Georgia finally forks over refund

By NANCY PARADIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 18, 2000

I am sending you a copy of an income tax report for 1996 and a letter from the Georgia State Department of Revenue, which acknowledges a tax refund due me. My income was negligible for that year due to illness. By law, as a non-resident of that state, I clearly should not have been taxed to begin with. The refund has never arrived, and my attempts to get it are met with nothing but promises that someone will get back to me.

I cannot picture the state of Georgia being this negligent, and I am not going to stop until I have an answer. The amount of money due, about $30, can keep a person, or even a family, eating for a week when the head of the family is between jobs. It can determine their destiny, this principle of "For lack of a penny, he could buy no nail, for lack of a nail . . . the wall fell down." Lynn Rizo

Response: We were glad to get word from you that Georgia had sent you a response after we contacted it stating that you were to get a refund of $31. We thought that was it until you alerted us that after weeks of waiting, you still had not received the check. We finally were able to get to the bottom of the delay, an extra "z" in your name. Georgia has corrected your name, and you should receive the check shortly.

Credit coming

I hope you can help me resolve a problem of almost three years with AT&T (formerly TCI) Cable. In June 1997, I sold my house in California to move to Colorado. I called TCI to ask what to do about the cable service and was told that the simplest thing was to leave it there and let the cable company know the date I was leaving and the new owner could continue service. I did that. I vacated my house on June 20, 1997

Soon I received a bill for a $150 deposit less the credit for prorating the month. I wrote to the address on the bill to explain the above. In all I wrote six letters to that address. I received no reply, but the cable company changed the address it was using for me, so it obviously got my letters. I tried calling the 800 number, but it did not work from Colorado. As I was being serviced by TCI in Colorado, I also wrote to that office when I made a payment. The check was processed, but again I received no reply to my letter. So I started calling TCI in Colorado. Several times I was assured that I did, in fact, have a credit balance and would receive no more bills. In January, I was told it would take several weeks for me to receive a refund check.

The result? I am still receiving bills, such as the one enclosed from AT&T Cable, for $97.45, a monthly charge of $150 less the credit balance of $52.55, which is due me. I now live in Florida and hope for better service. But how does one fight AT&T? Lilian Johnston

Response: Oh my, three years. Your wait should be over now, however. Wendy Keach, customer care coordinator with AT&T in San Carlos, Calif., said that the equipment you had in your California home that was listed as "unreturned" on your account has been removed, and you should receive your credit balance of $52.55 by the end of July. Let us know if you don't.

Check missing

My daughter Liesa and I were aboard Carnival Cruise Line's Sensation from Dec. 19 to 26. At the end of the cruise, I completed a passenger comment form and complained strongly about the poor quality of food. I received a letter dated Feb. 24 from the cruise line stating that two $50 checks were enclosed for my daughter and myself. Only one was enclosed, however, made out to my daughter

Since then I have called Carnival three times and been put on hold for up to 38 minutes (I timed it). I finally spoke to someone and was told the matter was forwarded "up the chain." I have yet to receive the $50. Robert Waxman

Response: Kenneth Lavan, special adviser in the office of the president of Carnival Cruise Lines in Miami, apologized for the oversight. He said the company's records indicate the second check was mailed to you in a letter dated March 14. When we pointed out that you contacted Action on May 3 because you had still not received the second check, Lavan said Carnival had never received any correspondence from you indicating non-receipt and that he could discuss the matter of the missing check only with you.

We suggest the following: Write a letter to Carnival advising it that you never received the second check. Call Lavan at Carnival Cruise Line in Miami at (305) 599-2600. Let us know the outcome.

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, (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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