legal terminology that you have no idea what is happening. Various policies spell out the company’s position and our rights but when it comes time to exercise those rights, the interpretation seems to totally change when in discussion with the insurance company. Often times, even the agent selling the policy is told one thing for sales purposes while the company really means something else. Knowing how to get help is most important.
Health insurance is one of the biggest deceptions ever perpetrated upon the American public. The system is controlled by the insurance lobbyists who are working on behalf of the insurance carriers. The purpose is to make the public dependent upon insurance with a false sense of security. Most health carriers work on the premise that if you really don’t understand your coverage, the insurance company will make millions by not paying properly for services. After all, are you going to know how to fight these big companies? Not really. I will show you how to take on the big company and win!
Another major fraud upon the public are the mattress companies. They sell you a mattress with all the bells and whistles, but do you really understand what you are getting? The best is those warranties which make you feel like the more you pay the better the warranty. Well, it isn’t so. Try and use that warranty and the companies will fight you so hard that after you get frustrated enough you will simply purchase a new mattress and toss you hands up in the air. Again, I have been able to make the manufacturers fulfill their promises.
During the past thirty-five years I have fought against many of these issues and won. In order to protect your rights, you do not have to hire an attorney. There are certain legal rights built into small claims courts or with the insurance commission that are really meant to protect the consumer if you understand how to use them properly. You must be tenacious and willing to take a little time to push your way into the system. The system is designed to confuse you and make it cumbersome to get things done. With a little logic and effort you will succeed.
Most large corporations do not like negative publicity. Your problems could become public knowledge once things get into court so this is on your side. Companies will try to settle with you and make it go away, rather than letting the public see your problem. This could open a larger can of worms. Be assertive and you will usually prevail.
Consumers do not always buy products and services based upon the quality of the product but on the company’s marketing. I am sure you have heard some say, “It is all in the marketing”. Companies hire professional agencies to do demographic studies and figure out what is the best target market for their particular product or service.
Over the years, I have taken on some of the largest corporations and won. I am just like anyone else reading this book—but with one difference. I have been willing to push for my rights and not just say there is nothing I can do. The primary purpose of this book is to demonstrate that as a consumer you have certain inalienable rights. If I can teach the reader one important lesson, it’s that sometimes the best defense is a strong offense.
Have You Been Royally Screwed? Will teach you how to:
- Utilize strategies and techniques, as well as government agencies and consumer advocacy groups, to bend a company to your will.
- Choose specific words to force customer service representatives to give you what you were originally promised.
- Navigate the credit card dispute system to make it work for you.
- Use state insurance commissions to help you fight against insurance companies.
- Make independent workers, contractors, repair shops and any fee-based services-just about everyone in business—deliver on their promises.
- Win the consumer battle with just the right touch of persistence and tenacity.
Dealing With Customer Service:
One of my biggest pet peeves is dealing with customer service. Customer service is an oxymoron. Have you ever made a call to a customer service line, gone through various menu options then found yourself stuck in a holding pattern? So you sit and sit and sit until one of two things happens: Someone actually answers or the line clicks off and a familiar dial tone returns.
You think it may be a problem with your phone so you call again and the same thing happens: click and a dial tone. I’ve noticed that this is especially common within thirty minutes of the customer service department closing for the day. Don’t be discouraged. The company you are calling is most likely doing this on purpose. The customer service line could be flooded with calls so they drop some to lighten the load in hopes that the disgruntled consumers won’t call back. Or, as I have mentioned, it’s almost quitting time and they don’t want to get stuck dealing with you.
Another scenario is that someone actually answers the phone on the routing you want. You talk to a person, most likely not in the United States. When you finally explain your problem, the person on the other end responds with an accent or dialect that is often hard to understand or says, “I am really sorry” but offers no solution.
When that happens to me, I usually respond, “I know you’re sorry, but what are you going to do to rectify the situation?” Again, the response is, “I am really sorry.” Again I explain my problem, and again I hear how sorry they are. These people are taught to listen, be apologetic, and never really do anything to help.
Consumers need to figure out a strategy to get some action. Ask for a supervisor. In some cases that person will get on the phone and in other cases you will be told that the supervisors are busy and will have to call you back. If the latter happens, always ask when you should expect to receive the return call. Pin them down to a specific time if you can. What is happening here is that the customer service person may be on a time limit per call and needs to get you off the phone. Once, a customer service person I was speaking to explained that he had to get me off the phone in five minutes or he could lose his job. He said that he would have to go to the supervisor to get an override to stay on the phone for another fifteen minutes. I found this extremely interesting since I never knew this was happening in the industry.
General Contractors:
I recently did a major renovation to the upstairs of my home. The contractor seemed confident and was able to work up a drawing of just what we wanted. The price was reasonable and was based upon his labor, the actual cost of materials, plus a ten percent charge for carrying costs.
It is best to have the contractor detail the services to be performed very specifically, as well as all of the potential materials that might be needed—otherwise a vague contract means it will cost the consumer at least ten to twenty-five percent over, even if no changes were made to the original plan. Trust me, the builder will explain about all of the hidden defects during renovation that require extra service and materials, which is his way of getting more money out of you.
First of all, it is okay to sign a contract with your chosen contractor, but do not give him any money up front. Some states have something called a “waiver of liens;” check it out since it could save you a lot of aggravation. If you file the waiver before all work starts, it often makes it impossible for a subcontractor to come after you if he didn’t receive payment from your primary contractor. Remember that throughout the job, you will be giving money to the contractor, not the subcontractors, and you want to avoid being sued by a subcontractor who wasn’t paid by your contractor.
The contractor will tell you that you need the deposit to reserve the date. Simply refuse. If you absolutely have to put something down, it should be no more than $500 (so that if your contractor suddenly disappears, all you lose is the $500). Many of the contracts I have been given over the years indicate that the contractor wants ten percent before the start of the job to purchase supplies. Well, if the contractor is that poor, maybe you’re choosing the wrong person for the job!
Here is what I do to protect myself. I tell the contractor that the day he starts and puts the first materials on my property, I will gladly hand over the ten percent. (If he doesn’t have some credit with a building materials supplier, then I don’t want him doing my work.) In this case, you at least have the materials equal to the dollar amount you gave him just in case the contractor doesn’t show the second day, which does sometimes happen. It isn’t about trust—it is about protecting yourself, as a consumer, against the worst-case scenarios.
Protect yourself by changing the draw schedule to five or six throughout the duration of the job. Consumers should always do what is in their best interest. If the contractor really wants the job, he will agree to your changing the pay periods. Set it up so that you are giving the contractor a draw only after the work has been performed, never before. This will also help ensure a timely completion of your job. If the contractor has the money but has not completed the work, he will tend to pull his crew to another job to get paid and let you sit. By controlling the money distribution, you are in a better position to control the pace of the job itself. The rule of thumb is if the contractor wants his money; let him finish the next stage.
