AT&T rings up extra charges for Auroran

Dear Fixer: Last December, my husband and I were planning a trip to Mexico for our belated honeymoon. Around Dec. 4, I went into an AT&T retail store in the Loop to inquire about what features I needed to add to our phone plan so …

North Auroran ready to hang up on phone menus

De ar Fixer: I am sick and tired of hearing about automated phone menus (do they change them daily?). I am also offended when I have to tell the stupid machine that I speak English. My cable company is a chief offender. You go through …

At wrong website, ‘free’ report isn’t free

Dear Fixer: Could you please give me the name of the website that you have mentioned in your column in the past that will give a consumer their credit score for free without any strings attached or any memberships to join? Jim Chismar, Naperville Dear …

Batavian’s multiple calls yield little from Borders

Dear Fixer: You helped me years ago with a problem, so I am answering your call for “customer service” issues. I ordered a book online from Borders.com on Dec. 9. When I had not received the book by Dec. 21, I sent a comment through …

DirecTV sorts out $120 service cancellation fee

Dear Fixer: I had DirecTV for my television. I got tired of them raising their rates and decided to go with AT&T U-verse. I called DirecTV at the end of October to see when my contract was up so I could make the switch without …

…

The Fixer: 411 confusion floods her with calls for Costco

Dear Fixer: For the past year and half my home phone number has been listed as the number for the new Costco in my town. As of this writing, they are still under construction. I tried to get this corrected. I sent an e-mail to …

International candy mess leaves sour taste

Dear Fixer: My sister Robyne and her two boys moved to Israel about five years ago, and her middle son is now serving in the Israeli army. Every year, I ship Halloween candy for Hanukkah to them via UPS and have never had a problem. …

The Fixer

Dear Readers: All year, Team Fixer fights consumers’ battles against substandard service, miscalculated bills and other injustices. We love doing all that ... but it is nice to get a break. So today, we’re going to run some happy consumer stories ­— our readers’ nominees …

The Fixer

Dear Fixer: I’m a 76-year-old reader who bought a pay-as-you-go Virgin Mobile phone from Target a little over a year ago. Recently, my wife tried to use the phone, which had an $18 balance, and was unable to. She called customer service and they told …

The Fixer

Dear Readers: The Internet Crime Complaint Center has been getting tons of complaints from people who were victimized by a new payday loan collection scam. The scammers are calling people and claiming they are delinquent in a payday loan; they threaten legal consequences for those …

In a hole with ComEd pole

Dear Fixer: Back in March, ComEd dropped a 40-foot-long pole on my front lawn. I have been calling and writing ever since to get it removed, with no luck. The operators will not give me anyone higher to talk to — just the runaround. I …

Refinancing estimate off, but bank won’t budge on its application fee

Dear Fixer: I went to Chase Bank to make a mortgage payment, and a loan officer told me I could lower my monthly payment by $190 if I refinanced. She quoted me a rate of 5.625 percent. She told me my closing costs would be …

The customer's not always right, Part II

Dear Readers: Last week, we heard about a cheapskate limo passenger, a woman who returned used underwear to the store and a variety of nasty drunks. Our annual feature on obnoxious, annoying customers continues today, with more tales of the kind of consumer you do …

Naperville reader caught in overseas fake-check scam

D ear Fixer: I answered an ad on CareerBuilder.com for what was supposed to be an accountant position where I could work from home. I just recently lost my job, so it piqued my interest. The job was to cash checks from customers in the …