Fixer rescues cash from child-care card

Dear Fixer: I have been a member at the Fitness 19 health club in Buffalo Grove for more than three years. Over a year ago, I purchased a $50 pre-paid child-care punch card that I have in my possession. I've used it infrequently and have a $37 balance on the card.

When I brought my kids in recently, I found out that the kids club was closed without any notice to the members.

The "safe and secure" kids club is prominently featured on the front page of the Fitness 19 Web site.

When I inquired about a refund, I was told that even though I had the card, I would also need a receipt to prove I had purchased it. I didn't keep that receipt from a year and a half ago. Again, I have the actual card in my possession.

If you can get my money back, I would like to donate the $37 to The Fixer's charity of choice. And I'd challenge the manager of the club to match it (no receipt required).

Dave Holecek, Lincolnshire

Dear Dave: The Fixer barely broke a sweat getting your child-care money back from Fitness 19. All we did was e-mail the manager, and voila!, a check for $37 was sent out to you.

Honor Flight Chicago (your choice of charity) will be the lucky recipient of the money. You told The Fixer you admire their work to bring aging World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., for a day of honor at no cost to them. It looks like a worthwhile charity. Readers who would like to find out more can check out honorflightchicago.org.

Scared of job scams

Dear Fixer: I am recalling a column you wrote last year about all the work-at-home job scams. I am now paranoid about everything that I see on the Internet regarding jobs. Is there any way to verify whether a Web site is legit?

Sarah Ghantous, Evanston

Dear Sarah: A little paranoia is probably healthy when it comes to employment scams. These cons are among the slimiest out there because they prey upon people who are hoping to find work in a not-so-great economy.

But rest assured, there are ways to avoid the scams while landing your dream job. We took your question to Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the local Better Business Bureau. Steve has seen it all. Here's his advice:

If the employment Web site charges a fee for information on how to work at home or if they want your credit card information, it's a fraud, plain and simple. As Steve says, "You should not have to spend money to make money" — at least in the case of landing a job.

Sometimes employers are looking for a small amount, such as $10 for an application fee. But if 50,000 people fall for it, that's $500K for the scammer.

Ditto for companies that bring you in for an interview and then ask for money for materials or training.

In addition, CareerBuilder.com reminds job-seekers to never give out their Social Security number or other non-work-related personal information (eye color, marital status, etc.) that could be used for identity theft.

Steve also told us that some scammers will steal job-seekers' e-mail addresses from legitimate job Web sites, then contact them privately. If you get an e-mail out of the blue offering a wonderful job, it's probably a scam.

Travel tip

Here's a tip for Priceline.com users from the April issue of ShopSmart magazine, which is published by the people who do Consumer Reports:

If you want to use Priceline.com to bid on travel, first check out prices at Hotwire.com. Then take 10 or 20 percent off the best price and use that to make your bid on Priceline.

ShopSmart also recommends checking out BetterBidding.com before bidding on Priceline.com.

But make sure your travel dates are set. All sales are final.

ComEd demand jolts building owner

Dear Fixer: I own a 12-flat in Alsip. ComEd sent me a letter Jan. 11 saying their records indicate there was installation of additional or non-standard equipment in the building.

Now, they want another $400, plus $17 more each month.

Each unit pays its own electric bill and I pay for the electricity in the laundry room, hallways and other common areas. Aside from regular upkeep, I haven't made any changes to the electrical equipment.

Dan Sapato, Crest Hill

Dear Dan: You told Team Fixer you called ComEd a few times, wanting to know what equipment the utility thought you had installed. Each time, you were told you'd get a call back explaining the additional bill, but you were still waiting for that call when you contacted us.

We got in touch with ComEd spokeswoman Krissy Posey and asked if they could look into it. It turns out the company made an error during a recent routine audit at your building.

Posey said that during the audit, ComEd incorrectly identified a second electrical transformer as serving your property. "However, upon further investigation, ComEd determined his property is only serviced by one transformer," Posey told us.

Your records have been updated, and the additional charges should be zapped from your bill.

Speaking of highenergy bills …

The Fixer has long touted the nonprofit Citizens Utility Board and its programs as a way for consumers to save on electric, natural gas and phone bills. Now CUB is running a contest with seven employers and institutions in Evanston to see who can save the most in electric costs, and they will award two lucky consumers a year's worth of free electricity.

Consumers also can win rewards points for gift cards and discounts.

And the best part is the contest is open to all ComEd customers — you do not have to live or work in Evanston to participate.

Here's how it works:

First, go to cubenergysaver.com/evanston to sign up.

Pick which one of the seven teams you want to join: Evanston Township High School, NorthShore University HealthSystem, City of Evanston Employees, Rotary Energy EconoMisers, St. Francis Hospital, Northwestern University Employees or District 65.

All year, each team will try to recruit as many new people as they can for the CUBEnergySaver.com program. At the end of 2011, CUB will award a prize to the team that recruits the most new people and a prize to the team that tallies up the biggest combined savings on their electric bills.

Then they'll choose at random two lucky participants from those teams to win a free year's worth of electricity, courtesy of CUB.

Again — you do NOT need to live or work in Evanston to participate. (The teams are all Evanston-based because Evanston beat out hundreds of other Illinois communities in an earlier CUB contest.)

The way we see it, no one really loses in this contest, because even if you don't win the free year's worth of electricity, you'll still learn ways to cut your electric bill every month. Each participant will get a personalized plan to cut their utility costs as well as reward points for cutting their ComEd bills. The reward points can be redeemed for gift cards or discounts at hundreds of local and national businesses.

Refund retrieved from canceled credit card

Dear Fixer: I am a retired 84-year-old man. I had colon cancer two years ago and had surgery and treatment. My children did not feel comfortable with me being alone, so I contracted with BrickHouse Security for one year.

There was an equipment deposit of $199. When the contract ended in June 2009, I sent the equipment back and asked for my deposit.

After waiting for a few months, I contacted BrickHouse in September 2009 to try again to get my money. After many calls, their representative finally processed the refund that November.

The problem is they put the refund back onto a credit card that I had already canceled.

So, I contacted Chase, which had issued the card. They told me I would have to write a letter to United Visa's correspondence department.

I sent the letter with the closed account number and refund number. No luck. So I tried BrickHouse again and explained the difficulty I was having. This was last spring. A manager at BrickHouse said he would ask their finance department to issue a check. But when I called again later to ask about the check, I was informed that the manager had left the company.

The rep at BrickHouse said I should try the bank again because once the refund has been issued, the problem is not theirs anymore.

So I went back to Chase. Finally, last June, I spoke with a Chase supervisor, who said she would look into it. I still have not heard back. Please help me get my money back.

Ming Dea, Chicago

Dear Ming: The Fixer was happy to pluck your $199 out of the black hole it had apparently fallen into. It actually was easier than we thought, and we didn't even need to involve Stephen Hawking.

We took your story to Tom Kelly, a Sun-Times alum who now does media relations for Chase. We asked Tom if he could help unravel this mystery, and two weeks later, the money was back in your hands.

Getting the runaround over a consumer problem? Tell it to The Fixer at newssunonline.com/fixer, where you'll find a simple form to fill out. You'll also find a list of consumer contacts and tips. Because of the large volume of submissions, The Fixer can't personally reply to every problem. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Fact Box: THE FIXER HAS SAVED YOU$1,120,034Costly lesson: A consumer's tale of woeWhat's the old saying — the road to The Fixer's mailbox is paved with good intentions?Good intentions were just what got Pat, a Fixer reader from Chicago, in trouble — and she wanted to share her story to prevent others from suffering the same misfortune.Pat and her brother share an apartment. She is a disabled student on a fixed income, so when her brother couldn't come up with his half of the rent one month, Pat could not help him.He had an idea, though: He suggested Pat get a title loan at a payday loan place. She could use her car to secure the loan, take out money and then he would pay her back before the loan came due.You can probably see where this is going."Reluctantly, I went there," Pat wrote The Fixer. "He needed $700 to cover his cost of the rent and utilities for the month. I was offered $1,600. I took it because I was expecting some funds that would allow me to pay the loan off on time."She took out the loan Jan. 10. It was a quick turn-around, with payment due Feb. 3."My brother paid me his portion of the loan, but unfortunately, the monies I was expecting did not happen. I could not afford the payment."On Feb. 21, when I left my apartment for school, I discovered my car had been repossessed by the payday loan business."Now, only 2 1/2 months after taking out the loan, to get her car back, she must pay $2,764.20 — more than 170 percent of what she borrowed.Pat is learning the hard way that payday loan companies are not your friend or savior."Companies like these take advantage of people who are seeking help," she wrote The Fixer. "It was never my intention to not pay; certainly I did not want to lose my car. I was negligent because I was late paying; that is my fault."I want to warn anyone who finds themselves in a predicament and is considering a title loan to seek other resources because you could be like me. If you are unable to pay off the loan before the due date, 20 days later your car is gone."