Action: Prescription plan gives customer the runaround

I hope you can help me with a problem I am having with Medco Health. This is the company the New York City Sanitation Men's Union had a contract with to provide prescription services for its retirees and employees.

In June we were on a trip to North Carolina when I tried to get a prescription filled for pain medication. I went to two pharmacies, and both said that every time they tried to put the prescription through, it kept coming back "not covered." Needing this medication, I went ahead and paid the $45.09 charge. I then contacted Medco Health, which said it was covered and the pharmacists had used the wrong code.

Upon returning to Florida, I had the prescription transferred to a local pharmacy and had the same problem. Since this is a narcotic and can only be transferred once, I paid $44.29 for the prescription. I have contacted Medco many times by e-mail and submitted claims for these two prescriptions three times, and still it will not reimburse me more than $16.41, which it claims is what it would have paid for them. The excuse is always that all five pharmacists I used put it through with the wrong code. I have had problems with every single prescription I have tried to have filled. The last time I was told it had been filled a few days earlier. Sorry, that was my husband's! A Medco supervisor told me the drug Activella was covered. The company's help line told me it was not. The problems go on and on.

I am tired of resubmitting claim forms, getting copies, making phone calls, buying stamps, etc. I would be grateful if you could get Medco to reimburse me the remaining $72.97. Barbara Nickolas

Response: We did not hear back from Medco Health Solutions in Franklin Lakes, N.J., so thanks for your note letting us know that you finally received reimbursement for your prescriptions, and that the sanitation union has stopped using this company. As you pointed out, the St. Petersburg Times has reported that Medco Health Solutions and a number of other pharmacy benefit companies have been sued over the past year, accused of making huge profits at the expense of the consumers who are supposed to benefit from the plans.

Stain removal fails

I purchased a leather and suede Raiders football jacket from Wilson's Leather at Countryside mall in Clearwater. I really love this jacket. I noticed two marks on it one day and took it back to the store. The manager used an eraser stick on the jacket. When it did not remove the stains, she said it was a sticky substance and used her nail to remove it. This left two white marks in place of the stains. She sent me to a dry cleaner, which wouldn't touch the jacket. It sent me to another cleaner, which said it couldn't help me either.

If the manager at Wilson's hadn't picked at the stain, the cleaner could have gotten it off. Instead, the jacket is ruined. I have not been able to get any satisfaction from Wilson's Leather and hope you can help. I don't know what else to do. Richard Walsh Jr.

Response: Mary Lusk, manager of customer care for Wilson's Leather, said that when you brought the jacket back to the Countryside store with something unidentified on it, the manager used a suede bar to attempt to remove the stain. A suede bar, sometimes called an eraser, helps remove things like body oil that can darken suede. In this case, the manager was unable to remove the stain. Lusk said Wilson's bears no liability for damage to the jacket.

We're sorry we couldn't help. As a last-ditch effort, you might try to find a cleaning establishment that specializes in suede.

Recent recalls

The following product, distributed nationwide and in Florida, was recalled between Feb. 7 and 14:

About 2-million Skil Warrior drill battery chargers, sold with or as accessories for Skil Warrior drills, by Robert Bosch Tool Corp.; the transformer inside the charger can overheat, causing the housing to melt and deform and possibly igniting flammable materials near or on the charger. The recall affects 9.6 volt, 12 volt, 14.4 volt and 18 volt chargers included with tool model numbers 2375, 2380, 2475, 2480, 2482, 2580, 2582 and 2882. Chargers sold separately have model numbers 92950, 92970, 92980 and 92990 with part number 2610995852. Home centers, hardware and discount department stores sold these chargers nationwide from July 1994 through February 2003 for $21 to $30. For information and free replacement drills and chargers, call toll-free 1-800-661-5398 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Sources: SafetyAlerts at www.safetyalerts.com; Consumer Product Safety Commission at www.cpsc.gov, toll-free 1-800-638-2772; Food and Drug Administration at www.fda.gov.; USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, toll-free 1-800-535-4555; government food safety information at www.foodsafety.gov; National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's Auto Safety Hotline, www.nhtsa.dot.gov/hotline, toll-free 1-888-327-4236.

- 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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