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March 30, 2011     Indian Valley Record
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March 30, 2011
 
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Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter Wednesday, March 30, 2011 5B Consumer complaints up 10 percent nationwide According to an annual re- port released March 22 by Bet- ter Business Bureau (EBB), consumers filed 1.1 million complaints against North American businesses in 2010, reflecting, a 10 percent in- crease over the previous year. Consumers also turned to the nonprofit more than 87 mil- lion times for help research- ing businesses across North America, a whopping 37 per- cent more than in 2009. "The complaints filed with EBB are not only a barometer of customer satisfaction, but the rise in complaints also shows that consumers are in- creasingly relying on EBB for assistance in resolving dis- putes with businesses," said Gary Almond, president of the EBB serving Northeast Cali- fornia. The cable and satellite TV industry received the largest number of complaints with 30,985, a 5 percent decrease over last year. The cell phone industry ranked second with 27,293 complaints, but saw a 29.6 percent decrease over 2009. New car auto dealers re- ceived 24,698 complaints, an 8.1 percent decrease over the previous year. While the cable and satel- lite TV industry, cell phone industry and new car dealers received a high Volume of complaints, the EBB report shows that they also have a higher rate of resolution with consumers than the average rate (78 percent) across all in- dustries in 2010. Cable and satellite TV resolved 98.6 per- cent of complaints, a slight in- crease from 2009; the cell phone industry resolved 92.1 percent; and new car dealer companies resolved 87.4 per- cent of all complaints. "Industries that do a large volume of business are natu- rally going to have a larger number of complaints. This is why it's important to look at how a company responded when EBB approached them with consumer complair/ts, and not just the sheer number of complaints," added Al- mond. The report also reveals that Property taxes are due April 11 Julie A. White, Plumas County tax collector, reminds all taxpayers with secured property tax bills to pay their second installment of proper- ty taxes. The deadline is Mon- day, April 11, at 5 p.m. Payments can be made at her office in the county court- house in Quincy. Taxpayers may mail their payments but should insure that the enve- lope is postmarked by the April 11 deadline. Payments may also be made by credit • card. To pay by credit card contact Official Payments at (800) 272-9829 or at officialpay- ments.com. Enter the juris- diction code 1535 when prompted. There will be a nominal fee qarged for this service. Second installments not re- ceived or postmarked by April 11 will automatically have a 10 percent penalty and a $20 cost added tothe bill ac- cording to state law. If a tax bill has not been received, the property owner should call the tax collector's office, 283- 6260, as failure to receive a bill does not relieve the tax- payer of any penalties if the taxes become delinquent. Again, for the convenience of taxpayers, there will be a volunteer available on the ground floor of the court- house, in the lobby area, ta k- ing routine payments that do not include cash, receipts or questions. A drop-off box at that site will be available be- ginning Wednesday, April 6, and continuing through Mon- day, April 11. The hours for this drop-off will be 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. The tax collector's office is routinely open between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Should property owners have any questions regarding this or other matters regarding property taxes, they should not hesitate to call. !!  :• :  ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::: .......... i • • 8 •: ....... : • :: : •   :N i®#/liN .... il::: Northeast California Nationwide Rank Total complaints Industry Total complaints Industry Furniture/home furnishings 328 TV: cable, CATV and satellite 30,985 27,293 2 Third party auto warranty 289 Cell phones, services and equipment 3 Auto dealers: new cars 249 Auto dealers: new cars 24,698 4 Internet services 242 Banks 22,648 5 Misc./specialty retail 224 Collection agencies 15,876 6 Attorneys 214 Auto dealers: used cars 14,520 Auto repair and service Mortgage brokers 13,178 7 192 8 Auto repair 192 Furhiture retail 13,018 9 Tires and wheels 142 Internet shopping 12,950 10 Cell phones, services and equipment 138 Mortgage brokers 9,545 Complaint rank is out of 4, 483 industry categories Average resolution rate across all industries for 2010 was 78 percent the 3 million BBB Business Reviews are increasingly pop- ular as a free tool for con- , sumers to research the trust- worthiness of businesses. EBB Business Reviews -- which contain information on a businesses' accreditation status, letter-grade rating and complaint history -- were ac- cessed more than 87 million times in 2010. The most popu- lar industries researched with EBB are roofing contrac- tors, general contractors and mortgage brokers. "The Services and tools that EBB supplies free of charge at bbb.org are now of more value than ever before to con- sumers," said Almond. "Giv- en the current economic cli- mate, consumers need to be more cautious on where and how they spend their money and a fast, easy way to do this is to ensure businesses are ac- credited by BBB and have a good EBB rating before doing business with them." Locally, the EBB serving Northeast California provided consumers with more thn 583,793 Business Reviews in 2010, a 41 percent increase from 2009; and received 4,844 complaints, a 6 percent in- crease from 2009. FEATURE OF THE WEEK: NEW "Ride the Rails" with our Locomotive Steamer and train track trivet Quincy Store 2019 East Main St'. Quincy 283-2929 i Graeagle Store inside Epilog & Company 111 Hwy. 89, Graeagle 836-1962 James Reichle Go to www.catspaws.petfinder.org to see all the cats that need homes! e lawyer Pictured below is just a partial example. Trial If you have an "un-fixed" cat, get her spayed NOW. We have discount ee . certificates for people unable to afford the cost of surgery on their own. .......... Visit the CATHOUSE - 2453 E. Main, Quincy:: w [QUINCY _.._____MOVlNC, We00-F. or Sat tO-00 or ca, 00S00-50033 "0" [ Stan & PaulapAwseUUS II  ---=-------= Priscilla loves attention! She ee[ "Please help find is a labby-Brown/Maine [ these animals homes."  Coon Mix and is 2 years old. II 283"0233 I She is a very good natured • and gentle kitty and loves to be held. She would be a sweet, cuddly companion ee S@@ort and is looking for you to PRISCILLA adopt her. NICK Plumas Animal Welfare Society WE'SE OVERLOADED! MADDEN Adopt a Choose carefully when "=" ItomelossPot FUDGE ee Lee & Sherri Thrall Fudge is a 6-month- :l selecting a tax preparer --  old male Tuxedo and is [ j absolutely wonderful. --''  Heiscuteandpurrslll] alot and has a very The Franchise 'Pax Board Each CTEC-registered tax sweet disposition. He \\; :) (FTB) and the California Tax preparer must complete ae Ioves to play with other - : - Education Council (CTEC) re- courses on federal and state  530-258-0323 kitties and is looking for a good, warm home. Nick is a domestic short hair, orange & white, adult male and is 2 years old. He is a wonderful kitty and is very playful. He loves to climb up the cat hotel at PAWS. He used to squint, but some nice people had his eyelids fixed so he doesn't squint anymore• Nick is waiting for a caring family to adopt him! •  S l OFF PET FOOD ee l OIb bag or larger Hwy 89, Greenville • 284-7313 ll{ b C g C Dr. Roberta Wiederholt, DVM Micmchipping saves lives and HomeAgairP is designed to increase even further the chance of reuniting you with your lost pet! Open M - F, 8am - 5pro 258-4242 299 Main Street • Chester (530) 283-1605 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE RESIDENTtAL • COMMERCIAL 228 E. M=.n m & J Qcy, CA 95971 C. tic. i4Q1 ;'6 rJIIll4lll[llllll-=|ll¢nNllll IlllLql .=. .=. minded California taxpayers who use a tax professional •to make sure they select careful- ly. CTEC, a nonprofit corpora- tion established by the Cali- fornia Legislature, and FTB have partnered to ed.ucate taxpayers about tax prepar- ers' legal responsibilities, and to make sure those preparers are complying with the law. While more than 44,000 regis- tered tax preparers are ready to assist California taxpayers, some operate outside the law and run the risk of penalties for themselves and their clients. Taxpayers are cautioned to avoid tax preparers who: • Claim they can get bigger refunds than other tax pre- parers. • Base their fee on a percent- age of the refund amount. • Refuse to sign the tax re- turn as the paid preparer even though it is required by law. • Do not provide a copy of the tax return for the taxpay- er's records. FTB Publication 982, "How to Select an Income Tax Re- turn Preparer" offers more guidance on choosing a tax professional. Taxpayers should make sure their pre- parer is a licensed certified public accountant (CPA), en- rolled agent, attorney or a registered tax preparer. California requires anyone preparing state and federal tax returns for a fee and who is not an attorney, CPA or en- rolled agent to register as a tax preparer with CTEC. tax laws each year, plus ob- tain a $5,000 surety bond to protect clients against fraud. If taxpayers suspect a tax preparer is fraudulent, they should inform FTB online at ftb.ca.gov by selecting Report Tax Fraud under the online services, or by calling (800) 540-FILE (3453). If a tax pre- parer cannot be verified as an attorney, CPA, CTEC-regis- tered tax preparer or enrolled agent, consumers are asked to fill out a "Noncompliant Com- plaint Form" at ctec.org. Need help REPI NG CONSTRUCTION IINCE 1NI4 m General Building Contractor Calif• Lie. #453927 '(530) 283-2035 ee 525 Main St., Chester All our adult cats are fixed and are current on their shots.  e e PAWS is a private, non-profit organization supported entirely by individual donations• e Your contributions are always welcome and are fully tax-deductible• PAWS - P.O. Box 125, Quincy, CA 95971 • APRIL 2011 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday A ONTH OF ACTIVITIES & FUN TO STRENGTHEN FAMILIES FROM THE PLUMAS CHILDREN'S COUNCIL Friday I Greenville Fun Night- Comm. Ctr 5:30-7 pm Saturday Visit the local museum in your town 3 Tell your child how they make you proud 10 Wash the family car- 4 Attend school events, open house, teacher meetings I1 Bake a cake or cookies $ Help your child write a letter to a friend or relative 12 Play catch at the park or 6 Tell them stories about when you were young 13 Hang your child's art work everyone has a Job 17 Go kite fl.ying at the park 24 Share your blessings- volunteer with your child together 18 Compliment your child for showing responsibility 25 Take a nature walk-count the birds you see your backyard 19 Go to the park • and swing together 26 Read to you? child and let your child read to you around your house 2O Tell them stories about when they were young 27 Mark May 14 on the family calendar for the • Children's Faire 7 Sing a song as you ride along in the car 14 Help your child sign up for a library card 21 Plant a seed or bulb and watch it grow 28 Make a list of the reasons your child is special 8 Ask your child to teach you a favorite game 15 Act foolish- Tell silly jokes 22 Talk about recycling & our planet on Earth Day 29 Tell your child I LOVE YOU everyday 9 Let your child create & cook your dinner• 16 Greenville Fun Night. Comm. Cntr 5;30-7 pm 23 Play a card or board game 3O Chester's Family Fun Night is May 1, 4-6 pm