Herald News

Customer service from the other end of the line

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 08:21:51 -0500

In recent columns we’ve heard from demoralized customer service workers, who say the only thing worse than an insurance bill fiasco is a customer service call center that is dictated by numbers. Numbers such as whether the workers meet their quotas for calls, whether they get customers off the phone in the allotted amount of time and even how many minutes they spent in the bathroom. Those kinds of stats determine whether they’ll get a raise or be shown the door. Some call center workers told us of colleagues “accidentally” hanging up on callers with particularly difficult problems so they …

Mind the GAP with auto dealer

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:37:34 -0500

D ear Fixer: My son paid off his vehicle loan 2½ years early. We received the title with a pay-off letter from Chase Bank. It stated that since the vehicle was paid off early, we may be entitled to a credit on the GAP insurance we had purchased. It said to contact the dealer. Since Napleton Ford was no longer in business, we called Napleton Northwestern Chrysler Jeep Dodge. A gentleman there said he would look into it and get back to me. Several weeks passed. I contacted him again, and he said he was still looking into it. Three …

U-verse runaround has woman steamed

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 08:18:19 -0500

Dear Fixer: For five months, I’ve been having intermittent Internet service with AT&T’s U-verse. It just goes in and out whenever it feels like it. I’ve had more than 10 technicians out for the same problem. Nobody has been able to fix it. Maybe that’s because every technician is a new guy who starts from square one, or maybe it’s because half the technicians don’t show up at all (I’ll get to that in a minute). I called their hotline, and for some reason the automated system never understands my perfect English. One night, I literally had to call back …

Lemon laptop spends more time in shop than at home

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:27:37 -0500

Dear Fixer: I purchased a laptop in May 2010 from OfficeDepot.com and also purchased the 24-month Office Depot Performance Protection Plan for an extra $200 to cover accidental damage not covered by Hewlett Packard’s one-year warranty. This laptop has been sent in six times so far for repair. The first time, the screen spontaneously had black splotches on it when booted up. HP wouldn’t fix it under warranty because they said the laptop must have been dropped. That was not the case. The computer had been working fine; my daughter, who has been ill, was doing homework. She put the …

Bill payment runaround? That’s new

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:00:33 -0500

Dear Fixer: I’ve had a Medicare supplement plan with BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois for several years. They have automatically deducted my insurance premiums monthly from my bank account with no problems. However, starting in May, the problems began. The May premium was not deducted. Since I monitor my bank account daily, I knew I had more than sufficient funds to cover it. I called BlueCross BlueShield, and they said their records showed that the May premium was deducted. I told them that was incorrect, and I checked with my bank to see if anything was pending (nothing was). I continued …

Telemarketing jobs aren’t the Shangri-La you thought

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 08:57:52 -0500

Dear Readers: Among the readers Team Fixer is helping right now is a guy who is trying desperately to pay an ancient phone bill he may or may not actually owe and who can’t get any customer service rep to help. It can be incredibly frustrating to call for help three, four or more times, each time believing like a crazy person that the issue has finally been resolved. And then you get your next month’s billing statement or another letter from a collection agency and you realize your fight has just begun. On the flip side, we’re continuing to …

Car crash was ‘an act of God’?

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:56:20 -0500

Dear Fixer: I would like to thank you for the support you give to the community of Chicago. My problem is with American Family Insurance. At 1:30 a.m. Dec. 9 the police rang my doorbell to inform me that a vehicle had hit my vehicle while it was parked in front of my house. Since that day, I have been trying to get American Family Insurance to pay for the damages that their insured client did to my car. I was able to get in contact with the person in charge of the case two times. The other times I …

Missed cruise not even worst part

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:49:36 -0500

Dear Fixer: We booked a cruise on Royal Caribbean that was to depart on March 25, 2010. I was traveling with my two children and my cousin and her two children. We flew to Washington, D.C., on US Airways, and we were supposed to fly from there to Tampa, Fla. We arrived in D.C. on time, but then we were told there was a three-hour delay. Later, the flight to Tampa was canceled due to a mechanical error. My cousin waited at the special services counter for over three hours while I watched the four children, ages 3, 6, 9 …

Rebates are great … if you get them

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:37:11 -0500

Dear Fixer: The rebate fulfiller for Maytag refused to give me my $100 rebate on a new washer and dryer because I was missing a piece of information, which a Home Depot employee failed to give to me because they were quick to move on to the next customer. When we finally made it back to the store and claimed the receipt and mailed it in, I was told I was too late to qualify for the rebate, although previously they had told me I would have an opportunity to claim the rebate. I am an 86-year-old woman and was …

Customer gets static over TV bills

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:19:12 -0500

Dear Fixer: I ordered DISH Network and a man came out to install it. I live on the first floor with a small patio. I am not allowed to place a satellite dish on my building, so the dish was installed on my patio and pointed to the southeast. However, I could not receive good reception. I called for a technician, and he saw that I did not have a clear path for reception. The concrete entrance to the building blocked the path. (Which raises a question: Why did the installation person install it?) The technician said a concrete stand …

Diligent customer caught in wireless error

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 05:16:31 -0500

Dear Fixer: After more than seven years of making on-time monthly payments to Verizon, I am now receiving debt collection notices for charges I do not owe. This error is affecting my credit score and reducing my limits on major credit cards on which I have earned excellent credit in the past. For many years, I had Verizon service for the phone in my Mercedes-Benz automobile. However, about three years ago, the car dealership notified its customers that this telephone service was no longer available and would be switched to digital service. I continued to pay every month on the …

Aircraft rental proves taxing at Midway Airport

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 22:28:32 -0500

Dear Fixer: I have rented general aviation aircraft at various airports, but only at Midway Airport am I required to pay a “rental tax.’’ This fee is clearly labeled as a “Rental Tax’’ on invoices from Chicago Midway Aviators, and it is equal to the cost for the rental (which includes the fuel) multiplied by 10.25 percent. It has nothing to do with the $7.50 landing fee, because that is charged separately for every flight. Since nothing is being purchased, why is a rental tax, equal to a sales tax, being charged? Larry E. Nazimek, Chicago Dear Larry: Shakespeare wrote, “A rose …

Strange, true dilemmas of our readers

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 05:02:39 -0500

Weird letters? Oh, yeah, there are plenty of those. Like: Wayne Burdick of Schaumburg came to us in a panic in 2009 when he got a $27,788 bill from AT&T after watching a Bears game on his computer using a Slingbox connection and an AT&T wireless card. Wayne watched the game at the Port of Miami while waiting for his cruise to depart. What he didn’t realize was that his equipment apparently was picking up an international signal — and racking up international calling rates. (AT&T ended up taking it off his bill.) A Glenview woman, Catherine Maltezos, wrote to …

Fixer hits $1M mark after clearing debt

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 04:59:29 -0500

Dear Fixer: I had surgery in November 2008 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. My referral was approved, and the procedure was performed. I received a bill from Mayo Clinic in June 2009 for $50,320.50. I contacted the hospital, and they investigated the situation. Then, I received a letter from my insurer, Aetna Health, saying it approved paying $17,746.73 toward the bill, leaving a balance of $32,573.71. The entire bill should have been covered. I have gone back and forth because Aetna is saying that I did not have a referral for services and that it was out-of-network. In …

Lost keys causes headache for condo owner

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 04:54:07 -0500

Dear Fixer: I put my condo up for sale through RE/MAX South Suburban, since I had an incredible experience with RE/MAX in purchasing the property. I gave the spare set of keys to the Realtor so she could show the unit in case I was not available. Last September, while I was on vacation, my Realtor called to set up a showing but said they could not locate the keys to my property, apparently due to two offices merging into one. I was assured they would find them once the office got back to its regular routine. A short time …