Read this and become a member of Watchdog Nation, a consumer rights movement

People ask how they can join my Watchdog Nation consumer rights movement.

I explain it’s not actually a club with membership dues (although there are membership cards). It’s a state of mind.

To join all you need to do is read my twice-a-week Watchdog column and subscribe to five basic principles that can help you live a scam-free life.

My New Year’s gift for you in 2022 is a refresher course right here. I developed these principles based on my own life experiences (read that as failures) and those of my readers. These ideas are common sense, simple and free. I can’t help everyone who seeks the Watchdog’s help, so my goal is to prevent you from having to ask me. Here’s how:

1. Check it out.

Check it out is the single most important advice. If you do your homework before you sign a contract, hire someone or buy something, you dramatically decrease the chance you’ll find yourself in trouble.

Always remember to take advantage of the greatest research tool ever: the internet search box. Check the reputation of a company or person and look for any obvious problems.

In the search box, type the person’s name, the company’s name or the product you are considering, along with the word scam and then try rip-off, complaints and reviews. An angry customer can alert you to problems.

If you find only a few negative comments, they may be outliers. But if there are dozens, you found what you needed to know. If you don’t have a computer, smartphone or internet connection, you can ask your local reference librarian for search help.

2. Hold customer service people accountable.

When you have a problem with a company, don’t speak to nameless people in customer service on the other side of the world. They know who you are, so find out about them. Turn a blank piece of paper for note taking into a power sheet.

Record the name, employee ID number and location of the person on the phone. Jot down the date and time, too.

After getting this information, say: “Before I tell you my problem, I know you are recording me: I want to let you know this call is automatically recorded on my end, too, for customer quality control.”

You might add, “This will help me when I send a letter of praise to your bosses after you solve my problem.”

You don’t even have to record the call (it’s legal in Texas). Just the idea that they think you are is often good enough to motivate them to step up and actually help you.

3. Find the company’s point of vulnerability.

If you have a problem not easily solved, use the search engine to learn how others are dealing with the same problem. You are not alone. Someone else may have already found and posted a solution that the company doesn’t want you to know. It’s the company’s kryptonite.

Usually, it’s one of four possibilities:

An existing class action lawsuit.

An attorney general of one of the 50 states is already investigating.

A regulatory agency is looking into the problem.

A newspaper reporter (like me) or a TV reporter has already covered the problem.

Call the company and ask for the supervisor. Share with the supervisor the details of your power sheet (whom you previously spoke to, and what they didn’t do).

Tell the supervisor you are recording the call because if he or she can’t resolve the problem, you will take it to the regulator, the attorney general, the lawyers or the reporter. In other words, serve up the company’s point of vulnerability.

Supervisors can make problems disappear. You give them the reason.

4. Ask a bunch of questions.

My hypothesis is that Americans are usually two questions shy of getting information we need. Sometimes out of embarrassment we stop asking questions too soon. We might not admit that we don’t understand the jargon, or we don’t want to seem pushy.

Ask two more questions and find out what the salesperson isn’t telling you. Penetrate the wall of secrets, the fine print details, the good, the bad and the ugly.

5. Find their pressure point and squeeze.

The Watchdog doesn’t believe that anyone should complain to a company with more than three phone calls or one mailed letter (emails get lost). Your first two calls can go to customer service. Then comes the supervisor. If that fails, move on to the pressure point.

Nearly everyone we deal with today, aside from out-and-out criminals, has to answer to somebody. Businesses are audited, licensed, regulated, inspected, certified, registered or approved by some state or federal agency.

In the pre-internet days, you needed to know your way around a law library to figure out who regulated what. Now all you have to do is ask a search engine.

Example: Let’s pretend a home warranty company won’t fix something it’s supposed to fix. A search shows that in Texas, these companies are regulated by the Texas Real Estate Commission. Every two years the commi
ssion is supposed to audit the financial records of each company and then renew its license.

The commission also takes complaints.

Some companies are good at ignoring customers. Getting rid of a government overseer is not so easy.

That’s my Happy New Year message to you for a safe, scam-free 2022. I’m sure you do some of these, but have you used all five?

Oh, and if you’re not already a member, welcome to Watchdog Nation.

SIDEBAR

More Watchdog tips

Call your cable TV company, satellite radio, electricity company and others to see if there are new plans with big discounts. Mention that their competition offers lower prices. Sometimes you should threaten to cancel to get the best price.

Ask a credit card company to lower your interest rate.

Don’t forget to use your cellphone camera as a backup to take photos and videos of your car accident or any incident where you might need a record for future evidence.

If someone pressures you that a “deal” ends that day, walk away.

Get your free credit report at annualcreditreport.com. If there’s a problem, read the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and learn your rights.

Always investigate financial advisers before signing on. State and federal websites allow you to check licensing and disciplinary actions.

Beware of fake news sites created to fool you.

Adult children should protect the elderly who are most vulnerable to scammers.

Young people are easy targets now, too, thanks to bitcoin scams.

Door-to-door salespeople? That’s a ruined occupation. I like to seek you out. If you come to me on your own, I don’t trust you.

You think something is truly free? Read the terms and conditions and make sure you’re not signing on to a repeating monthly bill if you forget to cancel.

Autopay? Avoid it whenever you can, especially with electric companies.

Words of warning: deep discount, pennies on the dollar, promotional gift, prize money, complimentary gift and the scariest four-letter word – free.

Oh, and you didn’t win that foreign lottery or any prize that asks you to send your own money to them.

Become a citizen of Watchdog Nation.

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The Dallas Morning News Watchdog column is the 2019 winner of the top prize for column writing from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. The contest judge called his winning entries “models of suspenseful storytelling and public service.”

Read his winning columns:

* Helping the widow of Officer J.D. Tippit, the Dallas police officer killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, get buried beside her late husband

* Helping a waitress who was harmed by an unscrupulous used car dealer