Customer Service

In these troubled economic times, it's not hard to understand why people might want to protect their life savings by purchasing a hard asset like gold or silver. At least, that's the pitch of Monex, the big Newport Beach investment firm, which bills itself as "America's trusted name in precious metals investments" and assures clients that it's "committed to customer service. " So let's take a look at the experiences of some customers who say their trust in Monex was misplaced.

Satellite TV provider Dish Network says it's thinking only of customers as it offers $25.5 billion to buy Sprint Nextel, the third-biggest U.S. wireless company. "A transformative Dish/Sprint merger will create the only company that can offer customers a convenient, fully integrated, nationwide bundle of in- and out-of-home video, broadband and voice services," said Charles W. Ergen, Dish's chairman. "This unique, combined company will have a leadership position in video, data and voice, and the necessary broadband spectrum to provide customers with rich content everywhere, all the time," he said.

Auto leasing deals abound these days, with offers that often seem too good to be true. How about a well-equipped Honda Accord for $250 a month with no down payment or any other drive-off fees? Or better yet, $199 a month for a Chevrolet Malibu? So, what's the catch? There isn't any if you know what you're getting into. There are always details. You need top-tier credit to qualify. You pay a penalty if you turn that Honda in with more than 36,000 miles. And the payment is not $250 a month because of that little matter of tax. It is more like $275, depending on where you live.

When the U.S. Postal Service announced in February that it would end Saturday mail delivery this summer, most Americans reacted with a mixture of wistfulness and resignation. Yes, it was sad that the mail carrier wouldn't be dropping off letters on Saturday anymore, but scaling back to five days was a necessary concession to the agency's financial problems and a reflection of changes in communication wrought by the Internet. But not everyone saw it that way: The unions representing postal employees and their champions on Capitol Hill were especially determined to block the change, and a continuing resolution passed by Congress last month prohibited the USPS from curtailing service.

In a push to simplify mortgage modifications, federal regulators announced a streamlined process that doesn't require borrowers to prove a hardship. "This new option gives delinquent borrowers another path to avoid foreclosure," Edward J. DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said in a statement announcing the modifications Wednesday. The new modifications, however, would not include reducing the loan balance, a move promoted by housing advocates and others but resisted by DeMarco, who says it would end up costing taxpayers money and would encourage defaults.

Americans spend billions on hair-care products each year, a remarkable investment for a part of the body with no real function. We clean it, nourish it and style it -- and we definitely mourn its loss. Lots of products and procedures promise to restore thinning or disappearing hair. One especially intriguing option is the HairMax LaserComb, a hand-held laser device that supposedly revives hair follicles.

When it comes to choosing broadband Internet providers, you can't always get what you want. But with certain limitations, you can get what you need. If you use the Internet regularly, chances are you already have broadband -- that is, a high-speed hookup, usually through your cable television provider or phone company. But are you getting it at the right speed and right price? There are more choices than ever, even though you typically have to go with a provider that serves your neighborhood.

Bank of America Corp., which handles customer service on about 15% of U.S. home loans, has accounted for 30% of the mortgage complaints logged by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a new database made public by the federal watchdog. The level of customer discontent - far greater than at home-lending rivals Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. - reflects BofA's struggles since its 2008 acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corp. in Calabasas. Countrywide had become the No. 1 mortgage firm by specializing in subprime and other high-risk loans.

In a global search for low-cost customer service, AOL considered call centers in India and other popular locations -- then settled on the tiny island of St. Lucia. In choosing the Caribbean island, AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc., joined other U.S. companies that have made the region a new global hub for call centers.

At least eight big providers of mortgage customer service have failed to properly track and resolve serious complaints about servicing fraud, according to an audit of Freddie Mac, the home finance giant that has been propped up by the government since the financial crisis. Freddie Mac needs to enhance its oversight of the servicers by testing their performance and establishing fines for noncompliance, the audit says. The Los Angeles Times was provided with an embargoed copy of the audit report, to be released Thursday.

At least eight big providers of mortgage customer service have failed to properly track and resolve serious complaints about servicing fraud, according to an audit of Freddie Mac, the home finance giant that has been propped up by the government since the financial crisis. Freddie Mac needs to enhance its oversight of the servicers by testing their performance and establishing fines for noncompliance, the audit says. The Los Angeles Times was provided with an embargoed copy of the audit report, to be released Thursday.

Butterfly Bakery Inc. notes on its website that all of its goodies are "made with 100% love. " Federal regulators say that recipe also includes plenty of sugar - even in food advertised as "sugar-free. " U.S. District Court Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh approved a consent decree of permanent injunction against the Clifton, N.J., business this month, shutting down its operations until the bakery complies with U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling requirements. FDA and state officials tested muffins and snack cakes from Butterfly over several years and found that many were misbranded, the FDA said this week.

Drivers gave the service departments of Lexus and GMC the highest ratings in the latest J.D. Power & Associates survey on customer service. The results, released Wednesday,  mark GMC's first time at the top of the rankings, Chris Sutton, senior director of automotive retail for J.D. Power, said in an interview. The rankings are based on a survey late last year of more than 91,000 people who owned or leased 2008 to 2012 model-year vehicles Five measures were examined to determine overall satisfaction with dealer service.

When it comes to customer service, the fast-food industry is bookended by two chicken chains, according to a recent survey topped by Chick-fil-A. KFC was at the bottom of a list compiled by consulting firm Temkin Group, which asked diners how they felt about 18 major quick-service chains. The industry as a whole saw its average rating increase to 76.3% this year from 74% last year. Chick-fil-A, an Atlanta company that ran into controversy this summer over the gay marriage debate, landed an 82% score that helped it place first for the second straight year.

Tumblr, Pinterest and Twitter have become the latest in a long list of companies to be hacked. And this time, some user information appears to have been compromised. The three companies announced that some users' email addresses may have been exposed by a hacker who was able to access them by hacking the computer system for a third-party customer service company, Zendesk. The company provides customer service software for the three social networks and thousands of other companies.

A decade ago, Gardena Police Capt. Tom Monson was surprised to discover that a $5,190 check had been mailed to his station from the Honorary Consulate of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Monson was unable to figure out what business the small police agency had with the government of Cambodia. Shortly afterward, Monson was presented with another vexing puzzle. His police department had recently purchased 173 bulletproof vests from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department - a lot, considering that the department had fewer than 100 officers.

Lineman Ernie Lopez has been rousted out of bed on countless cold, rainy nights. He's climbed 100-foot utility poles in heavy winds and grabbed live electrical lines with nothing but a pair of rubber gloves to protect him. But the hardest thing Lopez has done in 20 years at Southern California Edison is walk away from a darkened apartment building while residents pleaded for their heat. It happened in late January.

Los Angeles area residents intending to go to the post office today may be in for a surprise as postal officials, seeking to cut $160 million from this year's operating budget, have closed down 21 offices on Saturdays and shortened weekday hours at more than 110 others. Mail delivery will still continue on Saturdays. However, there will no longer be Sunday pickup or processing, adding a one-day delay to mail delivery during the week.

Passenger safety on cruise safety Regarding "Shipshape?" by Mary Forgione, Jan. 27: Having spent 20 years in the Navy and witnessing multiple fires, collisions and floods with trained crews barely keeping it together, I cannot imagine getting on a ship with 4,000 untrained passengers and expecting a positive outcome in a disaster. The fact that more people didn't die on the Costa Concordia was sheer luck. Mike Benbrook El Cajon   Let's hear it for the good guys!

The gig: Since being named president of Evite in 2009, Hans Woolley has been in charge of modernizing the pioneer of online social planning. The West Hollywood firm, owned by Liberty Media, has about 16 million to 18 million unique users a month who create, send and manage email invitations. But by the time Woolley was named to the top post, the then-11-year-old company had fallen behind new rivals such as Facebook Events. Last month, Evite launched Postmark, a line of high-end, customizable e-cards -- the company's first new offering since its founding in 1998.