Resolve not to get ripped off in 2011

Dear Readers: The year 2010 was a good one here at Fixer Headquarters, especially in October, when a sticky health insurance fix finally put us over the $1 million mark in the amount of money we’ve saved Chicago consumers.

But there was no time to rest, as stories of missing luggage, messed-up mortgages and overinflated satellite TV bills kept coming.

We love fixing your problems. We also like preventing them.

In that spirit, we present The Fixer’s 2011 New Year’s Resolutions — once again, with a huge assist from Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois, who wants you all to remember to check bbb.org before doing business.

So let’s lift high our mugs of leftover eggnog and recite these vows:

I will not cash or deposit a check from a lottery or sweepstakes company that claims I’ve won. If I never entered, how could I have won?

I won’t cash a check from a supposed “mystery shopping” employer because The Fixer has told me it’s fake. (The alleged shopping assignment always ends with the victim being asked to wire some funds. After that, the original check turns out to be bad, and the bank goes after the victim for the missing money.)

I will not respond to e-mails, text messages or phone calls asking for my personal information, credit card information and bank account numbers — even if it’s supposedly from the IRS or a major bank — because come on, I’m not stupid!

If my business gets a call from a company asking to renew our yellow pages listing, I won’t agree until I check it out. Ditto for reorders of copier toner.

If I unhappily own a timeshare, I won’t agree to pay an upfront fee to unload it on a salesperson who claims there’s a “hot market.” There’s no hot market. And even if there was, I’d be a fool to pay anything in advance of a sale.

The same goes for advance- fee loans. If someone asks me for a fee before I get a loan, it’s a scam, plain and simple.

If I buy a car this year, I’ll remember that there is no automatic right to cancel. The three-day “cooling-off” period for contracts is for door-to-door and off-premises transactions and in Illinois, for health club and dating service contracts. Not for cars.

I won’t buy a used car without first driving it, having it inspected and getting a Carfax report to learn its history.

I will not sign up for “free trials” of products like acai berry diet pills or colonic cleansers. They aren’t free if the company has my credit card number and will charge me for a subscription each month.

I will read fine print. (The big print giveth, and the fine print taketh away.)

I will read my bank statements. I will not complain to The Fixer that I just noticed a health club has been mysteriously debiting monthly fees for the past nine years and now I want my money back.

I will review my cell phone bill each month to check for unauthorized cramming. I will check out citizensutilityboard.org to get the best deals for my calling patterns. And I will put the fear of God into my children so they don’t sign up for costly ring tones and games.

No matter how down and out I feel, I will not believe I can make thousands of dollars a week working on the Internet from home. If that were possible, we’d all be doing it.

If a salesperson promises something, I’ll reply, “Fabulous. Now put it in writing.”

I will not let my gift cards sit in a drawer.

The Greek philosopher Epictetus said: “Never suppress a generous impulse.” True, but check out give.org and charitynavigator.org to make sure you’re being smart about it.

I won’t get a “refund anticipation loan” at tax time because I know they can carry an annual percentage rate of 500 percent.

After the next storm, I’ll be wary of “storm chasers” — fishy contractors with no business address — because I know they just want a piece of my insurance check. And if a tuck-pointing or roofing crew stops by with “leftover materials from a job up the street,” I will tell them to get lost.

If I’m unlucky enough to get a debt collector’s call, I will calmly ask for something in writing. And even if it’s a legitimate debt, I will remember they can’t threaten to sue me or call my employer. I’ll check out ftc.gov to learn about my rights.

If, after following all these resolutions, I still get ripped off, I’ll fight back and warn other consumers by complaining to the Better Business Bureau, Illinois Attorney General’s Office and other public consumer-help agencies.

Best wishes to all of you for a happy, healthy and hassle-free new year!

Getting the runaround about a consumer problem? Tell it to The Fixer at www.newssunonline.com. If you don’t have a computer, you can mail a brief description of your problem, along with your name, address and telephone number, to: The Fixer, 1225 Tri-State Parkway, Suite 570, Gurnee, IL 60031. Don’t send original documents. Due to the large volume of submissions, The Fixer can’t make personal replies. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

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