Which Schools Are Better For Your Family?

By Deborah Laemmerhirt | August 20, 2013

Want to know the specifics between the Ridgefield CT School District and Redding CT School District including all the specific statistics? Get your specific statistics and FREE information via Market Insider by clicking here… Select below and scroll down to the comparison area on schools… Compare SCHOOLS!

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Have You Been Crammed?

By Deborah Laemmerhirt, CT,Newtown, Bethel, Ridgefield, Redding,Roxbury,Bridgewater (Previews - Coldwell Banker - CT) | August 12, 2013

Deborah Laemmerhirt – 203-994-4297 – homesinconnecticutforsale.com

GROWING CONSUMER RIP-OFFS (Note: Senior Citizens are also targeted as their “pay what it says” attitude may set them up for getting scammed)

Have You Been Crammed? Crammers rely on confusing telephone bills in an attempt to trick consumers into paying for services they did not authorize or receive. They try to sneak in $.99 or up to 29.95 per month for services you never ordered. Consumer Reports estimates that up to 20 million consumers have been defrauded, adding up to possibly $2 billion.

This week Attorneys General in 38 states urged the Federal Communications Commission to rapidly investigate cell phone and land-line “Cramming”. Cramming is the practice of placing unauthorized, misleading or deceptive charges on your telephone bill.

How Does Cramming Occur?

In addition to providing local telephone service, local telephone companies often bill their customers for long distance and other services that other companies provide. If a local telephone company, long distance telephone company or another type of service provider either accidentally or intentionally places unauthorized, misleading or deceptive charges on your bill, you may have been “crammed.”

Cramming can also occur if a local or long distance company or another type of service provider does not clearly or accurately describe all of the relevant charges to you when marketing a service. Although you may have authorized the service, you did not understand or were misled about how much it would really cost.

Cramming Charges: What They Look Like

Cramming comes in many forms and is often hard to detect unless you closely review your cell phone or land-line telephone bill.

  • Charges described as follows can be legitimate if you authorize them but, if unauthorized, could constitute cramming:

  • Charges for services that are explained on your telephone bill in general terms such as “service fee,” “service charge,” “other fees,” “voicemail,” “mail server,” “calling plan,” “psychic” and “membership;”

  • Charges that are added to your telephone bill every month without a clear explanation of the services provided ? such as a “monthly fee” or “minimum monthly usage fee;” and

  • Charges for an authorized service, but you were misled about its actual cost.

  • Immediately call the company that charged you for calls you did not place, or services you did not authorize or use. Ask the company to explain the charges. Request an adjustment to your bill for any incorrect charges.

  • Call your own local telephone company. Explain your concerns about the charges and ask your local telephone company the procedure for removing incorrect charges from your bill.                                                                                                                                                                    How to Protect Yourself and Save Money

  • Carefully review your telephone bill every month. Treat your telephone service like any other major consumer purchase or service. Review your monthly bills just as closely as you review your monthly credit card and bank statements.

  • Ask yourself the following questions as you review your telephone bill:                                                                                                                                                Do I recognize the names of all the companies listed on my bill?  What services were provided by the listed companies? Does my bill include charges for calls I did not place and services I did not authorize? Are the rates and line items consistent with the rates and line items that the company quoted to me?                                                                                                                                             

    Filing a Complaint If neither the company sending you the bill nor the company that provided the service in question will remove charges from your telephone bill that you consider to be incorrect, you can file a complaint as follows: with the FCC for charges related to telephone services between states or internationally, with your state public service commission for telephone services within your state; and with the FTC for non-telephone services on your telephone bill.   Filing a Complaint with the FCC For charges related to telephone service between states or internationally, you can file your complaint with the FCC. There is no charge for filing a complaint. You can file a complaint using an FCC online complaint form. You can also file your complaint with the FCC’s Consumer Center by calling 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY; faxing 1-866-418-0232; or writing to Federal Communications Commission Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division 445 12th Street, SW Washington, D.C. 20554.

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Going Green – Pay Now And Later

By Deborah Laemmerhirt, CT,Newtown, Bethel, Ridgefield, Redding,Roxbury,Bridgewater (Previews - Coldwell Banker - CT) | August 12, 2013

Deborah Laemmerhirt – 203-994-4297 – homesinconnecticutforsale.com

REEN” IMPROVEMENTS GET FOCUS IN NEW LEGISLATION.

Going Green pays now and later. In what is being called “common sense legislation” two Senators introduced a Bill to increase the importance and awareness of energy costs when a homeowner applies for a mortgage. What’s the new focus on energy costs all about?

For many homeowners, energy costs can be the second highest monthly hit on the family budget. Making energy efficient improvements now will save on energy costs in the short and long term but there is a new focus now on how these costs can impact the underwriting process in granting mortgages. In short, if your energy costs for buying one home vs. another is much less, your ability to repay the mortgage is better. Less costs mean more money at the end of the month for the mortgage.

Two Senators, Johnny Isakson and Michael Bennet say their proposed legislation would require lenders to take the projected energy savings into account when presented with a qualified energy report. If it can be verified by an independent inspector that a home has upgraded energy improvements, the homeowner could borrow more than normal because the new homeowner has less expenses. Now wand Later: The payback. If your energy costs are getting out of control there are many resources on the internet that will show you which ones have the best payback. Green and Save is an excellent starting point with their Green Return on Investment analysis. Also, there are many tax incentives available for energy smart improvements and Green And Save has a resource to “decode” them all.

Longer term, green improvement will make your home more marketable at selling time. The above legislation aims to create greater awareness of energy costs. If a homebuyer is looking at a selection of homes, the energy costs of each should come into play. Remember those bright yellow stickers on air conditioners and other appliances that tell you expected energy usage? Well there are movements in the industry to have a “yellow sticker” for homes. 

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Protect Yourself From YOUR On-Line Visits!

By Deborah Laemmerhirt, CT,Newtown, Bethel, Ridgefield, Redding,Roxbury,Bridgewater (Previews - Coldwell Banker - CT) | August 2, 2013

Deborah Laemmerhirt  203-994-4297  HomesInConnecticutForSale.com


Ever visit a website looking for something, for example shoes? Then every other time you searched for something else, Clark’s of Ireland, Zappos or Shoe Outlet.com shows up first in your search rankings! Some say “pretty cool… how did they do that”. More and more are saying “OK, that’s enough”. Enter the growing area called Online Behavioral Advertising.

Many of the ads you receive on Web pages and on web searches are, believe it or not, customized just for your eyes only. Ads you see can be based on predictions about your interests generated from your visits over time and across different Web sites. ( How Behavior Ads Work)

This type of ad customization – sometimes called online behavioral or interest based advertising- works through a system of files on your computer called “cookies”. Like crumbs used to document “where you have been” these cookies tell websites a lot about where you have visited, what you have searched on and what you are clicking on. Then, this pattern of interest gets documented and entered into a profile created just on your viewing habits.

Voluntary Efforts: The Industry Listens  Microsoft’s  IE browser has a feature called DO NOT TRACK, turned ON by default. This feature has web based ad companies in panic mode. Many ad companies say if they can not track your usage and habits, they can’t sell display ads that would be relevant. The ad companies claim that advertising as we  know it on the web would be severely impacted if a majority of consumers OPTED OUT of tracking. They go so far as to say newspapers and news sites would not be able to exist because add dollars would flow elsewhere.

Do Not Track doesn’t attempt to block cookies. Instead it is a browser setting that sends a message to every website you visit saying you prefer not to be tracked. Abiding by this request is currently optional for sites and web advertising firms to obey, but it’s gaining momentum with Twitter embracing it recently. Think of it like the Do Not Call List!

Yahoo Takes A Role.  Yahoo, said they would have a simple button consumers can click if they want a Tracking-Free experience. <story here>

Google Not So Hot On The Idea  As Google makes most of its revenue from ad- based activities, they are supporting the process of giving consumers the option to opt-out but not FORCE it on consumers.. “let them decide” is their suggestion.

So, if you care to, go to  https://www.aboutads.info/choices
and let the system do its magic. You can then OPT OUT of tracking by the data collectors, make a complaint or learn more about the policies.

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