Action: Partial refund of funeral contract

On Dec. 19, I purchased a preneed funeral merchandise and service contract for $6,603. It was necessary for me to cancel this contract on Feb. 16 because of unforeseen circumstances. I had paid $829.80 on the account; on March 13, I received a check for $416.91, with no explanation.

I called my representative, who could not explain what happened to the other $412.89. He suggested I call his sales manager, who informed me that the refund was for services only and not merchandise, which will stay on a credit account until my demise.

I telephoned the funeral home in Clearwater that will handle my arrangements: It had not been notified. Finally, on March 19, the representative who sold me the contract brought me a letter stating that the amount not refunded will act as a credit to be used when I pass on.

Not one person I spoke with ever heard of this arrangement, and I was never informed of this when I purchased the contract. I would appreciate any light you can shed on this. Ruth Warner

Response: Florida Statute 497, Funeral and Cemetery Services, provides provisions for the cancellation of preneed contracts. Briefly, the service portion is refundable, the merchandise portion is not. In other words, the $416.91 refund you received was for the service portion of your contract.

The difference of $412.89, which was kept by the funeral service, represented the 49.144 percent of the total paid that was allocated to merchandise (any personal property such as a casket, urn or anything else that is used for the final disposition of the body). This is spelled out in the note you received from your preneed seller as well as in your contract.

The credit that is being extended for the nonrefundable merchandise portion is at the discretion of the seller. It is not required by law. Keep in mind that future price increases for funeral services will determine the real value of this credit when it is time to cash it in. Also, if your contract is sold, the new owner would not be obligated to honor this credit.

Extended warranty

I purchased an extended warranty for my Pontiac Firebird on Nov. 26, 1999. This vehicle was traded in on Dec. 31, 2000. I was traveling for business and unable to go to the dealer who sold the contract until November, when I was informed that it was "company policy" that the cancellation date can be no more than 30 days prior to the present date

I have several problems with this. First, if the car was sold on Dec. 31, 2000, then no service has been provided by the extended warranty since that time. Second, this "policy" is not stated in either the original contract I signed when purchasing the service nor in the official copy mailed to me by the company. The contract does state, however, that if I cancel the service agreement after 60 days, the insurer or service agreement company will return no less than 90 percent of the unearned pro rata premium.

Considering these facts, I believe that it would be only fair to refund the pro rata portion of my service contract. Since 9,450 of 36,000 miles and 13 of 36 months were used, I calculate that I am owed a refund of 63.89 percent of the purchase price, which equates to $1,357. Sean Mahoney

Response: A cancellation date is effective when the company is notified in accordance with its contract terms. Since nothing prevented your notifying the company by mail at the time you traded in your car, we are unable to help you.

As a general reminder, it is always advisable to cancel contracts in writing. Keep a copy of the letter and proof of mailing in case you need it later on.

Unreliable contractor

We hired a man to do some work in our new home. A friend had recommended him, and he had done some previous remodeling in our condo. He referred to himself as a licensed contractor

We wanted to have custom entry doors made and gave him a deposit of $2,000 for the materials and the door manufacturer. We agreed to pay him the balance of $3,500 when they were complete; he promised us the doors within 30 days.

We waited for our doors to be made, asking about them frequently. Michael had a different excuse each time as to why they weren't ready. One time he was in jail, another time he had to go to Texas for a couple of weeks. After five months of hearing excuses, I finally looked into it and found out the doors were never made and a deposit never given to the manufacturer.

I called and confronted Michael. He became very angry and called me a busybody. He said he wouldn't be doing any more work for us, and he would return our money by that Friday.

We have not heard from him, and he will not take or return our calls. Anita Kunzman

Response: Oh dear, it appears your trust was misplaced, but without a contract or receipt, we cannot help you.

In the future, we advise you to get everything in writing, including receipts for any money you pay and what it's for. Also find out if the company or contractor is properly licensed; unfortunately, we no longer live in a world where one automatically can accept an individual's word.

While we're unable to help, we suggest you file a complaint with the Pinellas County Department of Consumer Protection. Call (727) 464-6200. And lastly, we are sending you a copy of our tips on hiring a contractor, which we hope will help you avoid such situations in the future.

Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, (727) 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.

Requests will be accepted only by mail or voice mail; calls cannot be returned. We will not be responsible for personal documents, so please send only photocopies. If your complaint concerns merchandise ordered by mail, we need copies of both sides of your canceled check.

We may require additional information or prefer to reply by mail; therefore, readers must provide a full mailing address, including ZIP code. Names of letter writers will not be omitted except in unusual circumstances. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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