Get it in writing

THREE LITTLE WORDS: We all know that in real estate the three most important words are “location, location, location.” Guess what the three most important words are in consumerism — “contract, contract, contract.” As an example, this week, more than half of the calls I got would have been unnecessary IF the consumer had insisted on having a WRITTEN contract with the merchant providing the goods or service in question. Emails, telephone conversations, or text messages are all forms of communication, but they are NOT contracts. Verbal contracts are not very enforceable and often degenerate into a “he said, she said” kind of argument that doesn’t prove anything. Estimates and bids are not contracts. Contracts are clear about who is providing a good or service to whom, under what conditions, when, where and for how much money. Contracts are signed and dated by both parties. Even a poorly written contract is better than no contract. If the money involved is such a small amount that if you lost it, it wouldn’t damage you, then perhaps a contract wouldn’t be necessary. Otherwise — insist on a contract.

•••

SECURITY SYSTEM TWO-STEP: A 92-year-old woman answered the door to an individual who informed her a new company had bought her security system provider and he worked for the new company. He proceeded to replace all her equipment with “newer and better” equipment, and had her sign a new contract that would cover her for the next three years. The fact is, her old security company was not bought out, and the representative of the new company lied to her. Fortunately, her daughter became aware of the attempted scam and reported the “new” company to the Idaho attorney general’s Consumer Fraud Division. The woman’s daughter went on to secure her mother’s bank account from being charged by the scammers. She also contacted the “old” (read reliable) company to make sure her mother’s services would continue to be provided.

LESSON: Don’t let people in your house unless you’ve invited them. Do take the time to check with your current providers before agreeing to replace services, and DO talk with your adult kids, before making changes.

•••

BEATING A DEAD HORSE: The saga of Northwest Pony Express continues. The wife of the deceased owner has turned off her phone, sold her house, and apparently left the state. For some reason, the Coeur d’Alene Police Department refuses to take a police report regarding the missing guns. The attorney, allegedly representing the company and/or the owners or previous owners, hasn’t returned my phone calls. He has reportedly told owners of the firearms they may only get “pennies on the dollar” in bankruptcy court for their valuable guns. These firearms were left at the company on consignment, by written contracts. Insurance companies refuse to file a claim without a police report. Does anyone remember CoiNuts? How long did it take for authorities to get their act together in that case? Perhaps if some of the senior law enforcement types in our area were missing some of their personal guns left on consignment, we might be getting a little action on this matter. As it stands now, it smells like week-old fish!

•••

PROACTIVE or REACTIVE: Enforcement of laws, codes and regulations, should be proactive — that is, citizens shouldn’t be put in a position to force any agency to take action when situations arise that affect our community, whether it’s missing property, or when a neighbor insists on devaluing our property, by trashing his. Just a thought….

•••

EQUIFAX AGAIN — BUT IMPORTANT: Hopefully the people responsible for the security breach at Equifax will be held accountable. The top executives, accused of withholding the information the company was hacked, (until they could dump their stocks), should be fined and go to prison for a few years. The problem is, that won’t help the estimated 143 million people whose identity is now, and forever will be, at risk. Here’s how it works — if someone steals your credit card or card information, it’s relatively easy to fix — cancel the card — get a new card with a new number. In addition, there are consumer protections built in by federal law. The really bad news is the 143 million affected by the Equifax breach are at severe risk of identity fraud, completely different than credit card info theft. The problem is they have your name, your birth date, and your Social Security number — none of which you can change. Credit card information theft is a quick “hit-and run” crime. The criminals that deal with identity theft usually let the stolen information “season” for some time, often years and then when the consumers’ guard is down, use the information to establish a parallel identity using newly applied for documents like a driver’s license, or passport to “prove” their identity to apply for new credit. Also, the information stolen from Equifax will be sold and resold, time and time again on the dark web, for years to come.

My advice, having done considerable research on the matter is this: Subscribe to a service like Lifelock, (800) 416-0599, for the cheapest service they offer, currently $8.99 per month, for basic identity theft monitoring. There are a number of other legitimate services besides Lifelock. Just be careful and check them out before buying the service. Unfortunately, we’ll probably have to do this for the foreseeable future. I won’t use the Equifax identity protection service; they’ve already shown they can’t be trusted to safeguard our sensitive personal information. Why should I trust them now?

•••

QUICK TIP: If you have an iPhone, be careful about IOS 11. It’s a lemon. Wait for IOS 11.1 before upgrading. IOS 11 drains your battery and slows down your phone. It makes the entire operation of the touch pad very sluggish.

•••

MONEY SAVER: It’s time to get your sprinkler lines “blown out.” Call a local reputable landscape or lawn care company. There are many fly-by-night companies out there at this time of year. The problem is, if they do it wrong, they can destroy your water lines by fracturing the plastic pipes by using too much pressure. Call a good company now and get on their list for service. Snow and freezing temps are coming.

•••

REMEMBER: I’m in your corner.

•••

I have many more tips and interesting cases that I’m working on as The CDA Press Consumer Guy. Call me at (208) 699-0506, or email me at BillBrooksRealEstate@gmail.com or fax me at (866) 362-9266. Please include your name and a phone number. I am available to speak about consumerism to schools, and local and civic groups. Bill Brooks is the CDA Press Consumer Guy and the broker and owner of Bill Brooks Real Estate in Coeur d’Alene.