Order lost in mail is reshipped

By NANCY PARADIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 30, 2000

On Jan. 17, I mailed a check for $9.99 to Ann Trenton's Value Shoppe for an insulated plastic bag advertised in your paper. My check was cashed Jan. 28, but I have not received the bag, nor any information as to when it will be shipped. I have written to the company twice with no response. There is no phone number in the ad, so I can't call. The ad says satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. I hope you can help get me the item or a refund. Geraldine Simon

Response: Bruce Stone, vice president of consumer relations, said the company's records indicate that your insulated cooler bag was shipped on Feb. 23. It appears it got lost in transit, he said, so another one has been shipped. He apologized for the inconvenience.

Claim paid

In June 1997, I had outpatient surgery at Diagnostic Clinic in Largo. Upon checking in, I gave my insurance information and the clinic made a copy of my insurance card. All bills associated with this surgery were paid except the one from the radiologist. I have received a statement every month since for this bill. Every statement until the one I received in March has said that the claim was denied because "patient not covered at time of service." This last statement says the balance is classified as self pay, or due from patient.

I have called Diagnostic Clinic several times to give it the correct information. I have also written twice, and someone at my husband's place of business, through which I am insured, also called. Still no payment.

I believe the confusion is that before April 30, 1997, I was covered by two different insurance plans. After that, I was only covered by my husband's. I believe that Diagnostic Clinic must have mistakenly submitted the claims to the wrong plan. I would love to get this cleared up so the doctor can be paid. I don't understand why this should be so difficult to correct, but after nearly three years, I'm at a loss as to what to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sarah Benbury

Response: Michael Lewis, financial analyst with Diagnostic Clinic in Largo, said he has called and discussed your account with you. The charges were billed to the correct insurer, as evidenced by the fact the other bills associated with your surgery were paid.

Your insurance company contracts with another company to process radiology charges, he said, and there was a breakdown in communications between the two. As a result, your claim was repeatedly rejected. Of most interest to you, however, is the fact that the problem of this unpaid claim has now been resolved.

Unwanted account

My problem started when I received a disc for Internet service from MCI WorldCom. I did not order this disc; I do not even own a computer! I took the disc personally to our local post office, and the clerk scratched out our name and address and marked "disc refused" on it. I confirmed with MCI that it had been received.

A month later, I received a statement, dated Sept. 25, for $8.60 for an account in my name. I had no idea what this was, since I had never authorized an account to be opened with MCI. I could only assume that it had something to do with the disc. I called and spoke with a "Kathy," who told me this account would be canceled and the $8.60 would be credited to my GTE statement. I did receive a credit for $4.95, but I keep getting statements for the balance, including late charges.

I have since spoken to five people at MCI, and each assures me a credit has or will be issued, the account has or will be closed, and I will receive no more bills. This simply hasn't happened. The last person I spoke to, "Steve," even told me MCI had credited me with $100 for calls charged on this account. This is absolutely untrue and ridiculous, because I never authorized this account to be opened with MCI in the first place. In addition, I keep a log of my long-distance phone calls and always check them against my GTE bill. They have always balanced. These are the only telephone charges I am responsible for, and I certainly did not make any telephone calls on the account MCI says it has for me.

A few days ago I received another bill, dated Feb. 25, for this $8.66, which has "broken the camel's back." I beg of you to try to sort this out with MCI and relieve me of any further frustration. Jennie Stones

Response: We did not get a response from MCI, so we were pleased to learn that you did and that the matter has finally been settled. Even better, you say you have received no further statements from MCI WorldCom. It would appear from the portions of the statements you sent us that you were signed up for MCI's Internet service as well as its long-distance service.

Since we did not hear back from MCI, we do not know how or why this happened. Is it possible that you filled out a contest form, for instance, without reading the fine print that would have alerted you that you were authorizing a switch? Or might you have said yes to a phone offer without realizing what you were saying yes to? At least the unwanted bills now seem to have stopped. Your experience serves as a good reminder to your fellow readers of the value of closely scrutinizing your phone bill each month.

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, 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, (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.

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