Every day on the show, Clark gets calls from people who are in some level of distress with debt. People are facing insurmountable debt, or so it seems. On top of that, they see late night TV ads for credit counseling services that offer to help you out of debt. They claim to be “non-profit” organizations just out to aid law abiding citizens. In actuality, they just want to take your money. The IRS has been after these companies for two years. And now, the IRS commissioner is about to take away the “non-profit” status from many of these organizations. So, how can you find the right people? The National Foundation for Credit Counseling is the accreditation body for legitimate credit counselors. You can find those legit organizations at its site, nfcc.org. Any fees these companies charge you are nominal and are to cover the cost of handling transactions with your creditors. Check it out.
Have you heard of the new “sweeping” trend in the country? Basically, people are offering reduced rents or no rent at all, in exchange for doing chores around the home. Men or women are taking these job-related offers and there are listings all over craigslist.org and other sites. It’s a different approach, and Clark wants to warn you about ulterior motives people may have when posting these ads. The offer could be perfectly legitimate, but be careful.
Clark received two offers for free Dell computers in his Inbox over the past week. Do you think he responded? No! These offers are usually from credit card companies that end up taking more from you in interest than the computer is worth. The companies claim the notebook computer is worth $850. And you get the computer if you transfer a balance of at least $5,000 and if you maintain a balance of $3,500 for at least 18 months. When you figure out how much interest you will pay over time, you could buy a computer for less. It’s from a company called “Up Front Rewards.” A second similar program is offered by Blue Hippo, a company mentioned numerous times on the Better Business Bureau site. The company is famous for it’s slogan, “Bad credit, no credit, no problem.” It is offering a computer for $1,820. And when Clark went to check it out, the actual price is under $300. Steer clear of these ads!
Would you rather do business with companies that treat you well or treat you like dirt? It’s a no-brainer. And, each quarter, the University of Michigan gives you that information on a silver platter. This quarter, UM rated the top customer service oriented companies in the airline, fast food and phone industries. In the cell phone industry, T-Mobile and Verizon were listed as the best. Cingular, Nextel and Sprint tied for dead last. In the traditional phone business, AT&T, Verizon, BellSouth and Quest all got lousy scores. The top company was Cox Communications, which provides cable and phone out West. In the pay TV industry, DirecTV got top honors, followed by Dish. The cable companies – Comcast and Charter – were ranked toward the end. What about the airline industry? The best airline without question was Southwest, and the other discounters fared pretty well. The worst by far was Northwest. The only full fare airline that got a half decent rating was Continental. As far as fast food, Papa John’s got the highest score for the second year in a row, and McDonald’s brought up the rear. Overall, the cable industry got the lowest score of any of them.
You may have heard of, Skype, the Internet phone service that is growing across the globe. It’s now the largest phone company in the world, although it’s still fairly unknown in the States. To increase its presence here in America, Skype is offering free service if you sign up now. Under the offer, you can call any phone for free for the rest of the year. Usually, Skype allows people to call from computer to computer for free. But for the rest of the year, you can call landlines, cell phones or any other phone for nothing! Most of the people who use Skype have friends and family overseas because it’s free to talk via computer. But Skype wants to be your long distance provider. There are no catches! Also, a listener tipped Clark off to a Web site he wants you to know about. The site is called callingcards.com, and it tells people the cheapest calling cards for various countries. The problem has been that the cheapest calling card for one country is not the cheapest for another country. You can find the cheapest card for the country you want, but look for “connection fees.” If the card charges one of these, you don’t want it. And don’t buy $100 worth of calls because the company could go under. Just buy a little at a time.
Two-thirds of people killed in car accidents are men, according to the National Highway Traffic safety Commission. Women wear seatbelts much more often and, therefore, they live when involved in a crash. If you wear a seatbelt, are you automatically going to live? Not necessarily. But the odds are much higher that you won’t be killed. So, if you’re listening to Clark, please buckle up! Only one state in the country does not have a seat belt law: New Hampshire. The state does not like any government interference in their private lives. But most states have either a primary or secondary seat belt law. A primary seat belt law allows authorities to give drivers a ticket if they can see the driver is not wearing a seat belt. A secondary seat belt law means that officers can only issue a ticket if a driver is pulled over for something else and then the officer realizes he or she was not wearing a seat belt. Either way, you want to “click it or ticket!”
