Getting Time Warner Cable to repent
February 15, 2011
The Rev. Tom Batsis sat in the dining room of the priests' residence at a Roman Catholic church in North Hollywood, religious images gracing the wall behind him.
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A 3.8% tax to fund healthcare? Yes and no
February 11, 2011
There's an e-mail going around warning that anyone who sells their home after 2012 "will pay a 3.8% sales tax on it" to help fund President Obama's healthcare reform law.
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Title loans' interest rates are literally out of control
February 8, 2011
John Robert Aguirre stood forlornly at RPM Lenders on the edge of South-Central Los Angeles, slapping twenties onto the yellow countertop.
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There's a new sheriff in town to watch out for consumers
February 4, 2011
The newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau doesn't officially open for business until July 21. But the agency is already making its presence felt.
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Capital One dredges up decade-old, charged-off debt
February 1, 2011
Frank Cavestani and his wife fell behind on their Capital One credit card payments about a decade ago. Their accounts were subsequently closed by the lender, which wrote off about $2,000 in debt they couldn't pay.
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Utilities have no incentive to scrap pension plans
January 28, 2011
Galen Dean of Yucaipa has worked on and off for Southern California Edison Co. for 29 years. As he puts it, he's done "pretty much everything except climb poles."
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Pay off debts without adding extra costs
January 25, 2011
Getting the debt monkey off your back is probably the single most important thing you can do to put your fiscal house in order. This paves the way toward lower interest rates, lower monthly payments and a general lowering of anxiety.
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GOP's childish opposition to healthcare reform
January 21, 2011
Get over your bad selves.
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It's time to retire utilities' 'bulletproof' pension system
January 18, 2011
The reaction of Claremont resident Randy Scott was typical of the many e-mails I received last week after reporting that Southern California Edison wants to jack up people's electricity rates in part to cover its pension losses in the stock market.
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Some firms still basing health insurance rates on gender
January 13, 2011
As of Jan. 1, California requires all individual health insurance policies to be sold on a "gender-neutral" basis — that is, without any consideration for whether you're a man or woman.
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Using just half of a round-trip airline ticket can be costly
January 11, 2011
Who owns an airline ticket — you or the airline?
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What's to blame for AT&T outages?
January 6, 2011
Steve Robin works out of his La Crescenta home as a real estate investor and property manager. He relies on AT&T for his phone line, fax line, broadband Internet connection and TV service.
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Water-line insurance could be money down the drain
January 4, 2011
Thousands of California homeowners recently received official-looking letters from a company called Home Emergency Insurance Solutions informing them that they face the prospect of thousands of dollars in unforeseen costs because they lack coverage for the pipes that bring water to their homes.
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Peace of mind from extended warranty? Maybe not
December 24, 2010
It's a question that shoppers get asked a lot — by car dealers, electronics salespeople, even at the toy store: Do you want to purchase an extended warranty with that?
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With health insurance mandate, there's safety in numbers
December 21, 2010
If more proof is needed about the folly of opposing healthcare reform, take the example of West Hollywood resident Michelle Mindlin, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in March and underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy.
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What's our collective desire on individual mandate?
December 17, 2010
What part of the insurance business do opponents of healthcare reform not understand?
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Time Warner Cable's gift to itself: More of your money
December 14, 2010
There are things you can count on every year — the changing of the seasons, the happy faces of kids during the holidays … higher cable rates.
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You won't find Spokeo founder included on his 'people search' site
June 8, 2010
Harrison Tang cares about his privacy and takes elaborate steps to protect it. Your privacy is another matter.
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Blue Shield hits health insurance policyholder with 54% rate hike
June 14, 2009
Los Angeles resident Ruta Miller, 44, prides herself on keeping fit. "I'm super-healthy," she told me. "I exercise all the time. I eat well. I haven't even had a cold in I don't know how long."
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Consumer advocates hope watchdog agencies get more bite
December 28, 2008
You'll be safer in 2009. At least that's the expectation of consumer watchdogs who believe the changing of the guard at the White House in a few weeks will mark the beginning of a new era in protecting people from stuff that can hurt you.
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Employer-based health insurance plans no longer work
December 10, 2008
It seems clear that change is coming to the U.S. healthcare system. President-elect Barack Obama wants it. Congress wants it. Even the insurance industry says the time is ripe to do things differently.
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Medical pricing makes the head spin
September 7, 2008
It began with a dizzy spell. Before long, though, what really had my head spinning was the inscrutable way that healthcare providers and insurers put a dollar value on medical services -- and how that leaves patients unable to determine a fair price for any treatment.
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Medical pricing makes the head spin
September 7, 2008
It began with a dizzy spell. Before long, though, what really had my head spinning was the inscrutable way that healthcare providers and insurers put a dollar value on medical services -- and how that leaves patients unable to determine a fair price for any treatment.
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Laboring harder, slipping behind
August 31, 2008
Every day is Labor Day for Ruben Rangel.
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Answers, not IOUs, for Social Security
August 24, 2008
Whatever happened to Social Security?
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On Rodeo Drive, the economy's booming
August 20, 2008
Steve Thorne, 54, watched approvingly as his girlfriend tried on a pair of boots at the Jimmy Choo boutique on Rodeo Drive last week.
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Caution is the right reaction to chemical
August 13, 2008
Maybe you've seen the ad showing an empty shopping cart in the middle of the desert. "Soon, many common, everyday products could disappear from grocery store shelves all across California," it warns.
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Give the doctor a checkup before ordering a house call
August 10, 2008
He refers to himself as Dr. House Call. In glossy brochures mailed recently to thousands of well-to-do households from Malibu to Brentwood, he said he was seeking to be a "caring, old-fashioned Marcus Welby kind of good doctor without the office hassles."
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Carcinogen worries stick to food packaging
July 30, 2008
The next time you make some microwave popcorn or cook a frozen pizza, consider this: The packaging of many of these products contains a chemical that the Environmental Protection Agency considers potentially carcinogenic and wants businesses to voluntarily stop using by 2015.
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'Smart meters' may soon be outdated
April 20, 2008
California's three biggest utilities are charging customers nearly $4.6 billion to install millions of "smart meters" at homes and businesses. These newfangled meters, the utilities promise, will revolutionize energy usage by giving consumers far greater control over how much they pay for power.
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Too much contact at this Reunion
April 16, 2008
The name of the game for social-networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook is to draw as many users as possible into the fold. Typically that's done by creating a community and features so irresistible that people feel they just have to join.
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Mortgage payoff on steroids
April 9, 2008
When Stockton resident Kevin Byrd refinanced his mortgage a couple of years ago, he figured he'd need the full 30 years to pay off more than $300,000 in debt.
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ZIP Code still a factor in auto insurance
April 6, 2008
A lot of drivers probably thought they were finally getting a break when then-California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced in 2005 that he was requiring insurers to stop using ZIP Codes as a main factor in determining car-insurance rates.
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Cellphones may do a number on Cuba
April 2, 2008
The Cuban government made headlines worldwide when it announced the other day that its citizens would finally have unrestricted access to cellphones, ushering in a new era in telecommunications for the economically challenged island.
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Things are looking up -- at the pawn shop
March 23, 2008
The economy is tanking, banks are scrambling for cover, the Fed is repeatedly cutting interest rates . . . and business is booming at pawn shop Crown City Loan & Jewelry in Old Pasadena.
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Cellphones to keep track of your purchases -- and you
March 16, 2008
You might not know it, but as of January it became illegal in California for companies to require workers to have devices implanted under their skin that would reveal their whereabouts at all times.
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Curbing our need for oil
March 12, 2008
With oil prices at record highs and gas heading to the $4-a-gallon level, I was set to come roaring out of the gate today with a proposal that all vehicles be slapped with a conservation-promoting surcharge based on mileage, with proceeds going to public-transit projects.
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Renters priced out of L.A.
March 9, 2008
Deanna Corbin, 46, would live in Los Angeles if she could. But she can't, at least not with a modicum of space and safety, not on her $38,000 salary as an administrative secretary.
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Cost is the real drug threat
March 5, 2008
In his weekend radio address, President Bush warned of rogue pharmacists making potentially dangerous prescription drugs readily available online.
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Housing upheaval: a tale of two homes
February 27, 2008
Just when it was looking like things couldn't get any worse in the housing market, government officials announced Tuesday that home prices had their biggest fourth-quarter drop in 17 years.
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Firms round up; we pay the price
February 17, 2008
We live in an age of supercomputer-driven, lightning-fast digital technology that can determine the time of day down to the nanosecond.
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Shadow victims of the mortgage crisis: renters
February 13, 2008
The Bush administration's announcement Tuesday that it would put the foreclosure process on hold for 30 days to rescue struggling homeowners came several weeks too late for Mike Salgado.
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Columnist roots for Microsoft. Huh??
February 2, 2008
If there's a sentiment that crops up with frequency in this column, it's that bigger is seldom better when it comes to how businesses treat consumers.
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The joke is on cellphone users
January 23, 2008
Keith Fitzgerald, a concessions manager for Los Angeles International Airport, was in the middle of a meeting last month when his cellphone suddenly emitted an unfamiliar ring. He'd received his first-ever text message.
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Up a tree over dead cat's health plan
January 16, 2008
When Sarah Harper took her cat, Pete, to Banfield, the Pet Hospital, she was encouraged to sign up for one of the company's "optimum wellness plans."
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Free news online will cost journalism dearly
December 26, 2007
I don't pretend to understand all the minutiae of the writers strike, but I do know this much: Hollywood scribes want to be compensated fairly when their work is accessed on the Internet, which is increasingly becoming a venue to watch movies and TV shows.
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Best Buy kiosks not connected to Internet
December 23, 2007
The Connecticut attorney general's office sued Best Buy in May, charging the electronics heavyweight with using deceptive in-store websites to trick customers into paying higher prices than available on the company's actual site.
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Airline descends to a new low: a death fee
December 19, 2007
We all know that some airlines nickel-and-dime you with fees -- fees for baggage, fees for food, fees for blankets and pillows. But fees for death?
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Trump's a grump about column on his 'priceless' tips
December 16, 2007
Donald Trump wasn't happy with Wednesday's column about his seminars on profiting from the foreclosure market.
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Trump spins in foreclosure game
December 12, 2007
When I heard that President Bush wants to bail out homeowners caught up in the sub-prime mortgage mess, I figured I better move fast if I want to profit from other people's misfortune.
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Southland transit is in need of big ideas
December 9, 2007
The traffic in L.A. bites -- you know that. The question is: What are we going to do about it?
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Next cell trend lets users hold the phone
November 28, 2007
First people were allowed to take their phone numbers with them whenever they switched wireless providers. Now, Verizon Wireless is handing consumers greater clout by allowing them to use their own handsets, not just Verizon's, on the carrier's network.
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Tribal question a matter of dollars
November 2, 2007
The United States Mint -- you know, the guys who make your money -- issued a news release this week declaring that $130 refunds were being offered to anyone who bought a 2004 Lewis and Clark commemorative coin that was accompanied by a handcrafted pouch produced by Ohio's Shawnee Nation United Remnant Band.
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I knew you were going to read this
October 28, 2007
I'll call her Crystal. She's 19, dark-featured and really concerned about my aura.
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Insurers taking risk out of the equation
October 26, 2007
You buy a Band-Aid. You get a scrape. You use your Band-Aid. And the next time you go to the drugstore, you're told that you have to pay more for Band-Aids. Or maybe they won't sell you another Band-Aid at all.
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Insurance claims could haunt houses
October 24, 2007
If past history is any measure, many homeowners affected by the wildfires burning throughout Southern California will find that claims they submit to insurers will result in higher rates or even dropped policies.
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Locked in a cell: Wireless users punished for canceling early
October 22, 2007
Lawndale resident Julian Torres' cellphone experience will be familiar to many wireless customers.
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Rebate check is not in the mail
September 30, 2007
Let's say you're shopping for a new cellphone. Let's say that, like me, you thought it'd be kind of cool to own one of those sleek Razr handsets. So let's say you go to T-Mobile's website and there it is, for the nifty price of $49.99.
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Press 1 if you hate talking to a device
September 9, 2007
As the man generally regarded as the father of the automated switchboard, Peter Theis knows he has a lot to answer for.
