By Dave Lieber
watchdog@star-telegram.com
Readers of this column -- I prefer to call them citizens of Watchdog Nation -- often say how much they learn. Actually, any learning stems from the story ideas, tips and shared experiences of readers.
What did citizens of Watchdog Nation teach us in 2011?
1. Don't assume that government supervisors know what underlings are doing.Supervisors in the Fort Worth city attorney's office assumed that Assistant City Attorney C. Patrick Phillips, responsible for responding to open-records requests, was on top of things. After I sent him one, he appealed to the attorney general's office, but he missed the appeal deadline. Phillips was ordered by the AG's office to send me the information. But three months later, he still hadn't done so. After I wrote about it, supervisors decided to poke their head in his door. They found that he had fallen behind on 326 other requests. Bye bye, Phillips.
2. Your property tax bill is not necessarily your final bill.After I learned how easy it is to appeal property taxes on the county's new online setup, readers shared their success stories, too. Although some readers didn't hit the big score, dozens of others told me how they lowered their tax bill by hundreds of dollars. Don't worry if you missed it last year. I promise to share the information again before the 2012 tax deadline.
3. 160 people can help change state law.Alarmed by dozens of complaints I received about unfair billing practices of the North Texas Tollway Authority, I urged readers to complain to state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound. She used 160 complaints to persuade fellow legislators to revamp the rules for penalties for unpaid tolls. Since the law took effect, complaints about billing practices have slowed to a trickle.
4. Telling the truth is easier than not.It's a lesson that governments need to learn again and again. Fort Worth employees believed statements from managers and elected leaders that city staffers had gone three years without a pay raise. But thanks to tips, I showed that 106 employees, many of them top officials, had received secret pay raises. After the column appeared, there were angry meetings between managers and their staffers. One for all and all for one went out the window. Playing favorites is bad for morale. Deception is worse.
5. Touch someone at your own peril.The story about a man who was texting in a Grapevine theater and was asked to put his phone away by a woman sitting behind him was the most-read story on
Star-Telegram.com in 2011. The woman poked him in the shoulder. He didn't like it. He called police, who said they had no choice but to write a $260 ticket for assault. It's against the law in Texas to poke, push, prod or touch someone who doesn't want to be touched. Who knew?
6. Something for nothing usually leads to nothing.Donald Wilson, a Florida businessman who calls himself a preacher and ends many sentences with
amen, told thousands of people in Dallas-Fort Worth that he could take their initial $25 investment in his Bless 7 financial program and give them up to $5,000 a day in gold and silver coins. No surprise when that didn't happen.
7. Hiring a contractor can be dangerous.Several Watchdog reports in 2011 showed the dangers of hiring someone for expensive home renovation without simple background research. A woman hired Malachi Crump to do a $36,000 job on her home. His advertising says his company has been in business since 1978. He left out that almost 10 years of that was spent in prison. He never finished the job.
8. TXU and AT&T customer service reps can't and don't always solve customer problems.These two companies generated the most Watchdog complaints in 2011. After calling them two or three times without resolution, write me at
watchdog@star-telegram.com or by mail to the
Star-Telegram, and I will pass it along.
9. The meter is not always accurate.No matter what a customer service rep says when you call to complain about a high water, electric or gas bill, expect the first response to be that your meter is accurate and you must pay. Actually, that's often merely the beginning of the battle. Move past the trained seals and work your way up the company's ladder to the lions and tigers (supervisors).
10. Don't forget about the new U.S Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.The bureau, created as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, began handling credit card complaints in July. Now it's moving on to complaints about home mortgages and home loans, financial products and services including checking accounts and consumer loans, problems related to military families and seniors, payday loans and student financial aid. Make sure the first stop in problem solving is the bureau's new website,
ConsumerFinance.gov.
Can't wait to learn the lessons of 2012!
The Watchdog column appears Fridays and Sundays.Dave Lieber, 817-390-7043Twitter: @davelieber
Looking for comments?
