NewsChannel5 Troubleshooter Joe Pagonakis' blog, "Joe Talkin' Trouble," will focus on the problems that the Troubleshooter unit is tackling. Joe will provide updates on Troubleshooter investigations. Read his latest entry here.

June 11, 2008

A bill designed to protect consumers from unscrupulous home improvement businesses is one step closer to becoming Ohio law. The Senate passed Bill 275. Senator Bob Spada, a Republican from North Royalton, sponsored the legislation after a series of Troubleshooter Reports highlighted building contractor problems. Violations of this bill can be considered a violation of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act. You can read Bill 275 by checking out the Ohio legislative website at www.legislature.state.oh.us/bill.

May 15, 2008

Hi Bloggers,

I hope my story on how to avoid wedding photo woes was informative. Here are the tips I told you about in my story, if you missed them. These are the things I believe you should to do to insure your wedding photography experience is a good one.

Before signing a wedding photography contract, ask the photographer how many years they have been in business, the more years the better. Ask the photographer if they have business insurance and ask if you can see the current insurance policy. Ask them if they have a vendors license and if they are registered with the state of Ohio. Ask them if they have back-up personel and back-up equipment, just in case there is an emergency. Make sure a back-up or emergency clause is in the contract. It's never a good idea to pay all the money for photography "up front", try to give only half the total amount as a down payment. Make sure you have the photographers current business, and home addresses, as well as all phone numbers before you sign the contract.

You should, of course ask for and check references. Take a good look at a sample of the photographers work and check their Better Business Bureau record. Keep in mind, if you have paid for a photography job and you have received nothing in return, most prosecutors consider "that theft by deception". You should file a police report and send a copy of the report to the photographer to let them know that they are "under investigation."

For more information and tips, log onto the Professional Photographers of America web site at www.ppa.com. Here's to a great and memorable wedding season!

April 30, 2008 Hi Bloggers.

I'm starting today with some quick information about what you can do if your car is damaged by a pothole and you believe the city (where the street is located) is responsible. First of all, you have to prove the city or county was negligent and knew about the "chuckhole" before you hit the crater. Or, that the goverment agency responsible for the hole was slow in getting it filled.

Second, file a police report on the damage incident the day it happened. This will officially document the event. Take a picture of the hole with a camera or your cell phone and report the hole. Most cities and counties will make you fill out a damage claim form. Call or take a trip to city hall and fill out the claim form as soon as possible.

Ask the people handling your claim how they want you to obtain a damage estimate for your car. If you let them choose the repair shop or place that is doing the damage estimate, they will more likely believe that your damage estimate is fair, and verify that the damage didn't exsist before you hit the pothole.

Usually, a citu's law director will decide whether to pay on your claim. The law director should check to see if there were any other complaints on your chuckhole, if there were, then according to state law the city did not respond in a timely fashion and they should pay for your damages.

You can also make a request for copies of all pothole claims filed with the city over the past 2 months and see if your chuckhole was reported previously. If it was reported on earlier, then you have a case.

Finally, keep in mind state law gives cities a lot of room in these cases and many times you can expect to be turned down. So keep your eyes on the road, and slow down. It's still "driver beware".

March 20, 2008 The doors of a well known weight center closed, leaving dozens of clients searching for a new weight loss support club. Several women have contacted NewsChannel 5 to tell us about LA/Pure Weight Loss Centers shutting its doors. My team has tried calling and writing the Pennsylvania company with no success. Clients of LA/Pure Weight Loss can have their contracts honored by Physicians Weight Loss. The eighteen locations mentioned below will accept consumers until May 31, 2008. Interested consumers can receive support and counseling but products used on the program must be purchased. The participating Physician Weight Loss Centers include: Parma Heights, Strongsville, Beachwood, Canton, Avon, Fairview Park, Lakewood, Streetsboro, Willoughby, Mentor, Independence, Medina, Wooster, Solon, Wadsworth, Cuyahoga Falls and Amherst.

March 11, 2008 A popular Northeastern Ohio hair and beauty salon closed leaving customers with standing appointments. Several of those customers called NewsChannel 5 about Maxelle's Salon. The shop was on west Ridgewood Drive in Parma. Clients who had gift cards with the store lodged complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Ohio Attorney General. There are indications the store's owners may be having financial difficulties.

If you are a customer of Maxelle's with a gift card, another salon is accepting the certificates with certain restrictions. The name of the salon is Lynda's Salon and More. It's located at 12505 Pearl Road. Strongsville. The phone number is 440-238-8440. Erica's Hair Styling is also accepting Maxelle's gift certificates with restrictions. That salon is located in Parma at 5855 Ridge Road. The number is 440-842-5586. There is a salon that is accepting full value of the cards on just one visit. That shop is Always In Style. 7456 Ridge Road in Parma. The number is 440-884-2772.

Feb. 15, 2008

On average we receive 100 complaints per day, whether it be e-mails, phone calls, or letters. But I must say, when it comes to complaints about contractors, 90% of the time the trouble starts when consumers give far too much money upfront, or they agree to a payment schedule that isn't correct with the amount of work that is completed.

Keep in mind if a contractor wants too much money up front, that should be a "red flag" for potential problems. Remember, you should only give enough money upfront to cover the cost of the materials that will be used for the job. Generally you should only pay upfront costs for materials that will be delivered to your home. It's also a good idea to check the value of those materials, so you can verify their cost before you give that down payment for a job.

In some cases your only "insurance policy" when dealing with a contractor is the money you owe them. If you give them too much money upfront, incentive to complete the job properly will drop and then you'll be forced to hire an attorney or call me. I know this seems like common sense, but based on the complaints the Troubleshooter Unit receives everyday, perhaps this advice is not so common.

Jan. 16 2008

Hello Bloggers! It's NewsChannel5's Troubleshooter Joe Pagonakis. Welcome to my newly started NewsChannel5 Troubleshooter blog titled: Joe's Talkin' Trouble. It will be posted right here on Newsnet5.

I will give you a play-by-play behind the scene's look at what goes on here at the NewsChannel5 Troubleshooter unit. My Blog will also take your comments on some of the stories and problems we have solved.

Keep in mind though, if you have a case you want us to work on, please fill out my official complaint form right here on Newsnet 5.

Okay, It's Wednesday, January 16, 2008, and today I drove down to the Statehouse in Columbus to cover the introduction of a new contractor law that will make it harder for contractors to take a consumers money and not get the job done. The measure is titled Senate Bill 275, and if passed would require contractors to have a written contract between themselves and their customers.

It would mean "handshake deals" would be in violation of the Consumer Sales Practices Act. That means, having no contract would be against Ohio law and would allow the Ohio Attorney General to prosecute contractor who don't offer written contract protection for consumers.

Yes, I know that the vast majority of contractors are honest and fair. But State Senator Bob Spada believes requiring contracts would give consumers better legal recourse if they are hung out to dry.

What do you think? I'll keep you posted on the progress of Senate Bill 275, which is expected to go into hearing in May. You can bet NewsChannel5 will be there.