Coinstar promotion had expired

By NANCY PARADIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 24, 2000

Coinstar, the manufacturer of the machines that many supermarkets now have for turning spare change into bills, was offering two new golden dollars for depositing $20 or more in its machines. The promotion started March 16, and, as you can see from the slip my daughter received on April 22 when she cashed in over $20 in coins, it was good through through May 15. When I went to my supermarket on May 1 with more than $20 in change, instead of getting a slip like hers to mail in for my two golden coins, I received a slip that asked "Do you know what's for dinner tonight?" and gave a Web site address.

I asked a store clerk what happened, and she said she did not know. I called Coinstar, and a person named William answered. He said the offer stopped April 22 and that was that.

It's not the $2, but I feel Coinstar should live up to what it offers. I am very surprised the supermarket would let a company like Coinstar operate in its store. Richard Stonitsch

Response: Thanks for letting us know that you got your two golden dollars. We also heard from Coinstar in Bellevue, Wash. Michelle Avila, its public relations manager, said the U.S. Mint promotion ended April 29, which is why you did not receive a slip for the $2 when you processed your coins on May 1. The May 15, date listed on your daughter's slip was the date by which all slips had to be received by the fulfillment center in order to receive the coins from the U.S. Mint.

MCI billing settled

My husband received a solicitation call from MCI WorldCom back in February. He agreed to let the company send him a set of phones with the understanding that we could return them if dissatisfied. We received them a short while later. Because we had several questions, we called the customer service number. Each time we called, we were put on hold for at least 45 minutes. Answers we got one day did not match the answers we got the next. Needless to say, we decided to send the phones back. We were given a number to call to order the UPS labels, and we were told they would come in seven to 10 days.

Two weeks later, we called to find out where the labels were. We were told they had been sent. On March 24, we received a bill for service from MCI WorldCom. It took a number of tries, but we finally reached someone who said she would reorder the labels and make sure we were not billed again.

The labels finally arrived, and the phones were sent back on April 5. We do not have a shipping receipt since we did not pay for the shipping. On April 28, we received another bill. MCI had both credited us with the amount of the first bill as well as showing it as past due. A late fee had also been added. Of course, we were livid.

We tried calling again. We called the regional main office, the customer services office and the billing department. Each time we spent about 45 minutes on hold. Two people we spoke to said there was no record of the phones having been received and that a hold would be put on the billing but there was nothing we could do and nobody else to talk to. When on the phone with the billing department, we were put back on hold and after waiting half an hour, hung up in frustration.

We are desperate for help. Is there anything you can do for us? Jill and Pete Garofallou

Response: We have good news. Your account balance has been zeroed out. We hope that's the end of it for you. Let us know if it is not.

Birth certificate sent

On Oct. 4, I sent a check for $5 to the State of New York Department of Health in Albany for a birth certificate for my grandson. I have given my daughter's name, his father's name, when he was born, where he was born, etc. My $5 check was returned with a note that the cost was now $15. I sent off a check for that amount and here it is, many months later, and still no birth certificate. My check, of course, has been cashed. Follow-up letters have not been answered. Lillian Esposito

Response: We were glad to learn that your grandson finally got his birth certificate.

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