Clark has often talked about how free meal seminars offered by annuity salespeople are to be avoided at all costs -- unless you want to get indigestion in your wallet for the rest of your life. An annuity is basically an insurance contract. The money you put in is not taxed until you spend it. Salespeople love to sell them because they get giant commissions. In fact, the commission is so large that it's hard for even a decent person to avoid the temptation of selling this garbage. Now The Wall Street Journal reports that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Allianz. This German-based company has been selling equity index annuities to older people via seminars, infomercials and free-dinner events.

Equity index annuities promise a portion of the gain of the stock market, while assuring holders against losses. They offer the allure of getting money without risk. But Clark thinks they're a piece of trash because all insurance companies cheat you on the gain -- only giving you a tiny portion of the actual gain in return for their guarantee of safety against market loss. Worse still, you usually have to stay in for 15 or more years to get the benefit. So salespeople target senior citizens, who may not live long enough to qualify for the guarantee. And if you are lucky enough to get wise to how bad equity index annuities can be, you may lose between 10 and 15 percent in penalty fees for surrender if you try to get out. Regulators across the country are calling this an instance of fraud. As Clark says, the "just say no" rule applies here to these free meal seminars.

If you've been paying attention to the news lately, you're probably familiar with the name Roy L. Pearson. He's the judge who sued a Washington, D.C., dry cleaner for $54 million when a pair of pants from his $1,000 suit went missing. Pearson lost his case in late June, but his outrageous request for $54 million created media frenzy fed by fear about lawsuit-happy people abusing our legal system. The whole episode really reminded Clark about a $2 million lawsuit McDonald's faced when a woman sued them for being burned by hot coffee. Once again, the plaintiff lost in that case, but people still live in fear of being sued at the drop of a hat. Many folks have asked Clark if he's ever been sued himself. The reality is that Clark once did have a legal tussle with a politician he referred to as a crook on air. The suit was thrown out in summary judgment, but Clark incurred $31,000 in legal defense fees. Meanwhile, that politician is now in prison for his wrongdoing. But that was only one suit that Clark faced in 20 years as a high-profile consumer advocate. So while you shouldn't do dumb things in your daily life to attract lawsuits, you also shouldn't worry excessively about being sued. The fear of lawsuits is often greater than the reality of them. And as Clark says, "Truth is the greatest defense."

How should you respond when you get a letter in the mail, telling you about a class action lawsuit you are eligible for and all the money you could receive? Well, Joni got one of these mailings recently and she brought in the legal paperwork for Clark to read. It turns out that she would have received about 15 cents once it was all over. That hardly sounds worth it. But there are times when there could be some real money for you if you've been wronged. Either way, take the time to read the information yourself. It may payoff.

About a year ago, Clark talked to a woman who had rented a car in California and accidentally taken a wrong turn into another state before she quickly turned around. Unbeknownst to her, the car was restricted to a certain geographical area and it had an internal GPS system that was tracking her. She went just two miles across the state line, but she was hit with several thousand dollars in penalty fees. Many car rental companies do this as a way to prevent theft of the cars. But Payless car rental turned the unit into a spying device and decided to charge people massive fines if they crossed state lines. Customers were very upset about this and filed suit. Now, California has reached a settlement with Payless for charging people. Payless must now reimburse those people, including the woman who called Clark. Most people were charged $1 per mile, and all of that will be refunded. The issue of spying on people in cars still exists, though. Technology allows eyes and ears to be everywhere these days. Progressive Insurance, for example, has a voluntary program that allows a GPS system to monitor peoples’ driving if they agree to it. Then, the company sets a driver’s insurance rates based on how well they drive and behave in a car. So, if you’re a good driver, that’s a great thing. Clark thinks that as long as we have the potential to benefit from technological advancements, it’s a great thing. The sneaky nature of technology is where the line gets crossed. That is why some companies are getting their hands slapped.

PayPal has become a very popular way to pay for goods, but the company has also been a huge source of frustration for customers. It’s a brilliant idea, but if anything goes wrong or a customer needs more help with a transaction PayPal ignores the situation, callers say. The company recently reached a settlement in New York over claims that the company was misleading customers. The company made a statement on its site that if your merchandise did not arrive you were entitled to a refund. But that did not happen in many cases, and now the company has entered into a consent agreement to refund customers’ money. Although the company did not admit any wrongdoing, the agreement clearly states that PayPal does not provide the same level of fraud protection that credit cards provide. So, if you use PayPal, keep that in mind. It’s buyer beware. American Express and Discover have stepped up to the plate in the wake of this incident and both are now granting chargeback rights for people who use their cards in a PayPal transaction. It speaks to the arrogance of eBay, which owns PayPal, for failing to establish consumer safeguards. The companies simply not doing the job they should. Several other states and the Federal Trade Commission are also investigating PayPal. We’ll keep you posted on what happens with that.