By Laura Gunderson, The Oregonian
They charged extra fees, refused to deliver and failed to pay wages.
Sometimes, the companies featured in The Desk this year cleaned up and apologized. Sometimes they vanished.
In general, 2010 has been a good year for consumers. Federal legislation has changed how banks charge fees and how wireless providers bill cell-phone users. And the states have prevailed in a number of cases, including last week's settlement with DirecTV that will provide restitution for certain customers who felt the satellite company wasn't clear in its marketing pitches and contracts.
Here are some award-winning moments, at least as far as The Desk is concerned. Any of your favorites left out? Call or e-mail your suggestions, or post online at blog.oregonlive.com/
complaintdesk.
Back in March, The Desk wrote about the little package of Waggin' Train Jerky Tenders that Jerry Jelinek had picked up at a Tigard Rite Aid. The package said "Sample: Not for Sale," and yet when Jelinek went through the check-out, he was charged $1. The Desk sniffed around, making a call to the dog-treat maker's corporate headquarters in Anderson, S.C.
Within a few hours, Waggin' Train's chief operating officer, Michelle Higdon had researched the issue and was on the phone. She said Rite Aid had ordered one-ounce snack sizes to sell along with its larger dog treat offerings. Waggin' Train accidentally shipped some of the samples it usually hands out at dog shows, rodeos and community gatherings. Higdon apologized to Jelinek and said she'd already been in touch with Rite Aid to attempt to clear the samples from the drugstores' floors.
UPS won't deliver to Deborah McCarthy. It also has stopped returning The Desk's calls.
The Beaverton woman had an issue with a UPS delivery man and complained about it to the shipping company last spring. The best solution UPS came up with is to deliver to her neighbor. The neighbor and McCarthy, who relies on web shopping since a health issue limits her driving, say that's not a satisfactory long-term solution. The Desk wrote about the issue in mid November and although that sometimes helps consumers and companies reach a better place, that was not the case here. The Desk has left multiple messages with local and national UPS representatives since with nary a response.
The Oregon Department of Justice said it can't help much because technically, the UPS customer is the retailer shipping the goods. McCarthy remains frustrated because she pays for shipping on items that go to her neighbor or in some cases, never arrive.
"The funny thing is," McCarthy said. "I even ran into the bully driver and we had a friendly interaction. Go figure."
Best disappearing act: Aptitude Staffing Solutions
The Pleasanton, Calif.-based staffing agency had been hired by Safeway to supply a number of warehouse workers. It did and Safeway paid Aptitude. Problem was, the staffing company operated by Darren Errol Lawson never paid the Oregon workers.
The Desk wrote about the case in August, and even though workers had spoken weeks earlier with Lawson, he never returned The Desk's calls. Soon after the story, four of the former workers who had filed complaints with Oregon's Bureau of Labor were paid by Safeway. Another eight workers told The Desk they were owed money, but they never filed complaints with the state, which is necessary to trigger an investigation and likely, a Safeway pay-out.
Carmen Meuter, a California woman The Desk had interviewed who'd also worked with Aptitude, filed a lawsuit against Lawson last fall and won. Lawson didn't make the court date.
"I've got the judgement, but I can't find him," said Meuter, a physical therapist who said she was owed $4,500. "I'll begin working after the first of the year and maybe with an income, I can make more of a concerted effort to find him."
She won't be alone. Oregon's Bureau of Labor recently won civil and wage penalties against Aptitude totaling $17,220. BOLI will send a final letter to Lawson and his company, said spokesman Bob Estabrook, then the judgement will be sent to its Californian counterpart for collections.
The Mr. Clean award: Gentle Touch Car Wash in Clackamas
The Desk has written about many consumer issues that companies have worked to resolve. But it's rare for The Desk to receive so many e-mails back from customers raving about a company's -- especially a defunct company's -- customer service.
Gentle Touch lost its lease and had to close last year. Owner Michael Thompson attempted to inform all customers who'd bought coupon books, offering refunds or washes at nearby businesses willing to accept his deal.
Of course, Thompson wasn't able to track them all down. The Desk helped get the word out and soon after, received a number of e-mails from former customers complimenting Thompson on how quickly he had responded with refund checks.
Most likely to succeed in further scams this year: The Haitian Hoaxsters
The Desk receives a nearly daily stream of e-mails and calls from scam victims -- some near-misses and some who got taken.
Few are as frustrating as the tale of Selma and Edward Morin, who got gram-scammed. That's the term many law-enforcement types are using for an increasing and nasty scam that involves calling older folks and pretending to be grandchildren either sick or stuck in some foreign country. A giveaway in the hoax is that scammers typically aim to pressure victims into acting quickly and without notifying any other relatives -- to check, say, whether their grandchild is actually safe at home.
The Morins lost $9,500 that they wired to Haiti. That's where a boy, who they said sounded just like their 12-year-old grandson, told them he was stuck and needed money to get home. Federal agencies told The Desk it was unlikely the Morins would get their money back, as it's usually too difficult to track down foreign fraudsters. The couple shared their story in hopes of protecting other seniors.
And perhaps it helped. Following that column, The Desk heard from several readers who'd received similar calls or other e-mail offers and stopped before getting too far.
Here's to a happy and gram-scam-free New Year.
Have a complaint? Contact Laura Gunderson at The Desk: 503-221 8378 or complaintdesk@oregonian.com. Read more at Twitter.com/thedeskonline.
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