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Dolans Unscripted

Credit Card Scams; Mechanic's Scams; Travel Rip-offs; Identity Theft

Aired June 04, 2005 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen. DOLANS UNSCRIPTED is straight ahead, but first, these stories right "Now in the News."
A newly-released Pentagon report confirms four incidents in which U.S. personnel mishandled the Quran at Guantanamo Bay. It also found inmates, not U.S. soldiers, tried to flush the Muslim holy book down the toilet.

A bomb blast kills two American soldiers in Afghanistan. The military says the bomb exploded next to a U.S. military convoy in the eastern part of the country. A third soldier and an Afghan interpreter were wounded in Friday's attack.

Iraqi security forces battling a raging insurgency say they have arrested a terror suspect who's also an alleged deputy of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The suspect was captured, along with five other insurgents, during raids on eastern Mosul.

And a $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the location of a missing Alabama teenager in Aruba. Natalee Holloway was last seen Monday at a local nightclub. Aruba authorities say the search is concentrated around coastal areas. Hollway was in Aruba on a high school graduation trip.

I'm Betty Nguyen. DOLANS UNSCRIPTED begins right now

KEN DOLAN, CO-HOST, DOLANS UNSCRIPTED: Shams, scams and rip- offs!

DARIA DOLAN, CO-HOST, DOLANS UNSCRIPTED: Not on this program.

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York City, with their take on the news, Ken and Daria Dolan.

K. DOLAN: You better believe it, we're the Dolans. Welcome, everybody. Welcome to DOLANS UNSCRIPTED, and a very happy good morning to you.

You look great today.

D. DOLAN: No, no, no. Welcome to a special DOLANS UNSCRIPTED.

K. DOLAN: Yes, rip-off

D. DOLAN: What a rip-off! K. DOLAN: You know, I tell you, Daria, every time you open the newspaper -- or I cruise a lot on the Internet -- I cannot believe the creativity that con artists and scam artists are doing to separate us from our money. I wish some of that creativity would go to good stuff.

D. DOLAN: Well, and the fact of the matter is, this show is predicated to the destruction of all the ways we get ripped off, not with these Nigerian letters, give us your bank account, we'll deposit $16 million.

K. DOLAN: People do that!

D. DOLAN: This is run of the mill, take a vacation, et cetera...

K. DOLAN: Yes.

D. DOLAN: ... rip-offs that we get caught in.

K. DOLAN: All right. Let -- the bottom line on the program is simply this: it's getting harder and harder to fix things up if you screw them up. If you make a bad choice, you get scammed. It's getting harder to fix them. So let's do this, let's try to avoid them.

What are we covering this hour? We've got a bunch of stuff

D. DOLAN: All right. Another topic we'll be covering are Identity theft. An Ohio woman will share her nightmare and how she's fighting back.

K. DOLAN: Well, that was a good -- that's a good one, the lady you talked to.

Travel rip-offs! Avoid those extra charges when you're on the road. Oh, man.

D. DOLAN: The ever-present hospital billing errors. The health care system is complicated and confusing. Sometimes intentionally so.

K. DOLAN: We're going to talk about checking your hotel bill, I'll bet you.

And auto scams, here we go. Knowledge is your best weapon when shopping for new wheels. You want to talk about an expensive mistake? Do it on a new car.

D. DOLAN: And we'll talk about credit cards. We'll show you why banks can raise your rates any time their little hearts desire.

K. DOLAN: Can we paraphrase that, Ms. Dolan, by talking about reading the small print? Is that important, too?

D. DOLAN: Oh, yes. Lots of small print.

K. DOLAN: All right. We'll talk about that. All right. D. DOLAN: But, for an overview, we are now joined from Washington by Stephen Brobeck. He's the executive director of the Consumer Federation of America.

K. DOLAN: Hey, Steven.

STEPHEN BROBECK, CONSUMER FEDERATION OF AMERICA: Pleased to join you this morning.

K. DOLAN: How are you?

BROBECK: I'm fine, thank you.

K. DOLAN: I think it's auto stuff, but I'm just guessing. What's the number one rip-off that you guys are hearing about down there?

BROBECK: Well, I think repairs is the major rip-off area, and that's partly because you don't even know you've been ripped off. Think about a used car that you're driving. You take it into a mechanic you don't know, he tells you need a brake job.

You normally say, well, go ahead and fix the brakes because you don't want to risk your life driving an unsafe car. But you don't know if the brakes are really bad. And it's very difficult, if not impossible, to check up on that. So really, you've got to find an auto repair shop that you know and trust.

K. DOLAN: Yes. Easier said than done.

D. DOLAN: Yes. How do you do that?

BROBECK: Well, you start by talking to friends, associates. You also, before you ask a repair shop to rebuild your engine, give them small repairs and see if they perform them satisfactorily.

D. DOLAN: Ah.

BROBECK: Check also the Better Business Bureau, local protection agency if there's a lot of complaints against them.

D. DOLAN: The number one rip-off, although we've just talked autos, is repairs. You mean any and all kinds of repairs?

BROBECK: Well, auto repairs is huge, but also think about home repairs. When we do our annual survey of scams and complaints, auto complaints and home repairs are at the top of the list every single year for the last 15 years.

D. DOLAN: And what do you estimate at the Consumer Federation that we pay in rip-off dollars?

BROBECK: Well, it's certainly in the tens billions of dollars, and actual fraud is at least in the billions of dollars.

K. DOLAN: You know, I hate to be -- I hate to be a bad guy, Stephen. It seems to me it's getting worse than better. Am I right or wrong?

BROBECK: Well, nobody is certain, but it appears to me that probably things are deteriorating slowly. And there are two reasons for that.

The first is that the marketplace has gotten a lot more complicated, consumers are really more vulnerable, participating in a complex dynamic marketplace. And the other reason is that those state and local consumer protection agencies that were very vigilant and created in the '60s and '70s have suffered, in some cases, horrendous budget cuts. So we just don't have those state and local consumer protection agencies as well equipped and funded as we need to have them to protect us adequately.

K. DOLAN: Speaking of protecting, where are those fat cat, do- nothing people down in Washington, and the Congress that aren't doing anything to protect us? At least it doesn't seem so, because the problem's getting worse.

What can they do, if anything?

BROBECK: Well, in fact, the principal federal agency that deals with consumer frauds is the Federal Trade Commission. And they are very actively involved in it. But this is an agency that is really swimming upstream with a relatively modest budget compared to the tens of billions of dollars worth of scams out there. Plus their jurisdiction is very limited to, of course, interstate cases.

K. DOLAN: Yes.

D. DOLAN: Stephen, can I stop some of this at the beginning by checking a company's reputation with my local better business bureau? Or does, as I've heard before, the Better Business Bureau allow these bad companies to kind of rectify their reputation with the BBB?

BROBECK: Well, first of all, it's smart to check with the Better Business Bureau. They do have information. In some cases, there will be a large number of complaints. Probably should avoid those sellers.

On the other hand, just because a seller does not have any outstanding complaints does not mean that they are clean, because in some cases, a member of the Better Business Bureau will, of course, take very seriously and resolve all those complaints that are filed against them through the Better Business Bureau and not pay attention to the others.

K. DOLAN: Stephen, we appreciate you spending time with us very much. Good luck and continued success at the Federation. We appreciate it very much.

BROBECK: Thank you.

K. DOLAN: Thank you very much.

D. DOLAN: Now, up next...

K. DOLAN: Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

America, let me talk to you for a second. Don't be stupid, don't be a sucker, don't rely on the FTC, don't rely on the do-nothing people in Washington and many do-nothing state-level stuff that's supposed to protect you. Watch it.

Believe nothing, half of what you hear, half of what you read, and protect your wallet. Be careful. Don't depend on anybody else doing it.

D. DOLAN: Up next, identity theft. Maureen Mitchell was ripped off. Identity thieves stole her money, her reputation and a good chunk of her time, but boy did this lady fight back. We have her story next on this special edition of DOLANS UNSCRIPTED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAUREEN MITCHELL, IDENTITY THEFT VICTIM: It's financial rape. And you are physically and emotionally drained. And the reality of what we were dealing with seemed so incomprehensible that you question your own mental well-being as you're going through this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

K. DOLAN: Well, here's our "Dolan Doodle."

D. DOLAN: Yes. And what are you trying to do, Ken?

K. DOLAN: I'm trying to get some tickets billed to your credit card, lady. It says, "Yes, I'd like Red Sox boxed seats." God knows how much. "And I'd like to bill them to Daria Dolan."

D. DOLAN: Nice try, but you think you're the only person who can steal an identity?

K. DOLAN: Well, yes.

D. DOLAN: Do you want to see how we can steal identities? Get a look at this.

K. DOLAN: Wait. Oh, wow. What an improvement over those mugs in the control room.

D. DOLAN: And right here in the studio. We have a group of them.

K. DOLAN: There's Jay. There's Jay. There's Shar (ph).

Hi, Shar (ph).

That's -- and, of course, the biggest improvement will be Shane. Let's see if Shane's coming up on the jib. Oh, that's much better than regular -- hey!

Well, I've got to tell you, identity theft is a big, big problem. We kid around a little bit about it...

D. DOLAN: Yes.

K. DOLAN: ... but it is a very, very serious subject.

D. DOLAN: And let me tell you, it is not a joking matter at all. On a much more serious note, I had an opportunity to be scared out of my wits.

Maureen Mitchell doesn't want you to know where she lives. In fact, when I flew out to see her, we met at her friend's House. Why? Because Maureen is a victim of identity theft. But unlike most victims, she caught the criminals and she has helped changed our nation's laws.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

D. DOLAN (voice-over): Maureen Mitchell is having an identity crisis.

MITCHELL: They have our address, they have our dates of birth, they have our home phone number, they have our Social Security numbers. They know as much about us as we know about ourselves.

D. DOLAN: Between 1999 and 2001, this 49-year-old Ohio resident was repeatedly a victim of identity theft.

MITCHELL: The criminals opened 30 fraudulent accounts in our names in the state of Illinois and did $150,000 worth of goods and merchandise in our name, including a Lincoln Navigator and a Ford Expedition.

D. DOLAN: But Maureen and her husband Ray weren't your typical victims. They don't shop online, never lost their wallets. The Mitchells don't even give their credit card to waiters at restaurants.

MITCHELL: We had zero risk factors of becoming victims of this crime. But you can do everything right and still fall prey to this.

D. DOLAN: Maureen's theft was made worse by creditor incompetence. The criminals misspelled the Mitchells' name on their application for the Ford Expedition and still drove off the lot with the SUV. And Maureen's impostor?

MITCHELL: I'm 5'3", green-eyed Caucasian, lie about my weight on my driver's license. She's 5'6", brown-eyed, African-American female. We don't look anything alike, yet she successfully withdrew $34,006.50.

D. DOLAN (on camera): They're better at being ourselves than we are.

MITCHELL: They are. My impostor would probably more readily convince an audience that she were me than I would.

D. DOLAN (voice-over): Yet, Maureen's story is a lesson in how to effectively fight I.D. theft. She kept meticulous records, 30 pounds of them, and with the help of patrolman Robert Verdi (ph), an officer in Maureen's town, she was able to track down and imprison four of her impostors.

For Verdi (ph), Maureen's experience was an eye-opener.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I learned it's so important to be detailed. It's so important to document. It's so important not to take the situation lightly. Without the documentation from the police report, these people would have never been arrested.

MITCHELL: Our lives were turned upside down for four years because of identity theft.

D. DOLAN: Maureen took her fight all the way to Washington, testifying before the Senate and the House. She wants to change the way law enforcement deals with identity theft.

MITCHELL: Within our criminal justice system, the criminal's assumed innocent until proven guilty. But as a victim of identity theft, you're assumed guilty until you prove your innocence

D. DOLAN: Maureen made 15 recommendations to the Senate in 2000, eight of which were adopted as law. Thanks to her, there's now a uniform I.D. theft reporting affidavit for victims.

(on camera): And we've heard about the financial strain that all of this brings, but tell us about the emotional strain.

MITCHELL: It was a break-in into a very private area of our lives, and we then became uncomfortable and jittery in your own home. We installed deadbolt locks. We had a loaded shotgun.

We had never lived our lives like that. All the years I lived in New York we never lived our lives like that.

D. DOLAN (voice-over): Although the Mitchells have placed fraud alerts on all their accounts, creditors still call and the fraud still reappears on her FICO score. Maureen's answering machine has joined the fight.

MITCHELL: Hi, you've reached the Mitchells. Neither Ray nor Maureen has applied for any new extensions of credit. If this is in regards to identity theft, please leave the area code with the phone number. Thanks.

D. DOLAN: Maureen is now a volunteer in her community, helping to raise awareness and fight the crime that's changed her life.

MITCHELL: I'm trying to make it easier for the next person.

D. DOLAN: With 10 million victims last year, and the number sure to grow, Maureen Mitchell has her work cut out for her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

K. DOLAN: Boy, that is some scary piece, Daria. This is the first time I've seen it in great detail. That's unbelievable.

D. DOLAN: Yes. I'll tell you, I came back, my head was spinning. But god bless Maureen.

This lady is one heck of a fighter. And I guess maybe being from the New York area originally, she said to me, "You know that old saying, when life throws you lemons, make lemonade?" She said, "I don't believe in that. When life throws you lemons, throw them right back and hit them hard."

K. DOLAN: I tell you, what hit me the hardest is that you're innocent until proven guilty, unless it's an identity theft and you're guilty until you prove yourself innocent.

D. DOLAN: She's absolutely right. And you know, the FTC and part of the law that Maureen helped is this identity theft affidavit that's available here.

K. DOLAN: Yes. Yes. What does it say?

D. DOLAN: But the FTC has really -- has been so inundated, they've put together some very, very good pieces "I.D. Theft: When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name," and "Theft: What's it all About?"

I urge every one of you to go to www.ftc.gov and get these booklets. The way we're going with I.D. theft in this country, you could need it sooner than later.

K. DOLAN: How about the old saying, Daria, the old chestnut, an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure, at least in Maureen's case.

D. DOLAN: And she still...

K. DOLAN: Still fights it.

D. DOLAN: She will not -- I didn't know where she lived. And I know that Patrolman Verdi said they patrol around her house constantly. Because when these four get out of prison -- too many of us don't want to prosecute. She did.

K. DOLAN: I guess so. Thank you very much, Daria. Great story.

And thank you, Maureen.

You know, when you're on the road for business or pleasure, does the bill always seem to add up to just a little bit more than you expected? Tips on how to avoid those hidden charges.

But first, a Dolan's study break.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

D. DOLAN (voice-over): Starting to save for college? We suggest keeping the savings in your name and not your child's. You're likely to get more financial aid that way. Also remember, money in the child's name will revert to the child at age 18, and unless the money is in an education trust, it could be spent on anything.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

K. DOLAN: Going on vacation should be relaxing. Well, of course. But figuring out what it really costs can leave you scratching your head, especially when it comes to renting a car.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

K. DOLAN (voice-over): You thought you got a great deal renting a car until you got the bill. Insurance and taxes can almost double your rental bill. But do you really need all that extra insurance?

Car rental companies will try to sell you three different types of coverage, insurance for damaging the car, liability coverage for damaging people or things outside the car, and coverage for injuries inside the car. But you probably already have coverage for at least two out of three.

Almost all credit cards and many auto insurance policies cover collision, damage and theft. But credit cards don't offer liability protection, which is required by some states. So before you rent, make sure you know what coverage you have from your own credit card, auto and home owner's insurance, too.

Even if you have the right coverage, car rental agencies might try to sell you more than you need. What a rip-off!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

K. DOLAN: Yes, what a rip-off. When it comes to travel, travel scams and rip-offs, there are no small ones, Daria.

D. DOLAN: Not at all. And there are a lot others -- a lot of others, and it's not just in the rental car area.

But joining us to talk about some of them, so you don't pay too much next time you vacation, is Pauline Frommer of "Frommer Guide Books."

Hi, Pauline. Nice to see you.

PAULINE FROMMER, FROMMER GUIDE BOOKS: Hi. Good to see you again.

K. DOLAN: Pauline, you are not telling me that when I go to rent a car that there's little hidden fees and that the insurance is too expensive.

FROMMER: Well, yes, as you said in the piece, you often are pushed into buying insurance you don't need. That's because the people behind the counters are heavily incentivized to get you to buy that insurance. Also, you can pay more by renting at the airport, which seems odd, because everyone rents at the airport.

D. DOLAN: Sure.

FROMMER: But certain airports have huge fees attached to them. This is especially true of the airports in Texas. In -- at Bush Airport, you can pay up to 71 percent more than your original rental fee just in the extra taxes.

K. DOLAN: It might make some sense, though -- now, this is me speaking, Paula, and you're the expert -- maybe to take a quick shuttle bus or a quick trip to town if it's not too far away and maybe rent in town.

FROMMER: Yes, absolutely.

K. DOLAN: OK. OK.

FROMMER: Many rental agencies are located in towns, and they'll pick you up at the airport. And it actually can be quicker in the long run.

D. DOLAN: I like that idea.

All right. Let's move on to hotels, because once we get to that strange city, we have to stay in a hotel.

FROMMER: Right. And there are all kinds of hidden fees there, too.

D. DOLAN: I saw something on a bill we had not too long ago I'd never seen before, and I don't know what it was for.

K. DOLAN: Making the bed fee?

D. DOLAN: No. The resort fee?

K. DOLAN: Yes, what's that?

FROMMER: The resort fee. That's for using the pool. And it doesn't matter whether you ever take a dip in the pool.

Certain hotels are now charging a resort fee. They also have housekeeping fees, which is what you -- which doesn't cover a tip to the maid. It's simply for changing your sheets.

We've seen outrageous overnight parking fees, especially in large cities. Those can be as much as $25 a day.

D. DOLAN: Wow.

FROMMER: Not to mention fees on the telephone.

K. DOLAN: I was just going to say.

FROMMER: Yes

D. DOLAN: Although most people are kind of beating the hotels at that game now by using cell phones.

FROMMER: Yes, absolutely. And interestingly enough, the cheapest of the hotels, actually motels, those are the ones who are getting rid of those fees. If you stay at Microtel Inns, which is a nationwide chain, they will let you call long distance for free.

K. DOLAN: I never heard of that.

FROMMER: Yes.

D. DOLAN: Wow.

FROMMER: And you pay much less than you would at a Hilton or a Ritz. And you're going to pay nothing on the telephone.

K. DOLAN: Quite amazing.

D. DOLAN: You made a very, very interesting statement regarding airfares in the area of bereavement fares, when there's a death or sudden illness of a loved one.

FROMMER: Right.

D. DOLAN: You said that even though the airlines, many of them, are doing away with these bereavement fares, it's actually a good thing?

FROMMER: Yes, it is. Delta has gotten rid of them, so has Air Canada, and U.S. Airways has on certain routes. And that's because they always were a rip-off.

You call the airport. It's your time of need...

K. DOLAN: Of course.

FROMMER: ... there's a big crisis. And you hope you're going to be given a straight answer to what you want. Unfortunately, the discount on bereavement fares was always on the highest class of ticket.

K. DOLAN: Oh man. How understanding.

D. DOLAN: Oh, so if you got 30 or 50 percent off, it really was on their top ticket number.

FROMMER: Right, it was on unrestricted fares, which is something that very few of us ever buy. So you would end up spending $700 to fly from Phoenix to Dallas, whereas if you went with one of the upstart airlines, such as JetBlue or Southwest or America West, you'd spend $200 on that flight.

K. DOLAN: All-inclusive cruises?

FROMMER: That's a misnomer if there ever was one. Yes. I mean, it's -- everybody thinks that once they go on a cruise ship, it's all taken care of. Not true. Every alcoholic drink you get you're going to pay for, sodas you're going to pay for, and shore excursions.

K. DOLAN: Oh, they -- oh, those are killers.

FROMMER: Those are killers.

K. DOLAN: Big profit centers, too. Yes.

FROMMER: Big profit centers. And you don't need to buy them, because if you get off of boat, right on the dock there are going to be people who are going to be selling those same shore excursions for half as much as what you would have purchased on the cruise ships.

D. DOLAN: Very quickly, there's been a trend towards travel clubs and vouchers from these clubs.

FROMMER: A lot of those are scams.

K. DOLAN: Ooh.

FROMMER: You've got to be very wary of travel clubs. You can get great deals just going to the travel providers direct. With few exceptions, you don't need to join these clubs.

A lot of them simply take your membership fee and high-tail it. And those that sell vouchers, who say that this voucher will be good in any season, it's simply not true.

Travel is time-sensitive. And what is good at a beach resort in high season won't be good in low season, or vice-versa, I should say.

D. DOLAN: Thank you so much, Pauline, for helping us save money this summer as we -- as some of us travel around.

K. DOLAN: I think there's some re-planning to do on our summer vacation.

Thank you, Pauline.

FROMMER: Thank you.

D. DOLAN: Well, up next, a clean bill of health might not be so good for your financial well-being. How medical billing errors could cost you thousands when DOLANS UNSCRIPTED continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, everyone. I'm Betty Nguyen. We will have more DOLANS UNSCRIPTED straight ahead, but first, these stories now in the news.

The Pentagon has confirmed four cases of abusing the Muslim holy book at the Guantanamo Bay prison. Incidents include one Koran kicked by a guard and two soaked in a water balloon fight. The report also shows detainees, not U.S. guards, tried to flush the Muslim holy book down a toilet. In Beirut today, hundreds line the streets in Beirut for the funeral of anti-Syrian journalist Samir Kassir. He was killed Thursday by a bomb placed under his car. Leaders in Lebanon are demanding an official U.N. investigation into the assassination.

In Hong Kong today, a candle light vigil on the Tiananmen Square anniversary. On this day, 16 years ago, hundreds were killed in Beijing's bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy movement. It's an emotional day for many people in Hong Kong as they enjoy free speech and assembly, which is still denied in China.

I'm Betty Nguyen. Now it's back to DOLANS UNSCRIPTED.

D. DOLAN, CNN ANCHOR, DOLANS UNSCRIPTED: Let's face it, the last thing you want to worry about when you're in the hospital is your medical bill. But due to an ever-increasing number of billing errors, some patients experience pain at least financially long after they're discharged.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

D. DOLAN (voice-over): Nora Johnson's husband Bill had successful hip replacement surgery in 1999. Soon after, the bill arrived.

NORA JOHNSON, BILLING ERROR VICTIM: When I looked at it, it was just like looking at a tax form. I couldn't make any sense out of it whatsoever. I noticed there was an extra $1900 charge added on to one of my bills and I didn't understand why.

D. DOLAN: Bills like the one received by the Johnsons are not uncommon in a healthcare system filled with medical jargon and cryptic billing codes.

CARMELA COYLE, SR VP FOR POLICY, AHA: The healthcare system in America is very complex. It is choked with paperwork and it's a system that, quite frankly, was designed more with insurance companies in mind than it was with consumers and patients in mind. It's a system that doesn't work well for patients, for physicians or for hospitals. And in such a complex system, it's unfortunate, but perhaps not surprising, that mistakes do occur in the billing process.

D. DOLAN: The Johnsons found $5,000 in erroneous charges and over billing of 20 percent and the Johnsons case isn't that unusual. The National Healthcare Anti-Fraud Association estimates that in 2003, at least 3 percent, or $51 billion, was lost to fraudulent activities and billing errors. Part of the solution? Consumer advocate watchdog groups like the Medical Billing Advocates of America, founder Pat Palmer helped Nora Johnson wade through her medical mess in 1999.

PAT PALMER, FOUNDER, MBAA: You have a lot of consumers that feel that it's just a specific problem in their billing. It's not on a national basis. Eight out of 10 bills that come through my office have some type of error. D. DOLAN: Palmer, who's been at the job for 10 years, finds most errors and improper charges hidden behind mysterious medical terminology that is next to impossible for the average consumer to understand. One of Palmer's favorites -- a box of tissues billed as a mucous recovery system. Other client charges have included a pill cup, $30, disposable gloves, $30, this cough support device, also known as a teddy bear, $60 and the most outrageous billing error, $1,000 toothbrush. Victim turned advocate Nora Johnson says consumers are often too intimidated to dispute their bills.

JOHNSON: There is a not so veiled threat to the patient, and what is he going to do? And what is the average person know about Federal billing guidelines as they apply to hospital billing, anyway? Virtually nothing. It's a -- you're dueling with a one-armed man when a patient is going up against the hospital.

D. DOLAN: Even if you never step foot in a hospital, we all pay the price for billing fraud and error in the form of higher premiums on individual healthcare policies and higher taxes to fund Federal programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Well, I do have a few tips on how you can protect yourself from being ripped off. Number one, always ask for an itemized bill. OK, itemized because hospitals are required to give you one. Then watch out for duplicate charges. If you find that you're being charged for something in this column, find out, take a look at the lab charges somewhere else. You may find it duplicated in that part of the area, in that part of the bill. And, also, request an audit from both the hospital and your insurance company. You want to fight this. Don't just say, well, it's not my money, which is one of the problems that we have with this.

K. DOLAN: And, also, Daria, great report. Also, if you're also -- if you're not the patient but checking out a patient at the hospital, all you want to do is kind get out of the hospital. He or she wants to get out. You want to get them out and so the bill's thrown in front of you. An awful lot of people say well, I'll sign it. I'll worry about it later. Cool your jets. Take a look at the bill.

D. DOLAN: You don't have to pay when you leave the hospital.

K. DOLAN: And many hospitals will not tell you that. They will almost feel like they have the hostage, your friend, out of the hospital, until you pay. Unbelievable. They've got you over a barrel, unless -- and you are today, you're an informed consumer. Well done.

D. DOLAN: I wonder if that $1,000 toothbrush would make my teeth brighter?

K. DOLAN: It's unbelievable. All right, coming up, how to avoid -- speaking of ride - how to avoid being taken for the proverbial ride. We'll expose the scams, the swindles and the shenanigans of the auto industry, right after this. So you better stay tuned for more of DOLANS UNSCRIPTED special, what a rip off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

K. DOLAN: I'll tell you one thing, there's nothing more exciting than on a Saturday morning going shopping for a new car. Oh, you open the auto dealership doors, that wonderful smell. Make no mistake. It is pitched battle. Their job is to get the most money for the car. Your job is to pay the least. It's battle! But in this segment we're going to level the playing field, get the best deal without getting ripped off! Are you ready? Let's do it.

Buy today, drive today. Overstock sale! Save thousands. Sound too good to be true? It often is.

BOB FORD, AUTHOR AND AUTOMOTIVE EXPERT: Dealers aren't in the business to do social work. What they want to do, get you to come in. Once they get you there, then they're going to try to keep you there and sell you a car.

K. DOLAN: So a crucial stop on your way to the showroom, the Internet. Not only can you find out what the dealer paid for the car, and what your car is selling for in your area, but also exactly what's in stock.

PHILIP REED, EDMUNDS.COM: A really valuable tool and more for the inventory search than anything else is the dealer's websites themselves. In some cases, particularly dealer groups, like Auto Nation, will post their inventory for an entire city online. So you can search for the car you want and then, of course, it's broken down by dealers. So you know where to find it.

K. DOLAN: But being armed with the 411 is only half the battle. As 30-year industry veteran, Bob Ford knows the car sales scams. I'm told that before I can take a test drive, or somewhere in that sales process, they want to get my license, because they can check my credit in two seconds and that tells them how to deal with me, either as a deadbeat or somebody with good credit, they're going to treat me differently and the price is going to be different.

FORD: That's quite true. I think what you do, if you're taking a test drive and you're going with the, almost always, going with the salesman, you don't have to give a license, because you're with them.

K. DOLAN: You can show them the license.

FORD: Yes.

K. DOLAN: But don't let them leave with the license. Once you've agreed to buy, Ford says, is when the real wheeling and dealing begins.

FORD: We can get you in this car for $200 a month. It's a five- year, six-year loan and you make a lot of money because they make money on the financing and of course, it's also is a way to make you think, gee, I've gotten a great deal, and you haven't. So stop and take a look at every aspect of the deal. Add the numbers up, look at what the loan is going to cost you. If you have to leave and go do it at home or go to your bank, do it.

K. DOLAN: Another common way dealers under cut your bottom line is to give you the sales price you want, but under value your trade- in. And finally, the biggest lesson to keep in mind.

FORD: Any time you feel that something is not right or you haven't answered questions or you feel you're being hassled too much, you have the right to get up walk out and you should.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

K. DOLAN: That's right. I'm going to tell you. I don't take back my words when I talk about it being battle but hopefully we're trying to level the field a little bit.

D. DOLAN: Exactly. There's other things besides just trying to get the right price for the car and not overpay.

K. DOLAN: Give me another one.

D. DOLAN: For people that don't have insurance, either because they can't afford it or maybe they've had some problems in the past. This credit insurance -- which they tack on to your car loan? So now you're paying interest on insurance payments?

K. DOLAN: It's unbelievably expensive. That's what's going to happen when you talk to the friendly finance manager! The last time I walked into a new car dealer, I said I'd like to buy a car. I'll talk to you about price. I'll do whatever you want. Keep me away from the financial manager. Also undercoating? Forget it. I don't want it. Just do your deal, do your deal and go from there. And it's one of these things, I got to check with the sales manager. Yeah. They're out having a cup of coffee and a smoke, when they're supposedly talking to the sales manager. Like anything else, Daria, there's some wonderful, as Bob said, there's some wonderful new car dealers. They're very honest people, some of them. You just have to, like anything else, protect yourself against the bad ones.

D. DOLAN: And the other thing is this -- don't assume because it's no haggle buying, that you're getting the best deal either.

K. DOLAN: Exactly right.

D. DOLAN: Yes.

K. DOLAN: So be careful. That is a great smell on a Saturday morning! Take a look in your --

D. DOLAN: I don't know. Christian Dior.

D. DOLAN: Get outta here! Take a look at your wallet. How many credit cards do you have? Uh-oh. And what sort of fees are you paying for the distinct privilege? Get out your scissors. Sharpen them up! You'll want to hear about these little credit card scam games, when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

K. DOLAN: You can have my credit card, baby, but you better be careful what you do with it. We have often said here on DOLANS UNSCRIPTED, good credit is a powerful tool unless it's misused. And there's some people who would be happy to help you misuse it.

D. DOLAN: Oh, yes, some the hidden stuff you may not know about your very own credit card sitting in your very own wallet, but he will mystify it all for us. Joining us now, Robert Manning, author of "Credit Card Nation" and he joins us from Rochester, New York.

K. DOLAN: Hi, Robert.

ROBERT MANNING, AUTHOR, CREDIT CARD NATION: Hi, Ken.

K. DOLAN: Robert, I could be wrong and maybe I'm starting in the wrong direction here, but I love this, "you have been pre-approved for a credit card." Everybody's preapproved!

MANNING: Yeah. And wait until you read the fine print, because what you'll really going to be worried about is that bait and switch. You look for that $10,000 line of credit with that 3.9 percent, 12- month introductory offer and then when you get the credit card in the mail, you go and you use it and you never even thought about whether you got the original terms of the contract and once you've used that credit card the first time, you've agreed to the new contract. And guess what the credit card company will say when you see that it's 19.9 percent and only a $3,000 line of credit. They're going to tell you as a courtesy, you didn't meet their criteria and for the first pre-approved offer. So they sent you the other one. So you wouldn't be embarrassed and not have a credit card.

K. DOLAN: Oh, yeah. Thanks for nothing.

D. DOLAN: You have an 800 FICO score, you will get that pre- approved deal?

MANNING: Well, you'll certainly get the original one, but you'll also trigger a whole different set of mass mailings because there's a sense here that you could afford a lot of other products that somebody with a 670 score could not.

K. DOLAN: Robert is there such thing as a fixed rate? You just said that you better be careful. Is there ever a fixed rate when, like, it's really a fixed rate?

MANNING: Boy, you know, we're certainly turning upside down the English language, aren't we? You know, fixed rate now, it could be fixed rate to the Treasury note. And what the terms of the interest rates are, that apply to the Federal government and since interest rates have been going down, consumers think that their fixed rate is really going to hold constant. But now that interest rates are going up, they don't realize that their fixed rate's actually a variable interest rate and they're going to see interest rates rise 30, 40 percent over the next year or two.

K. DOLAN: What can you do Robert, on that particular issue? Anything? Can I call up and complain, threaten to rip it up, cut it in half? What can I do? What's my defense?

MANNING: Really, the only thing you can do is threaten to cancel your contract and ask if they would convert you to a fixed rate. They'll probably offer you something that they think will keep you happy so they can keep the variable rate.

K. DOLAN: Got you, oh, boy.

D. DOLAN: What annoys me most is, even with credit cards that I've had for a long long time, every so often I get a little disclosure booklet in the mail which is basically them telling me, they've changed the rules of the game. They've rewritten the contract. But I can't rewrite contracts. How do they get away with this?

MANNING: Isn't that amazing, Daria?

D. DOLAN: Yes.

MANNING: We're talking about now that consumers have to honor the contract that they signed, but under the terms of what's called universal default, credit card companies can change the terms of your contract at will.

K. DOLAN: Wow.

MANNING: You could have been on vacation and missed the premium on your auto insurance and the bank turns around and increases your credit card interest rate maybe 5 or 10 percent.

K. DOLAN: Unbelievable, Robert Manning.

D. DOLAN: Our viewers saw a chilling story that I did in the beginning of the program, Robert, about a woman whose identity was stolen. And now I'm starting to figure out, ah, they're going to start selling product that supposedly will keep you from the financial disaster, if somebody steals your identity and makes charges in your name. Is that worth anything? And aren't you protected anyway?

K. DOLAN: Unbelievable.

MANNING: Well, there's absolutely no insurance program, unless they're going to indemnify you and guarantee that they'll give you $50,000 if somebody steals your identity and spends money in your name. The amazing part is that the credit card industry does such a poor job of protecting our personal, private financial information and then they turn around and want to charge us $10 or $15 a month to alert us when they screw up and that somebody has stolen our ID and is spending and buying things in our name. Incredible. Isn't it?

D. DOLAN: It's absolutely incredible, and there's lots of good stuff, and I understand you have a new book coming out, too, with "Credit Card Nation." Robert, it was a pleasure talking with you. Thanks for joining us.

MANNING: Thank you.

K. DOLAN: Thank you very much, Robert. It's quite amazing, what, in terms of the stuff that is done right under your own nose.

D. DOLAN: Uh-huh.

Up next -- we're going to wrap up this DOLANS UNSCRIPTED special. What a rip-off! With some final points on how to steer clear of shysters and keep a few of those extra bucks in your very own pocket.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

D. DOLAN: Well, from credit cards to buying a car, it might seem like everyone is out to rip you off. But hopefully you picked up some tips to protect yourself. I think we want to go over some of these top pieces of advice that we dolled out. What do you think?

K. DOLAN: I'll start with the story you were talking about Daria with Maureen. Let's talk about ID theft. Check your credit report every year.

D. DOLAN: Now you're going to get a free one, everybody, starting this year.

K. DOLAN: Yeah. We'll talk about that. And look for inquiries that you didn't ask for.

D. DOLAN: But I have to tell you this -- any time you are notified by a creditor that you may have lost your credit card number to someone else, immediately call the credit reporting agencies and log a fraud alert. And remember that most of these alerts are only good for 90 days to maybe some of them two years and keep renewing them. Don't forget. Make a note of the date.

K. DOLAN: You learned a lot on that piece. Travel. Let's talk about travel. Ask about any additional charges when booking a room and check your bill carefully at the checkout before you pay.

D. DOLAN: Hospital billing. Request an itemized bill. Don't pay as you leave the hospital and make sure you were not double billed.

K. DOLAN: Exactly right. Your friend that you're picking up at the hospital is not a hostage! Don't forget that.

All right. How about buying a car?

D. DOLAN: You talk about that.

K. DOLAN: I did that one, all right. Buying a car. Use the Internet to find out what the dealer paid. There's lots of good stuff available, before you walk in to the showroom. Sharpen the pencil. You're going to save a bunch of bucks!

D. DOLAN: And lastly, credit cards. Even if you pay your bills on time, your rate can change at any time.

K. DOLAN: Boy, that was unbelievable, what Robert Manning had to say from "Credit Card Nation." You sign up for 3 percent and a $10,000 credit line. All of a sudden it's $3,000 and 19 percent. So just be careful, and don't use it until you know what you've got because that's sort of like saying, OK, that's fine by me because you thought it was the original --

D. DOLAN: First charge, you've sign the contract.

K. DOLAN: Exactly right. We had a good hour. Hope we showed everybody some ways to save money. As I said before -- maybe I didn't say it, but let me say it - and that is, be careful about these kinds of problems, because it's getting harder and harder to fix stuff. So, again, an ounce ever prevention is worth a ton of cure. It's getting harder to fix it, not the least of which, identity theft.

D. DOLAN: Yeah. Big, big problem getting bigger. That's it for us. We're going to see you next week. Stay tuned for the TURNAROUND. It's right after the top news headlines at this hour. Thanks for joining us.

END

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired June 4, 2005 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen. DOLANS UNSCRIPTED is straight ahead, but first, these stories right "Now in the News."
A newly-released Pentagon report confirms four incidents in which U.S. personnel mishandled the Quran at Guantanamo Bay. It also found inmates, not U.S. soldiers, tried to flush the Muslim holy book down the toilet.

A bomb blast kills two American soldiers in Afghanistan. The military says the bomb exploded next to a U.S. military convoy in the eastern part of the country. A third soldier and an Afghan interpreter were wounded in Friday's attack.

Iraqi security forces battling a raging insurgency say they have arrested a terror suspect who's also an alleged deputy of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The suspect was captured, along with five other insurgents, during raids on eastern Mosul.

And a $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the location of a missing Alabama teenager in Aruba. Natalee Holloway was last seen Monday at a local nightclub. Aruba authorities say the search is concentrated around coastal areas. Hollway was in Aruba on a high school graduation trip.

I'm Betty Nguyen. DOLANS UNSCRIPTED begins right now

KEN DOLAN, CO-HOST, DOLANS UNSCRIPTED: Shams, scams and rip- offs!

DARIA DOLAN, CO-HOST, DOLANS UNSCRIPTED: Not on this program.

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York City, with their take on the news, Ken and Daria Dolan.

K. DOLAN: You better believe it, we're the Dolans. Welcome, everybody. Welcome to DOLANS UNSCRIPTED, and a very happy good morning to you.

You look great today.

D. DOLAN: No, no, no. Welcome to a special DOLANS UNSCRIPTED.

K. DOLAN: Yes, rip-off

D. DOLAN: What a rip-off! K. DOLAN: You know, I tell you, Daria, every time you open the newspaper -- or I cruise a lot on the Internet -- I cannot believe the creativity that con artists and scam artists are doing to separate us from our money. I wish some of that creativity would go to good stuff.

D. DOLAN: Well, and the fact of the matter is, this show is predicated to the destruction of all the ways we get ripped off, not with these Nigerian letters, give us your bank account, we'll deposit $16 million.

K. DOLAN: People do that!

D. DOLAN: This is run of the mill, take a vacation, et cetera...

K. DOLAN: Yes.

D. DOLAN: ... rip-offs that we get caught in.

K. DOLAN: All right. Let -- the bottom line on the program is simply this: it's getting harder and harder to fix things up if you screw them up. If you make a bad choice, you get scammed. It's getting harder to fix them. So let's do this, let's try to avoid them.

What are we covering this hour? We've got a bunch of stuff

D. DOLAN: All right. Another topic we'll be covering are Identity theft. An Ohio woman will share her nightmare and how she's fighting back.

K. DOLAN: Well, that was a good -- that's a good one, the lady you talked to.

Travel rip-offs! Avoid those extra charges when you're on the road. Oh, man.

D. DOLAN: The ever-present hospital billing errors. The health care system is complicated and confusing. Sometimes intentionally so.

K. DOLAN: We're going to talk about checking your hotel bill, I'll bet you.

And auto scams, here we go. Knowledge is your best weapon when shopping for new wheels. You want to talk about an expensive mistake? Do it on a new car.

D. DOLAN: And we'll talk about credit cards. We'll show you why banks can raise your rates any time their little hearts desire.

K. DOLAN: Can we paraphrase that, Ms. Dolan, by talking about reading the small print? Is that important, too?

D. DOLAN: Oh, yes. Lots of small print.

K. DOLAN: All right. We'll talk about that. All right. D. DOLAN: But, for an overview, we are now joined from Washington by Stephen Brobeck. He's the executive director of the Consumer Federation of America.

K. DOLAN: Hey, Steven.

STEPHEN BROBECK, CONSUMER FEDERATION OF AMERICA: Pleased to join you this morning.

K. DOLAN: How are you?

BROBECK: I'm fine, thank you.

K. DOLAN: I think it's auto stuff, but I'm just guessing. What's the number one rip-off that you guys are hearing about down there?

BROBECK: Well, I think repairs is the major rip-off area, and that's partly because you don't even know you've been ripped off. Think about a used car that you're driving. You take it into a mechanic you don't know, he tells you need a brake job.

You normally say, well, go ahead and fix the brakes because you don't want to risk your life driving an unsafe car. But you don't know if the brakes are really bad. And it's very difficult, if not impossible, to check up on that. So really, you've got to find an auto repair shop that you know and trust.

K. DOLAN: Yes. Easier said than done.

D. DOLAN: Yes. How do you do that?

BROBECK: Well, you start by talking to friends, associates. You also, before you ask a repair shop to rebuild your engine, give them small repairs and see if they perform them satisfactorily.

D. DOLAN: Ah.

BROBECK: Check also the Better Business Bureau, local protection agency if there's a lot of complaints against them.

D. DOLAN: The number one rip-off, although we've just talked autos, is repairs. You mean any and all kinds of repairs?

BROBECK: Well, auto repairs is huge, but also think about home repairs. When we do our annual survey of scams and complaints, auto complaints and home repairs are at the top of the list every single year for the last 15 years.

D. DOLAN: And what do you estimate at the Consumer Federation that we pay in rip-off dollars?

BROBECK: Well, it's certainly in the tens billions of dollars, and actual fraud is at least in the billions of dollars.

K. DOLAN: You know, I hate to be -- I hate to be a bad guy, Stephen. It seems to me it's getting worse than better. Am I right or wrong?

BROBECK: Well, nobody is certain, but it appears to me that probably things are deteriorating slowly. And there are two reasons for that.

The first is that the marketplace has gotten a lot more complicated, consumers are really more vulnerable, participating in a complex dynamic marketplace. And the other reason is that those state and local consumer protection agencies that were very vigilant and created in the '60s and '70s have suffered, in some cases, horrendous budget cuts. So we just don't have those state and local consumer protection agencies as well equipped and funded as we need to have them to protect us adequately.

K. DOLAN: Speaking of protecting, where are those fat cat, do- nothing people down in Washington, and the Congress that aren't doing anything to protect us? At least it doesn't seem so, because the problem's getting worse.

What can they do, if anything?

BROBECK: Well, in fact, the principal federal agency that deals with consumer frauds is the Federal Trade Commission. And they are very actively involved in it. But this is an agency that is really swimming upstream with a relatively modest budget compared to the tens of billions of dollars worth of scams out there. Plus their jurisdiction is very limited to, of course, interstate cases.

K. DOLAN: Yes.

D. DOLAN: Stephen, can I stop some of this at the beginning by checking a company's reputation with my local better business bureau? Or does, as I've heard before, the Better Business Bureau allow these bad companies to kind of rectify their reputation with the BBB?

BROBECK: Well, first of all, it's smart to check with the Better Business Bureau. They do have information. In some cases, there will be a large number of complaints. Probably should avoid those sellers.

On the other hand, just because a seller does not have any outstanding complaints does not mean that they are clean, because in some cases, a member of the Better Business Bureau will, of course, take very seriously and resolve all those complaints that are filed against them through the Better Business Bureau and not pay attention to the others.

K. DOLAN: Stephen, we appreciate you spending time with us very much. Good luck and continued success at the Federation. We appreciate it very much.

BROBECK: Thank you.

K. DOLAN: Thank you very much.

D. DOLAN: Now, up next...

K. DOLAN: Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

America, let me talk to you for a second. Don't be stupid, don't be a sucker, don't rely on the FTC, don't rely on the do-nothing people in Washington and many do-nothing state-level stuff that's supposed to protect you. Watch it.

Believe nothing, half of what you hear, half of what you read, and protect your wallet. Be careful. Don't depend on anybody else doing it.

D. DOLAN: Up next, identity theft. Maureen Mitchell was ripped off. Identity thieves stole her money, her reputation and a good chunk of her time, but boy did this lady fight back. We have her story next on this special edition of DOLANS UNSCRIPTED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAUREEN MITCHELL, IDENTITY THEFT VICTIM: It's financial rape. And you are physically and emotionally drained. And the reality of what we were dealing with seemed so incomprehensible that you question your own mental well-being as you're going through this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

K. DOLAN: Well, here's our "Dolan Doodle."

D. DOLAN: Yes. And what are you trying to do, Ken?

K. DOLAN: I'm trying to get some tickets billed to your credit card, lady. It says, "Yes, I'd like Red Sox boxed seats." God knows how much. "And I'd like to bill them to Daria Dolan."

D. DOLAN: Nice try, but you think you're the only person who can steal an identity?

K. DOLAN: Well, yes.

D. DOLAN: Do you want to see how we can steal identities? Get a look at this.

K. DOLAN: Wait. Oh, wow. What an improvement over those mugs in the control room.

D. DOLAN: And right here in the studio. We have a group of them.

K. DOLAN: There's Jay. There's Jay. There's Shar (ph).

Hi, Shar (ph).

That's -- and, of course, the biggest improvement will be Shane. Let's see if Shane's coming up on the jib. Oh, that's much better than regular -- hey!

Well, I've got to tell you, identity theft is a big, big problem. We kid around a little bit about it...

D. DOLAN: Yes.

K. DOLAN: ... but it is a very, very serious subject.

D. DOLAN: And let me tell you, it is not a joking matter at all. On a much more serious note, I had an opportunity to be scared out of my wits.

Maureen Mitchell doesn't want you to know where she lives. In fact, when I flew out to see her, we met at her friend's House. Why? Because Maureen is a victim of identity theft. But unlike most victims, she caught the criminals and she has helped changed our nation's laws.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

D. DOLAN (voice-over): Maureen Mitchell is having an identity crisis.

MITCHELL: They have our address, they have our dates of birth, they have our home phone number, they have our Social Security numbers. They know as much about us as we know about ourselves.

D. DOLAN: Between 1999 and 2001, this 49-year-old Ohio resident was repeatedly a victim of identity theft.

MITCHELL: The criminals opened 30 fraudulent accounts in our names in the state of Illinois and did $150,000 worth of goods and merchandise in our name, including a Lincoln Navigator and a Ford Expedition.

D. DOLAN: But Maureen and her husband Ray weren't your typical victims. They don't shop online, never lost their wallets. The Mitchells don't even give their credit card to waiters at restaurants.

MITCHELL: We had zero risk factors of becoming victims of this crime. But you can do everything right and still fall prey to this.

D. DOLAN: Maureen's theft was made worse by creditor incompetence. The criminals misspelled the Mitchells' name on their application for the Ford Expedition and still drove off the lot with the SUV. And Maureen's impostor?

MITCHELL: I'm 5'3", green-eyed Caucasian, lie about my weight on my driver's license. She's 5'6", brown-eyed, African-American female. We don't look anything alike, yet she successfully withdrew $34,006.50.

D. DOLAN (on camera): They're better at being ourselves than we are.

MITCHELL: They are. My impostor would probably more readily convince an audience that she were me than I would.

D. DOLAN (voice-over): Yet, Maureen's story is a lesson in how to effectively fight I.D. theft. She kept meticulous records, 30 pounds of them, and with the help of patrolman Robert Verdi (ph), an officer in Maureen's town, she was able to track down and imprison four of her impostors.

For Verdi (ph), Maureen's experience was an eye-opener.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I learned it's so important to be detailed. It's so important to document. It's so important not to take the situation lightly. Without the documentation from the police report, these people would have never been arrested.

MITCHELL: Our lives were turned upside down for four years because of identity theft.

D. DOLAN: Maureen took her fight all the way to Washington, testifying before the Senate and the House. She wants to change the way law enforcement deals with identity theft.

MITCHELL: Within our criminal justice system, the criminal's assumed innocent until proven guilty. But as a victim of identity theft, you're assumed guilty until you prove your innocence

D. DOLAN: Maureen made 15 recommendations to the Senate in 2000, eight of which were adopted as law. Thanks to her, there's now a uniform I.D. theft reporting affidavit for victims.

(on camera): And we've heard about the financial strain that all of this brings, but tell us about the emotional strain.

MITCHELL: It was a break-in into a very private area of our lives, and we then became uncomfortable and jittery in your own home. We installed deadbolt locks. We had a loaded shotgun.

We had never lived our lives like that. All the years I lived in New York we never lived our lives like that.

D. DOLAN (voice-over): Although the Mitchells have placed fraud alerts on all their accounts, creditors still call and the fraud still reappears on her FICO score. Maureen's answering machine has joined the fight.

MITCHELL: Hi, you've reached the Mitchells. Neither Ray nor Maureen has applied for any new extensions of credit. If this is in regards to identity theft, please leave the area code with the phone number. Thanks.

D. DOLAN: Maureen is now a volunteer in her community, helping to raise awareness and fight the crime that's changed her life.

MITCHELL: I'm trying to make it easier for the next person.

D. DOLAN: With 10 million victims last year, and the number sure to grow, Maureen Mitchell has her work cut out for her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

K. DOLAN: Boy, that is some scary piece, Daria. This is the first time I've seen it in great detail. That's unbelievable.

D. DOLAN: Yes. I'll tell you, I came back, my head was spinning. But god bless Maureen.

This lady is one heck of a fighter. And I guess maybe being from the New York area originally, she said to me, "You know that old saying, when life throws you lemons, make lemonade?" She said, "I don't believe in that. When life throws you lemons, throw them right back and hit them hard."

K. DOLAN: I tell you, what hit me the hardest is that you're innocent until proven guilty, unless it's an identity theft and you're guilty until you prove yourself innocent.

D. DOLAN: She's absolutely right. And you know, the FTC and part of the law that Maureen helped is this identity theft affidavit that's available here.

K. DOLAN: Yes. Yes. What does it say?

D. DOLAN: But the FTC has really -- has been so inundated, they've put together some very, very good pieces "I.D. Theft: When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name," and "Theft: What's it all About?"

I urge every one of you to go to www.ftc.gov and get these booklets. The way we're going with I.D. theft in this country, you could need it sooner than later.

K. DOLAN: How about the old saying, Daria, the old chestnut, an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure, at least in Maureen's case.

D. DOLAN: And she still...

K. DOLAN: Still fights it.

D. DOLAN: She will not -- I didn't know where she lived. And I know that Patrolman Verdi said they patrol around her house constantly. Because when these four get out of prison -- too many of us don't want to prosecute. She did.

K. DOLAN: I guess so. Thank you very much, Daria. Great story.

And thank you, Maureen.

You know, when you're on the road for business or pleasure, does the bill always seem to add up to just a little bit more than you expected? Tips on how to avoid those hidden charges.

But first, a Dolan's study break.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

D. DOLAN (voice-over): Starting to save for college? We suggest keeping the savings in your name and not your child's. You're likely to get more financial aid that way. Also remember, money in the child's name will revert to the child at age 18, and unless the money is in an education trust, it could be spent on anything.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

K. DOLAN: Going on vacation should be relaxing. Well, of course. But figuring out what it really costs can leave you scratching your head, especially when it comes to renting a car.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

K. DOLAN (voice-over): You thought you got a great deal renting a car until you got the bill. Insurance and taxes can almost double your rental bill. But do you really need all that extra insurance?

Car rental companies will try to sell you three different types of coverage, insurance for damaging the car, liability coverage for damaging people or things outside the car, and coverage for injuries inside the car. But you probably already have coverage for at least two out of three.

Almost all credit cards and many auto insurance policies cover collision, damage and theft. But credit cards don't offer liability protection, which is required by some states. So before you rent, make sure you know what coverage you have from your own credit card, auto and home owner's insurance, too.

Even if you have the right coverage, car rental agencies might try to sell you more than you need. What a rip-off!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

K. DOLAN: Yes, what a rip-off. When it comes to travel, travel scams and rip-offs, there are no small ones, Daria.

D. DOLAN: Not at all. And there are a lot others -- a lot of others, and it's not just in the rental car area.

But joining us to talk about some of them, so you don't pay too much next time you vacation, is Pauline Frommer of "Frommer Guide Books."

Hi, Pauline. Nice to see you.

PAULINE FROMMER, FROMMER GUIDE BOOKS: Hi. Good to see you again.

K. DOLAN: Pauline, you are not telling me that when I go to rent a car that there's little hidden fees and that the insurance is too expensive.

FROMMER: Well, yes, as you said in the piece, you often are pushed into buying insurance you don't need. That's because the people behind the counters are heavily incentivized to get you to buy that insurance. Also, you can pay more by renting at the airport, which seems odd, because everyone rents at the airport.

D. DOLAN: Sure.

FROMMER: But certain airports have huge fees attached to them. This is especially true of the airports in Texas. In -- at Bush Airport, you can pay up to 71 percent more than your original rental fee just in the extra taxes.

K. DOLAN: It might make some sense, though -- now, this is me speaking, Paula, and you're the expert -- maybe to take a quick shuttle bus or a quick trip to town if it's not too far away and maybe rent in town.

FROMMER: Yes, absolutely.

K. DOLAN: OK. OK.

FROMMER: Many rental agencies are located in towns, and they'll pick you up at the airport. And it actually can be quicker in the long run.

D. DOLAN: I like that idea.

All right. Let's move on to hotels, because once we get to that strange city, we have to stay in a hotel.

FROMMER: Right. And there are all kinds of hidden fees there, too.

D. DOLAN: I saw something on a bill we had not too long ago I'd never seen before, and I don't know what it was for.

K. DOLAN: Making the bed fee?

D. DOLAN: No. The resort fee?

K. DOLAN: Yes, what's that?

FROMMER: The resort fee. That's for using the pool. And it doesn't matter whether you ever take a dip in the pool.

Certain hotels are now charging a resort fee. They also have housekeeping fees, which is what you -- which doesn't cover a tip to the maid. It's simply for changing your sheets.

We've seen outrageous overnight parking fees, especially in large cities. Those can be as much as $25 a day.

D. DOLAN: Wow.

FROMMER: Not to mention fees on the telephone.

K. DOLAN: I was just going to say.

FROMMER: Yes

D. DOLAN: Although most people are kind of beating the hotels at that game now by using cell phones.

FROMMER: Yes, absolutely. And interestingly enough, the cheapest of the hotels, actually motels, those are the ones who are getting rid of those fees. If you stay at Microtel Inns, which is a nationwide chain, they will let you call long distance for free.

K. DOLAN: I never heard of that.

FROMMER: Yes.

D. DOLAN: Wow.

FROMMER: And you pay much less than you would at a Hilton or a Ritz. And you're going to pay nothing on the telephone.

K. DOLAN: Quite amazing.

D. DOLAN: You made a very, very interesting statement regarding airfares in the area of bereavement fares, when there's a death or sudden illness of a loved one.

FROMMER: Right.

D. DOLAN: You said that even though the airlines, many of them, are doing away with these bereavement fares, it's actually a good thing?

FROMMER: Yes, it is. Delta has gotten rid of them, so has Air Canada, and U.S. Airways has on certain routes. And that's because they always were a rip-off.

You call the airport. It's your time of need...

K. DOLAN: Of course.

FROMMER: ... there's a big crisis. And you hope you're going to be given a straight answer to what you want. Unfortunately, the discount on bereavement fares was always on the highest class of ticket.

K. DOLAN: Oh man. How understanding.

D. DOLAN: Oh, so if you got 30 or 50 percent off, it really was on their top ticket number.

FROMMER: Right, it was on unrestricted fares, which is something that very few of us ever buy. So you would end up spending $700 to fly from Phoenix to Dallas, whereas if you went with one of the upstart airlines, such as JetBlue or Southwest or America West, you'd spend $200 on that flight.

K. DOLAN: All-inclusive cruises?

FROMMER: That's a misnomer if there ever was one. Yes. I mean, it's -- everybody thinks that once they go on a cruise ship, it's all taken care of. Not true. Every alcoholic drink you get you're going to pay for, sodas you're going to pay for, and shore excursions.

K. DOLAN: Oh, they -- oh, those are killers.

FROMMER: Those are killers.

K. DOLAN: Big profit centers, too. Yes.

FROMMER: Big profit centers. And you don't need to buy them, because if you get off of boat, right on the dock there are going to be people who are going to be selling those same shore excursions for half as much as what you would have purchased on the cruise ships.

D. DOLAN: Very quickly, there's been a trend towards travel clubs and vouchers from these clubs.

FROMMER: A lot of those are scams.

K. DOLAN: Ooh.

FROMMER: You've got to be very wary of travel clubs. You can get great deals just going to the travel providers direct. With few exceptions, you don't need to join these clubs.

A lot of them simply take your membership fee and high-tail it. And those that sell vouchers, who say that this voucher will be good in any season, it's simply not true.

Travel is time-sensitive. And what is good at a beach resort in high season won't be good in low season, or vice-versa, I should say.

D. DOLAN: Thank you so much, Pauline, for helping us save money this summer as we -- as some of us travel around.

K. DOLAN: I think there's some re-planning to do on our summer vacation.

Thank you, Pauline.

FROMMER: Thank you.

D. DOLAN: Well, up next, a clean bill of health might not be so good for your financial well-being. How medical billing errors could cost you thousands when DOLANS UNSCRIPTED continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, everyone. I'm Betty Nguyen. We will have more DOLANS UNSCRIPTED straight ahead, but first, these stories now in the news.

The Pentagon has confirmed four cases of abusing the Muslim holy book at the Guantanamo Bay prison. Incidents include one Koran kicked by a guard and two soaked in a water balloon fight. The report also shows detainees, not U.S. guards, tried to flush the Muslim holy book down a toilet. In Beirut today, hundreds line the streets in Beirut for the funeral of anti-Syrian journalist Samir Kassir. He was killed Thursday by a bomb placed under his car. Leaders in Lebanon are demanding an official U.N. investigation into the assassination.

In Hong Kong today, a candle light vigil on the Tiananmen Square anniversary. On this day, 16 years ago, hundreds were killed in Beijing's bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy movement. It's an emotional day for many people in Hong Kong as they enjoy free speech and assembly, which is still denied in China.

I'm Betty Nguyen. Now it's back to DOLANS UNSCRIPTED.

D. DOLAN, CNN ANCHOR, DOLANS UNSCRIPTED: Let's face it, the last thing you want to worry about when you're in the hospital is your medical bill. But due to an ever-increasing number of billing errors, some patients experience pain at least financially long after they're discharged.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

D. DOLAN (voice-over): Nora Johnson's husband Bill had successful hip replacement surgery in 1999. Soon after, the bill arrived.

NORA JOHNSON, BILLING ERROR VICTIM: When I looked at it, it was just like looking at a tax form. I couldn't make any sense out of it whatsoever. I noticed there was an extra $1900 charge added on to one of my bills and I didn't understand why.

D. DOLAN: Bills like the one received by the Johnsons are not uncommon in a healthcare system filled with medical jargon and cryptic billing codes.

CARMELA COYLE, SR VP FOR POLICY, AHA: The healthcare system in America is very complex. It is choked with paperwork and it's a system that, quite frankly, was designed more with insurance companies in mind than it was with consumers and patients in mind. It's a system that doesn't work well for patients, for physicians or for hospitals. And in such a complex system, it's unfortunate, but perhaps not surprising, that mistakes do occur in the billing process.

D. DOLAN: The Johnsons found $5,000 in erroneous charges and over billing of 20 percent and the Johnsons case isn't that unusual. The National Healthcare Anti-Fraud Association estimates that in 2003, at least 3 percent, or $51 billion, was lost to fraudulent activities and billing errors. Part of the solution? Consumer advocate watchdog groups like the Medical Billing Advocates of America, founder Pat Palmer helped Nora Johnson wade through her medical mess in 1999.

PAT PALMER, FOUNDER, MBAA: You have a lot of consumers that feel that it's just a specific problem in their billing. It's not on a national basis. Eight out of 10 bills that come through my office have some type of error. D. DOLAN: Palmer, who's been at the job for 10 years, finds most errors and improper charges hidden behind mysterious medical terminology that is next to impossible for the average consumer to understand. One of Palmer's favorites -- a box of tissues billed as a mucous recovery system. Other client charges have included a pill cup, $30, disposable gloves, $30, this cough support device, also known as a teddy bear, $60 and the most outrageous billing error, $1,000 toothbrush. Victim turned advocate Nora Johnson says consumers are often too intimidated to dispute their bills.

JOHNSON: There is a not so veiled threat to the patient, and what is he going to do? And what is the average person know about Federal billing guidelines as they apply to hospital billing, anyway? Virtually nothing. It's a -- you're dueling with a one-armed man when a patient is going up against the hospital.

D. DOLAN: Even if you never step foot in a hospital, we all pay the price for billing fraud and error in the form of higher premiums on individual healthcare policies and higher taxes to fund Federal programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Well, I do have a few tips on how you can protect yourself from being ripped off. Number one, always ask for an itemized bill. OK, itemized because hospitals are required to give you one. Then watch out for duplicate charges. If you find that you're being charged for something in this column, find out, take a look at the lab charges somewhere else. You may find it duplicated in that part of the area, in that part of the bill. And, also, request an audit from both the hospital and your insurance company. You want to fight this. Don't just say, well, it's not my money, which is one of the problems that we have with this.

K. DOLAN: And, also, Daria, great report. Also, if you're also -- if you're not the patient but checking out a patient at the hospital, all you want to do is kind get out of the hospital. He or she wants to get out. You want to get them out and so the bill's thrown in front of you. An awful lot of people say well, I'll sign it. I'll worry about it later. Cool your jets. Take a look at the bill.

D. DOLAN: You don't have to pay when you leave the hospital.

K. DOLAN: And many hospitals will not tell you that. They will almost feel like they have the hostage, your friend, out of the hospital, until you pay. Unbelievable. They've got you over a barrel, unless -- and you are today, you're an informed consumer. Well done.

D. DOLAN: I wonder if that $1,000 toothbrush would make my teeth brighter?

K. DOLAN: It's unbelievable. All right, coming up, how to avoid -- speaking of ride - how to avoid being taken for the proverbial ride. We'll expose the scams, the swindles and the shenanigans of the auto industry, right after this. So you better stay tuned for more of DOLANS UNSCRIPTED special, what a rip off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

K. DOLAN: I'll tell you one thing, there's nothing more exciting than on a Saturday morning going shopping for a new car. Oh, you open the auto dealership doors, that wonderful smell. Make no mistake. It is pitched battle. Their job is to get the most money for the car. Your job is to pay the least. It's battle! But in this segment we're going to level the playing field, get the best deal without getting ripped off! Are you ready? Let's do it.

Buy today, drive today. Overstock sale! Save thousands. Sound too good to be true? It often is.

BOB FORD, AUTHOR AND AUTOMOTIVE EXPERT: Dealers aren't in the business to do social work. What they want to do, get you to come in. Once they get you there, then they're going to try to keep you there and sell you a car.

K. DOLAN: So a crucial stop on your way to the showroom, the Internet. Not only can you find out what the dealer paid for the car, and what your car is selling for in your area, but also exactly what's in stock.

PHILIP REED, EDMUNDS.COM: A really valuable tool and more for the inventory search than anything else is the dealer's websites themselves. In some cases, particularly dealer groups, like Auto Nation, will post their inventory for an entire city online. So you can search for the car you want and then, of course, it's broken down by dealers. So you know where to find it.

K. DOLAN: But being armed with the 411 is only half the battle. As 30-year industry veteran, Bob Ford knows the car sales scams. I'm told that before I can take a test drive, or somewhere in that sales process, they want to get my license, because they can check my credit in two seconds and that tells them how to deal with me, either as a deadbeat or somebody with good credit, they're going to treat me differently and the price is going to be different.

FORD: That's quite true. I think what you do, if you're taking a test drive and you're going with the, almost always, going with the salesman, you don't have to give a license, because you're with them.

K. DOLAN: You can show them the license.

FORD: Yes.

K. DOLAN: But don't let them leave with the license. Once you've agreed to buy, Ford says, is when the real wheeling and dealing begins.

FORD: We can get you in this car for $200 a month. It's a five- year, six-year loan and you make a lot of money because they make money on the financing and of course, it's also is a way to make you think, gee, I've gotten a great deal, and you haven't. So stop and take a look at every aspect of the deal. Add the numbers up, look at what the loan is going to cost you. If you have to leave and go do it at home or go to your bank, do it.

K. DOLAN: Another common way dealers under cut your bottom line is to give you the sales price you want, but under value your trade- in. And finally, the biggest lesson to keep in mind.

FORD: Any time you feel that something is not right or you haven't answered questions or you feel you're being hassled too much, you have the right to get up walk out and you should.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

K. DOLAN: That's right. I'm going to tell you. I don't take back my words when I talk about it being battle but hopefully we're trying to level the field a little bit.

D. DOLAN: Exactly. There's other things besides just trying to get the right price for the car and not overpay.

K. DOLAN: Give me another one.

D. DOLAN: For people that don't have insurance, either because they can't afford it or maybe they've had some problems in the past. This credit insurance -- which they tack on to your car loan? So now you're paying interest on insurance payments?

K. DOLAN: It's unbelievably expensive. That's what's going to happen when you talk to the friendly finance manager! The last time I walked into a new car dealer, I said I'd like to buy a car. I'll talk to you about price. I'll do whatever you want. Keep me away from the financial manager. Also undercoating? Forget it. I don't want it. Just do your deal, do your deal and go from there. And it's one of these things, I got to check with the sales manager. Yeah. They're out having a cup of coffee and a smoke, when they're supposedly talking to the sales manager. Like anything else, Daria, there's some wonderful, as Bob said, there's some wonderful new car dealers. They're very honest people, some of them. You just have to, like anything else, protect yourself against the bad ones.

D. DOLAN: And the other thing is this -- don't assume because it's no haggle buying, that you're getting the best deal either.

K. DOLAN: Exactly right.

D. DOLAN: Yes.

K. DOLAN: So be careful. That is a great smell on a Saturday morning! Take a look in your --

D. DOLAN: I don't know. Christian Dior.

D. DOLAN: Get outta here! Take a look at your wallet. How many credit cards do you have? Uh-oh. And what sort of fees are you paying for the distinct privilege? Get out your scissors. Sharpen them up! You'll want to hear about these little credit card scam games, when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

K. DOLAN: You can have my credit card, baby, but you better be careful what you do with it. We have often said here on DOLANS UNSCRIPTED, good credit is a powerful tool unless it's misused. And there's some people who would be happy to help you misuse it.

D. DOLAN: Oh, yes, some the hidden stuff you may not know about your very own credit card sitting in your very own wallet, but he will mystify it all for us. Joining us now, Robert Manning, author of "Credit Card Nation" and he joins us from Rochester, New York.

K. DOLAN: Hi, Robert.

ROBERT MANNING, AUTHOR, CREDIT CARD NATION: Hi, Ken.

K. DOLAN: Robert, I could be wrong and maybe I'm starting in the wrong direction here, but I love this, "you have been pre-approved for a credit card." Everybody's preapproved!

MANNING: Yeah. And wait until you read the fine print, because what you'll really going to be worried about is that bait and switch. You look for that $10,000 line of credit with that 3.9 percent, 12- month introductory offer and then when you get the credit card in the mail, you go and you use it and you never even thought about whether you got the original terms of the contract and once you've used that credit card the first time, you've agreed to the new contract. And guess what the credit card company will say when you see that it's 19.9 percent and only a $3,000 line of credit. They're going to tell you as a courtesy, you didn't meet their criteria and for the first pre-approved offer. So they sent you the other one. So you wouldn't be embarrassed and not have a credit card.

K. DOLAN: Oh, yeah. Thanks for nothing.

D. DOLAN: You have an 800 FICO score, you will get that pre- approved deal?

MANNING: Well, you'll certainly get the original one, but you'll also trigger a whole different set of mass mailings because there's a sense here that you could afford a lot of other products that somebody with a 670 score could not.

K. DOLAN: Robert is there such thing as a fixed rate? You just said that you better be careful. Is there ever a fixed rate when, like, it's really a fixed rate?

MANNING: Boy, you know, we're certainly turning upside down the English language, aren't we? You know, fixed rate now, it could be fixed rate to the Treasury note. And what the terms of the interest rates are, that apply to the Federal government and since interest rates have been going down, consumers think that their fixed rate is really going to hold constant. But now that interest rates are going up, they don't realize that their fixed rate's actually a variable interest rate and they're going to see interest rates rise 30, 40 percent over the next year or two.

K. DOLAN: What can you do Robert, on that particular issue? Anything? Can I call up and complain, threaten to rip it up, cut it in half? What can I do? What's my defense?

MANNING: Really, the only thing you can do is threaten to cancel your contract and ask if they would convert you to a fixed rate. They'll probably offer you something that they think will keep you happy so they can keep the variable rate.

K. DOLAN: Got you, oh, boy.

D. DOLAN: What annoys me most is, even with credit cards that I've had for a long long time, every so often I get a little disclosure booklet in the mail which is basically them telling me, they've changed the rules of the game. They've rewritten the contract. But I can't rewrite contracts. How do they get away with this?

MANNING: Isn't that amazing, Daria?

D. DOLAN: Yes.

MANNING: We're talking about now that consumers have to honor the contract that they signed, but under the terms of what's called universal default, credit card companies can change the terms of your contract at will.

K. DOLAN: Wow.

MANNING: You could have been on vacation and missed the premium on your auto insurance and the bank turns around and increases your credit card interest rate maybe 5 or 10 percent.

K. DOLAN: Unbelievable, Robert Manning.

D. DOLAN: Our viewers saw a chilling story that I did in the beginning of the program, Robert, about a woman whose identity was stolen. And now I'm starting to figure out, ah, they're going to start selling product that supposedly will keep you from the financial disaster, if somebody steals your identity and makes charges in your name. Is that worth anything? And aren't you protected anyway?

K. DOLAN: Unbelievable.

MANNING: Well, there's absolutely no insurance program, unless they're going to indemnify you and guarantee that they'll give you $50,000 if somebody steals your identity and spends money in your name. The amazing part is that the credit card industry does such a poor job of protecting our personal, private financial information and then they turn around and want to charge us $10 or $15 a month to alert us when they screw up and that somebody has stolen our ID and is spending and buying things in our name. Incredible. Isn't it?

D. DOLAN: It's absolutely incredible, and there's lots of good stuff, and I understand you have a new book coming out, too, with "Credit Card Nation." Robert, it was a pleasure talking with you. Thanks for joining us.

MANNING: Thank you.

K. DOLAN: Thank you very much, Robert. It's quite amazing, what, in terms of the stuff that is done right under your own nose.

D. DOLAN: Uh-huh.

Up next -- we're going to wrap up this DOLANS UNSCRIPTED special. What a rip-off! With some final points on how to steer clear of shysters and keep a few of those extra bucks in your very own pocket.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

D. DOLAN: Well, from credit cards to buying a car, it might seem like everyone is out to rip you off. But hopefully you picked up some tips to protect yourself. I think we want to go over some of these top pieces of advice that we dolled out. What do you think?

K. DOLAN: I'll start with the story you were talking about Daria with Maureen. Let's talk about ID theft. Check your credit report every year.

D. DOLAN: Now you're going to get a free one, everybody, starting this year.

K. DOLAN: Yeah. We'll talk about that. And look for inquiries that you didn't ask for.

D. DOLAN: But I have to tell you this -- any time you are notified by a creditor that you may have lost your credit card number to someone else, immediately call the credit reporting agencies and log a fraud alert. And remember that most of these alerts are only good for 90 days to maybe some of them two years and keep renewing them. Don't forget. Make a note of the date.

K. DOLAN: You learned a lot on that piece. Travel. Let's talk about travel. Ask about any additional charges when booking a room and check your bill carefully at the checkout before you pay.

D. DOLAN: Hospital billing. Request an itemized bill. Don't pay as you leave the hospital and make sure you were not double billed.

K. DOLAN: Exactly right. Your friend that you're picking up at the hospital is not a hostage! Don't forget that.

All right. How about buying a car?

D. DOLAN: You talk about that.

K. DOLAN: I did that one, all right. Buying a car. Use the Internet to find out what the dealer paid. There's lots of good stuff available, before you walk in to the showroom. Sharpen the pencil. You're going to save a bunch of bucks!

D. DOLAN: And lastly, credit cards. Even if you pay your bills on time, your rate can change at any time.

K. DOLAN: Boy, that was unbelievable, what Robert Manning had to say from "Credit Card Nation." You sign up for 3 percent and a $10,000 credit line. All of a sudden it's $3,000 and 19 percent. So just be careful, and don't use it until you know what you've got because that's sort of like saying, OK, that's fine by me because you thought it was the original --

D. DOLAN: First charge, you've sign the contract.

K. DOLAN: Exactly right. We had a good hour. Hope we showed everybody some ways to save money. As I said before -- maybe I didn't say it, but let me say it - and that is, be careful about these kinds of problems, because it's getting harder and harder to fix stuff. So, again, an ounce ever prevention is worth a ton of cure. It's getting harder to fix it, not the least of which, identity theft.

D. DOLAN: Yeah. Big, big problem getting bigger. That's it for us. We're going to see you next week. Stay tuned for the TURNAROUND. It's right after the top news headlines at this hour. Thanks for joining us.

END

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