Consumer World Blog by MrConsumer

How to Negotiate with your Health Club

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:37:00 +0000

You always see tantilizing offers for new members of health clubs. But what about deals for current members? The NYT offers suggestions of how to negotiate with your health club for lower prices. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

Brand Loyalty for Toyota Drops

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:05:00 +0000

The barrage of bad publicity surrounding the Toyota recalls has influenced consumer perceptions of the brand. Some previous purchasers say they would not buy another Toyota. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

Quiz Show Scandal, 2010-Style

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:37:00 +0000

The government is investigating a never aired quiz show on FOX where some of the children who were contestants may have been afforded an unfair advantage. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

How to Get a Better Phone Deal

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:22:00 +0000

Whether it is lower prices for local service, long distance, or cell service, there are ways to cut your phone bills. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

FDA Considers Having Calories/Serving Size on Front of Packages

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:02:00 +0000

The FDA is considering requiring food manufacturers to use more realistic serving sizes for its food products, and posting the calorie count on the front of the package. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

AT&T/Apple to Allow Cheap VoIP Calls on iPhones

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:39:00 +0000

IPhone users will soon be able to eschew AT&T's bucket of minutes in order to make cheaper calls over the Internent on their iPhones. Of course, you will still have to pay for a data plan. The savings are estimated to be about $20 a month. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

Hulu Considering Charging for Watching TV Online

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:43:00 +0000

The completely free ride for watching TV online may come to an end as word has leaked out that Hulu.com is considering charging $4.99 a month to access other than the most recent episodes of TV programs. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

New Hazard: Distracted Pedestrians on Cell Phones

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:28:00 +0000

Don't look now, but pedestrians on cell phones are a hazard -- to themselves. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

How a Man with Cancer Successfully Handles Medical Bills

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:00:00 +0000

A man learned how to work the medical and insurance systems when he was given two years to live. Here's what he did. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

Dell Computer Buyers Upset of Delays

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Dell customers are not a happy bunch over the past few months, as delays for computer delivery have become commonplace. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

How Amazon Has Outsmarted the Sales Tax Man

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:22:00 +0000

Amazon is a smart company and has a found a way not to charge sales tax to customers in states even where it has a certain presence. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

Beware Unintended Consequences of Lower Interchange Fees

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:47:00 +0000

Retailers pay about 2% to Visa or MasterCard everytime you charge a purchase. They are currently seeking federal legislation to lower the fee. Sounds like a good idea until you see what happened in Australia when the fee was lowered six years ago. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

Mortgage Rates Hit Low but Banks Balk at Refinancing

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:41:00 +0000

The good news and the bad news: residential mortgages are at an all-time low, but banks are reluctant to refinance many homeowners' loans. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

IRS Issues Guidelines on First Time Homebuyer Credit

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:43:00 +0000

The IRS just issued rules on qualifying for the $6500 and $8000 tax credit for first time homebuyers. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

How to Comparison Shop for Medical Care

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:16:00 +0000

The NY Times lists various web resources where you can find doctors who negotiate prices, as well as typical costs for different medical procedures in your area. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

Some Twitter Tweets May be Advertising

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:17:00 +0000

Don't look now, but ads are creeping into Twitter... and the Twitterer is paid for tweeting the ads. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

Congress Considers Taxing Fees that Airlines Collect

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:16:00 +0000

To add insult to injury, Congress is considering taxing all those new fees that airlines have been imposing on luggage, etc. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

Debt Settlement Companies are Bad News for Most Consumers

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:03:00 +0000

They promise you will only have pay 60 cents on every dollar owed. The trouble is, most companies that say they will lower your total debt fail to deliver on that promise. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

In Search of Higher Bank Interest Rates

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:53:00 +0000

What we are being paid by online banks for our deposits seems to keep getting less and less. The NY Times offers some tips on finding the highest interest rates available (but they are still pretty low). For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

Sometimes You Lose After Winning a Net Auction

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:12:00 +0000

Most auctions are legit, but sometimes problems arise after winning an online auction. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

Unredeemed Gift Cards Benefit State Coffers

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:43:00 +0000

Some eight billion dollars a year goes unused on gift cards each year, and abandoned property offices in many states are the beneficiaries. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

10 Riskiest Foods for Food Poisoning

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:21:00 +0000

Here is a list of foods that cause the most people to get food poisoning every year. (One in four Americans get food poisoning annually.) For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

Feds Draft New Rules for Credit Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:42:00 +0000

Come February, the second part of the CARD act goes into effect further regulating credit card issuers' practices. The Federal Reserve has now published draft rules to implement the new law. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

So You Want to Buy a Foreclosed Home...

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 11:20:00 +0000

Here is information on how to find foreclosed homes listings, and how to make sure you don't get stuck with a clunker. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

FCC to Push for Net Neutrality

noreply@blogger.com (Edgar) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:13:00 +0000

The FCC is expected to announce rulemaking to prevent Internet providers from slowing down connections for certain content. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.