Costco Connection - July 2006

A hard look at

Also:
■ PC recycling
■ What’s organic?
■

Online sales tax

Ask David
Horowitz
title insurance

TITLE INSURANCE IS often a confusing home- no firm definition for this category. However, the buying requirement that costs buyers about $17 industry’sconsensusisthat“natural”productsmust billion each year. contain no artificial preservatives, sweeteners or

Lenders require title insurance when financing a coloring, chemical additives or hydrogenated oils. home mortgage as protection against potential own- Certified Organic Ingredients. This indicates ership claims or liens on the property. Premiums for that ingredients are certified by the USDA as or-this service can account for as much as one-third of ganic. However, the entire product is not “organic” the closing costs of escrow. The more expensive the because it may contain or use nonorganic materials property, the higher the premium. and processes.

Instead of comparison shopping, most home buyers simply use the title insurance agent recom- Online shoppers due for shock mended by the mortgage lender, real estate agent or Shoppers who buy on the Internet or by mail lawyer. As a result, kickback schemes have prolifer- order because they don ’t have to pay sales tax are ated, leading to vastly inflated costs of title insurance due for a dollar shock. States are for many innocent home buyers. moving closer to collecting taxes

In addition, title insurance companies are often on these transactions. fully or partly owned by real estate lenders and Nineteen more states have brokers. Such an arrangement, federal regulators say, now agreed, as part of what is can create conflicts of interest. That’s why Congress, called the Streamlined Sales Tax prompted by allegations of kickbacks and other Project, to remove the sales-abuses, is taking a hard look at how this industry is tax difficulties of small currently functioning. and medium-sized businesses over the

The toxic side of recycling Internet. The project’s

Computer companies are expanding take-back proposals include offers by offering U.S. customers free shipping and tax-law simplification recycling of their outdated hardware, but there are and more efficient still problems with the system. administrative tech-

The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition says increas- nologies as a way to ing numbers of computers are being recycled, and reduce the burden about 80 percent of the electronic waste slated for of tax collection. recycling in the United States is being shipped over- The bottom seas. But when these products reach their destina- line is that 45 states tion, they are usually dismantled by low-wage andthe Districtof workers who are exposed to the toxic chemicals and Columbia will finally other electronic elements without any protection or be able to collect out oversight from U.S. or local governments. of consumers’ pockets

Something needs to be done before this recy- the mega-dollars due clable material is shipped out of the country to make them in sales and sure that people who handle it abroad are protected. use taxes. C

What’s organic?

If you prefer to buy natural body-care products _AMY _{CAN TRELL}in the United States, be aware there is no definitive David Horowitz is a leading consumer advocate. way to identify the “organic” nature of products that His “Fight Back!” commentaries are heard daily on do not carry the U.S. Department of Agriculture the Jones Radio Network. For stations and times,

(USDA) seal. check the radio page at www.fightback.com.

MY DAUGHTER made credit mistakes in college. She’s now paid off the bills, but needs to improve her credit rating. In order to erase the bad marks, the credit bureaus insist that her creditors contact them— but the creditors won't budge. Many companies advertise they can help us, but they charge a lot. What should she do?

Cheryl

Rancho Murieta, CA

CHERYL, an outside
party can’t help. Credit
violations can legally
remain in the file for
seven years. Paying off a
debt does not mean that
the mark will be erased.
Your daughter
could ask again,
but if an account
has already been
paid, there is
little incentive
for creditors to
delete it. If it
hasn’t been
paid, she might
try to negotiate
immediate pay-
ment in exchange
for removing
negative marks.
Her best bet is to
build a new history by
establishing favorable
credit references, with
timely payments. Experts
suggest four active credit
accounts with a clean
payment history. This is
not a quick fix, but recent
history is the most impor-
tant. The good references
will eventually outweigh
the negative ones.

USDA Organic. This official seal guarantees Do you have a question for David? that the ingredients in a product are free of antibi- Just log on to www.fightback.com and “Ask David.” He will personally respond to otics, synthetic pesticides and genetically modified your problem if you follow the instructions printed on his Web site. (Costco members organisms. Products containing the USDA seal con- receive a rebate off the normal fee.) Questions and answers of the greatest interest to tain at least 70 percent organic ingredients. Costco members will be used in this column with the permission of the contributor