UCAN

Recently I had to "choose" a broadband Internet provider. After having my "choices" narrowed down for me by a serious lack of competition ( I hear U-Verse is on its way some day), I went with my first, last, and only choice, Time Warner. Despite feeling trapped, the Time Warner customer service rep wooed me with promises of a new broadband paradigm, Roadrunner "turbo." For some reason this "15 Mbps down, 2 Mbps" up Internet was cheaper than the default 8 Mbps/ 1 Mbps option of yesteryear, so I pounced on the deal like a caged tiger given extra scraps of meat at dinner.

The moral of this story is to check the bandwidth you're getting from your broadband Internet provider.

National Dealers Warranty FINAL NOTICE scam letters are sent to unsuspecting consumers with Customer ID #s to make people believe they already have a 5-year. 100,000 mile extended warranty on their cars.  Victims are lead to believe that they are getting an employee discount price if they renew within 48 hours. 

Locksmith scams -- Why you need to make sure you use a licensed locksmith.

Skype Pro Customers who signed up for 12 months of unlimited service at $36 seem to be running into some problems and hidden gotchas with Skype.

Consumers who bought the cold remedy Airborne, and related products, between May 1, 2001, and November 29, 2007, can get their money back. Simply visit airbornesettlement.com to make your claim, I just did, and I'll give an update on the results. You can file a complaint online or print and send a claim form, but you'll want to rack your brain and try to remember...

1. The store from which you bought the product(s),
2. The amount you spent on the product(s).
3. The city in which you bought the product.
4. The type of product you bought

Debt elimination scams tout legal ways to dispose of mortgage loans or credit card debt and get a power of attorney to conduct transactions regarding the title of victims' homes.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into "free" investment seminars geared toward retirees that are really high-pressure sales events.

On July 19th, VOIP provider Sun Rocket (www.sunrocket.com) announced it was terminating its service. Consumers fumed.....especially those that had plunked down up to $200 for a prepaid annual contract of low-cost VOIP service.

To the company's credit, it arranged deals with other VOIP companies to take over the contracts of its customers. While some customers reported losing VOIP service, the majority appeared not to have suffered loss of phone service. However, quite a few customers reported that they'd prepaid for an annual contract and these new service providers were not honoring those contracts. They were angry and felt ripped off.

The closure came without any warning. Even people working at the company report being surprised by the news. Many didn't find out until the day they reported to work and noticed that the phones weren't ringing at their office: the company's call center had been shut down but the CSRs weren't told! Yet, people in the industry knew that Sunrocket was struggling to find a buyer and had been repeatedly failing.....in part because of the liabilities posed by the annual contracts that had been prepaid.

The good news is that for those customers who paid the annual fee and now have nothing to show for it, some credit card companies are agreeing to refund the money for the unused service. Chase, in particular, is reported to be crediting customers' account. It is likely others will as well. There's some good information about what former Sunrocket customers can do to get their money back and/or switch to other VOIP providers. In particular, check out:

http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/r18686213-SR-Bankrupt-Recap-What-T...

I recently received a deceptive notice from Domain Registry of America. The "notice," which looks more like a bill than a notice, gives the impression that a domain I own is about to expire and must be renewed. Domain Registry of America's notice informed me that, "Failure to renew your domain name by the expiration date may result in a loss of your online identity making it difficult for your customers and friends to locate you on the Web." OK. That's very thoughtful, but my domain doesn't expire until November. Why is Domain Registry of America only giving me until July 23 to reply? Well, mostly because it's a scam. Read more.