How a few little mistakes can lead to a Medicare late enrollment penalty
This Medicare beneficiary made a series of small mistakes that led to a late enrollment penalty. How could this have been avoided?
News and Alerts
These news reports from Consumer Rescue provide alerts and information to consumers concerning products, and scams, with useful advice and tips.
How to save money on your Medicare prescription drug plan
If I could show you how to save money on your Medicare prescription drug plan, would you be interested?
You have an opportunity to possibly do so during Medicare’s annual election period – better known as open enrollment.
Regardless of which name you use, this is the period between Oct. 15 and Dec. 7 when Medicare beneficiaries can elect to change prescription drug plans, change Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans, switch from original Medicare to Part C, and vice versa. Changes you make are effective Jan. 1.
Last week, I wrote about why and how to be a careful shopper when you’re looking at Medicare Advantage plans. I used an enticing offer I received as an example. Today, I’ll do the same about your prescription drug coverage.
Think you got scammed through a Facebook ad? You’re not alone
Jeri Lynn Wentz says she feels scammed after her recent shopping fiasco, which began through a Facebook ad. The “fashionable” clothes she bought took a month to arrive and were more suitable for a baby doll than a full-grown woman. When she asked to return the garments, the retailer first resisted and then gave her some strange instructions. In the end, the clothing company kept her money and the tiny, low-quality items Jeri sent back.
So now what?
Why did Stanley Steemer charge me $1,408 and damage my wall, too?
The coupon offer from Stanley Steemer was attractive: $160 to clean up to eight furnace air ducts. Roberta Cirino thought she was doing a smart thing by responding to the mailing from the well-known cleaning service company. However, what happened next is a homeowner’s nightmare. The job came complete with a shockingly high final invoice and repair bills to fix the damage the Stanley Steemer crew did to her wall.
To add insult to injury, the owner of the franchised location responded to Cirino’s complaints about this “hatchet job” with indifference.
Now Cirino is asking Consumer Rescue to help right this wrong. She would like Stanley Steemer to adjust her bill and pay for the damage to her wall.
That seems like a more than reasonable request. So why hasn’t the company already agreed to correct the problem?
Vantage Travel assets sold to Pacific Travel Partners. Here’s what customers can expect
The remnants of Vantage Deluxe World Travel have been sold to Pacific Travel Partners, a subsidiary of Aurora Expeditions, for $2 million.
Pacific Travel Partners will operate the new company as Vantage Explorations.
This outcome has surprised many following the Vantage Travel bankruptcy proceedings since late June, as competing bidder United Travel was widely expected to emerge as the winner.
And there were more surprises when the purchase agreement details were revealed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on August 9. For Vantage customers, who are collectively owed $108 million, the offer from Pacific Travel Partners is considerably better than the initial sale proposal from United Travel.
Now that the assets of Vantage Travel have been sold to Pacific Travel Partners, here’s what customers should know.
Zelle scams are on the rise. Could you fall for this one?
All types of Zelle scams are reported to the Consumer Rescue advocacy team every week. Blindsided victims reach out to us, minutes too late – after they’ve sent their cash to cunning thieves through the instant money transfer app.
And although Zelle scams are a common theme with consumers who fill out our help form, it’s rare to hear from the thieves themselves. In fact, it’s unheard of.
That is, until this week. That’s when a criminal called me posing as a Bank of America executive. He tried his best to scam me into using Zelle to fix a problem he said the bank had detected.
Vantage Travel is bankrupt. Here’s what customers need to know
Vantage Deluxe World Travel finally pulled the plug on itself and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 29. This move was no surprise to anyone following the troubling situation at the once well-respected tour operator.
What did come as a surprise was the true debt the company amassed before increasing negative publicity about its operations forced it to shut down. The legal team of Vantage Travel revealed that shocking figure in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proposal.
All told, Vantage Travel owes customers, vendors, contractors, and other creditors over 170 million dollars.
Why does my Medicare Advantage plan keep calling me to schedule a home visit?
My sister-in-law recently asked me why her Medicare Advantage plan was repeatedly leaving voicemails asking her to set up a home visit. The messages offer to pay her $50 to do so. The money was tempting but she had concerns about the legitimacy of the calls.
She’s not the only one getting such requests. A Consumer Rescue reader submitted a similar question, asking if Medicare rules require her to agree to a visit.
If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, chances are you’ve gotten or will get such a call. That has to make one wonder why the plans are willing to pay people to make the calls. Also, why are they so persistent, and why are they willing to pay you for the visits?
How could new Medicare Advantage plan rules reduce problems in the program?
New rules may finally reduce the problem of Medicare Advantage plans that deny patients treatment. They also could temper the content of those annoying Medicare Advantage commercials on TV.
I lost $1,721 in the “TripAdvisor” long term rental scam!
TripAdvisor is not in the business of long term rentals, so if you come across one on the site, it’s surely a scam. But first-time apartment hunter, Haley Cline was unaware of this fact.
When a friendly “TripAdvisor-approved owner” emailed her about a spectacularly discounted year-long rental, no alarm bells went off. The scam only came into focus after Cline sent her initial $1,721 deposit via Bitcoin to the online predator.