CONSUMER BRIEFS : Car Rip-Offs Top Complaint List
American consumers were the victims of billions of dollars worth of fraud in 1993, ranging from car sales to mail-order and telemarketing scams, a consumer watchdog group said Thursday. In its annual report of consumer rip-offs, the Consumer Federation of America said most of the worst scams of 1993 involved services sold by fly-by-night phone and mail companies, though the biggest number of complaints involved new and used cars. The CFA reported a rising number of complaints over home improvement and telemarketing, especially when they involved sweepstakes and other contests. The overall number of complaints was down slightly, to 546,000 from the 550,000 received in 1992. The survey was compiled from data provided by 43 U.S. state consumer protection agencies.
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Cyberspace Quake: Sony Corp.’s Imagesoft division and ABC’s interactive unit, working with multimedia company Haukom Associates, have developed a CD-ROM called “Earthquake.” The disc, incorporating ABC News’ library of earthquake footage and moderated by Ted Koppel, has more than 40 minutes of video and thousands of photographs, maps and charts. “Earthquake” has information on the significant quakes of the 20th Century, including Anchorage, Alaska, in 1964; Tangshan, China, in 1976; Mexico City in 1985; Maharashtra, India, in 1993, and Northridge this year. The CD-ROM includes instructions on what to do during a quake, tips on survival supplies, and suggestions on how to deal with the emotional stress of a quake. “Earthquake” has a suggested retail price of $59.95 and is available initially for IBM-compatible multimedia computers. A Macintosh version will be released later this year.
A Beer or a Bonbon?: Beer drinkers and chocolate lovers might cringe, but a major London brewer has come out with chocolate beer. Whitbread Beer Co. of London began introducing Fuggles Chocolate Mild in 2,000 British pubs this week. The beer contains 4.6% alcohol by volume and an “absolutely minimal” amount of chocolate flavor.
“Putting chocolate in a beer is not gimmicky,” said Lorraine Thomson, marketing manager for Whitbread’s ales. “The Belgians have been putting fruit in beer for years. In Scotland, they use heather. We’re just adding another natural ingredient.” The company has not announced plans to sell the beer in the United States.
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Crackdown on Ticketing Scams: Last year’s Rose Bowl left hundreds of University of Wisconsin fans frustrated and angry despite the Badgers’ win because their tour packages turned out not to include game tickets. Now the government is cracking down on such scams. The Transportation Department recently announced new “truth in ticketing” rules, aimed at banning tour operators from advertising package deals to an event unless they have tickets. Under the proposed rules, tour operators may not accept payment for a tour unless an actual or contracted ticket is available for the purchaser.
If no ticket is available, payment must be refunded within three days. The rules are expected to be in place by the college bowl season in December, officials said. In addition to sports, they will cover any tour organized for the purpose of attending an event whose admission price is advertised as part of the tour, the department said.
