The Savvy Consumer Blog http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog Post-Dispatch reporter Matthew Hathaway on consumer issues and stretching a buck. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:55:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 en 1 The Savvy Consumer Blog http://images.stltoday.com/stltoday/images/yahoo/stl_pd_logo.jpg http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog 143 50 STLtoday.com House-painting firm to pay $3K to settle hazardous-waste suit http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/government/2009/11/house-painting-firm-to-pay-3k-to-settle-hazardous-waste-suit/ http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/government/2009/11/house-painting-firm-to-pay-3k-to-settle-hazardous-waste-suit/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:08:16 +0000 Matthew Hathaway http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/?p=852 St. Louis-based Celtic Painting has agreed to pay $3,000 to settle a state lawsuit accusing the house-painting company of violating waste-management regulations, according to the office of Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster.

Celtic Painting could be required to pay more than…

]]> http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/government/2009/11/house-painting-firm-to-pay-3k-to-settle-hazardous-waste-suit/feed/ ConsumerWorld: 10 tips to scoring better bargains on Black Friday http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/news-from-elsewhere/2009/11/consumerworld-10-tips-to-scoring-better-bargains-on-black-friday/ http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/news-from-elsewhere/2009/11/consumerworld-10-tips-to-scoring-better-bargains-on-black-friday/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:31:25 +0000 Matthew Hathaway http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/?p=850 If you’ve read my column in the Saturday paper, you might be familiar with Edgar Dworsky. The former consumer-protection lawyer for the Massachusetts AG’s office is the founder of the non-commercial site Consumer World, and he’s an expert bargain hunter.

Today,…

]]> http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/news-from-elsewhere/2009/11/consumerworld-10-tips-to-scoring-better-bargains-on-black-friday/feed/ Koster: Used car lots selling vehicles without safety inspections http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/government/2009/11/koster-used-car-lots-selling-vehicles-without-safety-inspections/ http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/government/2009/11/koster-used-car-lots-selling-vehicles-without-safety-inspections/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:10:34 +0000 Matthew Hathaway http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/?p=846

According to Koster's office, the dealerships issued temporary tags to cars that shouldn't have been on the road -- but not to this particular jalopy.

UPDATED 11:50 a.m., Nov. 20 with clarification from Attorney General’s Office. See second and third grafs.

Several…

]]> http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/government/2009/11/koster-used-car-lots-selling-vehicles-without-safety-inspections/feed/ Fed would restrict gift cards’ dormancy fees and expiration dates http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/news-from-elsewhere/2009/11/fed-would-restrict-gift-cards-dormancy-fees-and-expiration-dates/ http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/news-from-elsewhere/2009/11/fed-would-restrict-gift-cards-dormancy-fees-and-expiration-dates/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:54:19 +0000 Matthew Hathaway http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/?p=843 If you missed it, make sure to check out the MarketWatch story on gift cards and proposed Federal Reserve regs that appeared on the front page of today’s Post-Dispatch.

The Fed is considering new rules that would restrict dormancy or inactivity fees —…

]]> http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/news-from-elsewhere/2009/11/fed-would-restrict-gift-cards-dormancy-fees-and-expiration-dates/feed/ L.A. Times: Firms wine and dine ‘mommy bloggers’ for good coverage http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/uncategorized/2009/11/la-times-firms-wine-and-dine-mommy-bloggers-for-good-coverage/ http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/uncategorized/2009/11/la-times-firms-wine-and-dine-mommy-bloggers-for-good-coverage/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:38:23 +0000 Matthew Hathaway http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/?p=841 Nutrition activists fear the food industry is co-opting so-called “mommy bloggers” with junkets and freebies and, as a result, pulling a fast one on consumers who read the blogs and are unaware of the perks and endorsement deals, the Los…

]]> http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/uncategorized/2009/11/la-times-firms-wine-and-dine-mommy-bloggers-for-good-coverage/feed/ Trade group releases conduct rules for service-contract brokers http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/uncategorized/2009/11/trade-group-releases-conduct-rules-for-service-contract-brokers/ http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/uncategorized/2009/11/trade-group-releases-conduct-rules-for-service-contract-brokers/#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:41:08 +0000 Matthew Hathaway http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/?p=834 The trade group representing brokers of extended auto-service contracts today released a 20-page Standards of Conduct guide that prohibits many of the deceptive marketing practices that, according to consumer groups and regulators, have become synonymous with the industry.

The group, called the…

]]> http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/uncategorized/2009/11/trade-group-releases-conduct-rules-for-service-contract-brokers/feed/ Koster sues 6 area auto service-contract firms for deceiving consumers http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/uncategorized/2009/11/kosters-sues-6-area-service-contract-brokers-for-deceiving-consumers/ http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/uncategorized/2009/11/kosters-sues-6-area-service-contract-brokers-for-deceiving-consumers/#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:23:24 +0000 Matthew Hathaway http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/?p=826 Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster’s office announced today that it has filed suits against six companies selling extended auto-service contracts and alleged that the firms, all located in suburban St. Louis, tricked consumers into buying so-called “extended warranties” through unfair…

]]> http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/uncategorized/2009/11/kosters-sues-6-area-service-contract-brokers-for-deceiving-consumers/feed/ Koster to announce new suits against service-contract brokers http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/uncategorized/2009/11/koster-to-announce-new-suits-against-service-contract-brokers/ http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/uncategorized/2009/11/koster-to-announce-new-suits-against-service-contract-brokers/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:17:47 +0000 Matthew Hathaway http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/?p=822 Reporters being summoned to press conferences in Kansas City and St. Louis tomorrow are told that Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster will announce new enforcement actions his office is taking against companies selling extended auto-service contracts.

Nanci Gonder, a spokeswoman for…

]]> http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/uncategorized/2009/11/koster-to-announce-new-suits-against-service-contract-brokers/feed/ In the fakeosphere, web sites gush over extended warranties http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/us-fidelis/2009/11/in-the-fakeosphere-web-sites-gush-over-extended-warranties/ http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/us-fidelis/2009/11/in-the-fakeosphere-web-sites-gush-over-extended-warranties/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:06:09 +0000 Matthew Hathaway http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/?p=817 With bogus blogs and shill comments seemingly on the rise, it’s not surprising that there’s finally a name for these deceptive corners of the Internet where product marketers and public relations flacks pose as real people: it’s the fakeosphere.

Estimated to…

]]> http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/us-fidelis/2009/11/in-the-fakeosphere-web-sites-gush-over-extended-warranties/feed/ Moved recently? The IRS might be trying to send you a tax refund http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/government/2009/11/moved-recently-the-irs-might-be-trying-to-send-you-a-tax-refund/ http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/government/2009/11/moved-recently-the-irs-might-be-trying-to-send-you-a-tax-refund/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:10:44 +0000 Matthew Hathaway http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/?p=814 The tax man might be looking for you. And, this time, that’s good news.

Internal Revenue Service said today it is trying to track down the rightful owners of more than 107,000 refund checks worth more than $123.5 million. The U.S. Postal…

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