Deallocker

For too long consumers have been ignored and abused by big companies, criminals, and even a few big criminal companies.

Here are the tools, tricks and tips to help shoppers, travelers, homeowners and consumers of all types to protect themselves, get the best deal, and fight back!

How to Complain (and Get Results!)

• How to write a complaint letter – Tips for writing letters that get results, regardless of who you need to complain to.
• Sample complaint letter templates – This includes a general letter of complaint, a complaint letter about goods you have bought and a complaint about a service provided to you
• A Guide to Fighting Back – A well done guide written by the Consumerist.
• Complain to the Federal Trade Commission for any consumer complaint except:
  • Do Not Call list issues: use this form.
  • Identity theft issues: use this form.
  • Issues involving a non US company: use this form.
• For Airline Complaints contact the Department of Transportation with this form, since that’s who the airlines listen to! The Wall Street Journal reports that: “airlines admit they do pay more attention to consumer complaints if travelers send them to the DOT, which categorizes and tallies complaints and publishes monthly rankings of airline performance.” You can also email the the DOT at: airconsumer@dot.gov or call 202-366-2220 where complaints can be recorded.

How to Talk to a Real Person (or to Stop Them From Bugging You)

• Dial A Human – Press 1 if you are sick of talking to a robot! Dial A human is an exhaustive list phone numbers and instructions on how to reach a real person at hundreds of companies.
• The National Do Not Call Registry – Stop telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at this Website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free.
• Catalog Choice – A free service that allows you to save natural resources by deciding what gets in your mailbox. Consumers can indicate which catalogs they no longer wish to receive, and businesses can receive a list of consumers no longer wanting to receive their catalogs.
• FCC Junk Fax Complaint Form – You may use the FCC Form 1088 to complain about: Telemarketing issues, i.e., (1) junk faxes, (2) telemarketing (including Do-Not-Call violations), and (3) other issues, such as pre-recorded telephone messages, automatic telephone dialing systems, and unsolicited commercial e-mail messages to cell phones, pagers, and other wireless telecommunications devices.

How to Research Companies (or Take Your Complaint Public)

• The Consumerist – A widely read blog which has made its name by reporting on stories where consumers have been wronged.
• The Better Business Bureau – A resource to research companies and charities, as well as a place to file a complaint. Because of the high profile of the BBB and their frequent use by the media, companies tend to work hard to address BBB complaints.
• The Rip Off Report - A consumer reporting service, by consumers, for consumers, where you can publish complaints about companies or individuals.
• Guide Star – The leading source of information on U.S. nonprofits. The site has a searchable database of more than 1.7 million IRS-recognized nonprofit organizations and is the best place to research a charity before making a donation. (You must register for free to get access.)

Free Stuff and Services (‘Cause the Best Things in Life are Free)

• AnnualCreditReport.com – The official service provided by the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) for consumers to request and obtain a free credit report (once every 12 months) from all 3 companies. They must provide this in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act). You can view and print credit reports online, and they also offer options to request reports by telephone and by mail. There are MANY sites with similar names, this is the official site and you do not need to pay to get your credit report. They may offer other services, just decline them.
• Craigslist.com – Everybody’s favorite site for free classifieds. Find a job, sell a car, get an apartment, give away your empty boxes. If you need to find or unload pretty much anything, this is the site.
• FreeCycle.com – It is a grassroots and nonprofit site where people are giving away & getting stuff for free in their own community. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. It is sort of like Craig’s list, but where everything is free.
• 1-800-free-411 – Call (or visit the web site) and get your free directory listings. It’s just like 411, but there is a brief (about 20 seconds) recorded ad before you can get your listing and of course it doesn’t cost anything.

Shopping Tools (Never Pay Retail!)

• Shopzilla – A price comparison shopping tool, that let’s you check prices for the same item and many different oline stores.
• Get online coupon codes from Deal Locker. The site has 20,000 online coupon codes for nearly 5000 stores. Never let the empty coupon code box on the check out page mock you again!
• Pharmacy Checker lets you compare prescription drug prices for 1,000+ medications. You’ll also see online pharmacy ratings and shipping fees so you can compare total costs.
• Priceprotectr.com – After you buy something, you can register it with these guys. If there is a price drop in 30 days (or whatever the appropriate store policy is) they will notify you so you can get your refund.
• The Amazon Discount Finder lets you search Amazon for hidden discounts.
• Printable Grocery Coupons from Smart Source. No Registration or sign up is necessary, but it only works on Windows.
• Just one club card is a great tool to fix the problem of having to carry around tens of loyalty, discount, and club cards by letting you print one handy card with all your barcodes. Merchants love to create loyalty cards to track your purchases and to force you to carry around an ad for them in your wallet. Now you can put your wallet on a diet by printing all of your various supermarket and loyalty cards on to one thin piece of paper.

Major Purchases (Don’t get ripped off buying a house or a car)

Buying a House

• Check Zillow.com to get an estimate of the value and to see what the house has sold for in the past.
• Check BankRate.com to see what the most competitive mortgage rates available are.
• Lending Tree will connect you with 4 lenders that know they are in a competitive bid situation, so you have a better shot at getting the best deal.
• See the Motley Fool’s guide to shopping for a loan and this list of things to know when getting a mortgage.
• If you are an experienced buyer and you are willing to do some of the leg work on your own, you can save with real estate agents that rebate you a portion of their commission like: RedFin and Zip Realty.
• Previously listed was AnnualCreditReport.com where you can get your credit report for free.

Buying a Car

• Edmunds.com can help you find out what a dealer’s invoice price is on a new car, as well as appraise a used car. They also published Confessions of a Car Salesman, a very entertaining 9 part series written by an Edmunds employee about what he learned undercover. It is very insightful, but it is a long read; you may just want to skip to the conclusions.
• If you have a problem with your new car be sure to check your state’s Lemon Laws.

Buying Electronics

• CNET Reviews – Extensive reviews of cameras, laptop, cell phones and TVs that can be very helpful.
• Steve’s Digicam – The most detailed and helpful Camera reviews to be found anywhere on the web, including an excellent “Best Camera List”.

Crime Fighting (Because Crime Shouldn’t Pay)

• JustStolen.net – Created by police officers in Boston to help the police return recovered property to its rightful owner. They provide consumers and business owners with a place to safely record serial numbers and valuable information about their belongings. When lost or stolen property is recovered law enforcement agencies worldwide can consult the database to identify the rightful owner. They also list items recovered by the police, where the police have not found the rightful owner (though all the items seemed to be from Boston).
• Minimize the risk of identity theft – Tips from the FTC and find out how to recover if you have been a victim.

Travel Tools (Travel smarter!)

• Seat Guru – We all know middle seats are horrible, but now you can get detailed information about which seats are the best on any plane, including specific comments denoting seats with limited recline, reduced legroom, mis-aligned windows, In-seat power port locations, Galley, lavatory, Exit Row and closet locations.
• United Airlines promo sign-up tool – The tool will automatically sign you up for any United Airlines promotions. You just enter your United Advantage number and every day it checks for new promotions. When it finds one it signs you up. This way you’ll be sure to get whatever bonuses they offer with out having to check back. One caveat: Signing up for an offer multiple times OR signing up for offers in a specific order may hurt you (a lesser offer may take precedence over a better offer). This tool uses no prejudice – it signs you up for everything in the order in which the results are found.
• Trip Advisor has consumer written hotel reviews, so you can find out what the hotel is really like before you make your reservation.
• Kayak.com lets you search 100+ airline and travel sites in one easy interface to find the best deals.

Other Useful Sites (but you Need to Pay for Them).

We love free, but there are some tools that require subscriptions. However, they can be useful.

• Angie’s List is a subscription based review site for contractor and home repair and maintenance workers. As a member you can research and find vendors as well as file reports on your experience.
• Consumer Reports is the original unbiased and objective reviewer. It is a great tool, but you have to pay since they refuse advertising.
• Zagat Restaurant Reviews is a professionally edited restaurant review guide based on consumer’s own reports about the restaurants. It is a great place to look for restaurants in new cities (and you’ll get a free copy if you fill out your own report.)

If we have missed your favorite tool please leave a comment and let us know.