• The Consumer Corner

  • Going green with credit: c’mon, it’s a come-on!

    Sat, 16 Jan 2010 3:55 PM

    Five credit cards weigh a little more than an ounce. Americans currently carry in their wallets more than 6,200 tons of non-recyclable PVC credit. (…)

    Full story…

  • What’s worse than getting a tooth pulled? Waiting for the dentist to show

    Mon, 24 Aug 2009 7:50 AM

    I had a tooth in the farthest reaches of my jawbone that was loose and gushy just a couple weeks ago. From my lay-person perspective, I just figured it needed to be disinfected, drained—whatever—and then a root canal conducted on it.

    Full story…

  • Beware the magazine subscription telemarketers

    Sun, 2 Aug 2009 3:13 PM

    Telemarketing scam artists know that old folks are polite and won’t have an easy time hanging up on them, so they use that to their slimy advantage.

    Full story…

  • DirecTV does not carry local Imperial Valley television, but DishNetwork does

    Thu, 23 Jul 2009 6:27 PM

    BONG! You’re gone, James! My house needs three receivers, which would be a $150 fee. Add that to the “special equipment,” and I’d be out $350 just to put an ugly little gray dish on top of my house so I can get the same stuff that the cable company offers and eventually pay the same price as the cable company charges.

    Full story…

• About the Blogger

  Every minute of every day there is someone who gets snagged as a sucker. It happens to average people like waitresses, teachers, bank clerks, politicians, even doctors and lawyers. It’s even happened to me, and I am a seasoned watchdog of consumer rights and consumer knowledge.

  My name is Gina Germani. I am the owner and editor of ivnews.INFO. I am also a veteran newspaper and TV reporter of nearly 30 years. And I am an Imperial Valley native. As a reporter in many parts of the country, I saw some of the most awful, heartless scams against good, trusting, and often desperate people. Sometimes I was able to help them. Sometimes I couldn’t.

  Sometimes the consumer can just get caught up in marketing and sales double-talk. Nothing illegal about that. But it’s unfair, and it’s not right when a business is trying to separate its customer from his or her money for less-than promised products, pricing or services.

  I like telling consumer horror stories and nailing the bad guys. And I hope I’ll be able to do that on these pages. You’ll also be reading a lot about my groans and gripes about customer service. Waiting inordinate periods of time for any Imperial County physician is one of my greatest pet peeves these days. I bet that’s something you wouldn’t mind chiming in on.

  The Consumer Corner is all about not getting cornered as a consumer.

  I hope I can help.

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