Pallas Hupé of CBS 13 in Sacramento has done an excellent report entitled “Crest Pro Health Mouthwash: Stained?” in which she asks Proctor and Gamble spokesperson Laura Brinker some tough questions about reports from many consumers that Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash stained their teeth.

As Ms. Brinker delivered the standard claim from P&G that “99.9 percent of people who are using Crest Pro Health every day have not reported any such concern regarding tooth discoloration,” Hupé followed up by asking whether it’s possible that many consumers who’ve experienced this staining have not reported the problem. Watch the video to see Ms. Brinker’s response.

Perhaps best of all is that during the report, Brinker indicated a possible change in P&G’s stance. I don’t want to spoil it for you, so check out Hupé’s report for yourself. If you prefer to read the report rather than watching the video, check out the transcript.

If you live in or around Sacramento, tune in to CBS 13 this Wednesday (September 23) at 10pm (PST) to watch the report on Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash, which some consumers suspect of staining their teeth. (Read about my experience in my post “Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash Stains Teeth.”) Immediately following the newscast, you can watch the report online at cbs13.com.

Just for the record, I’m not entirely against the product and am not lobbying to have it pulled from the shelves. It probably is helpful for some people. I just think the manufacturers should do the responsible thing and stick a warning label on the bottle.

Pallas Hupé, Main Anchor at CBS13/KOVR in Sacramento recently commented on my post “Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash Stains Teeth.” She’s looking for photos or video of the teeth staining that some people, including me, have reported experiencing when using Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash.

Because most people who experience this staining realize the cause of it only after visiting their dentist and having the stains scraped or blasted off their teeth, photos and video are scarce as hens’ teeth. If you used this mouthwash, believe it stained your teeth, and managed to snap some photos or shoot some video footage of it, please contact Pallas via email at phupe@kovr.com. She’s facing a tight deadline, so please contact her as soon as possible.

Tune in next week to find out when the show airs and how to view Pallas’ story online.

I have written several books containing fraud-prevention advice, so when someone I knew (not me, I swear) told me he was consulting a credit counseling agency in Florida for debt management, I asked whether he had researched the company. He essentially said, “No worries. I saw it on TV. The company’s website has the Better Business Bureau seal of approval on it, and the guy I talked to said the company had been BBB accredited for the past 16 years.” I decided to poke around a little myself.

The company’s called Consolidated Credit Counseling Services. Hearing it’s stationed in Florida was an instant warning sign. Florida seems to attract a fair share of shady business types (sorry Florida). I visited the company’s website and got a pop-up – another strike against the company.

I scrolled to the footer and clicked the Contact Us link. The Contact Us page included a toll-free phone number and an email address, but no mailing address – another bad sign. The experts tell you to always work with “brick and mortar” businesses – businesses that have a street address and are actually housed in a building, preferably locally.

The site claims:

Member BBB Since 1998
ISO 9001:2000 Registered
Trained and Certified Credit Counselors

Okay, that adds some credibility. Unfortunately, the guy from the company said it had BBB accreditation for 16 years. 2009 – 1998 = 11 years. Credit counselors who can’t do basic math… that’s interesting, but it still doesn’t prove the company’s shady.

Next, I tried to verify the company’s BBB accreditation, so I Googled “better business bureau florida.” At the top of the search results was a link for the BBB of Central Florida: Home. I clicked the link, clicked the CHECK OUT A BUSINESS OR CHARITY button, and searched for “consolidated credit counseling service.” That gave me one link to a company located at 5701 W Sunrise Blvd Ste 200, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33313. I clicked the link and got a page that included this blurb about the company’s BBB accreditation… or lack thereof.

Bingo! I’d discovered a scam operation, right? Well, not so fast. I called Consolidated Credit Counseling Services toll free at 1-800-320-9929 as instructed on the Contact Us page and got a recorded message. I pressed Option 4 to get the company’s mailing address. I wanted to verify that this company was the same one listed on the BBB of Central Florida site. Unfortunately, Option 4 led me back to the beginning of the message and did not provide me with a mailing address.

I tried Option 1 next to get general information. To my surprise, an actual person answered. I explained that I had visited the company’s website and saw the BBB logo at the bottom, but when I looked up the company on the BBB website, it showed the company as not having BBB accreditation. He sounded genuinely perplexed, saying “We’ve had BBB accreditation for the past 16 years! Are you sure?”

I said, “Yes, I’m on the Central Florida BBB website right now at www.orlando.bbb.org. I’m looking at the entry for Consolidated Credit Counseling Service, located at 5701 W Sunrise Blvd Ste 200, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33313, is that you?”

“Well, the suite number is wrong, but that’s us alright. I know we have accreditation. I’m going to call the BBB right now.”

We exchanged niceties and hung up.

My next call was to the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida. I went back to the BBB website, clicked Contact Us, and then dialed their number: 407.621.3300. After a long wait, I finally reached someone. I explained what was going on. She searched Consolidated Credit Counseling Services on her system and said she couldn’t even find the company. I explained that I was on the Florida BBB website looking at the listing for the company, and it states that the company does not have BBB accreditation.

She asked for the company’s address, and I provided it. She said companies in Fort Lauderdale were not in this particular branch of the BBB’s database. I would have to contact someone in the Southeast Florida BBB. I explained that I was looking at her branch’s website, and it listed Consolidated Credit, but showed the company as unaccredited.

She asked me the address of the BBB website I was on. I told her www.orlando.bbb.org. She replied, “Well, that’s the problem! We haven’t used that website for two years!”

“Well, then,” I asked, “Why is the site still up?”

“I don’t know. I’m not the webmaster!”

“Yes, but if consumers Google ‘florida bbb’ and land on this old website and search for this company, as I did, and this site lists the company and not accredited when it is, in fact, BBB accredited, doesn’t that do them a disservice?”

She agreed and said she would look into the matter. She also provided me with the Southeast Florida BBB website address: www.seflorida.bbb.org. After hanging up, I headed to the Southeast Florida BBB website, clicked the CHECK OUT A BUSINESS OR CHARITY button, and searched for “consolidated credit counseling service.” Again, the search turned up one link. I pointed to the link and up popped a box showing that Consolidated Credit Counseling Services, located at 5701 W Sunrise Blvd Ste 200, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33313 did, indeed, have BBB accreditation. Moreover, it had an A+ Rating!

The moral of this long and winding story is this: Be careful with what you find out about a company you’re researching on the Web. You could be encountering a case of mistaken identity or reading a rip-off report from one disgruntled customer when the company has provided outstanding service to 50,000 others. You might just dismiss a top-notch company due to bad information.

Another moral of the story is this: If you’re a business, you really should Google yourself and poke around the Web to see what people and organizations are saying about you and have in their databases.

Disclaimer and Other Notes: This article is no endorsement for Consolidated Credit Counseling Services. I have no personal experience and absolutely no relationship with the company, so I can’t say with any certainty whether it provides valuable credit counseling services.

I also know very little about the BBB, and this represents only one instance of a BBB website mistakenly providing inaccurate information about a company. I’m not sure how accurate the BBB’s information is overall, but I continue to use the BBB as one way to verify the legitimacy of a company or organization.

When researching the BBB, you would probably do better to start from the main BBB page at BBB.org, where you can type in a company’s Zip code to find the right BBB website for doing your search. If you just Google it, like I did, you might just land on an old site with old information… one that should have been taken offline years ago!

Let me know what you think. If you’ve had any experience with the BBB – as a consumer, business, or organization – or if you’ve had any dealings with Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Fort Lauderdale, please post a comment to share your experiences and insights with others.

I just received a copy of my latest book, Loan Modification For Dummies, which I co-authored with real estate and foreclosure self-defense specialists, Ralph R. Roberts, Lois Maljak, and Paul Doroh.

While I knew we were publishing a smaller book – 9.3-by-6.1 inches and only 288 pages, rather than the standard 9-by-7.4 inches, 360-384 pages – I really didn’t fully envision the look and feel of the book until I held it in my hands. I was pleasantly surprised. The decision to take a “less is more” approach was right on target. People facing foreclosure don’t have a lot of time to trudge through a massive manual to find a solution to their problem. Loan Modification For Dummies delivers the answers as fast and straightforwardly as possible, showing homeowners how to work through their lenders to…

• Keep their home.
• Lower their monthly mortgage payment to a truly affordable level.
• Pay significantly less for their home over the life of the loan.

One of the most interesting things I learned while co-authoring this book is that leading up to the mortgage meltdown, many loan originators and lenders were involved in very irresponsible and often fraudulent practices in selling mortgage loans and getting them approved. They were approving loans for borrowers knowing full well (through their own underwriting guidelines) that the borrowers would never be able to afford the payments.

I’ve heard many people argue that borrowers should have known better – they should have known what they could and could not afford to pay on a monthly basis. However, I think it’s understandable. Many borrowers met with loan officers under the assumption that nobody in their right mind would approve a loan that the borrowers could not afford. They assumed that loan approval equated to affordability. Unfortunately, loan originators and lenders were not in their right minds – greed clouded their judgment to the point at which no checks and balances were in place to control borrowers’ desires.

Yes, people should not take out loans they can’t afford, but banks should not loan money to people they know are likely to default.

Fortunately, borrowers who can prove that loan originators or lenders acted inappropriately in selling them a loan or approving it can use any proof they have to their advantage in negotiating an affordable loan modification. In Loan Modification For Dummies, we explain the rules and regulations in place to protect borrowers, show how to audit a mortgage loan, and provide guidance on using proof of fraud or misconduct as leverage in negotiating a loan modification to save your home from foreclosure.

If you need the book, I feel sorry for your misfortune and truly hope that this book can help you overcome your setback and regain your financial footing.

For more about the book, including links for ordering a copy online, visit Loan Modification For Dummies.

If you’ve read the book, please post a comment to let me know what you think of it along with any details you’d like to share about your experience in obtaining a loan modification.

A few years ago, I had a run-in with Direct TV. They supplied me with a defective receiver and then tried to charge me for a new one because by the time they traced the ongoing problems to the receiver (after several troubleshooting sessions over the phone and TWO technicians visiting my home), my warranty had expired. After considerable negotiations, they graciously offered to send me a new receiver for free if I would pay the $25 shipping. I refused, didn’t pay my final bill (for the month I lived without TV service), and ended up having to deal with a tenacious collection agency until I was finally able to convice the collectors to back off. Direct TV now sends me regular offers to win me back as a customer, all of which end up in the trash.

I have been using DISH Network for satellite TV service and Wildblue for broadband Internet service ever since. (DISH has some sort of relationship with Wildblue – I have one account through DISH Network that covers both my satellite TV and Internet.)

The other day, I lost my Internet connection, so I called DISH/Wildblue to have the problem resolved. The company sent a couple technicians to troubleshoot and repair the connection, which they did. Apparently, a power surge had damaged a component of the dish.

While they were at my house, I asked the technicians whether they would look at my TV service or if I would have to make a separate call for that. They said, “Sure, what’s happening with your TV?” I explained the problem and, after a bit of troubleshooting, they traced the problem back to the receiver. One of the guys ran out to the truck and grabbed a new receiver. They installed it, got everything up and running, and thanked me. Now THAT’S customer service!

FOX News ran a story this morning entitled “Countrywide Ex-CEO Angelo Mozilo Charged With Fraud” by reporters Peter Barnes and Joanna Ossinger. My first thought was “Well, it’s about time!” My second reaction was to wonder “Where were the regulators?”

In the years leading up to the mortgage meltdown, foreclosure epidemic, and global economic crisis, rampant fraud was being perpetrated across the United States and probably around the world, too. We have regulators in place to monitor banking and investment activities, so where were they? Where were they when Countrywide and other mortgage lenders, driven by greed, were systematically transforming the American Dream into a nightmare? Were were they when Bernie Madoff was fleecing investors? How could a handful of individuals and companies hijack and wreck the largest economy in the world?

Aren’t regulators supposed to prevent these sorts of things from happening?

I’m a big fan of the FCC’s Do Not Call Registry. Adding my phone number to the registry has significantly reduced the number of unsolicited calls to my residence. However, I’m still receiving regular calls from Florida – the number that shows up on caller ID is 407-000-4321. The company claims it can help lower my credit card interest rate, if I ACT NOW!

Since I always pay off my credit card balance in full whenever I receive my monthly statement, the company can’t possibly save me any money, but that’s beside the point – my number is on the Do Not Call Registry, so they shouldn’t be calling me.

After receiving about a dozen calls from this number, I finally pressed 9 to speak with a representative. When he asked what he could do to help me, I told him to remove my number from their list. He said he couldn’t. I proceeded to inform him that his “… company was in violation of the FCC’s…” Click! Yep, the bastard hung up on me.

To return the favor, I filed a complaint with the FCC. It’s pretty easy, and you can do it all online by clicking File a Complaint and following the onscreen instructions. If you’ve been receiving unsolicited phone calls from 407-000-4321 even though your phone number is on the FCC’s Do Not Call Registry, I encourage you to head to the FCC website and file a formal complaint. If enough of us complain, maybe the phone calls will stop.

According to an article on FOX News Online entitled “Obama Praises ‘Historic’ $2 Trillion Health Care Savings Plan,” the healthcare industry is now willing to slash costs to the tune of $2 trillion over the next 10 years. This makes me wonder…

• How much did the industry overcharge Americans for healthcare over the past decades when it was allowed to operate without government oversight?
• If the industry is willing to offer $2 trillion at the mere suggestion that the government might nationalize the healthcare system, how much could it really trim from its budget?
• If the industry has, up to this point, failed to police itself, why, all of a sudden, are we to believe it is now able to self-regulate?
• Why is Obama praising an industry over its tacit admission that it has forced the government to intervene?

I’m a Blockbuster Online customer, and I generally enjoy the service. I like being able to order movies online and then exchange them for new movies in the local store. I’m on a plan in which I can exchange five movies every month.

What bothers me, though, is that when I pull up a list of New Releases on Blockbuster Online, it shows me a very limited selection. For example, right now, I can go to my local Blockbuster store and find the following new releases sitting on the shelf:

• Pineapple Express
• Righteous Kill
• Babylon A.D.
• Burn After Reading
• Bangkok Dangerous

When I pull up a list of New Releases on Blockbuster Online, however, I see not one of those movies.

My guess is that Blockbuster wants to limit the online demand for the most popular movies, so it doesn’t have to order so many copies. I dunno. At this point, I can only guess.

Right now, my workaround is to go to another movie site, like MovieFone, look up a list of new releases there, and then go back to Blockbuster Online to search for them by title. Forcing customers to rely on such convoluted workarounds to find the movies they want to rent just seems dopey to me.

Does anybody out there know why Blockbuster Online makes it so inconvenient for customers to find the most popular new releases? I’m going to email this question to Blockbuster. When I hear back from them, I’ll post their response.