Consumers have saved over $1 million in five years with The Fine Print

These consumers asked for help via email after their own dispute resolution attempts were unsuccessful. Many have told me of being ignored or fired or being bullied. The reason Globe’s intervention works so often is that business leaders know the cost of bad publicity.

My consumer advocacy focuses on the specific. But I like to think it deters some misconduct by reminding those who deal with consumers that shoddy treatment can sometimes have bitter consequences.

Some of those who decided to do the right thing after being contacted by The Fine Print over the past few years include Lowe’s, Eversource, Airbnb, Citizens Bank, UPS, John Hancock, National Floor Direct, Avis, Aer Lingus, Samsung , Tufts Health Plan, Verizon, Best Buy, Viking Cruises, Aetna, the MBTA, Apple, FedEx and Experian.

The biggest problem highlighted by the column over the past two years is sometimes referred to as “property equity theft,” when homeowners fall behind on their property taxes and a private company buys the title lien. municipal tax for a modest amount and takes the property.

What’s unfair is that the private company can retain the equity in the property held by the tax offender – the difference between the value of the property and the taxes owed, often $100,000 or more.

Only a dozen states, including Massachusetts, allow it. And a bill pending before the legislature would abolish it.

Deborah Foss, pictured here on March 29, 2022, was evicted from her home due to unpaid taxes.Staff of Pat Greenhouse/Globe

This year, the column featured case of Deborah Foss, who lost his New Bedford home to a subsidiary of Tallage Davis LLC. After the appearance of the column, she won $85,000 as part of a legal settlement with the company.

In 2021, the chronicle featured the harrowing fate of two brothers behind on taxes from their Easton home. A subsidiary of Tallage Davis seemed to be well on its way to obtaining legal title to their home.

After the column appeared, the brothers managed to slow down the legal process long enough for a family member to step in with a loan. It saved their home and a loss of $255,000 in equity. They continue to live there now with their families.

The column that received the most attention in 2022 concerned a young couple in danger of death lose their home in Wareham for a different reason: the fuel oil tank in their basement leaked and caused contamination.

Brian Proctor in the backyard of his Wareham home on February 17, 2022. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff

Emmaline and Brian Proctor received estimates of up to $185,000 to clean up the contamination and were stunned when their insurer denied coverage due to an exclusion in their home insurance policy that they were unaware of.

But after the column garnered widespread support for the couple, the insurer, Narragansett Bay Insurance Co. of Providence, reversed his positionclaiming it would “extend” coverage to the young couple.

A bill that would make oil spill coverage mandatory and automatic in homeowners’ policies is pending before the Legislative Assembly. An estimated 650,000 homes statewide are heating with oil. Currently, to be covered, owners must have a “liquid fuel endorsement” on their policy, at a cost of around $100 per year.

Speaking of the Legislative Assembly, another column this year highlighted the need for lawmakers to raise the $5,000 cap on compensation paid by cities and towns to those who trip and fall on faulty sidewalks.

Allison Evans sees the spot where she fell (now repaired and marked with a strip of yellow paint) on the sidewalk outside 250 Newbury Street in Boston. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

Allison Evans, a professional photographer, came to me complaining that she couldn’t get adequate compensation from the City of Boston for loss of income after tripping on an obviously faulty sidewalk in Back Bay and breaking his arm.

State law limits the liability of cities and towns (and the state) in such cases to $5,000 and requires a deposit within 30 days, one of the shortest notice periods of all. categories prescribed by law.

This $5,000 cap was set in 1965 and effectively eliminates the ability to hire a lawyer because it is so little money. That amount, however, if adjusted for inflation, would be over $47,000 today. A bill that would increase the cap is pending in the Legislative Assembly.

The chronicle this year came to help of Jodi Daynard and Peter Hogan, a married couple whose long-term care insurance was abruptly canceled by Mutual of Omaha, after paying nearly $20,000 in premiums over five years.

Jodi Daynard and Peter Hogan pictured at their Newton home on November 18, 2022.Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Team

It all started when Daynard inadvertently missed a payment, which allowed the insurer to subject the couple to a new medical history review. Omaha Mutual then terminated their coverage, saying they had discovered that Daynard was experiencing “memory changes” and that Hogan was suffering from “chronic kidney disease”.

But the two “findings” of medical problems by the insurer seemed to me to be false. I wrote to Mutual of Omaha that they mistakenly relied on a few out-of-context words to end the coverage. The insurer apparently agreed and offered to reinstate them.

the Fine Print also stepped in on behalf of Michael O’Brien, after the $1,200 iPhone he FedEx shipped to his daughter in New York went missing.

The phone was packaged by O’Brien and dropped off at a FedEx facility. FedEx hand-delivered it to her daughter, but when she opened the box, there was no phone inside.

fedex initially denied O’Brien’s claim for $1,200. But after the column appeared and garnered a lot of reader support for O’Brien, FedEx took responsibility for the lost phone and paid the claim.

Carvana, the online used car retail giant, has also backtracked after being contacted by The Fine Print. Lauryn Smith got a $2,000 refund — and an apology — for the one month trial Carvana smuggled it in after the car she bought from the company broke down.

Lauryn Smith stands in a Westbrook, Maine impound lot near the 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan, which she purchased online from Carvana. Photo by Carl D. Walsh for the Boston Globe

Hannah Rosenberg complained to me that the phantom MBTA for a medical claim she made after being injured in a Green Line train crash. The T was at fault in the crash and should have paid the $1,000 she incurred to have a deep gash stitched to her chin.

But no inducement could convince the T’s legal department to help him. Eight months passed and his overdue medical bill was sent to a collection agency. The T kept apologizing or didn’t respond at all.

I contacted the T on Rosenberg’s behalf and within an hour the T was up to cover her medical bill and apologized to her.

Erica Adelson got $500 refund after Cambridge Honda seemed to change the terms on a deal she brokered for the sale of her car. The salesman gave her a price, but when she showed up the next morning, the sales manager discounted it, saying the salesman was not allowed to set prices.

But Adelson had the original terms in a text exchange, and after contacting the dealership with copies of those messages, Adelson got the $500 he was owed and an apology.

Erica Adelson is pictured with her new all-electric Bolt car on November 10, 2022.Jim Davis/Globe Staff

Stephanie Gertz received nearly $80 by Lyft with my help after she and her 11-year-old son, on their way to an important medical appointment, ended up on the side of the road. The Lyft driver told them his car had engine trouble and that Gertz should call Lyft for another driver.

Gertz did, but Lyft then charged him about $80 more than the originally agreed price. I argued that she should get the original price. After all, none of what happened was his fault.

Lyft then refunded him $80 and gave him a $20 credit for a future ride and an apology.

I will return to work in 2023. If you have a problem, send it to me at [email protected]. I sift through my emails looking for the most outrageous cases of abuse. I don’t always succeed on behalf of consumers.

But there are a million reasons for you to try me.


I have a problem? Send your consumer concern to [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @spmurphyboston.

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