Action: Help in solving 'hat caper' satisfies

Reaction: My son purchased a hat on the Internet for me as a Christmas present. The hat was too small so I returned it to Del Mar Hat Co. in Encinitas, Calif., with a letter. I wrote two follow-up letters without receiving a response so I turned to you to perform your magic. I'm writing to let you know we have received a refund on the famous "hat caper." Many thanks. Lowell Watson

Hospital bill mix-up

My husband, Joseph, died June 28. He was a member of Humana Medical Plan and used it on several occasions. Recently Humana notified me that it rejected a $780 claim from St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa for service in March 2000. I called and talked to a very rude person who told me my husband was not enrolled. He was enrolled and we never had a problem when he was at St. Joseph's on two other occasions in 2000. I do hope you can help me with this. I do not know what else to do. When I took my husband to the hospital in March, it took his card. Julia Curry

Response: Thanks for letting us know that this problem has been straightened out for you. According to the letter you received from Humana's grievance and appeals department in Tampa, St. Joseph's will be paid and your husband's membership terminated.

Insured mail problem

Nov. 23, 1999, I took three packages to Pack N Wrap in Madeira Beach. They contained a home computer that my daughter needed in Dorchester, Mass. The three boxes were individually insured and cost $98.94 to mail.

The monitor arrived cracked and unusable. I reported this to the owner, Joe Triolo, early in December. He said he would put in a claim to UPS. My daughter had to buy a new monitor to complete a college course. Per Mr. Triolo's request, she faxed the receipt to him.

There has followed a long saga of frustration. I personally went to see Mr. Triolo at least once a month to follow up on the progress of this claim. He never initiated any calls to me. Eventually someone picked up the broken monitor and shipped it back to Pack N Wrap.

In November, I visited Mr. Triolo to remind him that the one-year anniversary of this claim was coming up and it had still not been resolved. I returned in January to signs of moving. I was told the store had been sold but that all outstanding claims would be resolved. The next I heard, UPS said it was notified too late about the damage! I hope you can appreciate my frustration in trying to get reimbursed for the broken monitor that was insured for $150. Beth Donovan

Response: We can, so we were glad to learn that UPS has authorized a goodwill payment of $150, which you report you have already received.

Runaway phone bill

Jan. 12, I called AT&T and requested the same long-distance plan I had last winter, the One Rate International Plan. The AT&T agent quoted me the rates and I confirmed that this was the plan I previously had.

On my Feb. 13 statement, the long distance charges were $420.56 instead of $39.83. On the March 13 statement, $297.10 instead of $30.21. These bills were automatically paid by my bank. I have made numerous calls and sent faxes of my phone bill showing that I was on the international plan last year. AT&T's response is that its records do not show I requested that plan, although one manager's assistant to whom I spoke acknowledged that it did not make sense that I didn't request that plan again. Anne Kajganich

Response: AT&T has said it will adjust your account by $481.96 and $171.69 respectively.

We don't understand how AT&T arrived at these figures, but here's what it means to you. For the two months in question, you were charged $717.66 for calls you say should have totaled $70.04, a difference of $647.62. AT&T is crediting you with $653.65. We suspect the discrepancy lies in all the taxes and other fees that are tacked on to our phone bills. In any case, we are happy with the result and hope you are too.

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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