Tuesday, July 15, 2025
52.0°F

Monopoly alert: Complain now, not when it's too late

Bill Brooks Special to | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 years, 7 months AGO
by Bill Brooks Special to
| November 30, 2017 12:00 AM

A small company called AT&T is trying to do everything it can to get its hands on another small company called Time Warner Inc. 

Now these companies are attempting to form a giant company that will control much of the cellphone business and the satellite TV business for the entire country.

The U.S. government is opposing this move. I agree; the takeover shouldn't be permitted. Follow this one carefully, and make your thoughts known to your federal elected representatives.

•••

FTC FINES ADORE ME — This company, Adore Me, surfaced on the national lingerie market a little over a year ago with big, sexy TV ads, promising to send ladies some pretty outragous, stylish, custom-made brassieres. It turns out their billing practices were illegal, and their claims of original custom creations were largely false. The Federal Trade Commission has fined them to the tune of $1.3 million. You might say the company got their ________ caught in a wringer!

•••

NASTY SURPRISE DEPARTMENT: Most post-high school students, once awarded their cap, gown and diploma, aspire to further their careers or education. Many choose a junior college, college or university. Usually, one of their first stops is the Financial Aid Office. There they find a multitude of departments, banks, federal and state agencies, virtually throwing money at them. Sometimes in the form of grants (often with conditions) and many in the form of low-interest loans (as long as the student is pursuing a FULL TIME course of study).

The problem arises when a student, for one reason or another, ceases to be a full-time student. ALL the loans and grants have very stringent (and legally enforceable) terms and conditions attached to them. Repayment usually begins once a student is no longer enrolled in the course of study as agreed when the loan was initiated. Usually, monthly payments begin to be required under the terms of the contract, often with increased interest rates, or other times, the full amount is due and payable immediately. Not paying these loanss in accordance to the terms to which you agreed may subject you to legal action and much higher interest rates. Once you violate the terms of the loans and don't pay, it will likely be reported to the three credit reporting agencies and begin to degrade your credit score quickly, and will probably take years to be removed from your record. This will mean higher interest rates for loans, if you can get them at all. Cars and home loans may be unattainable.

UNCLE BILL'S ADVICE: Before you quit school and bail on a loan, know what you're risking!

•••

HOW NOT TO FIX YOUR CREDIT: As we all know, a good or at least decent credit score is required for most of life's important purchases — and in many cases, employment or even to rent an apartment. Your credit rating is often viewed, rightly or wrongly, as a barometer of your personal character. Many consumers (including me in my youth) didn't fully understand these “facts of life.” A credit score can plummet faster than a well-hit mallard over a marsh during hunting season. The problem is, it sometimes takes years to raise your credit score back to an acceptable level.

There are thousands of “credit repair” companies offering ways to quickly if not instantly fix your credit. They are mostly scams. First clue is you are required to pay their initial fee upfront. The second big red flag is they contact your creditors and offer to settle for a much lower amount than you actually owe. SOMETIMES, the creditor will agree, but they also report the fact that you did not pay your bill as agreed and that they “wrote off” a substantial part of the money you owed. This further lowers your credit score. Some really bad companies insist that you send them your paycheck and they will put you on an allowance, charge you an outrageous monthly service fee, and attempt to hold your creditors hostage by threating that you will file bankruptcy — again, lowering your credit score.

MY ADVICE: Don't spend more than you make. If you're already up to your eyeballs in debt, contact your credit card company yourself, in writing, and ask them to assist you in working out a payment plan. There are also some decent nonprofit companies that will help you, but be VERY careful; many are wolves in sheep's clothing. “Dave Ramsey's Complete Money Makeover” is a great start. Buy it — read it and start December right!

•••

REMEMBER: I'm in your corner.

•••

I have many more tips and interesting cases that I'm working on. Call me at 208-699-0506, or email me at BillBrooksRealEstate@gmail.com or fax me at 866-362-9266. Please include your name and a phone number. I am available to speak about consumerism to schools, and local and civic groups.

•••

Bill Brooks writes about consumer issues for The Press. He's also the broker and owner of Bill Brooks Real Estate in Coeur d'Alene.

MORE IMPORTED STORIES

Debt is a vampire
Coeur d'Alene Press | Updated 7 years, 8 months ago
Withstanding Category 4 scams
Coeur d'Alene Press | Updated 6 years, 8 months ago
Yo ho ho! Mess with scam callers
Coeur d'Alene Press | Updated 6 years, 9 months ago

ARTICLES BY BILL BROOKS SPECIAL TO

March 15, 2018 1 a.m.

Spring ushers in birds, bees and scammers

With warm weather come tourists, and with them come the scammers and crooks masquerading as tourists.

April 2, 2018 1 a.m.

Scammers don't give up easily

One reader got a number of calls purporting to be from his Visa card company. The fake company, and would be scammer, called the cardholder early on a Saturday morning, informing him that a suspicious charge was made to his Visa card from a location in India. He immediately went online and checked his account. There was no such charge.

February 8, 2018 midnight

Friends and foes of Sears assault Bill's eyes, ears

We have a GREAT consumer community here. By the end of the day Monday, I had received more than 30 calls from consumers telling me about their experiences with Sears warranty services, some very good, and some very bad. Many consumers who were happy with Sears provided me with various telephone contact numbers that they had found helpful. In no particular order, here are some of the more popular numbers: 509-260-3588, 800-469-4663, 877-496-8746, 559-490-7570, 208-512-9898, (HOME) 4-MY Home®.