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People who make expensive mistakes or fall into hidden traps are anxious to share their pain with others. So, I’m updating my earlier post with advice from readers.

Joell had a bad experience shopping for mattresses at Sleep Country Canada. She returned the one she bought, which didn’t live up to its billing, but wants to point out flaws in the sales system.

Lou wants to warn seniors about being asked to sign up for an Optimum rewards card at Shoppers Drug Mart. His mother didn’t realize she’d be getting a new credit card, which she didn’t need, and not just a points card.

Linda has a digital TV package from Rogers, but feels she’s not getting her money’s worth because of a software bug ..read more

The Chang School at Ryerson University ran some newspaper ads, attracting 100 people to my free seminar last week. Everyone was eager to learn and share tips, including a dedicated few who kept talking and arguing outside later on.

The course is designed to reach a 20-to-35-year-old group by my partners in this venture (the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and the Investor Education Fund). But many are older.

Beth Kaplan, a friend at the event, mentioned her surprise at seeing a middle-aged audience here in her blog. She also made the brave admission that saving and investing are hard for her, even as she nears her 60th birthday.

Many questions were about credit scores (how to get access to them and how to raise them) and ..read more

Finally, the government has come to its senses about the 70,000 letters sent to Canadians who made over-contributions to tax-free savings accounts or transferred them without the proper paperwork.

In a statement issued this afternoon, the two ministers responsible for the new tax shelter said they recognized the confusion that resulted from lack of understanding of the rules. And they’re trying to make amends.

If you received a request to pay tax on your TFSA, you can wait until Aug. 3 to submit further information (not June 30, the original deadline). Moreover, you won’t have to pay tax if it’s clear there was a genuine misunderstanding.

The Government of Canada confirms that for the 2009 filing year, the first year of the program, we have taken the ..read more

If someone comes to your door wearing a hard hat and a lab coat, watch out.

Chances are it’s a salesperson who wants to replace or upgrade your rented water heater. The “uniform” is designed to make you think you’re dealing with a technician working for your local gas or electrical utility.

Today’s column, the most emailed story of the day at the Star’s website, talks about the scare tactics used by these persistent pests.

One commenter also mentioned the deceptive duds they wear.

They appear at the door dressed in one of those fluorescent yellow halters with the orange X that road workers wear, with an aluminum clipboard in hand to lend credibility, and say “I’m here to replace your water heater”.

This is the same gear ..read more

Rogers Communications says it will correct billing inaccuracies affecting half a million people who participated in its Better Choice Bundles program.

The scope of the errors is quite substantial, affecting up to 5 per cent of its customers, according to the news release .

About 200,000 people received greater discounts than they were eligible for. Rogers will not try to collect the under-payments, but will apply the correct discount from now on.

Another 300,000 people received smaller discounts than they qualifed for and will be getting a bill credit (for current customers) or a cheque (for former customers). Any unclaimed funds by former customers will go to charity.

Rogers will pay total refunds of $30 million, including interest and taxes. It blames the billing snafu on “administrative errors and ..read more