Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

Movie theaters and studios have increasingly turned to techno wizardry innovations to lure viewers into the theater by offering them the one thing they can't recreate in their living room, even with a high-def flat-screen TV.

Blame the 3D goggles.

Average movie theater ticket prices hit an all-time not adjusted for inflation high of $7.96, reports the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO).

That number is essentially the sum of all ticket revenue divided by all tickets sold among the chains surveyed, NATO spokesperson Patrick Corcoran said. It includes lower cost admissions, like discounted tickets for matinee, children, and seniors, as well as bulk rates like the 10-packs of movie tickets for $72, or $7.20 a ticket, recently sold by Costco. At the higher end, the average also includes figures like one adult ticket to "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - An IMAX 3D Experience" at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 in Manhattan selling for $21.

Combating market intrusion by Netflix, streaming video on demand, BitTorrent, and other home-viewing options, movie theaters and studios have increasingly turned to techno-wizardry innovations to lure consumers once again into darkened cinemas by offering them the one thing they can't recreate in their living room, even with a high-def flat-screen TV.

"It's not so much a rise in prices as it reflects how people are going to see the  movies," said Corcoran. "More adults are going to the movies... there's more 3D and IMAX in the marketplace and they charge more."

The release of films like "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," "Skyfall" and "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2" helped pump up prices in 2012. All were available in IMAX, while Twilight and Hobbit were also available in 3D and IMAX 3D. "The Hobbit" was also shown in some theaters in a "High Frame Rate" format, shot at 48 frames per second instead of the usual 24. Tickets for these special formats usually carry an average $3 markup.

The $7.96 average ticket price is up three cents from 2011 and the .4 percent growth rate is the 18th year of annual increases. However, the ticket price only just recently edged over into "all-time high" status. The bulk of the increases came in 2008, 2009, and 2010 at 4.4 percent, 4.5 percent and 5.2 percent respectively. In those years it became more common to offer 3D and IMAX versions of films.

But the trend has jumped the 3D shark. In May 2013, moviegoers will be treated to a 3D version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary classic, "The Great Gatsby." The  film will no doubt feature 3D polo balls hurtling at viewer's faces, 3D flapper kicks, and 3D green lights beckoning from beyond the edge of a 3D dock.

In Fitzgerald's novel, the green light was a symbol of the alluring and unattainable American dream. For theaters and studios, the dream of turning back the trend of home-viewing over going to the nickelodeon will remain similarly out of grasp.

If you believe the ads, good drivers get the best insurance rates. But a new study shows auto insurers frequently charge good drivers higher premiums than those who recently caused an accident. And it appears from this research that the safe drivers who pay more are often lower income.

How could this happen?

The Consumer Federation of America (CFA), which conducted the study, says this reflects a common practice in the insurance industry of using factors such as education and occupation to rate risk.

A CFA survey in 2012 found that two-thirds of American believed considering these factors, rather than driving history was unfair.

Stephen Brobeck, CFA’s executive director, calls this a “discriminatory practice” that raises the rates for low-and moderate-income drivers.

The industry rejects any notion that it discriminates in any way.

“The policies we offer are fair in every way,” said Michael Barry, vice president of media relations at the Insurance Information Institute.

How CFA surveyed the marketplace
The CFA priced policies for two hypothetical customers: a high school receptionist and an executive. Both women were 30-years old, had driven for 10 years, lived on the same street in the same middle-income ZIP code.

But there were important differences.

The receptionist is single and rents an apartment. She has never had an accident or moving violation, but she was without insurance coverage for 45 days.

The executive is a married homeowner with a master's degree. Her auto insurance has never lapsed. But, she had an at-fault accident with $800 of damage within the past three years.

CFA researchers visited the websites of the five largest U.S. auto insurers – State Farm, Allstate, GEICO, Farmers and Progressive – looking for the minimum liability coverage required by that state. This was done for both women in 12 cities.

The results: Two-thirds of the 60 quotes were lower for the executive (who had an accident) than for the receptionist (who had none), often by 25 percent or more.

The Insurance Information Institute questions whether the test was fair because the receptionist had a break in insurance coverage and that could be seen as a risk factor.  The Consumer Federation of America says the receptionist didn’t have a car for 45 days and therefore didn’t need insurance. Does that make her a riskier drive, they ask?

Why is this happening?
Insurance companies consider a variety of factors to determine the risk you pose and the price they should charge when you apply for an auto policy. Everyone agrees your age, sex, type of vehicle and driving history can help predict the likelihood that you will have an accident.

But should insurance underwriters consider your education, occupation or in some cases, your credit score? What do these socio-economic factors have to do with your ability to be a safe driver?

“These factors have been found to be actuarially sound ways to assess risk,” said Michael Barry, vice president of media relations at the Insurance Information Institute. “And before they are ever used, these rating criteria are vetted by state insurance regulators who have allowed them.”

The CFA says it’s not fair for someone to get a better rate simply because they have more education and more income.

“Our concern is that these factors are not proven; there is no logical reason to explain why they should work,” said Robert Hunter, CFA’s director of insurance and former Texas Insurance Commissioner. “The insurance companies say there’s a correlation and that’s all they need.”

Some insurance companies now consider your credit scores when setting your premiums. That doesn’t sit too well with Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, who calls the practice a “blatantly unfair” way to assess risk.  

 “I think it’s terrible,” Kreidler told me. “Using a credit score in this economy? You have people who through no fault of their own have wound up with less quality credit and yet are still responsible drivers. They shouldn’t pay more for auto insurance because of that.”

Not in sunshine state
The California Insurance Department decides what ratings factors can be used by auto insurers to calculate auto premiums. Education, occupation and credit scores cannot be considered.

“We want rating factors that have a relationship to the risk of loss,” said Joel Laucher, California’s deputy insurance commissioner for rate regulation.

“You want something that’s fair and fairly intuitive so people understand why there would be a price difference. It should be something the driver can control and realize how they can amend their behavior to improve their rate.”

Massachusetts also restricts the use of socio-economic factors for private auto insurance.

“There was a determination made that auto insurance should more tightly track an individual’s driving,” said Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Joe Murphy.

The bottom line
There are a lot of insurance companies competing for your business. Rates vary greatly.

A good place to start is your state insurance department’s website. Look for a comparison chart that lists the rates in your area for various hypothetical customers. It’s a simple way to see how various insurance companies compare and where you might want to go to get a quote.

(Find a link to your state’s insurance department at: National Association of Insurance Commissioners.)  

You can get quotes from an independent agent who represents various companies or go online and do it yourself at sites such as InsuranceQuotes, InsWeb, NetQuote, InsuranceHotline or Answer Financial.  Don’t expect an instant quote from these sites. In most cases, you’ll be contacted by agents looking for your business. 

More information:

• ConsumerMan: Want to Cut Your Car Insurance Bill? Shop Around
• Consumer Reports: Car Insurance Buying Guide 
• Insurance Information Institute: What Determines the Price of My Auto Insurance Policy?

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.

Federal authorities have taken action against 389 theft suspects as part of a coast-to-coast crackdown on identity theft, the IRS announced Thursday.

The Internal Revenue Service sweep took place in 32 states and Puerto Rico in recent weeks in an attempt to thwart identity thefts.

 “The IRS is very serious about prosecuting identity thieves and protecting American citizens,” said Steven Miller, IRS acting commissioner, during a telephone news conference.

The crackdown has led to 109 arrests and 189 indictments, Miller said.

Clearly, the IRS wants everyone – taxpayers, tax preparers and criminals – to know it is focused on the problem that has hurt so many victims, stolen so much money from the U.S. Treasury.

What is tax refund identity theft?

For identity theft victims, paying taxes is a nightmare

It’s when an identity thief uses a stolen Social Security number to file a false return in the victim’s name and claims a large refund. It can be done electronically or with a paper return.

If the refund is paid to the crook, the real tax payer cannot get his/her refund until the situation is investigated and it’s verified that their refund was indeed stolen. This can delay the process by weeks or months.

While enforcement actions are on the rise, the problem continues to grow. Miller said IRS is getting better at spotting false returns and blocking payment, but he admitted, “We still have work to do.”

He called identity theft one of the “biggest challenges” facing the agency, one that threatens the IRS and people’s view of the IRS.

Just look at the numbers.

Last fiscal year, the IRS stopped $20 billion in fraudulent refunds, up from $14 billion the year before. How much money made it into the hands of the crooks? Miller told NBC News there’s no way to know what they didn’t catch.

Online tax filing popular with taxpayers – and thieves

One indication of the continued problem is the growing number of taxpayers who are given a special IRS Identity Protection PIN to use when filing their taxes because they’ve been victimized by an identity thief. The IRS issued 250,000 of them in 2012. So far this filing season they’ve given out 770,000.

More jail time
The IRS wants you to know that number of convicted tax identity thieves continues to grow and the sentences are getting longer. The average sentence is now four years. But some refund cheats get much more time behind bars. Two recent examples:

• On December 21, 2012 in Memphis, Tenn., Aundria Bryant-Branch was sentenced to 262 months in prison and ordered to pay back $690,000 in restitution to the IRS. She was charged with passing along stolen information to crooks who used it to file false tax returns.
• On November 7, 2012, in Chicago, Andrew Watts was sentenced to 114 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.7 million in restitution. According to court documents, Watts filed more than 470 false federal income tax returns in the names of people who had died. In all, he claimed fraudulent refunds of more than $120 million.

Spotting refund identity theft 
The IRS says you could be the victim of tax refund identity theft if you are notified by Internal Revenue or you tax preparer that:

• More than one tax return for you was filed.
•  You have a balance due, refund offset or have had collection actions taken against you for a year you did not file a tax return.
• IRS records indicate you received more wages than you actually earned.
• Your state or federal benefits were reduced or cancelled because the agency received information reporting an income change.

The IRS contacts possible ID theft victims by mail. The agency never initiates contact via email. So if you get an email indicating you should contact the IRS – it’s bogus. But con artists also send out letters that look like they are from the government. If you get a letter that indicates you may be the victim of identity theft, do the smart thing and contact the IRS at a number you know is legitimate: 1-800-829-1040.

More information:

• News Release: IRS Intensifies National Crackdown on Identity Theft; Part of Wider Effort to Protect Taxpayers, Prevent Refund Fraud
• IRS: Identity Protection
• IRS:  Tips for Taxpayers, Victims about Identity Theft and Tax Returns
• Identity Theft Resource Center 

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.

For Valerie Tobias, a grandmother who lives just outside of Chicago, the TV commercial for American Tax Relief was the answer to her prayers.

“They promised they could settle your taxes for pennies on the dollar,” Tobias recalled.

At the time, she owed the IRS about $12,000 and had no way to pay that tax bill. So she called the company and was told she qualified for tax relief. They could start working on her case as soon as she paid $3,800.

“They took my money and didn’t do anything, absolutely nothing,” Tobias told me. “I was trying to better my situation by getting my taxes taken care of and they just lied to me. It was horrible.”

Tobias is one of thousands of people across the country who took the bait and paid American Tax Relief to dramatically reduce their tax bills. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says the company took in around $103-million dollars before it was shut down in September of 2010.

This week, a federal court ordered the company and its owners to pay more than $15 million in cash and assets to settle charges they violated federal law.

“We determined that out of approximately 20,000 consumers, less than 600 received tax reductions that were for more than they paid American Tax Relief,” said Karen Dodge, the FTC attorney who handled this case.

They didn’t help Eva Russell of Pemberton, N.J., who described her experience as “a real nightmare.”

Russell and her former husband owned a business that owed the state of New Jersey an “enormous” tax bill. American Tax Relief said they could get that reduced for a fee of $12,000, payable in advance.

 “They said they had lawyers who would work with the state to decrease the amount we owed.” Russell told me. “They said they could guarantee that.”

Russell thought the company seemed legitimate. It had a nice website with testimonials from people who said they’d been helped. She was assigned a case manager who said he would handle everything.

But after waiting a year, nothing happened. Russell tried to get her money back with no luck.

“Shame on me for getting involved, but it’s unbelievable to me that someone would take $12,000 and not do anything,” she said. “I’m not a stupid person. I have a graduate degree, but you feel real stupid after something like this.”

Be wary of tax relief companies
Tax relief services prey on people in distress. They say they can drastically reduce or even eliminate your tax debt and stop garnishment or other back-tax collection. Don’t believe it.

“In fact, that is not possible for most people,” the FTC’s Karen Dodge told me.

The IRS has an “Offer in Compromise” program that lets people settle their tax debt for less than they owe, but you have to prove that you can’t pay the full amount.

“There isn’t some trick to getting these. You have to be qualified by the IRS, not by a company that says you qualify,” Dodge explained. “There are no guarantees. A lot of documents need to be reviewed to determine if you qualify. It cannot be done in a short phone conversation.”

 The FTC’s advice: If you’re going to pay someone to help you with a tax problem, make sure they’re legitimate. Find a good accountant, CPA or attorney. Or contact the IRS and see what you can do for yourself.

Give your money to a tax relief scammer, and odds are you will never see it again. You’ll be worse off than when you started.

More information:

• FTC Settlement: Tax relief scammers agree to pay more than $15 million
• FTC Tip Sheet: Tax Relief Companies
• IRS: What if I can’t pay my taxes?
• FTC Tip Sheet: Coping with Debt

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.

In this age of data bases and search engines, it’s hard to imagine that anyone could be the beneficiary of a life insurance policy and not receive the money. But it happens all the time.

Consumer Reports investigated the problem of lost insurance policies for its February issue. They found there’s currently about $1 billion in life insurance benefits waiting to be claimed by beneficiaries.

“The average unclaimed life insurance benefit is $2,000, but some payouts have been as high as $300, 000,” senior editor Jeff Blyskal told me.

The magazine calculated the odds that you are owed money from a lost, forgotten or unknown policy are about one in 600.

Why is this happening? 

Sometimes it’s a communication problem. All too often, people buy life insurance and don’t let their beneficiaries know about it. But Consumer Reports points a finger at the insurance industry.

“Over the years, insurance companies have not made much of an effort to find these people,” Blyskal said. “When one of their policy holders dies they don’t always go looking for the beneficiaries.”

In 2011, New York State began looking into how life insurance companies handled their claims. Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that this investigation has resulted in more than $665 million being paid to more than 89,000 people across the country.

“It’s only fair for families and individuals who lost loved ones to receive life insurance benefits they are entitled to,” Gov. Cuomo said in a statement.

New York’s findings match what California regulators discovered in audits of insurance companies going back to 2008.  They found “an industry-wide practice of failing to pay death benefits” even though the companies had access to federal death records. And in some cases, payments were withheld despite direct confirmation from relatives that the policyholder had died.

Worse yet, some companies continued to collect premiums after the policyholder died and the payments stopped by drawing down the policy’s cash reserves. Once the reserves were gone, the policy was cancelled.

"For decades, too many insurers have fleeced their policyholders," said California State Controller John Chiang in a statement. 

Insurance companies agree to change their ways
Six big insurance companies have now settled charges brought by a multi-state task force looking into this payout problem.

AIG, Forethought, John Hancock, MetLife, Nationwide and Prudential have agreed to use the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File to find beneficiaries. When beneficiaries cannot be located, payouts will be turned over to state unclaimed property offices.

As part of a settlement with Florida, AIG recently turned over more than $25 million in unclaimed life insurance benefits.

“These new accounts represent dollars loved ones set aside to secure financial stability for their families,” said Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater in a statement. “Holding companies accountable means these dollars will now be returned to their rightful owners across the state.”

The life insurance industry acknowledges the problem of unpaid benefits, but insists it’s a relatively minor one.

“By all indications, this is a very small percentage of what life insurers pay out each year,” said Jack Dolan, vice president of media relations at the American Council of Life Insurers. “Even so, we recognize that this represents benefits owed to real people who could use the money and we are dedicated to making every effort to locate beneficiaries.”

How to find and collect an unpaid life insurance benefit
Do you think you might have been named as a beneficiary by someone who died more than a few years ago?  Visit missingmoney.com where you can search records for 38 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and most of Canada all at once.

Or go to unclaimed.org, the website of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, to access individual unclaimed property offices. You should check all the states or Canadian provinces where the deceased lived and may have purchased a life insurance policy.

The American Council on Life Insurance also has detailed information on its website about finding a Missing Life Insurance Policy.

Of course, communication can help prevent these lost payouts from happening.

“If you take out a life insurance policy, let the beneficiary know,” advised Steven Weisbart with the Insurance Information Institute. “You don’t have to tell them how much money is involved, but you ought to tell them that they are the beneficiary of an insurance policy, who the insurance company is and how to find them.”

The American Council of Life Insurers has a new My Insurance Log tool on its website, to make this easier.

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.

You plan on getting a tax refund, but you don’t have the money to pay for the tax-preparation service. No problem, just sign up for a Refund Anticipation Check (RAC) and that charge will be deducted from your refund when you get it.

On its website, H & R Block describes a RAC as “a quick and convenient way to get all the money you deserve without having to pay upfront.”

Here’s how it works. The customer gets a temporary bank account where the IRS can direct deposit the refund. When the money arrives, the bank issues a check or prepaid debit card, minus the tax preparation charge, and closes the account.

Banks typically charge about $30 to $35 for this service. And for consumer advocates, that’s the rub.

“With a RAC you pay a fee to finance the expense of tax preparation, and we don’t think that’s a smart idea,” said Tom Feltner, director or financial services for the Consumer Federation of America. “We always warn people to be wary of financial products that are sold alongside tax preparation.”

That short-term loan turns out to be fairly expensive.  If you pay $30 to defer payment of a $200 tax preparation bill for 3 weeks, the APR on that loan is equivalent to 260 percent.

Most importantly, there is no speed advantage to a RAC.

“It’s not any faster than filing your return electronically and getting a direct deposit into your own bank account or into a prepaid debit card that you already have,” said Chi Chi Wu, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). “The only advantage is that you have the tax preparation fee deducted from your refund.”

Related: Are you struggling in the suburbs? We want to hear from you.

RACs have been around for years, but they’re growing in popularity. NCLC estimates that about 18.4 million taxpayers received a RAC in 2011, up from 14.6 million the year before and 12.9 in 2009.

The Refund Anticipation Check has replaced the Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) as the add-on product pitched to taxpayers squeezed for cash or who do not have a bank account for direct deposit.

RALs, which give the customer an immediate refund, have been widely criticized by consumer advocates because of the high cost. Most banks no longer offer them.  RALs should be nearly gone from the marketplace by the end of this year.

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel recently issued a Consumer Alert about the pitfalls of both RALs and RACs.

"We would encourage consumers to think twice before paying the excessive fees and interest associated with borrowing money that already belongs to them, anyway," he said.

Watch out for add-on fees
If after know all this, you do opt for a RAC, be on guard for extra fees added by the tax preparer. These fees are in addition to the bank charge ($30 to $35) and the cost of tax preparation.

“They can be expensive,” warned NCLC’s Chi Chi Wu. “We’ve done some secret shopper tests and found that some of these junk fees can be anywhere from $25 to several hundred dollars.”

Wu told me they’ve heard about people getting signed up for Refund Anticipation Checks unknowingly. The preparer either adds it automatically or refers to it as “direct deposit” instead of a RAC, which can be confusing.

“If the preparer asks how you would like your refund delivered, specifically ask about the fees associated with various methods,” Wu advised.

Why pay for tax preparation when you may be able to get free?
The IRS offers free preparation programs run by volunteers for low-income and elderly taxpayers. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is for those who earn $51,000 a year or less. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program is open to anyone, with priority given to those 60 and older.

The AARP Foundation Tax- Aide program provides free tax preparation for low-to moderate-income taxpayers (especially those 60 and older) at nearly 6,000 locations nationwide.

The IRS Free File program is available to any taxpayer who has an adjusted gross income of less than $57,000. You can prepare your return and file it online for free, giving you the quickest refund possible.

The bottom line
You’d be smart to avoid Refund Anticipation products of any kind.

If you have a bank account and you can afford to pay for the tax preparation out of pocket, have your refund directly deposited into that bank account. You’ll get the money just as quickly without paying any kind of service fee.

If you qualify for free tax preparation or filing, it would be silly not to go that route.

Finally, if you don’t have a bank account and are expecting a refund, now would be a good time to open a savings account and start building a nest egg.

More information

National Consumer Law Center: Avoid Tax-Time Refund Products

Consumer Reports: Don't be tempted by tax refund anticipation loans or checks

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.

Sometimes the turtle really does beat the hare. If you scurried out on Black Friday to buy a big-screen TV during door-buster deals, you may be kicking yourself now.

The days leading up to Super Bowl Sunday are traditionally the best time of year to snag a deal on a super-sized set. Most retailers run promotions to cash in on the action and clear out old inventory.

The price-watchers at dealnews.com found the best deals on sets that are 55- and 60-inches. For a 60-inch name-brand set, expect to pay around $900. But you can find 60-inch LCD TVs from off-brand manufacturers for as low as $688.

“Big-screen televisions are about $200 cheaper than they were last year at this time,” said Louis Ramirez, dealnews.com senior feature writer. “And 3D sets have really come down in price.”

What can you expect from a new TV?

“In 2012, we saw evolutionary, not revolutionary changes,” said Jim Willcox, senior editor and TV expert at Consumer Reports. “Later this year, we’ll see two new types of TVs: ultra-definition sets that have four times the resolution of standard TVs and sets with OLED technology (Organic Light Emitting Diodes).”

OLED sets should start arriving this spring or summer, and they’re going to be pretty expensive, probably $10,000 or more.

I spoke to Willcox at length about buying a big-screen TV. This is a major purchase, one you’ll be living with for a long time, and price is only one factor to consider.

Q: Manufacturers have come up with some pretty innovative things on their TVs. Which ones should we be looking at when we go to the store?

Jim Willcox: Internet sets are the cool thing. TVs now have full web browsers, so you’re able to access social media sites or see how your eBay auction is doing.

Internet capability seems to be more popular than 3D which was the buzz a year ago. With Internet sets, there’s just so much content now going into the TV that manufacturers had to figure out a good way to present that material and organize it to enable viewers to find the stuff that they want.

There are some novel ways to control the TV using gestures. LG has a magic remote that you use sort of like a Nintendo Wii controller. Last year, Samsung introduced high-end sets that give you the ability to use hand motions to move through menus.

And some remote controls now have near field communications technology. People like to display the content they have on a cell phone or portable device on their TV. With Sony’s new remote, you tap your phone to the remote control and whatever’s playing on your phone magically appears on the TV.

Q: The biggest decision most buyers will have to make is the technology. Do they want Plasma or LCD? How do you decide?

J.W.: In recent years, manufacturers have dealt with one of the weaknesses of LCD (liquid crystal display) sets: motion blur during fast-moving scenes – something that’s obvious with sports. We see 120 Hz and 240 Hz technology addressing that.

The one issue that LCD hasn’t addressed especially well is viewing angle: Those who watch at an angle don’t get the same great picture as those who are in front of it. There are some sets now, for example from LG, Vizio and Panasonic, that use what are called IPS panels (In-Plane Switching technology), that have wider-than-average viewing angles for an LCD.

LCD TVs tend to do better in brightly lit rooms. So if you can’t control the brightness in the room, an LCD may be a better choice.

Plasma has unlimited viewing angles and very good black levels for high contrast, if that matters. So in a lot of ways plasma is very good. A couple of years ago, people were counting plasma out, but certainly in the bigger-sized TVs, plasma is more affordable then comparably featured LCD TVs. Right now, we’re seeing some great deals on plasma TVs.

The bottom line: LCD technology has gotten better. So for a lot of people if performance is relatively equal, it comes down to price.

Q: All the sets look good at the store. In many cases, they’re tweaked to look their best. With that in mind, what do we do when comparing sets?

J.W.: It is very difficult to compare. First, it’s not a great environment, there are probably huge fluorescent lights, but it will give you an idea of the TVs reflectivity. So if you have a bright room at home and you’re having a hard time watching that TV in the store, chances are you’ll have the same issue if you bring it home.

Again, viewing angle is still an issue with a lot of LCD sets. So I’d suggest that you move off to the side of the set and see if the picture starts to look washed out. That could be an issue if you have a lot of people over to watch TV or if you don’t have a sweet spot in front of the TV where most people sit.

And don’t forget about the sound.  As sets get ever thinner there’s less cabinet space for companies to install good sound systems. If you don’t plan to use an external sound bar or sound system, you may want to crank the sound on that set to a level that would be comparable to what you would have in your house. Does it sound good? A lot of them don’t.

Q: Once you get the set home, there are things you can do to get the best-looking picture possible. Can you help with that?

J.W.: Sure, and that advice has changed recently. TVs used to be set for the retail environment. You brought them home and they were in “torch” mode. The picture was too bright and the colors were over-saturated. Now almost the opposite is happening because all the TV manufacturers want to hit the Energy Star standards. So the picture may be too dim.

Check the setting. Normally, one says “retail” and the other says “home.” Click the home setting. If the set is in the “eco” mode, which is the energy-saving mode, put it in one of the more natural-looking presets. Typically that’s “movie,” “cinema,” or if the set has it, the “THX” setting. In our testing, we found that THX is the most accurate.

If you want to tweak the picture from there, go into the manual settings and fool around with the brightness, contrast and color controls.  You can play around all you want and no matter how badly you screw it up, you can hit the “default” or “restore” button and get back to the original factory settings.

Q: When it comes to a new TV, size does matter. You may be disappointed with a set that’s too small if you can afford more. But it can be unpleasant to watch a set that’s too big for the room. Run down the guidelines for us.

J.W.: For a big screen TV you probably don’t want to sit closer than about seven or eight feet. As a general rule, eight to 12 feet for a 50 to 60-inch set is a good.

Some of the new Ultra HD sets that are coming out have ultra-high resolutions. You can put your face almost next to the TV and not see the pixel structure, so that technology is going to let people sit a lot closer than they do now, if they want.

Remember, you want to have the whole TV in your field of vision. You don’t want to be panning and scanning the picture because you’re sitting to close to a set that’s too big. 

To make your shopping easier, the editors at Consumer Reports put together a list of their Top TV picks for Super Bowl XLVII.

More Info:

• Dealnews: Super Bowl HDTV Buying Guide
• Cheapism: Top High-Def TVS for low budgets

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website. 

The image of the 11-inch Subway sandwich marketed as "Footlong" that ignited an online chuckle-fest last week has now sparked a lawsuit.

Citing "false, deceptive" and "misleading affirmative statements of fact," two New Jersey men, John Farley of Evesham and Charles Pendrak of Ocean City, sued Subway on Tuesday to regain losses of 5 to 8.3 percent on the several "Footlong" sandwiches they bought from the sandwich store -- about $.41-$.54 per sub, depending on whether it was the $5 or $6.50 kind. The lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status for anyone who bought a sandwich in New Jersey from January 22, 2007 to the present, asks for triple damages. That comes to a grand total of $1.23-$1.62, which is not even enough to buy yourself a new sub. The lawsuit specified one date in December Farley bought a Footlong, and three dates between December and January that Pendrak bought Footlongs, along with "various other dates" on which each bought Footlong sandwiches.

After Australian Matt Corby, having a bit of fun, last week posted a photo of a "Footlong" Subway sandwich next to a measuring tape showing it as only 11 inches long, the picture went viral and kicked off a media pig pile. The two approached lawyers after reading the short sandwich news coverage, their lawyer Stephen DeNittis told the New York Post. Online commenters identifying themselves as Subway employees speculated that the consumers were receiving exactly the same dough as others who got 12-inch subs but that the dough, which arrives frozen at franchise locations, hadn't been properly tugged, pulled and "proofed" before it was baked.

Because the legal action is still pending, Subway spokesperson Les Winograd declined to comment on the case specifically.

Matt Corby

Matt Corby uploaded a photo to Facebook of a Subway sandwich advertised as a "Footlong," next to a measuring tape showing it as 11 inches long. The caption read, "subway pls respond," and, after the image went viral, Subway did.

"We regret any instance where we did not fully deliver on our promise to our customers," Winograd told TODAY via email. "We freshly bake our bread throughout the day in our more than 38,000 restaurants in 100 countries worldwide, and we have redoubled our efforts to ensure consistency and correct length in every sandwich we serve. Our commitment remains steadfast to ensure that every SUBWAY® Footlong sandwich is 12 inches at each location worldwide."

Stephen DeNittis, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, told TODAY that his firm had "Footlong" sandwiches from 14 different Subway locations measured, and each fell short. 

DeNittis shrugged off the suggestion that regardless of the sandwich length, consumers were still getting the same amount of dough in their loaf, saying, "If they were selling by net weight, that would be a good argument."

The case is worthy of the court's time, DeNittis said. "It's no different than if a wireless company is profiting on a 14-cent hidden fee."

DeNittis, an experienced class-action lawyer, is familiar with the criticisms of his trade, such as class actions profit the lawyers with big fees while consumers walk away with coupons. DeNittis said class-action courts were set up to deal with consumers with small-damage cases. Any fees lawyers receive are court-approved, he said, and are based on the "hundreds of thousands of hours" they can take to prosecute, as well as factoring for the risk the lawyers take on when they accept the case. 

"If you believe it's OK to shortchange consumers on little fraud ... if you think it's only OK to go after companies for big fraud," then you probably won't think this case measures up, he said.

The case is about "holding big companies to deliver what they promised," said DeNittis. "When you expend it over millions of sandwiches, it adds up." He added that his firm "will be investigating to find out if Subway intentionally made sandwiches smaller to profit unfairly off consumer deception."

When he bought a package of massages for half price ($245) from Groupon, Nathan Barusch of Phoenix, Ariz., had every intention of going. But things got busy at work, he couldn’t schedule an appointment and the expiration date was getting close. He decided the smart thing to do was sell it.

Barusch didn’t have any luck on Craigslist, so he searched the web and found a site called CoupFlip, which offered to buy it for $60.

“It was certainly better than getting nothing, so I was happy,” he said.

Barusch told me he would use the site again if he ever found himself in a similar situation. And it seems a lot of people who buy daily deals don’t use them for one reason or another.

According to a study by Uptal Dholakia, an associate professor of management at Rice University, two out of 10 daily deals (21.7 percent) are unredeemed when the promotion period ends. CoupFlip estimates that as much as 30 percent of the $5 billion in annual deals sold last year may go unused.

Some sites, like MyCabbage (formerly DealsGoRound), are a marketplace where buyers and sellers can do business. It offers a mobile app for the iPhone that lets you organize, share and redeem daily deals with friends via Facebook.

CoupFlip is different. It actually buys unwanted deals from Groupon, Living Social and similar sites and resells them. Your transaction is with the CoupFlip, not some third-party.

“We create a marketplace where you can actually sell your daily deal today,” said CEO Phil McDonnell. “You don’t just list it and wait around to see if somebody will take it, because these things expire. You can go on and in less than 30 seconds upload it, sell it and be done with it.”

The site, which went national in October, uses a complex algorithm to come up with the purchase price. It’s based on expiration date, how many were sold and the Yelp! score of the merchant.

“The idea is to give you a fair price,” McDonnell told me. “If your deal has a pretty good expiration time on it and also was a popular deal to being with, we’ll generally pay up to 70 percent.”

Payment is made through PayPal in 10 business days. This gives the site time to validate the voucher.

Shop for deals on deals
Of course, CoupFlip doesn’t make any money unless it resells these vouchers. So it offer deals on these deals for spas, entertainment, vacations, even clothing. It’s also a great place to look for last-minute restaurant discounts.

Most of the coupons on CoupFlip are 10 percent less than what they sold for on Groupon or Living Social. But as the expiration date gets closer, the discounts get bigger.

“We actually have some deals that are 98 percent off the face price,” McDonnell said.

Audrey Brown, a teacher in San Francisco, used the site when her glasses broke. She remembered seeing a Groupon for an eye exam and $150 toward new frames. She went to Groupon, but the deal had expired. CoupFlip had it.

“It was fantastic,” she said. “It was really fast and easy. I would definitely use them again.”

There’s always a risk when you buy a deal voucher that was sold to someone else. It could be fake or already used. Some are not transferrable. That’s the benefit of using CoupFlip. The site guarantees the voucher is authentic, is still good and is transferrable. If there’s a problem, you’ll get your money back.

By the way, maybe you got gift cards for the holidays that you don’t want or can’t use. You can turn that plastic into cash at a number of sites that buy and resell them. Here are a few you might want to visit: Plastic Jungle, Gift Card Granny, Card Hub, Cardpool, CardCash, GiftCards.com

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Justin Bieber will promote a prepaid debit card via social media and develop a series of videos that will promote responsible spending.

If Justin Bieber endorses a product, will teens buy it or convince their parents to get it for them? BillMyParents, a financial services company focused on teens, is banking on it. They’ve signed a deal with the pop star to endorse a new prepaid debit card to his legions of loyal fans.

With 50 million Facebook fans and more than 32 million followers on Twitter, Bieber has enormous marketing power. As a “brand ambassador” for the SpendSmart card, the 18-year old performer will promote the card via social media and develop a series of videos that will promote responsible spending.

“By combining our new teen prepaid debit card with Justin's vast reach and financial educational materials, we can empower countless families with teens to think about responsible spending in a new and better way,” said Mike McCoy, chairman and CEO of BillMyParents in a news release.

Beiber will become the face of a new version of the SpendSmart card. BillMyParents has not announced a launch date for when that marketing campaign will begin, but its public relations firm said it should happen in a couple of weeks. At that time, the SpendSmart card will get a new design, but the product features and pricing will stay the same.

SpendSmart is a prepaid debit card that can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted. Like most prepaid cards, it has a long list of fees:

• Monthly fee: $3.95
• Loading charge $0.75 to add money from a checking or savings account; $2.95 from a credit or debit card
• ATM charge: $1.50 per withdrawal; $0.50 per balance inquiry
• Inactivity fee: $3 if the card is not used for 90 days
• Replacement fee: $7.95 if the card is lost

Is this card right for your teen?

“The good thing about a prepaid debit card is that you cannot go into debt,” noted Gerri Detweiler, personal finance expert at credit.com. “You can only spend what’s on the card, so for that reason it’s a great way to manage an allowance.”

And this Bieb-endorsed prepaid card gives parents maximum control. They can sign up for text alerts every time the card is used or download a smart phone app that makes it easy to track the balance and see individual purchases. Parents can also temporarily freeze the card if they don’t like how the money is being spent and permanently block it from being used at some retailers.

But there are other factors to consider.

Bill Hardekopf, CEO of lowcards.com, doesn’t like most prepaid cards in general and questions the educational value of this card.

“I’m not sure a prepaid debit card really teaches financial responsibility,” Hardekopf said. “I don’t know if this is the right way to go for a young person.”

John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com, points to that monthly fee, which adds up to $47 a year. He doesn’t like the idea of teaching teens it’s smart to pay a fee to use your own money.

“That’s a very dangerous message to send a young person who is basically at the beginning of their consumer credit lifecycle,” he said.

Ulzheimer said it makes sense to pay an annual fee of $50 to have a credit card with a $25,000 limit because it gives you access to someone else’s money. But he said it is “unreasonable” to pay almost that much for a debit card where no credit is extended.

Financial experts point out that prepaid debit cards do nothing to create a credit history or build a credit score because these transactions are not reported to the credit reporting agencies. To do that, you’d need to get your child a low-limit credit card, something you can control as the co-signer.

“I like the idea of giving a young person a credit card with limits on it,” Ulzheimer said. “It’s almost like a credit card with training wheels. And teach them the proper way to use it, so when they’re out on their own they understand there’s a right way and a wrong way to manage credit.”

The hot new plastic

Demand for prepaid debit cards is skyrocketing. According to the Mercator Advisory Group, $57 billion was loaded onto these cards in 2011. That’s expected to top $168 billion by 2015.

These cards are popular with people who don’t have or don’t want a bank account or who can’t get or don’t want to use a credit card. They’re endorsed by big name celebrities, such as Suze Orman, Magic Johnson, LilWayne, Russell Simmons, Alex Rodriguez, and George Lopez. And who can forget the Kardashian Kard, launched in 2010, with fees so high it was quickly pulled off the market?

Right now, there are no government regulations on prepaid card fees, so the companies that issue them can charge whatever they want. 

The bottom line

The SpendSmart card is less expensive than some prepaid debit cards on the market. And it does have some nice parental control features. But there are money-saving alternatives.

The new Bluebirdcard from American Express and sold by Wal-Mart, can be used fee-free if you stick to in-network cash machines.

The Chase Liquid prepaid Visa debit card is another good choice. It has a flat monthly fee of $4.95.

The Kaiku Visaprepaid card is free – there’s no cost to get it. The monthly fee is only $1.95 and you can use any of the 50,000 ATMs in the Allpoint network for free.

And there’s always a conventional debit card that’s linked to a checking account. It can be used fee-free, aside from any bank charges for the checking account.

“Maybe the lesson to teach your kids is that just because it has a celebrity name on it, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best product for you,” said financial expert Gerri Detweiler.

More information:

• Consumer Reports: Prepaid Cards: Plastic That’s Less Than Fantastic
• Bankrate: Pros & Cons of Prepaid Debit Cards
• SmartCredit: Why Isn’t My Prepaid Debit Card on My Credit Report?
• ConsumerMan: The Truth Behind Suze Orman’s New Debit Card
• ConsumerMan: Prepaid Cards Might Not Be So Bad for Those Who Overdraft

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website. 

When you buy sheets, blankets or clothing made from “eco-friendly bamboo” you assume you’re getting what’s on the label – not fabric woven from rayon. But the Federal Trade Commission claims four national retailers did just that, even after they were warned to stop.

Last week, Amazon.com, Macy’s, Sears and Leon Max (which does business as Max Studio), agreed to pay civil penalties totaling $1.26 million to settle federal charges that they labeled and advertised textile products made of bamboo fibers that were actually rayon.

“When attempting to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers, companies need to ensure they don’t cross the line into misleading labeling and advertising,” said Charles Harwood, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.  “If a textile is made of rayon, sellers need to say that, even if bamboo was used somewhere along the line in the production process.”

The varying penalty amounts, Sears and its Kmart subsidiaries ($475,000), Amazon ($455,000), Macy’s ($250,000), and Leon Max ($80,000), were based on the amount of items sold as well as how long the companies continued to sell mislabeled products after being warned to stop by the FTC in early 2010.

The four companies did not admit doing anything wrong. But under the settlement agreement they’ll be required to ensure that the labels and ads for the bamboo textiles they sell from now on accurately indicate their fiber content.  The FTC will monitor the firms to make sure this is done.

“We cooperated with the FTC in reaching this settlement in lieu of pursuing further litigation,” said Howard Riefs, a spokesperson for Sears Holdings Corp. in a statement to NBCNews.com. “We continue to take these regulations seriously.”

Amazon.com, Macy’s and Leon Max did not respond to our request for a comment.

The misconception about bamboo fiber
Fabric made from bamboo may not be as “green” as you think.

“There is no reason to go out of your way to buy bamboo fibers,” said Linda Greer, director of the Clean by Design program at the National Resources Defense Council. “While bamboo is environmentally friendly, it takes a lot of chemical processing to create those fibers. This undermines the redeeming natural qualities of bamboo.”

The FTC’s fact sheet on ‘Bamboo’ fabrics explains that there is “no evidence” to back up claims that rayon made from bamboo retains the antimicrobial properties of the bamboo plant. Even when bamboo is used to create the rayon, “no traits of the original plant are left in the finished product.”

More Information:

• FTC: News Release on settlement
• NRDC: Not All Bamboo is Created Equal

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.

It may not seem fair, but a company can stop you from suing them to settle a dispute. Mandatory arbitration clauses are routinely used by banks, cable and satellite services, wireless companies, pay day loan stores, and online service providers.

When you become a customer, you automatically agree not to sue them or join a class action lawsuit. Instead, you promise to abide by an arbitrator’s decision if there’s a dispute.

Companies that require mandatory arbitration claim it speeds up the dispute process, saves money and prevents nuisance cases. And they point out the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled they have the right to do this.

Last year, eBay, and PayPal gave customers the chance to opt out of their mandatory arbitration agreements. That window has now closed, except for new customers, who have 30 days after joining.

Right now, American Express and Instagram are giving customers a chance to opt out of their mandatory arbitration agreements. Last year, eBay and its PayPal subsidiary did the same thing. But that opt-out window has now closed except for new customers who have 30 days to act.

This seems like a good thing, right? But consumer advocates are highly skeptical.

“It’s just a clever way to appear to be fair while making their arbitration clause more legally bulletproof should someone try to challenge it,” said Edgar Dworsky, founder of ConsumerWorld.org. “They know full well that very few customers will actually opt out, but could argue to a judge with a straight face that no one was forced into arbitration.”

Consumer groups hate arbitration clauses. They are disappointed with the Supreme Court’s ruling and they are annoyed that so many companies now use them – even if they give customers the ability to opt out.

“Requiring people to opt-out of mandatory arbitration clauses is making private arbitration – a system that benefits the company – the default,” said Christine Hines with Public Citizen who wrote a report on how the high court’s ruling has hurt consumers. “The default should be the civil justice system.”  

The details: American Express

American Express instituted a new dispute resolution process on January 1 that gives cardholders the ability to opt out of mandatory arbitration and retain the option to sue in court.

But this is a limited-time offer – it needs to be done in writing by February 15. Here is a link to a sample opt-out form you can use. The company says customers who do not opt out will still be able to take a dispute to small claims court.

Before this, American Express had a mandatory arbitration clause. So why is the company giving its customers the ability to opt out?

“We review our claims resolution processes to incorporate best practices and the latest legal developments, and this change provided more choice to our card members as well as reflected best practices in the marketplace,” said Marina Hoffmann Norville, a spokeswoman for American Express.

The details: Instagram

New terms of service at Instagram take effect on January 19 that include a new way all disputes will be handled. Subscribers agree to “expressly waive trial by jury” and to resolve any dispute through “binding, individual arbitration.”

Instagram says users can still take their gripe to small claims court, but they are barred from taking part in “any class-action (lawsuit) or class-wide arbitration” against the company for any claims covered by the new dispute agreement.

When asked to explain why it is instituting the new policy, Facebook (which now owns Instagram) told NBCNews.com it did not have any comment.

Instagram users have until Feb. 15 to opt out and retain all of their rights. New subscribers have 30 days to do this. Again, it must be done in writing. Here is a link to a sample opt-out letter you can download and use.

Should you care about this?

There are many reasons why a company prefers to go the arbitration route. They argue that this prevents costly class action lawsuits that only benefit the lawyers.

Critics question the fairness of mandatory arbitration because the business you have the dispute with chooses the arbitration company.

“Since many businesses provide these companies with thousands of cases, which generate huge sums of money for the arbitration companies, it’s not surprising that they rule against consumers the overwhelming majority of the time,” noted Paula Selis, an adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law.

Arbitrators are not required to provide an explanation for their decisions and unlike a court ruling, the outcome is final and cannot be appealed.

Companies also prefer arbitration because the process is secret, so others who have the same problem will never know about it. Class action lawsuits can benefit thousands of people who have been hurt in a similar way.

Even if you win your case, an arbitrator can’t do what a judge can – require the company to change the way it does business. With arbitration, there is nothing to stop the unfair practices that will victimize others.

Should you take the time to opt out of mandatory arbitration when given the chance? Absolutely.

“If a company permits it, the consumer should embrace the opportunity to opt out and preserve his or her rights,” Selis said. “Though you may not think you’re going to sue a company when you first contract with them, some day you may appreciate the right to do so.”

What’s next?

In the Dodd-Frank Act, Congress instructed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to study the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses by financial service companies. It also gave the bureau the power to issue regulations, if needed, to protect consumers.

Last Spring, the CFPB began a public inquiry into how forced arbitration clauses affect both businesses and consumers. In August, it proposed rules that would prohibit mandatory arbitration clauses in both mortgage and home equity loan documents. Final rule are expected to be published this month.

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.