July 2008
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WEB COUPONS
In How to Slash Your Grocery Bills (May 2008), you suggest clipping coupons, and there is a reference to Web sites. From my experience, many supermarkets will
not accept Internet coupons. This is because of fraud. I have written to Web sites about this, and they sent me to customer
service about changing policy, to no avail.
John Reilly
Dobbs Ferry, NY
We suggest you go to the Help or FAQ sections on the coupon Web sites, where you'll learn whether you need a coupon printer "plug-in" to reproduce printable coupons stores will accept.
PRICEY TIRES
In the June 2008 Up Front article Consider a Snappier Prius, I see no mention of the fact that the 16-inch tires for the Touring model are performance tires and thus more expensive to replace than the base version 15-inch tires. I realize buying tires isn't a frequent expense, but CR should note models that require performance tires when reviewing automobiles so consumers can know more about the real cost of owning a particular vehicle.
Monica Norem
Houston, TX
Performance tires (H- and V-speed-rated tires) are becoming the norm on new cars. The higher price for a performance tire buys the consumer a tire with better handling, braking, and cornering grip. We show the tire size and model that came with our tested cars in the specifications section of our full automobile reviews.
CHILLY RECEPTION
Have You Heard? (January 2008) discusses converter-box coupons. I purchased two boxes at Wal-Mart using my coupons. The boxes didn't work, so I returned them. Wal-Mart can't give me back the $80 value of the coupons, and the government won’t reissue them. No coupons, no converter boxes, and as of Feb. 17, 2009, no TV reception.
Frances Blackwell
Mill Valley, CA
Many consumers are having problems, such as coupons not being honored on major retailers' Web sites or the box not working correctly with the user's antenna. After we contacted Wal-Mart, it agreed to send replacement boxes and will help to hook them up properly. Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, has been urging the government, manufacturers, and retailers to address these issues in time for the transition.
SOFT TOUCH
In the Top Detergents article (Up Front, May 2008), for top-loading machines you give Tide 2X Ultra Concentrated with a Touch of Downy a top Rating (available to subscribers). However, more and more fabric-care labels warn not to use fabric softener because it destroys special stain-repellent coatings on the fabrics.
Dorothy Weeks
Waynseboro, VA
Some labels warn not to use fabric softeners because they degrade properties of the fabric, such as absorbency. In addition, care labels on children's sleepwear state that you should not use fabric softener because it interferes with flame retardancy.
INSURED INSURANCE
You say in your May article Savings: Where to Stash Your Cash Now that the FDIC insures up to $100,000 per bank account. This is only partially right. You and your spouse can open a revocable trust account with your children as the beneficiaries upon your death. Example: John and Jane Doe open a joint account making their three children equal beneficiaries. This account would be insured up to $600,000. Go to www.fdic.gov and click on "Your Insured Deposits" to find out how to legally deposit more than $100,000 and still be insured.
John McCaffrey
Plainview, NY
LIGHT SPEED
There are two disadvantages to compact fluorescent lights that you didn’t mention in the May 2008 Up Front. One is the approximately 3-minute warm-up that most of the bulbs experience before coming to full brightness. The other is their tendency not to ignite in the cold. I have had some that won’t ignite if the temperature is below 15° F, although if I first warmed them up indoors they then operated perfectly.
Leon Kaplan
Yorktown Heights, NY
In our last full report (Lighting, October 2007) we found that warm-up times varied depending on the type of bulb. Energy Star-certified general-purpose 60-watt equivalents took up to 36 seconds, compared with less than 1 second for a traditional incandescent. As for CFLs in the cold, all the outdoor bulbs we tested worked fine in subfreezing temperatures. They still have some limitations, and some bulbs are not meant to be used in outdoor fixtures. Read the package before you buy one for that use.
In your letter to the editor, include your hometown and a daytime phone number so that we can contact you should we decide to print it. Send it to Consumer Reports, 101 Truman Ave., Yonkers, NY 10703, or at www.ConsumerReports.org/lettertoeditor.
John Reilly
Dobbs Ferry, NY
We suggest you go to the Help or FAQ sections on the coupon Web sites, where you'll learn whether you need a coupon printer "plug-in" to reproduce printable coupons stores will accept.
PRICEY TIRES
In the June 2008 Up Front article Consider a Snappier Prius, I see no mention of the fact that the 16-inch tires for the Touring model are performance tires and thus more expensive to replace than the base version 15-inch tires. I realize buying tires isn't a frequent expense, but CR should note models that require performance tires when reviewing automobiles so consumers can know more about the real cost of owning a particular vehicle.
Monica Norem
Houston, TX
Performance tires (H- and V-speed-rated tires) are becoming the norm on new cars. The higher price for a performance tire buys the consumer a tire with better handling, braking, and cornering grip. We show the tire size and model that came with our tested cars in the specifications section of our full automobile reviews.
CHILLY RECEPTION
Have You Heard? (January 2008) discusses converter-box coupons. I purchased two boxes at Wal-Mart using my coupons. The boxes didn't work, so I returned them. Wal-Mart can't give me back the $80 value of the coupons, and the government won’t reissue them. No coupons, no converter boxes, and as of Feb. 17, 2009, no TV reception.
Frances Blackwell
Mill Valley, CA
Many consumers are having problems, such as coupons not being honored on major retailers' Web sites or the box not working correctly with the user's antenna. After we contacted Wal-Mart, it agreed to send replacement boxes and will help to hook them up properly. Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, has been urging the government, manufacturers, and retailers to address these issues in time for the transition.
SOFT TOUCH
In the Top Detergents article (Up Front, May 2008), for top-loading machines you give Tide 2X Ultra Concentrated with a Touch of Downy a top Rating (available to subscribers). However, more and more fabric-care labels warn not to use fabric softener because it destroys special stain-repellent coatings on the fabrics.
Dorothy Weeks
Waynseboro, VA
Some labels warn not to use fabric softeners because they degrade properties of the fabric, such as absorbency. In addition, care labels on children's sleepwear state that you should not use fabric softener because it interferes with flame retardancy.
INSURED INSURANCE
You say in your May article Savings: Where to Stash Your Cash Now that the FDIC insures up to $100,000 per bank account. This is only partially right. You and your spouse can open a revocable trust account with your children as the beneficiaries upon your death. Example: John and Jane Doe open a joint account making their three children equal beneficiaries. This account would be insured up to $600,000. Go to www.fdic.gov and click on "Your Insured Deposits" to find out how to legally deposit more than $100,000 and still be insured.
John McCaffrey
Plainview, NY
LIGHT SPEED
There are two disadvantages to compact fluorescent lights that you didn’t mention in the May 2008 Up Front. One is the approximately 3-minute warm-up that most of the bulbs experience before coming to full brightness. The other is their tendency not to ignite in the cold. I have had some that won’t ignite if the temperature is below 15° F, although if I first warmed them up indoors they then operated perfectly.
Leon Kaplan
Yorktown Heights, NY
In our last full report (Lighting, October 2007) we found that warm-up times varied depending on the type of bulb. Energy Star-certified general-purpose 60-watt equivalents took up to 36 seconds, compared with less than 1 second for a traditional incandescent. As for CFLs in the cold, all the outdoor bulbs we tested worked fine in subfreezing temperatures. They still have some limitations, and some bulbs are not meant to be used in outdoor fixtures. Read the package before you buy one for that use.
In your letter to the editor, include your hometown and a daytime phone number so that we can contact you should we decide to print it. Send it to Consumer Reports, 101 Truman Ave., Yonkers, NY 10703, or at www.ConsumerReports.org/lettertoeditor.
