Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Saving

With budgets stretched thin, several says are considering letting inmates out of prison early to save money. Although they might be more apt to commit new crimes, politicians are saying the cost of those crimes is far less than the cost to keep the prisoners locked up.

One argument in favor of letting prisoners out early recommends that those in prison for things like “minor drug offenses” aren’t a danger to society and should not have been locked up in the first place. That’s a nice thing to say, but where’s the proof that there are people in prison “only” for “minor” drug offenses?

Where I come from, you have to commit an awful lot of crimes to actually end up in prison. And that minor drug offense? The only way it’s going to get you into prison here is if you’ve already got a double digit rap sheet. As a former probation officer, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen judges try everything they could to avoid sentencing a criminal to prison.

Let’s not forget that prisons exist for two primary reasons: To punish offenders and to protect society. If it’s getting too expensive to house prisoners, then maybe we need to look at ways to reduce the costs with lower cost meals and control of spending on extras for the inmates. And maybe we have the ability to put the prisoners to work doing things that’ll earn some money for the prison system to help pay their own way.

No one likes to admit it, but prisons are a necessary reality for our society. We have violent offenders who don’t deserve to be living in society with the rest of us. We have non-violent offenders who also need to be sent a message that their behavior is not tolerated in a civilized society. Crime deterrence and our safety should come first, and governments should look for other cost-saving measures before they begin opening the prison doors. Freeing inmates early should be the absolute last resort.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Bookkeeping, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

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Filed under: Cards, Ripoffs and Scams

Consumers have rights when it comes to fraudulent credit card charges or charges for products and services that aren’t what they paid for. The key to successfully challenging a charge is in knowing what to say and who to tell. That sounds elementary, right? Except Consumer Reports is saying that many consumers don’t know their rights or how to enforce them.

Small dollar amounts are easy to dispute and resolve, as it’s estimated that it costs a credit card company $25 for each charge it must investigate. This means they’re prone to give refunds for small amounts without much work. It would cost more to investigate than to just give you your money. The credit card company also has to weigh the danger that you will close your account if your matter isn’t resolved. They lose money when you do that.

Here are a few key points about your credit card: Report suspicions of credit card immediately to stop the harm. Most billing problems need to be disputed in writing, and many credit card companies don’t recognize e-mail as “in writing.” The credit card company must receive your letter within 60 days from the statement date, so don’t wait. Include with your letter all duplicates of supporting documentation to help prove your claim.
Some of the most common billing disputes include: Unauthorized charges, which can often spring up because of an automatic charge that you’ve attempted to cancel, such as internet service. Failure to credit your account for returned items is general, so make sure you hang onto your receipt to prove the return. Issues with the quality of merchandise are harder to dispute, because once you’ve “accepted” the goods, many credit card companies won’t give you a refund for low quality items.

A retail client of mine never successfully defended a claim by a credit card holder, even with all documentation intact. This recommends to me that consumers might have the upper hand in credit card disputes, so it pays to take the time to dispute bad charges and get your money back.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Bookkeeping, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

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