Fight Back! with David Horowitz

Fight Back!® with David Horowitz appears in syndicated newspaper columns across the country. His current column appears below:

Release Date: May 5, 2008

FTC TARGETS CALLING CARD RIPOFF

The Federal Trade Commission has asked a U.S. district court judge to halt the alleged illegal practices of CTA, a major distributor of prepaid calling cards across the country.

According to the FTC, CTA is a key player in the prepaid phone card industry, responsible for sales of $28 million in the last quarter of 2007 alone. The sales are targeted primarily to immigrants looking for a cheap and easy way to "phone home." The cards are sold under various brand names in preset amounts of $2 to $20, at small retail outlets like gas stations, grocery stores and newsstands. The FTC charges that the posters that advertise the cards, displayed at the retail outlets, advertise the number of calling minutes and brag it offers rates with “no connection fees.” The posters, and calling cards themselves, feature disclosure language about maintenance fees, restrictions and conditions in almost-microscopic, unreadable text.

However, the FTC claims that CTA misrepresents the number of calling minutes consumers get, fails to disclose that consumers’ cards will be charged whether or not the calls go through, and charges hidden fees. Consumers who use the calling cards find that they don’t receive the number of minutes advertised, and often the calls are cut off while speaking. In fact, of the 46 CTA cards the FTC purchased and tested, none delivered the calling minutes advertised by posters displayed in the retail stores where the cards were purchased.

We caution consumers about using these cards. If you need a "dial-around service," for either international or long-distance domestic calls, we suggest sticking to the cards issued by the major phone service providers, available at various retail outlets such as Costco or Target. There are also many reputable and economical long distance plans, including many offered through the internet, which provide international calls at excellent rates. Once such plan is Enhanced Communications Group,(ECG), with enrollment and information available on the web at www.ecg.com.

GOOD TIME TO BUY A HOME?

After years of climbing at a double-digit rate, home prices are dropping due to the mortgage crisis, the rise in foreclosures and the bursting bubble of escalating home values. Sounds like a perfect time to get a good deal!

However, the news is not great for every prospective buyer. Those with lower credit scores, or lacking a 20 percent down payment, may get hit with higher interest rates due to risk-based lending. Experts also say that new homebuyers should consider not only the house payments when they think about what they can comfortably afford, but also factor in property taxes and insurance, as well as utility and maintenance costs.

For some seniors, in particular, now is definitely not the time to sell one home to buy another. Retirees selling their home in order to downsize may get less than fair market value. They will lose more financially then what they gain by getting a good deal on a less expensive house, and would be better off financially by waiting until the market turns around.

Other people who should also wait to buy are those whose jobs are shaky; or those experiencing a life change, such as an upcoming job transfer, marriage or divorce, or geographic move; and finally, anyone thinking of flipping a home. Such entrepreneurs are finding themselves unable to move the properties quickly and often are stuck with one or more properties unsold, eating up their resources.

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