CONSUMERconnection
Prescription
for danger
Also:
n Credit-card crooks
n Cellphone capers
By David Horowitz
I RECENTLY DISCUSSED the dangers of buying
medications on the Internet or abroad with Carmen
Catizone, the executive director of the National
Association of the Boards of Pharmacy.
His major concern is that consumers never
know what they’re getting. For instance, a Canadian
pharmacy may actually obtain its medications from
Asia, South America or Eastern Europe, where
quality standards are not as stringent as they are in
the United States. Or, they could be outright fakes.
While counterfeits can surface anywhere, they
are significantly more common in developing countries. Catizone confirmed that counterfeiting of
pharmaceuticals is on the rise and many people are
unaware that they are buying them, because they’re
hard to identify. In some cases, patients have noticed
a different taste or consistency, or they may have had
a different reaction to the drug.
The best way to avoid a rip-off is to purchase
prescription drugs from a pharmacy and pharmacist with whom you are familiar. And because the
identity, purity and safety of drugs purchased from
foreign sources cannot be guaranteed, it is illegal,
with very few exceptions, to ship prescription
drugs that are not approved by the Food and Drug
Adminstration into the United States.
Ask David
Horowitz
WHEN WE BUILT a new
home recently, the contractor refused to allow the
heating company to install
the furnace ductwork they
wanted. As a result, the
ductwork is a mess, and
the system doesn’t work
properly. Our calls to the
contractor and the heating
company have been to no
avail. We’ll never be able
to sell this house without
disclosing the problem, and
fixing it will cost a fortune.
We want to sue both parties for the value of the
home, which would include
punitive damages. Can we
do that?
Barbara
Park City, MT
Credit-card crooks
Thanks to high-tech hacking, public records
and increasing theft of household mail, it’s easy for
con artists to get your name, address and even your
credit account numbers. With this information, all a
thief needs is that three-number code on the back of
the card to enjoy carte blanche with your account.
All they have to do is ask. And you’d be surprised
how many people fall for the trick.
Card companies will never ask for a consumer’s
card identification number. Instead, they use the
security questions you chose when you signed up
for the account. Consumers are not usually asked
for that code unless they are making purchases over
the phone or the Internet. Other than those legitimate situations, such a request is a giveaway to
potential fraud.
If you get a call from someone claiming to be
from your credit-card company asking this kind of
information, hang up and call the company yourself, using the number listed on the back of your
card. Ask them if there has been any unusual activity
on your account. Also, make sure to tell them about
the fraudulent call!
(Note: Ginnie Roeglin, Costco senior vice president of e-commerce, wants members to know that
their transactions on costco.com are encrypted and
secure.—Ed.)
Cellphone cancellation fees
As most consumers know, cellphone companies
charge fees of $175 or more for quitting their service
before the end of a contract, which is usually one to
two years. Wireless companies say cancellation fees
are necessary to recover the cost of cellphones,
which they subsidize under long-term service contracts, and to defray their costs for signing up new
customers. Consumer groups say the fees are unreasonable and intended only to discourage customers
from switching among providers.
Now, the head of the Federal Communications
Commission wants to regulate fees charged to cellphone customers w ho cancel their
contracts early. Under the proposal, consumers would have the
opportunity to cancel service
without any penalty for up to 30
days after they sign a cellphone
contract or until 10 days after they
receive their first bill.
The proposal would
also require companies to
reduce fees month by
month over the course of
a contract, prorating it
based on how long customers have before the
end of the contract
term. But it would not
abolish cancellation
fees entirely, and would
not refund such fees
to anyone who already
paid them. C
I can’t advise you legally, but
consider this: Gather all of
the paperwork on your home
construction. Hire a home
building specialist to do
a quality check on all
of the materials used
in the construction, as
well as whether the
installation was up
to code. If they con-
firm second-rate
labor or materials,
or those that don’t
match the promised
specs, you may
have a case for small
claims court.
But you’ll need to find
out the maximum amount
that you can sue for, as it
may not be enough for you
to settle this case. Keep in
mind that if the specialist
cannot prove negligence, or
if you knowingly signed off
AMY CAN TRELL on the work without con-
David Horowitz is a leading consumer advocate. sidering the fine print, you
His “Fight Back!” commentaries are heard daily on may be stuck for the original
the Jones Radio Network. For stations and times, costs, plus court fees.—DH
check the radio page at
www.fightback.com.
© 2008 FIGH T BACK! INC. ALL RIGH TS RESERVED.
Do you have a question for David?
Just log on to
www.fightback.com and “Ask David.” He will personally respond
to your problem if you follow the instructions printed on his Web site. (Costco
members receive a rebate off the normal fee.) Questions and answers of the greatest
interest to Costco members will be used in this column with the permission of the
contributor and will be posted on
www.fightback.com.
