The power of patients: better health outcomes begin with you – National Consumers League

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Patient engagement, at its roots, is about ensuring that patients have the information available and access to services that encourage and enable them to be an active member of their health team.

Is patient engagement the key to reform? Are engaged patients capable of improving health outcomes? In short, the answer to both of these questions is yes. An engaged patient does experience better health outcomes, and better health outcomes often equates to lower health costs.

Patient engagement empowers the consumer and allows the consumer to make choices in their health care. It’s about communicating the evidence and options available so that we as patients can work with our care team to determine what is best for us.

Patient engagement is also central to patient safety. When the patient is actively involved in the care process and conversations, there tend to be fewer errors. Patient engagement also pushes the health team to be more transparent about their practices. In the end, the patient’s #1 advocate is the patient.

Patient safety starts with you – National Consumers League

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Health care is not always as safe as we would like it to be. More than 10 years ago, the Institute of Medicine came out with a groundbreaking report that found that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in American hospitals each year as a result of medical errors. What can consumers do to make sure they have a safe experience when they get health care?

Medical errors happen when what was planned as part of medical care does not work out, or when the wrong plan was used in the first place.) While there have been many efforts to improve safety over the last decade, progress is slow. Medical errors can happen anywhere you get your health services: in hospitals, clinics, a doctor’s office, nursing homes, pharmacies, and even in the patient’s home.

The best way you can help prevent errors is to be an active member of your health care team. That means taking part in decisions being made about your health care. Research shows that patients who are involved with their care tend to get better results. You can get better and safer care by asking questions about your diagnosis, treatment options, how you’re being cared for, and any medications prescribed for you.

Become an informed consumer.

Before seeking care, gather information about the illness or condition that affects you. Use reliable sources (like government Web sites such as the National Guideline Clearinghouse, Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health). Research options and possible treatment plans.

Choose a doctor, clinic, or hospital experienced in the type of care you require. For example, see the website developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Hospital Compare, for information on comparing hospitals.

Keep track of your own medical history and your medications.

Write down your medical history, including medical conditions you have, illnesses, and hospitalizations. Keep track of all your medications (both prescription and over the counter) and dietary supplements (vitamins and herbs). This is called a personal medication record (PMR). There are several formats for keeping a PMR, and you should pick what works best for you.  Share all this when you visit the doctor, or go to the hospital or clinic.

Be a part of the team.

It’s your job to work with your doctor or other health care providers. Clear communication between patients and those that are taking care of them is critical to improving safety and reducing the risk of medical errors.

Make sure you share your health history and medication use with your team. The PMR is a good way of doing that.

Make sure you understand the care and treatment you are going to receive. Ask questions! The Ask Me Three program from the National Patient Safety Foundation encourages patients to ask their team these three important questions:

  1. What is my main problem?
  2. What do I need to do?
  3. Why is it important for me to do this?

Follow the treatment plan agreed upon by you and your doctor. Make sure you receive the instructions verbally AND they are written down for you.

Get a partner.

Involve a family member or friend in your care. Ask a family member or friend to be with you in the hospital or come along to appointments to speak up for you if you can’t. They can help you understand care instructions and be your advocate when it’s time to make decisions. It helps to have a second set of ears, especially if you are nervous or distracted about your condition.

More tips for: hospital stays

  • Don’t be afraid to remind doctors and nurses about washing their hands before working with you. You are part of the health care team and it is okay for you to remind them. Hand washing is one of the best ways to stop hospital infections, including the MRSA infection, which can be very serious.
  • If you are having surgery, make sure that you, your doctor and surgeon all agree and are clear on what exactly needs to be done. Some surgeons sign their initials directly on the site to be operated on before surgery.
  • If you have an intravenous catheter, to prevent infection tell you doctor or nurse if the bandage comes off or there is soreness around the catheter.
  • If you have a urinary catheter, make sure it is removed as soon as possible to prevent an infection. Ask your health care team every day if it can be removed.
  • Quit smoking. Patients who smoke get more infections.
  • When you are being discharged, ask your doctor to explain the plan to you, and write it down so that you understand what you need to do. Research shows that at discharge, doctors think their patients understand more than what they really do about what they should do when they are at home.

More tips for: medications

  • Make sure ALL your health care providers know ALL the medications, both prescription and OTC, as well as dietary supplements such as vitamins and herbs, that your are taking. Keep a Personal Medication Record (PMR), make sure it is up to date, and share it with your health care provider.
  • Tell your health care providers about any allergies and adverse reactions you have to medications.
  • When your health care provider write you a prescription, make sure you can read it and know what medicines you are being prescribed.
  • Ask about your medicines when you are prescribed them and when you receive them. Ask:
    • What is it for?
    • How long do I need to take it?
    • What side effects are likely, and what should I do if I have them?
    • Can I take it with other medicines and dietary supplements?
    • Is there any food or alcohol that I need to avoid while taking?
  • When you pick up your medicine at the pharmacy, ask if this is the medicine that was prescribed. Most medication errors involve the wrong drug or wrong dose.
  • If you have questions about the directions on the medicine label – ask!  Medicine labels can be hard to understand.  For example, does “three doses daily” mean take a dose every eight hours around the clock, or just during waking hours?

For more on this subject

National Patient Safety Foundation

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

AHRQ’s Questions are the Answer

Fact sheets on Health Care Associated Infections (English, Spanish, and Large Print)

Add Twitter to your customer service arsenal – National Consumers League

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Consumers exhausted by customer service phone lines – and the muzak they’re subject to while waiting to speak with a real live human – are increasingly turning to an alternative: Twitter.

“Your business is very important to us, please remain on the line and a customer service representative will assist you in the order your call was received.”

“Due to extremely high call volume, your wait time is estimated to be…”

Many of us are all-too-familiar with these and other phrases that accompany the soothing muzak used by many companies to manage our limited patience when we’re on hold with their customer service departments. Unfortunately, even after a human is eventually reached, consumers often find that by the time they hang up the phone, the issue they called about remains unresolved. What can a frustrated consumer do?

One alternative that consumers are increasingly turning to is Twitter. By now, many of us are using Twitter, a social networking and microblogging Web site that allows its users to post short messages (known as “tweets”) that can be read by our “followers.” Use of Twitter has exploded in the past few years. At last count, Twitter users were tweeting nearly 50 millions tweets per day. 

Since Twitter is a public service, consumers’ tweets are visible to everyone on the Internet (unless the user blocks access to his or her account). Twitter has become a powerful megaphone for consumers. In the past, if a customer had a problem with a company, their negative experience was communicated mostly to friends and associates by word-of-mouth. In recent years, consumers have started voicing business reviews on the Internet, via blogs or review sites. With Twitter, there is even greater potential for thousands of users to hear – many, instantly – about bad experiences. For companies that are eager to protect their reputations, this is an issue they would be wise to manage. 

Numerous companies are doing just that — assigning staff to monitor Twitter for customers who are dissatisfied and respond directly (via Twitter) to that customer. Many Fortune 500 companies have set up their own Twitter accounts, allowing customers to direct their tweets to a designated Twitter agent for a particular company (via Twitter’s “@” reference system). Companies as varied as Comcast, JetBlue, Wachovia, Bank of America, UPS, and Blue Cross Blue Shield have set up Twitter accounts to complement their traditional customer service lines.

While the quality of Twitter-based customer service varies from company to company, consumers who have tweeted about their bad experiences have frequently received much quicker and more competent follow-up from the companies they’ve tweeted about.

So how can frustrated consumers make use of Twitter to improve their customer service experience? Here are some tips and tricks that might help:

  1. Try the conventional method first. Most companies have dedicated customer service lines that can address common problems, though time spent on hold should be expected.
  2. While you’re on hold, use a search engine to search for “[company name] Twitter.” This will usually bring up a list of Twitter accounts associated with a particular company.
  3. If the traditional customer service route doesn’t solve the problem, tweet away! Be succinct in your tweet (Twitter has a 140 character limit on tweets) and reference one or more of the Twitter accounts for the company in question, using the “@” reference. Example: “The widget I ordered from @acmewidgets showed up broken today. Customer service was no help.”
  4. Keep your expectations reasonable. Some companies have set up their Twitter accounts primarily to tweet about company news, not respond to customer complaints. Review the last few tweets of a particular company’s Twitter account to make sure your tweet goes to the right account.
  5. If you are contacted by a representative of the company, take your conversation to email or phone. This is a better way to describe the exact problem and get it fixed quickly.
  6. Look for Verified Accounts. Twitter’s openness has led to numerous accounts impersonating real companies or celebrities. Look for accounts that have been verified as legit by Twitter. Note that Verified Accounts for businesses are still in the beta, or testing, stage, so don’t rely on this exclusively.
  7. If your tweet led to the problem being solved, tweet about that, too! Companies will be more likely to help you and others in the future if they know that going the extra mile on Twitter led to positive feedback for all the world to see.

Twitter is a valuable tool in the consumer’s toolbox for resolving customer service issues. If going the usual route of calling the customer service line doesn’t solve your problem, don’t be afraid to try Twitter to express your displeasure. The old saying that the squeaky wheel gets the grease has never been truer.

Farmworker advocates building CARE momentum – National Consumers League

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Advocates have been working for years to improve the working conditions for young farmworkers in the United States. In recent months, the CARE Act, the domestic priority for NCL’s Child Labor Coalition, has been gathering steam. In all, 73 groups, representing a diverse cross-section of interests, have stood up and said it’s time to end the injustice of child labor in U.S. agriculture.

During its 111-year history, the National Consumers League (NCL) has often played the role of “convener,” bringing groups together to work to protect American workers and consumers. A prime example of this work is the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), which is made up of 24 groups committed to fighting abusive child labor here in the United States and around the world. The CLC’s domestic priority is protecting the children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers who often work long, back-breaking hours in the fields at very young ages because of loopholes in U.S. child labor law.

The CLC, the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP), and the Children in the Fields Campaign partners are engaged in the Children in the Fields campaign to end those exemptions by passing the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment (CARE), which currently has 75 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. In the last six months, campaign partners have had great success in attracting other groups to engage in the battle to pass CARE.

First, campaign members sought the support of the farmworker community. In all, 12 farmworker organizations have signed on. The United Farm Workers of America and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, two of the oldest and most revered farmworker unions have endorsed CARE. Advocacy groups including Farmworker Justice, Student Action with Farmworkers, the National Farmworker Alliance, the Migrant Legal Action Program, the Farmworker Association of Florida, and the National Farmworker Ministry all agree that CARE will help protect farmworker children.

Farmworker educational groups like the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association and the National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education have endorsed CARE because they know that child labor at early ages often leads young workers to drop out of school. Advocates estimate that as many as two out of three migrant children do not complete high school and end up trapped in low-wage farm work.

Some of the country’s largest unions see CARE as badly needed to protect young workers from exploitation. The AFL-CIO, Change to Win, the American Federation of Teachers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Communications Workers of America, the National Education Association, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and the Laborers’ International Union of North America, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union are among the unions and union coalition that have endorsed CARE.

American Rights at Work, Interfaith Worker Justice, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and the International Labor Rights Forum are among the groups that fight for workers rights and support the passage of CARE. These groups realize that child labor not only endangers the health and education of young workers, it undercuts adult wages and the ability to advocate for better working conditions.

Poverty reduction groups like the Center for Community Change, Oxfam America, and Results have endorsed CARE because they realize that child labor contributes to the generational poverty that traps farmworker families.

For many groups, arduous child labor at such young ages raises civil rights and justice issues. Alliance for Justice, the Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Human Rights Watch (HRW)—one of the major Children in the Fields Campaign partners–have all endorsed CARE. HRW is among the rights groups that have raised the issue of whether the U.S. might be in violation of the international child rights agreement, Convention 182, because child labor in U.S. agriculture represents a “worst form” of child labor. In the coming months, HRW will release an extensive research report that examines the plight of child farmworker in the U.S.

Many of the nation’s leading Latino Rights organizations have expressed strong support for CARE. NCLR–the National Council of La Raza, the League of United Latin American Citizens, MANA–A National Latina Organization, the Latino Advocacy Council of Western North Carolina,  the Hispanic Federation, and the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute are among CARE supporters who realize that U.S. labor law unjustly impacts Latino youth. In 1938, when the U.S. passed the Fair Labor Standards act and the agriculture exemptions became law, many child workers were African-American. The NAACP has also formally endorsed CARE. The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Asian American Justice Center have added their endorsement to the campaign as well.

Anti-gender discrimination groups like the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, and Pride at Work have asked Congress to say “no” to de facto discrimination by passing CARE.

Faith-based organizations have added their voice to the Children in the Fields campaign. The United Methodist Women, the United Methodist Church—General Board of Church and Society, and the North Carolina Council of Churches are among CARE supporters.

Child rights and child welfare supporters include First Focus Campaign for Children, the International Initiative to End Child Labor, Maine’s Children Alliance, and Kentucky Youth Advocates. The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, the National Foster Care Coalition, the National Collaboration for Youth, United States Student Association, Voices for Ohio’s Children, and Media Voices for Children.

Many of the children working in the fields are girls and several groups concerned about the rights of women have also asked Congress to pass CARE, including the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, the National Organization for Women, the American Association of University Women, Dialogue on Diversity, and Legal Momentum—formally the Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Although the CARE Act would preserve a family farm exemption that allows the children of growers to continue to work on family farms, the grower community has been slow to embrace the CARE Act. Industry groups like the American Farm Bureau are officially neutral on the bill. Only one brave farmer, Swanton Berry Farms, has stood up and said that employing children to work for wages at the age of 12 is wrong. Bon Appetit Management Company, a catering company that believes in sustainable agriculture has also endorsed CARE.

A variety of other groups have endorsed our campaign, including Calvert Group Ltd., one of the nation’s largest socially-responsible asset management companies and Galen Films, the producer of the documentary film Stolen Childhoods, which contains a powerful segment on children working in U.S. agriculture. The Ramsay Merriam Fund, a long-time supporter of the CLC, the Public Education Network, and the La Fe Policy Research and Education Center of San Antonio have also publically asked Congress to pass CARE.

In all, 73 groups have stood up and said it’s time to end the injustice of child labor in U.S. agriculture. If your organization would like to join our campaign, please write to Reid Maki at reidm@nclnet.org for additional information. If you support an organization that you would like to endorse CARE, please contact it and ask it to lend their voice to the protection of America’s most vulnerable child workers by endorsing CARE.

Health care experience triggers quality of coverage questions – National Consumers League

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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

I recently experienced the health care system’s shortcomings while seeking out treatment for a condition known as “trigger finger.” That’s when one of your fingers locks up and won’t straighten without much effort – and pain. Though I live in Washington DC, my first consult occurred while visiting my father, a doctor, in Minnesota. He sent me to see his friend, a hand surgeon, to have a look. The hand doctor gave me a shot of cortisone, saying that, while that only works 50 percent of the time with trigger finger, it was the first step before surgery.

The cortisone worked for a few days but soon enough the finger locked up again. So I decided to seek out the surgery option and made an appointment to see a doctor back home in Washington, DC. He was “out of network” for my insurance, but his offices are far closer to me than any of the “in network” doctors on my insurer’s list, and he came highly recommended.

This physician sized up the finger, asked about the cortisone option, and recommended minor surgery, which is apparently very routine. I made arrangements to have the surgery at a local hospital where this doctor is on staff. The whole procedure would take 30 minutes and would be outpatient and, thank goodness, I could go home immediately after its completion. The doctor said his fee for this procedure was $2,000, plus the cost of the hospital. This sounded high for such a minor procedure, but what do I know?

Before I proceeded, I wanted to find out how much coverage my insurance would provide. Believe it or not, my health insurance coverage amounted to only $296 for the doctor’s fee, of which they would pay only 70 percent, and that’s after an annual deductible of $300. In other words, I would receive nothing from my health insurance to cover the cost of this procedure if I went outside their network. However, the facility cost would be covered at 100 percent. Then I called the doc in Minnesota. His fee for this procedure is between $800 and $1,300. A lot less than $2,000 but a lot higher than the $296 my insurance pays.

This experience prompted so many questions for me. First, if the in-network doctors are making little or nothing on this procedure, how can they even cover their own costs? Also, what standards are insurance companies using to determine what a “usual and customary” charge for procedures? If the DC doc charges $2,000 and the Minnesota doc charges between $800 and $1,300, certainly, what should insurance cover? And what about the quality of my insurance coverage? Does this put my insurance company into that loathed category of “junk health insurers” who take your premiums each month but they cover little of your actual health care expenses? Why such a difference between in-network and out-of-network coverage? What are the actual costs of these procedures?

I’m a professional consumer advocate, and I found the experience overwhelming. What’s a patient – who’s lucky enough to HAVE health insurance — to do? I called my dad’s friend and asked for advice. He said his practice would do the surgery for a fee somewhere between what my insurance says it’s worth and what his practice charges. I figured he was willing to negotiate because of our family connection. But when I called the DC doctor to say I was putting off the surgery, his assistant said they wouldn’t expect me to pay the whole fee out of pocket either and we could come to some arrangement.

The lesson learned here is that for those of us lucky enough to have health insurance, it does pay to check into coverage before you move forward with treatment. Actually, it was a pain to wait on hold for 30 minutes while the insurance looked for the amount of coverage they’d provide for this very routine procedure and even then, I wasn’t sure she’d gotten it right. To me, this experience brings home how fraught this system is with pitfalls and traps for consumers. And this was a simple, common, and fairly inexpensive procedure. I feel for those with chronic or life threatening conditions or illnesses who have to deal with this system every day. I honestly don’t know how they do it.

Children in the Fields Campaign gathering steam – National Consumers League

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By Reid Maki, Coordinator of the Child Labor Coalition

Our effort to protect migrant farmworker children from potentially harmful child labor through the Children in the Fields Campaign continues to gather steam. A campaign highlight occurred two weeks ago on February 22, when the Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus hosted a briefing on the hidden problem of child labor in U.S. agriculture. The room was packed with about 50 congressional staffers, interns, human rights advocates, and federal officials who work to protect farmworkers.

Norma Flores, who is now a Children in the Fields Campaign organizer, told the audience that she formally began working for wages in agriculture when she was 12, but that she helped out her migrant family in the fields when she was even younger. She spoke about working in 100-degree heat and working with sharp scissors that were so rough on her hands that she couldn’t write when she returned to school. She spoke about the lack of sanitation–days when toilets were not available or located too far away for the workers to use and days when clean water was not available to drink. She also talked about her scariest day in the fields when a plane spraying pesticides flew over the crew and dropped the pesticide spray directly on them. “My dad…was freaking out. He told us to run,” said Lopez.

Flores said she often migrated before the school year was over and returned to Texas months after it started up again. Many migrant children, she noted, end up dropping out from school due to the fatigue associated with migrating and working in the fields.

Maria Mandujano, who is now a college student and one of the lucky ones who managed to make it through school to graduation, told attendees that she started working in the fields when she was only 11, helping to harvest onions, sugar beets, corn, and zucchini. She recalled 13-hour shifts in 98-100-degree heat and said the work has left her with a bad back. “It is wrong that farmworker youth are the only youth exempted from U.S. child labor laws,” said Maria. “I hope that Congress will act to protect others like me.”

Zama Coursen-Neff, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, told briefing attendees that she has found a great deal of evidence that child farmworkers continue to work under very difficult circumstances that leaves her wondering whether the United States is in compliance with Convention 182, the international agreement signed by the U.S. that prohibits the “worst forms” of child labor that endangers the health, safety, and morals of children. Inaccessibility to good drinking water, pesticide contamination, exposure to hazardous jobs at young ages, and the sexual harassment of young female workers were among the problems she said young workers told her about. She interviewed child workers who work seven days a week for less than $150, she said. “I’ve seen kids working barefoot and without gloves,” she added. “Some kids are too tired to change their clothes at the end of the day.”

Coursen-Neff said she also believes that U.S. child labor laws are discriminatory because the exemptions that allow children to work at 12 and younger in agriculture primarily impact Latino children. She reminded participants that for many farmworker children, farm work is a way of life and not a temporary farm job that older Americans tend to remember fondly as a part of their youth. “One mother told me that she felt she had stolen her 11-year-old daughter’s childhood,” she said.

Filmmaker Robin Romano showed a trailer for his upcoming film on child farmworkers called “The Harvest.” He told attendees that the agricultural exemptions reminded him of “Jim Crow” laws, arguing that the treatment of migrant kids is “separate and unequal.” He agreed with Coursen-Neff’s assessment that the United States is not in compliance with Convention 182 and he said that the attempts to deal with abusive child labor in African cocoa fields under the Harkin-Engel protocol “require stricter rules than we have.”

“This is stunning to me,” Romano added. He noted that most of the migrant child workers he met were born in the U.S. “These are American citizens….Our children deserve better from us.”

Please consider calling your Congressman and urging them to cosponsor The Children’s Act for Responsible Employment, HR 3564. Email Reid Maki at reidm@nclnet.org if you have any questions.

Patient safety starts with you – National Consumers League

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Update: Scary must-read in the New York Times re: hospital safety

Happy National Patient Safety Week!

Nationally, this week marks an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of and highlight ways in which we can all help improve patient safety.

As a patient, you can take five easy steps towards being a safer patient – and preventing infection and complications when you visit your local hospital or point-of-care:

  1. Hospital Infection Protection 411 – know your hospital’s infection control practices and talk to your health care team about infection protection.
  2. Antibiotics – the misuse and overuse of antibiotics can lead to drug resistance, including MRSA, which can lead to very serious infections. Make sure any antibiotics prescribed are necessary, and then be sure to follow the prescription and take as directed.
  3. Catheter Caution – 25 percent of hospital patients have a urinary catheter. The risk of a urinary tract infection increases the longer the catheter is in place (particularly if more than 2 days); if you’ve had a catheter in for more than 48 hours, ask if and when it can be removed.
  4. Know Your Care Team – see if your hospital has an Infection Preventionist; if you’re feeling really eager or interested in the practices of your hospital, ask to meet with the preventionist.
  5. Keep Your Hands Clean – not only should you keep your hands clean while in the hospital, but feel free to ask that anyone touching you wash their hands well.

Happy National Consumer Protection Week! – National Consumers League

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National Consumer Protection Week 2010 has begun, running from March 7 to the 13th. NCL is an NCPW Steering Committee member, working with our consumer protection colleagues to provide free resources to help people protect their privacy, manage money and debt, avoid identity theft, understand credit and mortgages, and steer clear of frauds and scams. This year, NCPW partners—which includes AARP, Better Business Bureau, Consumer Federation of America, and a handful of federal government agencies and others—are focusing Dollars and Sense: Rated “A” for All Ages on highlighting consumer education for every stage of life – from grade school to retirement.

At NCPW’s official Web site and blog, readers can view President Obama’s *NCPW Proclamation and visit the *NCPW Events Page to find local NCPW events across the country. Bloggers are examining issues of utmost importance to consumers these days: understanding the new credit card rules; personal privacy; seeing through the deception of fraudulent “miracle cures” and more.

NCL has long sought to educate our youngest consumers on a variety of issues, and our 16-year-old LifeSmarts program captures the nuts and bolts of growing up consumer savvy. NCL runs LifeSmarts at the national level and is grateful for the support from volunteer state coordinators across the country facilitating the program in their states. LifeSmarts is a national program for high school and middle school youth, testing students in grades 7-12 with questions about real-life marketplace issues ranging from personal finance, health and safety, the environment, technology, and consumer rights and responsibilities. So far in this 2009-2010 season, the program has recorded the highest numbers ever in its 16-year history.

State competitions are heating up across the country, and as winners are determined, champion teams are prepping for their trip to Miami, Florida for the 2010 National LifeSmarts Championship. Follow the excitement of the coming weeks at NCL’s LifeSmarts blog.

*Links are no longer active as the original sources have removed the content, sometimes due to federal website changes or restructurings

NCL grooming a new generation of savvy consumers during NCPW and year-round – National Consumers League

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March 7, 2010

Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC – With the focus of this year’s National Consumer Protection Week (March 7-13) highlighting consumer education for every age – from grade school to retirement – the National Consumers League is reminding consumers, especially the youngest ones, that it pays to be “LifeSmart.” NCL, an official partner of NCPW, along with federal government agencies and other consumer organizations, runs LifeSmarts (www.lifesmarts.org), a national program for high school and middle school youth that tests students in grades 7-12 with questions about real-life marketplace issues ranging from personal finance, health and safety, the environment, technology, and consumer rights and responsibilities. So far in this 2009-2010 season, the program has recorded the highest numbers ever in its 16-year history.

What better time than National Consumer Protection Week for consumers to learn ways to manage their money wisely, protect themselves from scams, and be smart about credit,” said Lisa Hertzberg, program director of LifeSmarts. “We encourage consumers of all ages to visit the official NCPW Web site—and to log on to www.lifesmarts.org to get involved in LifeSmarts.”

The LifeSmarts competition begins online at the state level, where young consumers form teams and compete for spots at state championships across the country. State champions will go on to attend the National LifeSmarts competition in Miami, April 24-27.

“The current marketplace is a challenge for adult consumers,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “But at younger and younger ages, children are having an influence on how their families spend money.  Our LifeSmarts program, and the many resources offered by NCPW partners this year, recognize that we need to start educating our consumers when they are young. NCL is delighted to be a part of the official NCPW Steering Committee.”

During NCPW, consumer advocates join with federal, state, and local government agencies to devote a week to raising awareness about today’s consumers’ issues. This year’s efforts include free online resources, which can help consumers protect their privacy, manage money and debt, avoid identity theft, understand credit and mortgages, and steer clear of frauds and scams.

To learn more about the LifeSmarts program, contact Hertzberg at the National Consumers League at (202) 835-3323 or lisah@nclnet.org or visit www.lifesmarts.org.

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About the National Consumers League

Founded in 1899, the National Consumers League is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Avoiding online car buying scams – National Consumers League

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When it comes time to buy a car, consumers are more empowered than ever thanks in large part to the Internet and its offerings of car reviews, online vehicle history reports, detailed car listings, and more. The Internet has also, unfortunately, given scammers a new venue to find auto-buying victims.When it comes time to buy a car, consumers are more empowered than ever thanks in large part to the Internet and its offerings of car reviews, online vehicle history reports, detailed car listings, and more. The Internet has also, unfortunately, given scammers a new venue to find auto-buying victims.

One car-buying venue that consumers are increasingly turning to is online classifieds sites such as Craigslist. There are many advantages to using such sites to purchase an automobile, most notably cutting out the dealership middlemen. Unfortunately, NCL’s Fraud Center also hears frequently from consumers who have fallen victim to fraud when purchasing a car via these services. Different scams tend to affect buyers and sellers. Here are some of the more common variants, though this list should not be considered exhaustive, as con artists are among some of the more inventive criminals out there.

The “Price Too Good to Be True” scam

In this scam, a prospective buyer sees an attractive-looking car (often a classic or exotic car) for a price well below market value. When the buyer contacts the seller, he or she is notified that the seller and the car is outside of the country and will arrange for shipment of the car upon receipt of payment, most often via wire transfer (such as Western Union) or bank-to-bank transfer (for very large payments). When the money is transferred and collected, the “seller” breaks contact and the buyer is out the money.

The overpayment scam

A legitimate seller posts a car for sale. He or she is then contacted by a prospective “buyer” (really a scammer) who offers to send a cashier’s check immediately plus additional funds to cover shipment of the car overseas. When the check arrives, the seller is instructed to deposit it and wire the overage to the “shipper.” When this is done and the wire transfer picked up, the “buyer” breaks contact and the seller is left on the hook to their bank for the fraudulent check and the missing funds.

Escrow scams

Many consumers are rightfully wary of sending large amounts of money to someone they’ve never met. Scammer frequently recommend the use of fake “escrow” services that will hold funds involved in the transaction until both parties are satisfied that the transaction has been completed. In a typical scam, a legitimate buyer will be approached by a scammer selling a car (again, often an exotic or classic car priced, but usually priced well below market value). The scam seller will offer to ship the car and that there is no risk of fraud due to the “escrow” service (purportedly eBay, PayPal, or another service). Once the money is transferred, contact is broken (or sometimes additional funds are requested to cover “unforeseen” events). In any case, the legitimate buyer never receives a car and loses their money.

How to avoid car-buying scams

  • NEVER wire money or use a bank-to-bank transfer in a transaction.
  • ALWAYS try to deal locally when buying or selling an automobile or other high-value merchandise
  • DO NOT sell or buy a car from someone who is unable or unwilling to meet you face to face.
  • NEVER buy a car that you have not seen in real life and had inspected by a professional. A vehicle history report may also be a good idea, though scammers have been known to use fake vehicle identification numbers to defeat this countermeasure.
  • WAIT until a check (personal, cashier’s, certified, or otherwise) has cleared the bank to transfer title or the car itself. Funds being made available by a bank DOES NOT mean the check is not counterfeit. Clearing a check can take days or weeks depending on the financial institutions involved. Check with your bank about their particular processes for clearing checks.
  • NEVER trust a seller or buyer who says that the transaction is GUARANTEED by eBay, Craigslist, PayPal, or other online marketplace. These sites explicitly DO NOT guarantee that people using their services are legitimate.
  • BEWARE sellers or buyers who want to conclude a transaction as quickly as possible. Scammers want to get your money before you have time to think or have a professional examine the deal.
  • CALL the buyer or seller to establish phone contact. If the buyer or seller seems to neglect details agreed to via e-mail or is unable to answer questions about their location or the location of the automobile in question, it is likely to be a scam.
  • ALWAYS trust your gut. If a deal feels “fishy” or sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Plenty of people use online classified ads to buy and sell cars every day. The vast majority of these transactions are legitimate and go smoothly. Losing out on a “great” deal in order to work with someone you trust could save you big in avoiding a possible scam.

If you feel you or someone you know has been a victim of a car-buying scam, report the scam to NCL’s  Fraud Center at www.fraud.org.