David Goodman, director of the Ohio Department of Commerce, stopped by the Beacon Journal offices recently to highlight a few subjects of interest that his agency oversees:
Cable:
The department oversees the cable television industry, which includes AT&T’s U-verse service (it does not oversee satellite companies) and takes complaints.
Goodman said the agency gets involved if there is a dispute between a customer and the service, but the agency does not have oversight of pricing. The agency handles cable TV issues, but does not oversee services such as Internet or digital telephone.
Goodman said laws provide credits for customers if their service is out for a certain amount of time. However, the customer must report an outage directly to the cable company to possibly qualify.
Often, cable companies have recordings saying the company is aware of the outage and there’s no need to talk to a representative to report the problem. Goodman said to be eligible for a credit, the customer must actually log the outage, so it is worth waiting on the phone to talk to a live person.
Here’s an overview of cable customer rights:
• Service must be restored within 72 hours after the customer reports an outage unless it is caused by a natural disaster.
• A customer’s account must be credited when a service interruption lasts four hours or longer and the problem is caused by the company. To receive the credit, the customer must report the outage immediately.
• Cable companies must credit a customer’s account when a service interruption lasts 24 hours or longer, even if the problem is not caused directly by the company. Customer must report the outage immediately.
• Ten days’ written notice must be provided before disconnecting cable service.
• Cable companies cannot disconnect service unless the customer’s bill is 45 or more days past due.
• Customers must be notified at least 30 days before a rate increase or before channels are removed.
The state phone number for complaints is 800-686-7826. Calls are answered by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio call center, but messages will be relayed to the Cable TV Hotline department, which will return the calls.
Unclaimed funds:
The department has paid out more than 24,000 unclaimed fund claims this year, a 35.1 percent increase from last fiscal year. Those claims total $21.6 million, an increase of 16.8 percent from a year before.
But there’s still a lot left: the state’s Division of Unclaimed Funds still has 4.5 million open accounts worth more than $1.5 billion.
Searches can be done at www.unclaimedfunds treasurehunt.ohio.gov for Ohio. Other states can be searched by using the drop- down menu in the “state” field and choosing “search all states and provinces.” If you don’t have Internet access, you can call 877-644-6823 for Ohio records.
Some examples of unclaimed funds are dormant checking and savings accounts, forgotten rent and utility deposits, uncashed checks, undelivered stock certificates and uncashed insurance policies.
The site is updated daily, said department spokeswoman Lyn Tolan. “You should also check relatives,” she said. A lot of times, a deceased relative will have some funds left, especially something such as an unclaimed bank safe deposit box.
To claim the funds, you’ll need proof that you are the rightful recipient. Often, that could be as simple as a name and an address, said Goodman, or in the case of a deceased relative, documentation that you are a trustee of the estate.
Gold buying:
As gold has risen in price, so have the number of places buying gold.
On Thursday, an ounce of gold was selling for $1,527.60. In 2009, when I last wrote about gold, the price was around $956 an ounce and that was a year after it had hit a previous high.
State law requires that any business whose primary function is buying gold or precious metals have a precious metals dealer license.
Pawnbrokers are exempt from the law and jewelry stores are exempt from the license, unless their purchasing of gold or jewels accounts for more than 25 percent of their business.
In 2007, there were only 17 dealers licensed by the state. Now there are 228.
It’s safe to say there are probably a lot more than 228 businesses in the state advertising to buy gold, based on the large number that have popped up in retail strip centers and mall kiosks.
“We want people to know if they go in somewhere to sell their gold, make sure they’re properly licensed and go to three places to get estimates,” Goodman said.
Consumers should be wary of selling gold through Internet or mail businesses. Tolan said the division’s biggest complaints are from consumers dealing with companies buying gold through the mail.
For instance, an Ohio consumer described sending two antique watches by mail to a company in Florida. The company said the man would hear back on the value within 48 hours. Instead, he received a check for $0. (Yes, $0. I’m not sure why he was even sent a check.) The consumer was told he would have to send a money order for $10 to get the watches back.
Goodman said the division can and will fine dealers who are not properly registered or are taking advantage of customers.
Sometimes, buyers are offered half or less of what the gold should be worth.
Consumers should also consider whether there are other gemstones on the piece that could be worth money or whether the jewelry is worth more intact instead of melted, experts say.
Gold buyers will typically pay only for the gold, not for the gemstones.
Goodman and Tolan said companies that move around and flea markets are also high among complaints from consumers.
Here are some tips when selling gold:
• Consider contacting a neutral appraiser for valuation.
• Work with a licensed precious metals dealer or pawnbroker or retail jeweler whose purchase of precious metals is 25 percent or less of their annual retail sales.
• Ask multiple businesses what they would be willing to pay for gold.
• Ask each business for the weight it calculated for the precious metal.
To see whether a business is properly licensed, check the database at www.com.ohio.gov/fiin/elicense.aspx or call the division’s Office of Consumer Affairs at 866-278-0003. If you suspect a business should be licensed and is not, you can also call the consumer hot line.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/blinfisher and see all her stories at www.ohio.com/betty.
