How should you deal with a builder who doesn't honor the terms of your warranty after you close on your home? For the past 15 years, Clark has been advising people to picket the builder at their developments. You used to have to call your jurisdiction to find out how to go about picketing, and make sure that you never said slanderous things about the builder's character. But today instead of physically picketing, people take their ire online. Business Week did a report on homeowners who have set up gripe websites. Some builders have even fought back by trying to put clauses in their contracts that aim to silence you if you do business with them. That's an infringement of free speech. A builder who is afraid of the truth is not someone you want as a business partner.

Clark knows that building a house is difficult and involves a lot of micro-management with all the day laborers and subcontractors. He advises people not to close on their home until all the contractual items are complete. If you're getting pressure to close anyway, consider hiring a lawyer to withhold money in escrow to cover any outstanding issues. This practice, known as retainage, is a standard set at 10 percent in the commercial market. Just remember that once a builder completes your house, you're yesterday's news. The only reason they have to care about you is their reputation. So consider taking your battle online if need be.

Bill collectors are trying to make it legal for them to repeatedly call your cell phone to try and collect a debt. The justification is that people usually give a cell phone number as a contact when they hire a service or conduct business. This law is probably going to go through, so Clark has a suggestion for you. Many people no longer have a home phone number so they give out their cell phones. But there is a way to give out a home phone number that doesn’t cost you a thing. Lycos is offering free home phone numbers that are answerable through your computer. So, check it out and give companies that number instead. Also, if you’re being harassed by a bill collector, your greatest ally is your answering machine. Record these calls and tell the bill collector that because you are required to. And, you can be sure the collector will start to behave or just hang up all together when you tell them that. It is against the law for bill collectors to harass you, so don’t take it.

You may have heard Clark talk about the Web site escapecellhell.org. It was complaint site for cell phone users, got very popular over the months. Consumer Reports has decided to change and expand the site, however, and its new name is hearusnow.org. The site is now a clearinghouse for complaints about TV & radio, Internet connections and, of course, phones. So, tell others about your experience. Knowledge is power!

If a company or person did a good job for you, Clark likes people to talk about it on our “Customer Yes Service” message board. But what do you do if you just keep running into that corporate brick wall and you can’t get any help from people. There are sites that allow you to vent about a company or rate the level of customer service. And people pay attention to what’s being said on these sites. Clark has chosen not to do business with a company because someone rated them poorly on epinions.com. Other sites out there are thesqueakywheel.com and complaints.com. If you’re traveling this summer, check out tripadvisor.com. People post about hotels and other places they’ve stayed and it can be extremely helpful.