Minutes for August 14, 2012 held at St. Edward the Confessor Church, Clifton Park
Present: Richard Amico (St. Edward’s Church, Pastoral Care), Pam Clark (Herzog Law), Katie George (Eddy Lifeline), Connie Weaver, Ardis Armer, Ben Nichols, Mary Rickard & Patrick Harrington (Office for the Aging), Jeff Murratti & Andre Truman (Merrill Lynch), Reed Lehan (Adult & Family Services, DSS), Candy Rivera Whitehead (NYS EPIC), Alicia Murray-Craig & Sara Dolan (ILCHV), Dawn Lincoln (SAIL), Linda Powers (Home Instead Senior Care), Donna Rudzinski (Experience Works), JoAnn Zales (National Grid), Carole Kyer(DOH) and Jane Hurst (RSVP)
Introductions
Richard Amico greeted the group this month due to Cindy Harrington’s absence. He introduced Maurice Padula, Senior Consumer Frauds Representative for the New York State Attorney General’s Office. His presentation is entitled “Seniors, Be On Guard: Stopping Scam Artists Before They Strike”.
Presentation
Maurice Padulo works for the New York State Attorney General’s Office as a Senior Consumer Frauds Representative. He offers a mediation service, between the merchant and consumer. To begin the mediation process, the consumer completes a two sided complaint form explaining the problems that they have had with a merchant. The Mediation Service sends a letter to the merchant requesting a response. The average time frame for the complaint to be resolved is 6 – 7 weeks. The Statue of Limitations to file a complaint is 3 years. Maurice stated that the consumer has a 50% success rate of getting his money returned. There is no minimum dollar amount required to file a complaint.
A third party is able to file a complaint for someone else. A family member may file for another elderly or disabled family member, who is not able to apply or unwilling to apply for themselves. Both parties must provide their personal information.
Consumers may also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. If the complaint was founded, it would show a mark against the merchant. Merchants often threaten to press legal charges against the Better Business Bureau and because they do not have the legal staff, many times they back down from the case. If the complaint is filed with the NYS Attorney General’s Office, there is a legal team that is capable of handling such a law suit. It is best to file a complaint with the NYS Attorney General’s Office or the Better Business Bureau before going to Small Claims Court. Small Claims Court usually recommends that a consumer tries to solve their complaint through mediation before taking the case to court.
Maurice noted a frequent consumer fraud scam used by contractors who do home repairs. Contractors will collect a sizeable downpayment, complete a small amount of work, but never return to complete the job. These contractors move frequently.
Their New York City Office handles mortgage complaints.
Complaints filed against companies that have gone out of business are more difficult to collect from.
Complaints filed against large business usually result in the consumer’s favor. Examples:
GE found that one of their dishwashers was a fire hazard. GE offered their customers $50 to buy a new dishwasher. Since the average price of a dishwasher is much more, a complaint was filed. The customers received a more accurate amount of $500 to buy a new dishwasher.
Dell offered a low interest rate to qualified buyers to purchase a computer. Only 1 in 40 purchasers, received this rate, all others were charged a rate that was substantially higher. Dell, also, offered a warrantee for purchase at $200, stating that if one of their technicians was unable to fix your computer by phone within a half hour, they would send someone to your home the next day. Dell did not conform to the agreement and did not send anyone to the house. Both cases against Dell were found in favor of the consumer.
Maurice handles landlord / tenant disputes. One of the main problems is that landlords do not return security deposits. He stated that there is a very good success rate for these cases.
Price gouging has a very strict definition. The only time price gouging is enforced are in cases where there is a national disaster. All other pricing are considered competitive market pricing. A merchant can price whatever he wishes, but has to be competitive in order to sell his product.
Maurice spoke about Identity Theft. He noted that page 8 in the booklet “Smart Seniors” was a good reference for the topic. He stated that everyone is entitled to a free copy of their credit report each year. You are able to receive your free credit report by registering at the website: annualcreditreport.com or by call 1-877-322-8228. Maurice stated that there are 3 credit reporting agencies, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. You can request a report from one of the agencies at a time, therefore, checking on your credit 3 times a year.
Joanne Zales asked about gift cards, asking if they expire? Maurice said that they should be good for at least one year and must have a clear expiration date listed on the card. There have been recent changes to make gift card instructions clearer.
Ben Nichols asked if the Attorney General’s Office sent out bulletins? Maurice said that they do not send out bulletins, but they do provide press releases on current scams.
A question was asked about different prices for cash and credit. Maurice stated that if there are two different prices that they should be clearly posted.
The NYS Attorney General’s Office oversees Craig List scams. Many of these people behind the scams move quickly and are hard to catch up with. One of the most popular scams is that someone will respond to your listing from oversees. They will pay more than what you are asking. They send a check, but before you are able to cash it, they want you to wire them the excess amount. The check received by the seller bounces and the merchandise is lost to the scam artist.
Restaurant scams are increasing due to new technology. Wait staff are able to scan your credit card information to their personal electronic device and then are able to use your credit card for purchases. These scam artists also move frequently to different locations.
A question was asked about the Department of State Consumer Protection Agency. Maurice stated that this is the Governor’s consumer fraud agency and is much smaller than the Attorney General’s Office.
Maurice provided an array of publications on different topics that are covered by his office.
Announcements
Rick Amico announced that next month’s meeting will be on Tuesday, September, 11th at the Malta Community Center, 1 Bayberry Drive, Malta from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Nicole MacFarland, Executive Director of Senior Hope Counseling, Inc. will do a presentation on the agency’s counseling services, which are specifically designed for seniors 50 years and older who need help with prescription, alcohol or drug abuse.
October’s meeting will be on Tuesday the 9th at the Saratoga United Methodist Church, 175 5th Avenue, Saratoga Springs from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Debbie Verni, Esq. of Herzog Law Frim will be presenting on Advanced Directives.
Respectively Submitted,
Jane Hurst
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