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Community Services

Consumer Protection

Consumer Protection: Advice from The Bucks County Consumer Advocates

January 2009

Q. I am a senior citizen with some physical restrictions.  I have to get a converter box for my television; it’s old like me but still works fine.  How do I get these free coupons and is it difficult to install this box?

A.   At the current time all United States television stations must switch from an analog signal to a digital signal by February 17, 2009.  There is talk of delaying this time line.  The Federal Government is sponsoring a coupon program that will help defer up to forty dollars of the cost per box.  If you have cable or satellite you should not have any issues but we would suggest calling your provider and double checking to make sure.  If you get free television over the air by antenna, whether an outside on the roof antenna or rabbit ears and have an older TV set, you will need a digital to analog converter box.  Basically the box will receive the digital signal and convert it to analog so you receive the broadcast.  The converter box coupon program began in January of 2008 and will continue to March 31, 2009.  To order the coupons consumers can call 1-888-388-2009 or go online to www.dtv2009.gov.  As far as the physical difficulty in setting up these boxes it is not complicated or physically demanding.  Most of the manufacturers of the boxes have toll free help numbers for installation.  We suggest ordering the coupons right away and then use them right away.  They usually have a 60 day expiration date.  If you need some physical assistance ask a family member or friend to help.  The entire process should only require about 15 minutes. 

Fraud Alert!

ARE YOU REALLY MY GRANDCHILD?

The past few months there has been a dramatic increase in what has been referred to as the “Emergency Scam” or the “Grandparent Scam.” 

Seniors citizens are contacted, usually late at night, by a scammer posing as a panicked grandchild.  The caller simply states, “It’s me, your favorite grandchild,” the unsuspecting grandparent will guess the name of the grandchild it sounds the most like, and then continue to feed personal information to the scammer.  The alleged grandchild typically explains that they were arrested, have an emergency, were involved in an auto accident or got into trouble while traveling. 

At this point, the “grandchild” needs the grandparent to wire money immediately for bail or to pay for damages.  In addition, the scammer will beg the senior citizen not to contact other relatives because he or she does not want to “get in trouble.” 

Law enforcement officials are not certain how perpetrators are obtaining the phone numbers for so many seniors or senior housing complexes across the U.S.  It is believed that scammers are most likely calling random numbers until they reach a senior citizen and/or research senior housing units on the internet.  While many seniors have reported the scam without falling prey to it, unfortunately, many others have been victimized. 

The key to avoiding this scam is to:

• Remain calm despite the ‘emergency’ nature of the call.  Resist the pressure to “act now.” 
• Make attempts to verify the identity of the caller i.e. ask questions about the name of their grade school, a pet, another relative or a childhood memory only a close relative would know.
• Contact the actual grandchild’s home or cell phone, or other family members directly to verify the story before taking any further action.
• Understand that a request to wire money through Western Union or MoneyGram is a “red flag” and an immediate tip-off that the call may be part of a scam.  Funds sent via wire transfer are hard to track once received by scammers and are usually not recoverable by law enforcement or banking officials.

If you or someone you know was a victim of this or another scam, please contact your local police department and/or a member of the Bucks County Crimes Against Older Adults Task Force.

Bucks County Crimes Against  Older Adults Task Force
Fighting Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of Older Adults in Bucks County

Bucks County District Attorney’s Office 215-348-6344

Bucks County Area Agency on Aging 215-348-0510

Bucks County Consumer Protection 215-348-6060

Network of Victim Assistance 1-800-675-6900

Bucks County Register of Wills 215-348-6265

Bucks County Coroner 215-348-3852

www.crimesaginstolderadultsbucks.org 24-Hour Elder Abuse Hotline:  1-800-490-8505

Consumer Alert

Our office has been receiving numerous complaints concerning a prerecorded message that many businesses both private and governmental are currently getting on their phones.  The company never states their name but leaves a toll free call back number at least three times in their message. 

The message is basically the same with the exception of who they are targeting at the time.  So if you work for a senior center they claim they have special rates and products for refinancing or new mortgages just for senior center employees.  If they call a hospital it states the same message only now it is for hospital employees only.  And it goes on for whatever group they are trying to market to. 

Even with the financial meltdown and all the bad loans and mortgages that were made, this company says bad credit no problem.  When our office called the number a person picked up the phone and never identified themselves or the company.  After several questions that we insisted upon getting answers for, we were finally given the company name.  They stated they were licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and were a legitimate company.  Our office has forwarded the information directly to the Banking Department and the State Attorney General’s Office for review. 

The do-not-call law does not apply to business to business calls, so that is why they are targeting businesses and government offices.  It is appalling that with all the difficulties the average taxpayer has, that companies are allowed to solicit in this way.  Prerecorded calls are a nuisance and should be banned either by state or federal government. 

We encourage folks who are considering getting a new mortgage or trying to refinance an old one to be very cautious and to investigate the business thoroughly before making any decision. 

Q.  I have been renting the same house for the last twelve years.  My landlord and I have always gotten along until a couple of months ago.  I have been calling him about a small leak that appeared on my bedroom ceiling and he kept blowing me off and telling me that he would get around to it.  I must have called him eight times.  About two weeks ago when we had all that rain I came home to find that part of my roof fell in where the leak started.  There was extreme damage done to my bed and a chair and ottoman that I had on that side of my room.  I contacted him to try and get him to pay for the damage done to my personal belongings.  He said that he fixed the roof and that is all he is responsible for.  He said that my personal belongings are my problems.  Isn’t he responsible for reimbursing me for the damage done by his roof leaking?  J.S., Fairless Hills

A.  No, your landlord is only responsible for the structure of the house and you had stated that he fixed the roof.  Unfortunately you are responsible for your personal belongings.  That is why it is important for anyone who is renting to have renter’s insurance.  Consumers should contact several insurance companies and get quotes to fit your needs.  Another thing consumers should do whenever having a problem with the place that you are renting is to make sure you put the problems that you are having in writing, asking for the landlord to resolve the issues and making a copy for your own records.  This way you have a paper trail showing that you have contacting the landlord.  Consumers can contact Bucks County Consumer Protection at 1-800-942-2669 to get a free brochure on Renter’s Insurance. 

Q. Do you know of any legitimate web based site for locating unclaimed money?  I have been on a couple sites that say I have money, but that I need to give them my credit card.  The fees have differed greatly.  K.H., Feasterville

A. In Pennsylvania the agency that handles unclaimed property is the PA Department of Treasury.  There is no charge to locate or claim your property.  They can be contacted by calling 800-222-2046 or you can go online at www.patreasury.org.  There is also a national website that can link you to every state agency designated to handle unclaimed property.  It is called the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) and the website is www.unclaimed.org.  There are no fees or charges to search their national database.  Nationwide there are approximately 25 billion dollars in assets held by individual state departments.  Most of the assets come from abandoned bank accounts, uncashed payroll checks, unpaid stock dividends and unclaimed insurance payments.    The businesses that charge a fee or percentage of the unclaimed money are not necessarily scammers.  They just figured out a way to charge the consumer for something the consumer can do themselves for free.  They just do not mention that when they solicit people via mail or the Internet.   All the states do a great job with the regulations that govern businesses and the time frame in which they have to report and turn over the unclaimed assets.  The Federal Government is another story.  They do not have a central database for unclaimed funds and each department keeps a separate database.  The first place to start would be the Financial Management Service and their website is http://fms.treas.gov. 

Department of Consumer Protection /
Weights and Measures
Michael D. Bannon
Director
50 North Main Street
Doylestown, PA 18901
Phone: 215-348-7442
Fax: 215-348-4570
Canny Consumer Hotline 1-800-942-2669