Georgia Watch welcomes a new addition to its watchdog team. Jonathan Shapiro joins the organization as communications director, bringing with him valuable experience as a radio, web, and newspaper reporter.

Shapiro most recently worked as Morning Edition producer for WABE, Atlanta’s NPR station. He reported on a range of topics, including transportation, homelessness, immigration, and the state Supreme Court. He will be responsible for all media contact, as well as internal and external communications in print and on the web. Read more

Senate Minority Leader Robert Brown (D-Macon) was named a “Friend of the Consumer” by Georgia Watch for battling the interests of big business and speaking up for the average Georgian. Sen. Brown worked in opposition of Senate Bill 31, an accelerated rate increase imposed by Georgia Power that will raise monthly power bills for residential customers in order to finance the expansion at Plant Vogtle, a nuclear power plant near Augusta. Read the rest of this entry »

Rana Cash
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The intravenous dye cost the hospital $14. The patient’s bill for it? Try $600.

“That’s more than a 4,000 percent markup. I think about that bill a lot,” said Holly Lang of Georgia Watch, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group…read more.

Georgia Watch released a report detailing the plight of the uninsured and underinsured when seeking affordable health care in the state. Titled The Cost of Care in Georgia, the report examines overcharging of uninsured patients at nonprofit hospitals, along with the economic repercussions of medical debt and how it directly causes foreclosure and financial ruin. In terms of potential solutions to the issue of affordability, the report evaluates programs across the state that treat the uninsured for less… Read the rest of this entry »

What is arbitration?

Arbitration is a legal proceeding by which parties may resolve disputes without going to court. As with most other forms of alternative dispute resolution, and unlike the judicial system, both parties agree to settle their differences through arbitration.

Overall, arbitration proceedings are similar to those of a trial court except for these following important differences:

No judge or jury
When parties agree to arbitrate a dispute, they also agree upon an arbitrator to hear the case. Arbitrators act in the place of both judges and juries, handing down verdicts and issuing awards. Arbitrators may work independently or may be hired through an arbitration firm.
Final decisions are difficult to appeal

An arbitrator’s ruling may be overturned by a court only when it can be shown that the arbitrator acted with clear disregard of the law, a very high standard. Even when an arbitrator applied an incorrect legal standard, or arguably has a conflict of interest with either the litigants or the nature of the case, the ruling will be allowed to stand as long as the arbitrator acted in good faith.

Beware of bias
Arbitrators are paid by both of the parties litigating the dispute. In some cases, a company will use the same arbitration firm so long as it continues to receive favorable rulings. This may lead to the arbitrator exhibiting bias in favor of the company and against the consumer

Read the fine print
Sometimes a consumer will sign away his right to a jury trial without even realizing what he has done. Companies may bury these “arbitration agreements” in sales or finance contracts. For example, when someone purchases a computer online, she is likely waiving any right to bring a claim against the vendor in court and agreeing to arbitrate all disputes. The agreement states that a consumer has waived any right to bring suit against the company outside of arbitration. The agreement will usually name the company’s choice of arbitrator as well.

Consumer must pay arbitration fee
Some consider arbitration to be a low cost alternative to settling disputes in court. However, a company may also include a provision in the arbitration agreement that requires the consumer to pay for any arbitration. This works to discourage consumers from pursuing small claims against the company.

Ultimately, consumers may have a difficult time avoiding arbitration. Companies from all areas of industry have arbitration clauses in their sales contracts: telecommunications, computer sales, insurance, and finance, just to name a few. As always, be sure to carefully read any contract before you sign it, and if you are uncertain about any terms in it, don’t be afraid to ask.

Lawmakers must act to protect underprivileged Georgia communities from predatory tax preparers:

* The IRS currently requires tax preparers to disclose the financial terms of RALs, yet consumers continue to be duped into taking out high-interest loans at high costs because of the confusing financial fine print. Georgia law should force tax preparers to disclose the real terms of the loans in layman’s terms and strengthen penalties for tax preparers who fail to do so. This disclosure could be easily accomplished through fact sheets provided to consumers and displayed in plain sight in tax preparers’ offices. Read the rest of this entry »

Paying to borrow your own money

Through Refund Anticipatory Loans (RALs) tax preparers, such as H&R Block, pressure consumers to take out high-interest loans carrying annual percentage rates as high as 700 percent. Most of these consumers are recipients of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – which helps moderate the heavy income tax burden for poor families – whose households would benefit the most from this annual tax relief. Read the rest of this entry »

Hospital-acquired infections are one of the top ten leading causes of death in the U.S. and significantly increase the cost of health care. Read the rest of this entry »

Hope Now – Alliance of HUD-approved counseling agents, mortgage companies, investors and other mortgage market participants that provides free foreclosure prevention assistance.
Call 888-995-HOPE or visit www.hopenow.com
Read the rest of this entry »

Credit freeze is the only effective, proactive tool to stop new account fraud, one of the most damaging forms of identity theft. A freeze allows consumers to bar access to their credit files with the three major credit reporting agencies (CRAs), prohibiting identity thieves from fraudulently opening new accounts or lines of credit in a victim’s name. Read the rest of this entry »

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that there are 263,000 individual incidents of identity theft in Georgia each year, which ranks seventh in the nation in victims per capita. The financial cost to the victim is more than $1,000 per incident of identity theft, in addition to countless hours of letter writing and phone calls. The cost to business is more than $10,000 per incident.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Weatherization, behavioral changes and energy efficient products – help mitigate increasing costs of energy by lowering consumption.

Leaks:
Reducing drafts save you 5% to 30% on electric bills per year. To find leaks, close all windows/doors and turn on exhaust fans (usually located in kitchen and bathroom). Read the rest of this entry »

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In 2009, Georgia Watch monitored more bills that affect your wallet and rights as a consumer than in any previous year. Read the rest of this entry »