Hi everyone….

Memorial Day is right around the corner and that means the Oceanfront and area beaches will start to get packed.  Before you head out to have a little fun in the sun, check out my video report on Beach Safety.  Have a plan before you head out.  Everyone needs sunscreen, sunglasses, lots of water, a picture ID, and a cell phone.  I have set up a link on WAVY.COM for more information and a checklist. 

10 On Your Side wants you and your family to be safe this summer season.  I interviewed Bruce Nedelka with Virginia Beach EMS who says enjoy the beach but take a few moments to make a plan and think about what you’re doing. 

Basically, think about your safety first so you and your family can have a lot of fun in the sun at the beach.

Please let me know what you think about this story or if you have any story ideas email me at kelly.welsh@wavy.com

Kelly Welsh

IC3 or the Internet Crime Complaint Center, is a partnership between the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center and the Bureau of Justice Assistance. This week, the IC3 released a statement regarding a new twist on a well-known Nigerian letter scam. We all know those letters, the ones we receive in our inboxes from a stranger who tells you that you are the closest next of kin to some foreign diplomat from Nigeria and that you are entitled to oddles and oddles of money! Hopefully by now, all of you know that you should delete those and if you don’t know that, hopefully you will now.

So according to the IC3, here’s what’s happening: The scam artists are using online guest books from obituary websites to identify and locate their targets. Basically they use the last name of the person who signed the guest book as the surname for their “client”.  Just as in the letters, the fraudster says that they are trying to locate the next of kin for the “client” who has been deceased for years. The would-be victim is then asked to transfer a large sum of money in exchange for a percentage of the “client’s” will.

To ensure that you don’t fall victim to one of these scams, please remember to always delete unsolicited e-mail and never respond to emails or letters that mention foreign or overseas accounts. If you happen to receive one of these e-mails, please file a complaint with IC3 at www.ic3.gov and as always, if there’s something 10 On Your Side can help you with, please contact me at jamie.shackelford@wavy.com

Jamie Shackelford

10 On Your Side Producer

Nicole Livas, Kerri Furey, Derrick Rose, Kelly Gaita and myself  had some fun at No Frill Grill in Norfolk  — ALL FOR BABIES through the March of Dimes.

Our 'not so' Grand Entrance

In just two hours we  raised $1,400 and a portion of the night’s proceeds from ‘No Frill Grill’ went to support the WAVY/Fox March of Dimes Team as well.

What a great night for a great cause. Well, for me at least!

Nicole was paired up with ME! I feel sorry for her!

Nicole is a waitress at ‘No Frill Grill’ and she was very patient with me! I tried my best to help, but I have a feeling I got in her way more than anything else. While I helped her run food and drinks from the kitchen, I stopped all along the way to meet and greet diners and give them my best ‘pitch’ to raise money for babies. To be honest it wasn’t so hard and this is why …

My wife Lisa 8 months along -- with TWINS!!!

This is picture of my wife Lisa, looking great and very pregnant! She’s probably going to kill me when she finds out I put this picture in my blog .. but .. oh well. We are expecting identical twins boys in the next month or so. It was a shock at first, especially because there are so many complications that can happen with a twin pregnancy. Well good thoughts worked and we have had no problems. But not everyone is so lucky. In fact, a huge percentage of twins births are premature, some of them VERY premature. I think it is relatively self-explanatory when I say the ‘Dining Out for Babies’ was a good fit.  So .. to really hit things home and lay on the guilt thick .. what did I do? Well of course, I printed out this picture and took it with me to each table at ‘No Frill Grill’.  “No pressure,” I told each person .. “But ……”

And it worked! Thank you to everyone who made this night such a huge success. I know a lot of people go out to eat and really don’t want to be bothered, but the folks I met were not only happy we were there .. they were also very generous! $1,400! Wow! Thank you, thank you!

Don't get in my way!

On my way to a new table! Clear the way, we’ve got people to meet and money to make!

Nicole Livas bossing me around!

Look at that load of cash Nicole has got in her hand. That was motivation. No way was she going to out-do me. So I went back to work!

Just accepted a $50 donation. Beat that Livas! I know that's right!

Many, many thanks again to everyone at ‘No Frill Grill’ for letting us come down and take part in the event. And a big thank you to Nicole who put up with me with a smile!

And don’t forget to join us at the March for Babies Oceanfront Walk on April 26th – click the link below to register.

Join Team WAVY TV & FOX 43

Thank again to everyone who came out to have some fun and raise some money for babies.

See ya around,

E.

It’s Prom season again, and that means many will be shopping for a Limousine.  Unfortunately, not all Limo companies are on the up and up.  Before signing on the dotted line, know what you are getting into. We’ve heard horror stories where the limo driver never shows up or if the limo gets there,  it looks like something out of a horror movie.  I certainly don’t want that to happen to you.  Take the time and do some investigating before committing to anything.

According to the Virginia Assocation of Limousines:  

Hi everyone….

Con-artists are in full swing promising the world, but will take your money without blinking an eye.

I have received several phone calls lately from viewers who have received a check in the mail with claims that they have won a foreign lottery.  The check is to be cashed to pay taxes on the award money.  If you deposit the check, which looks very legit, it will bounce, but not before you have wired the money to pay for the supposed taxes.  

Whatever you do, don’t cash that check!

Below is more information from the Virginia Office of Consumer Affairs.   

Cash from a Con Man
By Bob McDonnell

The latest scam hitting Virginia puts a new twist on the original foreign lottery scam, and has heads spinning in Southside.

Meet Cindy Dean in Danville. She’d previously been told she had “won the Spanish Lottery,” and didn’t fall for it. She’d also “won $1 million in the Canadian lottery,” and didn’t fall for it… at first. Then she called the number on the letter, and spoke to a live person. “They made it sound real legit,” she said.

After talking with a guy calling himself “Internal Revenue Officer Michael Garcia,” Cindy was still wary about a scam to (1) tell her she has to pay taxes on the prize first, (2) send her a bogus check, (3) she cashes it and mails back a cashier’s check, (4) the check bounces at the bank, (5) she’s left in debt, and (6) the con artist gets rich.

But this was different. Building trust with Cindy, the con man sent her a magazine with $100 bills taped on the inside pages – totaling $2,900. She took the 29 bills to Wal-Mart to make sure they weren’t fake, and everything checked out.

At that point, Cindy says, she should’ve just kept the money. “I could’ve really used that.”

Instead of taking the money, Cindy unfortunately took the bait. She sent the money back to a supposed tax department, and before it was all said and done, she sent them $23,000, borrowed from her boyfriend. Despite being initially wary and taking precautions, Cindy had been scammed. We’ve investigated her situation, and worked with authorities to help Cindy out.

Cindy says she wishes she could scream to all Virginians: “Look out! You cannot win the ‘Canadian Lottery’ whatsoever!”

No matter how good your “award notification” might look, take time to investigate. They are not legitimate, and foreign lotteries and sweepstakes are violations of federal law.

If you’ve been victimized by the “Canadian Lottery,” call PhoneBusters immediately at 888-495-8501. Then please notify our office by completing our contact formor calling our Consumer Hotline, 800-451-1525.

We take consumer protection seriously in our office, and have people who can help with prevention and victimization. In an age of increased scams by mail, phone and the Internet, Virginians must be educated and vigilant.

Congratulations to the Kings Fork boys and the Princess Anne girls for winning the Virginia State AAA basketball championships.

WAVY-TV was the only station from Hampton Roads in Richmond for the exciting games.  So stay tuned to WAVY.com and our newscasts for the best coverage.

I promised Norfolk School Board member Jim Driggers I would get the word out .. and so I am, in this blog.

As parents we all want nothing but the absolute best for our kids, but we’re not going to get it without putting our 2 cents in!! I was tipped off to a potentially deadly situation in a school zone crosswalk last week and began researching what was going on. After checking out the situation for myself, I realized the biggest issue here was lack of warning for drivers! The only thing telling drivers there was an official school zone crossing approaching was a sign like this one (see top right corner of pic below) and you couldn’t even see it until you were IN the crosswalk!!! This is just a block away from a public school with hundreds of kids crossing Hampton Blvd. twice a day!!

Just one day after seeing this for myself, I went to the people I thought had the biggest stake in the well being of our students, the School Board. Come to find out they had absolutely no idea the problem even existed! What’s more is City Council HAS been aware of the problem for quite some time and they are in the process of getting things done to correct it.  I think there is an assumption by many parents that the School Board is more aware than they are. As I mentioned in the first line of this entry, Norfolk School Board member Jim Driggers made me promise I would try to get the word out to parents that the School Board can’t do anything until they realize the issue exists. Board members are unpaid and are members for the sole purpose of making a difference. Although City Council and the School Board’s do work together, Driggers says it’s a mistake to assume the Board is made aware of all issues impacting students. The moral of the story Driggers says .. If you are a parent with a concern, you probably are not alone. Contact your School Board as a first line of defense and go from there. The Board often times can be just the springboard you need to get through the red tape of local government. In return for helping to get this message out, Driggers promised me he would present this issue to the Board ASAP. Parents band together, we can make a difference .. don’t just complain, complain to the right people and see what happens.

Anyone out there have any experience with this? Write back to me, I’d like to hear about it.

E.

In the past few months we have seen a lot of businesses close and layoff their employees around Hampton Roads. As we all know, tax season is right around the corner and a lot of people must be wondering if they are going to get their W-2 from that company that seemed to vanish overnight. If you’re one of those people, here are some important steps that you should take to get your taxes filed:

1. Attempt to contact your employer. If you do not hear from them by January 31st, send a certified letter to them and use that as proof that you tried to contact them.

2. Pull out your old pay stubs and try to gather as much information as possible. Do your best to reconcile your annual withholdings and income.

3. If you have old W-2’s pull those out and look for your employer’s ID number.

4. If you have not received a response from your certified letter by February 15th, call the IRS toll free at 1-800-829-1040. Make sure that you have all the important information with you when you call them. You will need your name, address, telephone number, social security number, dates of employment, name and address of your employer, as well as the business’ employee ID number. The IRS can attempt to get a W-2 for you and at that point can send you a Form 4852 which looks like this (IRSform4852).

5. If all of your attempts to contact your previous employer and obtain a W-2 were unsuccessful, then you can file your taxes with 4852 form.

6. Lastly file your taxes. And if you do end up receiving a W-2 after you have already filed your taxes, you can file an amended return using Form 1040X.

I hope this helps and if you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Jamie Shackelford

10 On Your Side Producer

jamie.shackelford@wavy.com

Hi everyone

I came across some information that might be useful and wanted to pass it along. On the Virginia Beach Consumer Affairs web page, they have a frequently asked questions page.  They are similar questions that we receive here at 10 On Your Side. We receive dozens of calls, letters and emails addressing all kinds of issues.  

I hope that you find the below information helpful.  Please feel free to contact me about this blog or any other story ideas.

Kelly Welsh

10 On Your Side

 kelly.welsh@wavy.com

Frequently Asked Questions
A friend told me I had 3 days to cancel a contract. Is that true?
Only in certain types of transactions such as home solicitation sales over $25, health spa contracts, and a few others does the consumer have the right to cancel a contract. That’s why it is so important to make sure you understand the contract and can afford the purchase before signing. Most of the calls we receive are from consumers who have signed a purchase agreement to buy a vehicle and later decide they can’t afford it or they find something they like better. In those cases, unless the dealer will voluntarily void the contract or there have been changes to the financial agreement, the consumer is obligated to the terms of the contract.

If I make a purchase at a retail store and decide I want to return the item, is the store required to give me a refund?
It all depends on the store policy. Just as consumers have the right to choose the store in which they shop, merchants have the right to choose their policies for refunds and exchanges. If their policy is anything other than a refund within 21 days, the store must post a sign in a readily readable area which informs the consumers of all conditions. If the policy is merchandise credit only or if no returns are allowed, that information must also be disclosed on a sign. Consumers must consider the policies prior to making the purchase.

I’m going to be buying a car in the near future. Do I have the same protection whether I buy a new or used car?
No. When purchasing a used vehicle, the only warranty protection you have is what the dealer gives you. If you buy it “as is”, any necessary repairs after the purchase is your responsibility. That is why it is so important to shop around to compare price and financing, have the vehicle inspected by a reputable mechanic prior to purchase, and to understand the warranty. New vehicles are protected by the manufacturer’s warranty and by the Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act, also known as the “lemon law”

What is the lemon law?
The lemon law provides relief if a new vehicle, within the first 18 months of ownership, has been subject to repair 3 or more times for the same defect, one or more times for a serious safety defect, or is out of service due to repair for a cumulative total of 30 days and the defect still exists. If any of those situations exist, the consumer must notify the manufacturer in writing, giving them an additional opportunity, not to exceed 15 days, to correct or repair the nonconformity. If the defect is still not corrected, the consumer has the right to arbitrate or file suit in court for a refund or replacement vehicle.

I called a repair shop and got a verbal estimate for repairs to my car. When I went to pick it up, the cost was higher than what I was quoted. How could I have prevented this unpleasant surprise?
Sometimes the mechanic cannot give an accurate estimate without doing some preliminary inspection. The only way to prevent those kinds of surprises is to request a written estimate. The Automobile Repair Facilities Act requires written estimates only when requested by a customer. When a written estimate is given, the bill cannot exceed more than 10% unless the customer has authorized additional work. The repair shop can charge for written estimates, but any fees or conditions must be disclosed prior to service.

I noticed on my repair bill that I was charged more for spark plugs than what I can buy them for in the auto parts store. Is that legal?
Yes. There are only a few instances (i.e. utilities) of price control. Prices vary in all types of sales and services, so it is important to comparison shop before making a purchase.

I am renting an apartment and the landlord has not corrected some discrepancies that have existed for some time. What can I do?
Depending on the type of discrepancies, you may be able to request an inspection by the Code Enforcement Division at (757) 385-4421, or if you have given written notice to the landlord and kept a copy, you may be able to put your rent money in an escrow account with General District Court.

When should I expect the return of my security deposit after I vacate?
The landlord has 45 days to refund a security deposit along with a list specifying any deductions, if applicable. Landlord/tenant issues comprise a majority of the calls we receive. Many of the problems could be prevented or resolved if landlords and tenants knew their rights and responsibilities. The Landlord/Tenant Handbook can be downloaded at Virginia DHCD (Department of Housing and Community Development) forms and publications webpage.

I own a business in Virginia Beach and want to have a going out of business sale. What do I need to do?

You should call the Virginia Beach Consumer Affairs Program at (757) 385-5836. State and City Codes require that anyone who advertises or conducts a sale for the purpose of discontinuing a retail business have a valid permit issued by the Consumer Affairs Program. Applications for a permit must be accompanied by an inventory and a fee. Violations of the codes are punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.

If you have additional questions or would like information on other consumer issues, call the Virginia Beach Consumer Affairs Program at (757) 385-5836 or use the information request form.

I promised the readers a while back that I would post pictures of some events that we’ve covered where I’ve been able to snap a few pictures and now have a blog to share them on. While they are long overdue, I didn’t want you to think that I had forgotten.

Last year when the Queen of England graced us with her presence in our neighboring Williamsburg, we were there sloshing around in the wet fields of historic Williamsburg. We waited most of the day to see the Queen (and her trademark hats) make her way through the area. Here are some pictures that I was able to snap during her quick ride down our street:

The Queen of England!

 

Local officers waiting to protect

Also, we continue to follow the Michael Vick case closely and travel all over to cover the cases. Here’s some pictures from one of his trial dates in Richmond.

Vick arriving at the Federal Courthouse in Richmond

Protestors

Vick press conference @ Richmond Hotel

As you can see, our work takes us to many different places and we get to see a lot of “cool stuff.” I promise to keep you posted whenever I attend my next “big event”!

Until next time, 

Jamie Shackelford

10 On Your Side Producer