Clark has been checking out a new Web site called choosetosave.org. It offers ideas about saving money for people of all age groups. And, at each age, it addresses how to reach a certain financial goal. Whether you’re 25 or 65, it’s never too late to save, according to the site. In addition, there are fantastic calculators for planning out your goals. So, check it out soon!
Clark is getting more and more calls from people who want to put in HDTV (high definition television). You can get it from so many places these days that people are getting confused by all of the information. You can get it over the air, from your cable company, or from a satellite company. The good news is that there is now a site to help you figure it all out. Buyinghdtv.com has information about all of the vendors and buying guides by city. This gives you the ability to buy smart and that is key in this area. In other news, if you're willing to wait until next year you will be able to get a big screen plasma TV for under $1,000. The LCD screen televisions will be under $500. Prices are steadily dropping, so look for deals.
Clark trashed Bank of America recently for deleting the amount customers owed on their payment coupons. BOA, the 3rd largest bank in the country, was listing only the minimum payment on coupons because the company basically wants you to pay more in interest. So, after lots of badgering from Clark, BOA has backed down. They are not the only ones. MBNA and American Express also tried this ploy and eventually returned to the old policy. So, starting next month, BOA customers will once again see their balances on their statements. It’s never a good idea to only pay the minimum. If you never charged anything more on your card, but you only paid the minimum balance, it would take you 40 years to pay it off. So, stay away from minimum balances all together.
What color security threat are we today on the Department of Homeland Security's chart? More importantly, what do the colors mean? There are numerous levels, including severe, high, elevated, guarded and low. Today the threat is elevated, and the color is yellow. But, still, it’s hard to know what that means. There are undefined lines of combat and it’s very hard to prepare. We’re behind the curve when it comes to coordination between various levels of government and communication with the public on what to do when something happens. Government officials say bad things are going to happen, but what are we supposed to do with that. We feel a sense of anxiety when it comes to this topic because it is unknown and unfamiliar. But if something happens today, we are in better shape to deal with it. We know that it will happen and we know that we will adapt and move on. So, Clark has some issues with the threat level chart. He doesn’t know what benefit the general public gets from it, or how it serves state and local law enforcements. Maybe we need to come up with a more actionable system to prepare for terrorist attacks.
Have you heard of the phone company Zoom? They’ve been around for a while but they’re now offering a great deal on home phone service. Basically, the phone service is free, but you pay for every call you make and for every minute you talk. Most plans offer a totally opposite plan. You pay a fee and get unlimited calling. But this is the other end of the spectrum. You buy a device that hooks up to your computer. And when you occasionally need to use a regular phone, it costs you 2.9 cents a minute. And Zoom-to-Zoom calling is free for both parties. The only glitch is that must have high speed Internet service. How do people think up these things? It’s just another sign that the way we communicate through the telephone is going the way of the Dodo bird. The traditional phone system is ancient technology, and people will eventually have to adapt if they don’t want to get eaten up with increasing rates. People who are not willing to try new technologies will get hurt in the process, and people in businesses will benefit the most.
A couple weeks ago, Clark had a customer on air named Dale, who is in a Catch 22 with the credit bureaus. Dale is trying to get a copy of his credit report, but he can’t get a copy because something is wrong with his address on the report. So, he’s trying to fix the address, but the credit bureau won’t talk to Dale because he doesn’t have a credit report. How absolutely ludicrous is that. Clark called the credit bureau in question, Transunion, to find out what was going on. TransUnion refused to comment. Clark then went to the trade association for the bureaus, the Consumer Data Industry Association. Spokespeople there also refused to comment. Clark’s team has since found out that credit bureaus somehow got Congress to agree that they didn’t have to speak to customers unless those customers have a credit report. So, basically, the credit bureaus hold the public in complete contempt. Unless you have a report and are considered a “customer,” you can’t correct an error because no one will talk to you. Clark is not a big fan of government involvement when there are other ways to solve problems. But in this case, we need someone else to step in. These credit bureaus don’t care that they are putting out erroneous information on peoples’ reports and something needs to be done about it. Clark’s next step is to talk to the person who oversees the Fair Debt Reporting Act in the U.S. House and Senate. It’s about time that basic human decency is part of the equation.
