U.S., Florida flags aren't taxed

By NANCY PARADIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 7, 2000

I'm sorry I have to write about this, but on April 26, I went to a local chain store to buy an American flag. The price was $9.99 for a 3- by 5-foot flag, and that was fine. But the cashier wanted to charge me tax. I'm a World War II veteran and have bought many flags since 1946 and never had to pay tax. The cashier called the manager, and he said the flag was taxable. I refused to buy it. A couple of years ago I bought one and did not have to pay tax. I just want to know if it is taxable. A lot of men died for the American flag. Art O'Keefe

Response: Clip this out and take it back to the store. Florida Statute 212.08 (7)(f) states that the flag of the United States and the official state flag of Florida are exempt from sales tax.

Late for Christmas

On Dec. 15, we ordered two rotisseries that we saw advertised on TV as gifts for our sons. They were visiting us for Christmas, one from Colorado, one from New York. When we placed the order, we instructed the company to make sure we had the order by Christmas. If that was not possible, we said to cancel the order. We were assured they would be here by then.

Christmas came, and no rotisseries. We had to rush out and buy other gifts. The rotisseries arrived three days after Christmas. Our sons and their wives had already departed for home.

We returned both items. We had charged the rotisseries to our credit card. They were $189.70 each. When our Visa statement arrived, we got credit only for $159.80 each. We were told we had to pay the shipping and handling cost. We do not feel obligated for this cost since we did not get delivery as promised. By the time we insured and returned them, we were out $89.30. We have called and written the company but have never received a response. Any help in getting back our $89.30 would be appreciated. The items should never have been shipped. Michael Wezwick

Response: Unless you have a written guarantee that the items would be delivered by Christmas, we are unable to help you. We do not see that you have any recourse to force the company to reimburse you. Delivery times can be difficult to guarantee around Christmas. At such times it can be worth the additional expense to request the overnight, express or two- to three-day guaranteed delivery options that most mail order companies offer.

Payment balloons

After much thought, I decided last August to purchase a retirement home in Murphy, N.C. The necessary papers were signed for the home, which I offered to buy for $89,000 with 5 percent down. At that time, the local banks had high interest rates, so I contacted a mortgage broker in Wilmington, N.C., to find a lower and better rate. I knew what I could afford to pay after retiring, and that figure was no more than $600. The broker found a Wilmington bank that processed my loan through its own mortgage company, and I was told the monthly payment would be $630.99. This was slightly higher than I expected, but it did include taxes and homeowners insurance.

It must be noted at this point that I had been informed that to obtain a 95 percent loan, private mortgage insurance might be required. However, after receiving all the return signed documents, nowhere was there any mention of insurance. Note on the enclosed payment statement that the mortgage insurance line was left blank. A number of phone conversations were had regarding the wage to loan requirement, but never the insurance. When I received all the closing documents, including the truth-in-lending disclosure, my payment amount was listed as $577.90 for 359 payments and $578.86 for the last one. This was within my estimated cost for the home, so I signed all the loan papers and returned them. (The property taxes and insurance brought it up to $630.99.)

After making my first payment of $630.99 with no problem, I found out that my mortgage was to be handled by a company in Kentucky, and the payment was to be $693.67. This figure is unacceptable and will result in the home being foreclosed and the possibility of my having to file for bankruptcy at my age of 62. I don't expect you to solve this problem, but maybe you could steer me to the place or people who would advise me on my options. Robert Greer

Response: We contacted the North Carolina attorney general's office on your behalf, and though you are welcome to file a complaint with its consumer protection section, what you really need is the advice of a lawyer. If you nonetheless want to file a complaint, where it will most likely remain on file unless fraud was involved, write to: North Carolina Office of the Attorney General, North Carolina Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Section, P.O. Box 629, Raleigh, NC 27602-0629.

Reaction

Thank you so much for your recent help in getting reimbursement for the $179.18 finance charge on my GE Rewards credit card through First USA. You did what I definitely could not have accomplished. Ann Lewis

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.

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