Consumer alert! » General info

Customers more satisfied with rental cars

Charles Slat — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:12:10 +0000

Customer satisfaction with rental cars has stablized after two years of declines, and Enterprise leads the pack in terms of customer satisfaction with rental companies, according to a J.D. Power and Associates study.

Free fries on Zetterberg

Charles Slat — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:15:50 +0000

Henrik Zetterberg scored a hat trick with .7 of a second left in the Detroit Red Wings game Saturday night, meaning you can get a free order of curly fries at Arby’s all day Sunday if you bring in a copy of a newspaper box score of the game or print one out from FoxSportsDetroit.com.

Swine flu product marketing is epidemic

Charles Slat — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:39:16 +0000

A variety of products have surfaced making bogus claims about their abilities to prevent or treat the swine flu.
The Food and Drug Administration provides the low-down on the claims, which are spreading faster than an epidemic. Click here to learn more.

Kellogg’s Rice Krispies drops immunity claim

Charles Slat — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:29:24 +0000

Partly at the urging of regulators, Kellogg Co. of Battle Creek said Wednesday it will stop putting immunity statements on Kellogg’s Rice Krispies cereals.
The company said it started adding antioxidants to Rice Krispies cereals last year as a way to respond to consumer requests to make kids’ cereals more nutritious.
A big banner on the front of each package says “Now supports your child’s IMMUNITY.”
Although antioxidants help support the immune system, given the public attention on H1N1, the company said it decided to make the change. The message will be on boxes of Rice Krispies, Jumbo Krispies and Cocoa Krispies for the next few months as existing inventory is depleted. Despite discontinuing the message, the company said it will continue to provide increased amounts of vitamins A, B, C and E in the cereals.

Free CFL bulbs for businesses

Charles Slat — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:54:35 +0000

Business customers of Detroit Edison Co. can get a free eight-pack of energy saving compact fluorescent bulbs as part of DTE Energy’s “Your Energy Savings” program.
“Replacing incandescent light bulbs with Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent lights is an easy and effective way for businesses to reduce their energy bills,” said Steve Kurmas, Detroit Edison president and chief operating officer. “CFLs use 75 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. That can translate into savings of as much as $44 over the 10,000 hour lifetime of just one CFL.”
To receive the free CFLs, business owners need to complete a request form available online at YourEnergySavings.com/cfl.

Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday

Charles Slat — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:40:08 +0000

Daylight Savings Time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday. Turn your clocks back Halloween night and you get to sleep in an extra hour and still not be late for church the next morning. The extra time might be useful for trick-or-treaters who walk their legs off going door-to-door Saturday night.

Changing weather, changing prices

Charles Slat — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:43:31 +0000

Weary of seeing grocery prices climb while your buying power dwindles?
Brace yourself.
Amid the debate about ways to reduce climate change comes a new report from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) indicating that food prices could more than triple by 2050 as the climate changes.
The report, Climate Change: Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation, was developed for the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
Even without the effects of climate change, food prices still are expected to rise, by 40 per cent for wheat, and 60 per cent for both rice and corn by 2050, as the world population grows.
However, by drawing on climate and crop models, IFPRI predicts a much worse scenario, forecasting wheat prices to rise 170 to 194 per cent, rice prices 113 to 121 per cent, and corn to go up 148 to 153 per cent.
“Agriculture is extremely vulnerable to climate change, because farming is so weather-dependent,” said Mark Rosegrant, co-author of the report. “Small-scale farmers in developing countries will suffer the most. However, our study finds that this scenario of lower yields, higher prices, and increased child malnutrition can be avoided.”
The report claims that investment of about $7 billion a year could avert these problems by bringing new technologies to farmers and educating them about how they can adapt. To see the full report, click here.
To see more blog entries about climate change, visit www.blogactionday.org

Swine flu remedy marketers: Pigs at the trough

Charles Slat — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:43:05 +0000

Products purporting to prevent or treat the Swine Flu are flooding the market. The problem is that the federal Food and Drug Administration says most of them have not been authorized, approved or confirmed to be effective at all in treating or relieving the symptoms.
Most of the products are marketed to the public through Web sites. The FDA published an advisory that includes a list of 138 products that make unsubstantiated claims about their effectiveness against swine flu.

BMA insurance isn’t valid

Charles Slat — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:56:07 +0000

State officials have ordered Benefit Management Administrators, Inc. (BMA), a Caledonia-based insurance agency, and its owner, N. Henry Bledsoe, to cease and desist from selling fraudulent life and health care policies.
The state Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation received information that BMA sold life and health insurance that it claimed were fully insured to Michigan consumers when in fact, there was no underlying insurance. BMA was conducting business as the insurer for these health and life products it sold without the knowledge of its customers and without the appropriate certification as an insurer required by Michigan law.
“Any Michigan consumer who purchased life or health insurance policies from Benefit Management and Henry Bledsoe should contact our agency immediately to see if they have proper coverage,” OFIR Commissioner Ken Ross said.
Consumers can contact OFIR toll-free at 877-999-6442.
Before purchasing life and health insurance, verify whether an insurance agent is licensed in Michigan and is appointed by an insurance company licensed to do business in the state by calling OFIR toll-free at 877-999-6442.

UM: Area economy might improve in 2010

Charles Slat — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:28:59 +0000

The Detroit area’s economy might start to turn around in the fall of 2010, according to a widely respected University of Michigan forecast.
The report also says this year will be the worst for area job losses in recent history and the automotive industry won’t rebound to its past levels of vigor.