i'm chris chmura.gin with violence on oakland's streets. a security guard was shot overnight in a robbery. this taking place as it is what it is smoke shop. according to the mercury news, two men made off with cash and got into a vehicle. the guard did manage to shoot at the pair before they took off. the guard was taken to the hospital and is reportedly expected to survive. >>> oakland has a multimillion dollar grant to spent. bob redell tells us how they plan to spend the money. >> reporter: they have awarded a $3.5 million grant to the city of oakland to help them expand their safety ambassador mediator program in the downtown area and chinatown. this is to help combat crime, which has been a well documented problem here in oakland. this money will be used in conjunction with a community-based organization called family bridges which will help expand the mediator program. the community mediators are trained to help deescalate calls that are non-emergency, not medical. they free up emts and police of

i'm chris chmura . >>> i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri . big totals when it comes to rainfall over 4 inches in san anselmo, santa cruz mountains, san francisco 2.60. we talk about the rain season and the impact the two leading candidates for senate. two very different visions for california. steve garvey, the leading republican, is too conservative for california. he voted for trump twice and supported republicans for years, including far right conservatives. adam schiff, the leading democrat, defended democracy against trump and the insurrectionists. he helped build affordable housing, lower drug costs, and bring good jobs back home. the choice is clear. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message. you want to see who we are as americans? i'm peter dixon and in kenya... we built a hospital that provides maternal care. as a marine... we fought against the taliban and their crimes against women. and in hillary clinton's state department... we took on gender-based violence in the congo. now extremists are banning abortion and contraception ri

a chris chmura: you're watching an nbc bay area news special. tonight, nbc bay area "responds." female: you have to ask for someone to open the case just for toothpaste. i said, "you're kidding me." chris: if you're tired of hunting for a store clerk to unlock everyday merchandise, you've got to see this local innovation. it aims to secure shelves from thieves but make it easier for you to buy what you want. plus.... louise fritjofsson: tens of thousands of families are using our service. chris: savvy parents are finding a creative way to fight rising grocery prices. we'll show you how small kinks in the food supply chain can deliver big savings to your home. also... sarah greaves-gabbadon: i would say there's a cruise for everyone if-- chris: setting sail might not drain your family's travel budget as much as you might fear. we'll do some vacation calculations for you. and we've rounded up our top tips to help you shield yourself from identity thieves. chris: welcome to our nbc bay area "responds" special. >> welcome to our nbc bay area respond

i am investigator, chris chmura, we will pull back the curtain and show you how to protect yourself. >>> welcome back, the news at 530 starts now. >> i am janelle wang. >> i am garvin thomas. most races will decide which two candidates will move on to the general election in november, but there will actually be a winner declared by march 5th in the san jose mayor's race, nbc bay area's ian cole, has the story. >> reporter: they have two candidates, incumbent matt meehan, and challenger tyrone wade, and a retired marriage and family counselor, working in several city governments around the bay area. >> nothing has been done that i wanted to be done by the city government or the mayor or the city council. >> reporter: wade wants to perform reform child protective services and the police department he believes counselor should be the ones responding to domestic violence calls, not officers. wade says he also ran to homeless shelters and is qualified to handle the issue. >> there are 300 people living on the streets, dying every year. and it is an epidemic. we have to take care of those

joining me now is consumer investigator chris chmura. chris, you've been following this. you've been staying on top of it for quite some time now. so how often at this point are you hearing from people who have been scammed? >> every week. >> every week now? >> every week. rina in san ramon, she had a couple of brides to be and grooms to be in the family, got them a couple of gift cards. gone. the money was gone the first time they went to go use them. we know they're not alone because our respond teams around the country are hearing the same exact thing. that's why we wanted to take a deep dive. >> yeah. so when you finally took a deep dive, when you started really looking at the scam, what did your team find? >> a lot of frustrated people but also a lot of law enforcement saying that this is sophisticated and leads to what they call untraceable cash. there's an international tie to all of this, but we also found something locally, something in sacramento, a case that is quietly playing out in sacramento. and it involves one person who was caught with that. what does tha

. >> consumer investigator chris chmura is here with a story that motivated many of you to respond togood morning. we're talking about fridge failures, lots of viewers like betsy in redwood city have contacted us and our sister stations coast to coast. some are suing because their frijs are dying young. we recently featured betsy's story and it went viral online. more than a million people watched on tv and youtube. >> she has exactly the same refrigerator. i said, let me contact chris. >> folks flooded our in box and phone lines for the l.a. lawyer seeking a class action lawsuit. she claims a problem-prone part is at the heart of people's fridge failures. the case is focused on one place we did not expect, refrigerator boxes. tonight at 11:00, we'll explain how and why this federal fridge case could hinge on a message on a cardboard box. many angry appliance owners contacted us online. scan the qr code on screen to fill out our consumer complaint form. please join us again tonight at 11:00. >> thanks so much, chris. >>> next the top stories we're following, including trying to stop t

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. >>> and we love it. fans posting a lot of photos. long be sure to share your photos showing off that nin >>> 525 this morning. this weekend is niners are chasing a super bowl win in vegas. right here at home our consumer squad is chasing wins for viewers like you. >> consumer investigator chris chmura is in san ramon at the "today in the bay" pep rally to show us a few recent cases we championed. >> good morning from our pep rally. when companies sideline our complaints or drop the ball, that's when we step in to run interference. we handled cases from around the bay area, including lisa from rohnert park. she had a home warranty, and good thing because her dryer broke. she says techs kept punting the timeline to fix it. lisa asked us for help with a new game plan. we reached out to the warranty company and then it finally completed lisa's repairs, saving her 100 bucks. next we fielded nicole in hayward's call, a company fumbled her dad's ambulance bill. after two years of penalties, they paid. but it left a $654 balance and wouldn't

. >>> so, i am consumer investigator chris chmura and we are responding. >>> i am chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. dry conditions but that is going to change. we have storms coming up. two leading candidates for senate. two very different visions for california. steve garvey, the leading republican, is too conservative for california. he voted for trump twice and supported republicans for years, including far right conservatives. adam schiff, the leading democrat, defended democracy against trump and the insurrectionists. he helped build affordable housing, lower drug costs, and bring good jobs back home. the choice is clear. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message. >>> our response team is very busy on this monday. and one is stuck in a recall run around. >> diana bought this. at $950 philips medical advice that helps you breathe while sleeping. it is called a cpap. diana says she get a recall notice in 2021 and has been waiting ever since for a replacement. she says she cannot get a straight answer from phillips. she asked us for help. we sent an email. and got her $500 so she

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura.how to spot a fake review next. >>> we asked three people who track bogus reviews to help you spot a fake. we're going to hear from amber, a federal trade commission lawyer, steve at the better business bureau, and kay, a fake review crusader. kay says scrutinize the account that wrote the review and watch for signs someone is paying them. here is a tell, posting multiple reviews for places all around the country all on the same day. tip two, look for rip-off reviews. kay says word-for-word copycats are exploding. checking to see if it's a duplicate is easy. take the text, highlight it, copy it and paste it. put it in a google search. amber, the federal lawyer, says hunt for intel. >> our best advice is to take the time to look at multiple sources. >> tip three, check the company's history. snap this qr code. it will take you to a list of 4,900 businesses that yelp has flagged for suspected phonies over the years. tip four from steve at the bbb, look for brand mentions. he says paid re

i'm chris chmura. we are following developing news.t biden is in the san francisco bay area today. he arrived yesterday and is here for several fund-raisers. the president met with the wife and daughter of late russian opposition leader alexei navalny. he expressed condolences for their loss. navalny died last week. biden said the white house plans to roll out sanctions related to his death. >> we're going to be announcing sanctions against putin, who is responsible for his death, tomorrow. >> president biden will attend a fund-raiser later this afternoon before heading back to the white house around 4:00 p.m. this is his first visit to the bay area since attending the apex summit in san francisco. >>> oscar grant's family is receiving a piece of closure. the district attorney is returning some of grant's personal property. a police officer shot and killed grant in 2009 in oakland and was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. the d.a. gave grant's mother two of her son's phones. getting them back is kind of like returning a piece o

consumer investigator chris chmura followed the money with the fbi's help.re with the new warning, a revealing behind-the-scenes look at the crime and the ways you can try to protect your gift cards. >> good evening. two things motivated us to dig into this. first viewers like you sending us lots of complaints the gift card money is vanishing. second, this photo. those are all gift cards. sheriff's deputies say they arrested one man who had 5,000 of them. >> i don't want another person going through what i went through. >> reporter: at the holidays isai boss gave a generous gift, a $500 target gift card. >> we were very excite. and i took my family out to target and said hey, here we have a new gift card, let's go and purchase some things. >> reporter: but at the register target declined the card. >> they said that your balance is zero. >> reporter: same situation for rena in san ramon. >> had two engagement parties to go to and thought what can i get for these kids? so i just went to target, picked up a couple gift cards. >> reporter: one bride and groom-to

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next. >>> and don't forget, an all new season of "the voice" premieres tonight right here on nbc bay area. that's at 7:30, followed by the season premiere of "deal or democrats agree. conservative republican steve garvey is the wrong choice for the senate. ...our republican opponent here on this stage has voted for donald trump twice. mr. garvey, you voted for him twice... as your own man, what is your decision? garvey is wrong for california. but garvey's surging in the polls. fox news says garvey would be a boost to republican control of the senate. stop garvey. adam schiff for senate. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message. >>> nbc bay area responds to a peninsula teen whose road to a driver's license was a little bumpy. >> she turned to consumer investigator chris chmura's team for direction. >> good morning. suzy in san carlos didn't want to go on camera, but her parents were okay with us telling her story. they paid $39.88 for suzy to take an online dr

consumer investigator chris chmura followed the money with the fbi's help.s here with the new warning, a revealing behind-the-scenes look at the crime and the ways you can try to protect your gift cards. >> good evening. two things motivated us to dig into this. first viewers like you sending us lots of complaints the gift card money is vanishing. second, this photo. those are all gift cards. sheriff's deputies say they arrested one man who had 5,000 of them. >> i don't want another person going through what i went through. >> reporter: at the holidays isai boss gave a generous gift, a $500 target gift card. >> we were very excite. and i took my family out to target and said hey, here we have a new gift card, let's go and purchase some things. >> reporter: but at the register target declined the card. >> they said that your balance is zero. >> reporter: same situation for rena in san ramon. >> had two engagement parties to go to and thought what can i get for these kids? so i just went to target, picked up a couple gift cards. >> reporter: one bride and groo

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura.you growing up, my parents wanted me to become a doctor or an engineer. those are good careers! but i chose a different path. first, as mayor and then in the legislature. i enshrined abortion rights in our california constitution. in the face of trump, i strengthened hate crime laws and lowered the costs for the middle class. now i'm running to bring the fight to congress. you were always stubborn. and on that note, i'm evan low, and i approve this message. >>> this morning we might help you lower your property tax bill just a tad. >> consumer investigator chris chmura says a large number of homeowners might be missing out on a small tax break and it's really easy to get. he's going to show us how. >>> good morning. we're talking about the homeowners exemption. if you own your home, condo or townhouse and live in it, no matter what county, you qualify. it saves you about 70 to 80 bucks a year. some data we obtained suggests lots of families are missing out. the santa clara assessor tol

i'm chris chmura live in the nbc bay area newsroom. we are watching the radar.g closer to the bay area. we expect stormy weather for the next few days. >> we are seeing the arrival of the first couple of rounds of rain for today and into the weekend. today we will start off with mostly spotty showers, gustier winds and heavier rain friday night and saturday. the valley totals are one to two inches. coast and hills are going to see the majority of this activity, possibly four to five inches of rain. those low snow levels, the bay area ridges, could see about one to two inches of some light dusting of snow. the next couple of days, we will be in for an active forecast throughout sunday. we could see breaking there in the rain sunday on into monday for our inland valleys. san francisco, cooler, wetter, and windier weekend ahead. >> keep it right here for the latest weather. >>> san jose police say their fight against retail crime is working. the state gave the police department an $8 million grant last year. that paid a group of retired detectives to back up patrol

i'm chris chmura. an apartment fire is out and they have firefighters to thank.t drive. no word what sparked the fire. three residents the firefighters saved are expected to be okay. the fire was contained to one apartment. two adjacent apartments had minor smoke damage. seven people are displaced along with two small pets. the cause is under investigation. >>> our other top story, protesters once again blocked traffic on a bay area bridge over the war in gaza. unlike december, today's tie-up on the golden gate bridge lasted a couple minutes. ginger conejero saab is there. >> reporter: chp testimonies us the first calls of traffic being stopped on the golden gate bridge came in around a quarter to 8:00 this morning. it was cleared by 8:10. protesters drove to the middle of the bridge. that's where they got out and held up banners that read, stop arming israel and hands off rafah, it's home to around 1.4 million people. many of whom have fled from other parts of the gaza strip. protesters say of it motivated by recent air strikes on rafah. they are calling for an

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. area responds with two winning cases next. >>> and fans attending this morning's nbc bay area niners pep rally posting a lot of photos. we love it. check it out. be sure to share your photos with us showing off that great niners pride. just tag nbc bay area on social media and you might just end up on growing up, my parents wanted me to become a doctor or an engineer. those are good careers! but i chose a different path. first, as mayor and then in the legislature. i enshrined abortion rights in our california constitution. in the face of trump, i strengthened hate crime laws and lowered the costs for the middle class. now i'm running to bring the fight to congress. you were always stubborn. and on that note, i'm evan low, and i approve this message. thousands of women with metastatic breast cancer are living in the moment and taking ibrance. ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor is for adults with hr positive, her2 negative metastatic breast cancer as the first hormonal based therapy.

. >> let's bring in chris chmura that has a story that motivated many of you to respond to us. something aggravating a lot of people? >> we are talking about refrigerator failures and lots of viewers have contacted us and our sister stations. their fridges are dying really young. we recently featured betsy's story that went viral online. more than 1 million people watched on tv and on youtube. >> he had the same refrigerator i had. when i saw that i said let me now contact chris. >> the phone lines for the l.a. lawyer seeking a class action lawsuit. she claims the problem is at the heart of people's fridge failures. this case is focusing there. someplace we did not expect. those great big refrigerator boxes. tonight we will explain how and why this federal fridge case could actually hinge on a message on a cardboard box. many angry appliance owners contacted us. scan the qr code on the screen right now to fill out our consumer complaint form online. send us pictures of your spoiled food. every time that fridge goes out it's a couple hundred bucks. join us tonight at 11:00. >>>

i am investigator, chris chmura, we will pull back the curtain and show you how to protect yourself. >>> welcome back, the news at 530 starts now. >> i am janelle wang. >> i am garvin thomas. most races will decide which two candidates will move on to the general election in november, but there will actually be a winner declared by march 5th in the san jose mayor's race, nbc bay area's ian cole, has the story. >> reporter: they have two candidates, incumbent matt meehan, and challenger tyrone wade, and a retired marriage and family counselor, working in several city governments around the bay area. >> nothing has been done that i wanted

a chris chmura: you're watching an nbc bay area news special. tonight, nbc bay area "responds." female: you have to ask for someone to open the case just for toothpaste. i said, "you're kidding me." chris: if you're tired of hunting for a store clerk to unlock everyday merchandise, you've got to see this local innovation. it aims to secure shelves from thieves but make it easier for you to buy what you want. plus.... louise fritjofsson: tens of thousands of families are using our service. chris: savvy parents are finding a creative way to fight rising grocery prices. we'll show you how small kinks in the food supply chain can deliver big savings to your home. also... sarah greaves-gabbadon: i would say there's a cruise for everyone if-- chris: setting sail might not drain your family's travel budget as much as you might fear. we'll do some vacation calculations for you. and we've rounded up our top tips to help you shield yourself from identity thieves.

let's bring in our consumer investigator chris chmura. you were here a few weeks ago with this. it piqued our attention. we're talking relatively new fridges here. so i'm thinking i have confidence to go get a new fridge, and then it conks out on me. >> at the core of the refrigerator is something called a compressor. in this case it's called a linear compressor that lg is making, marketing for lg refrigerators and kenmore refrigerators. they say it doesn't live up to its 10 year warranty or 20 year durability. >> these are some big-time brands. >> lg and some kenmore. >> are you surprised by the responses we're getting? >> totally, yeah. the lawyers involved said this was national, and they were absolutely right. we didn't know how national. online 1.3 million views. >> wow. >> 7,000 comments. >> this is the story, our nbc bay area story. >> yeah, and so everybody -- people who bought these things, people who serviced these things, people who sold these things are commenting and contacting us. unbelievable response here. definitely a coast to coast question. >> you said somethi

consumer reporter, chris chmura, explains what the complaint has in common with so many other cases youd us. >> good morning. frank gave his mom a $300 gift card for her birthday. happy birthday. when his mom went to spend it, there was no money on it. somebody already spent the $300. frank wanted his money back. frank contacted us. we contacted the companies involved. days later safeway gave frank a full $300 refund. in a statement a rep said in this case our customer service team resolved with the customer. how did somebody swipe mom's money? we don't know. we do see many cases involving companies galore where cards go blank and they suspect fraud. as we said many times before, your best protection with gift cards is to spend them as soon as possible. some thieves tamper with gift cards. the store racks are full of cards and that's where thieves tamper with the bar codes and stickers and all that. examine the packaging, and feel the card itself. if the card feels like it has been altered or any of the numbers on it are missing or out of place, don't buy it. if you have a gift card gri

. >> that's right, and chris chmura wants to help avoid them even if you are already booked.>> our first trick is to check your rate. we recently saw a hotel in honolulu where west coasters could book a special rate without a resort fee. you had to click more rates and then scroll down to see it. poke around while booking. pro tip. if you already have a reservation, you are not locked into a rate with a resort fee. many hotel reservations can be resized until the week you arrive, so check to see if you can change the rate now to save money on your vacation. second, comparison shop for package deals. s loyal members. and many hotels do not charge resort fees when you are redeeming their points. >> always learn something new. >> that, you do. >>> the top stories we are following today, including sickness on a ship. more than 100 passengers falling ill on a cruise ship that ill on a cruise ship that stopd here inpe ordinary is the opposite of beautiful. beauty drops our jaws. dilates our eyes. and beauty is something we can create... right now... at floor & decor. the quarterbac

. >> consumer investigator chris chmura and his team stepped in. >> good morning.mon bought this, a $950 phillips medical device that helps you breathe while sleeping. it's called a cpap, continuous positive airway pressure. diana says she got a recall notice in 2021 and has been waiting ever since for a replacement. she says she can't get a straight answer from phillips. so she asked us for help. we sent an email. it took action and ultimately gave diana $500 so she can buy a new cpap. we asked for a statement, but it didn't reply with one. recalls are, unfortunately, part of life today. the best way to know if any of your stuff is ever recalled is to register it right after you buy it. there's a bonus to filling out the registration card for some products. for example, i bought a tv that included a one-year warranty or three years if i registered it. well, lo and behold, i needed warranty service in year three, and thankfully i had registered the set right after i bought it. you can register your consumer gripes with us. scan this qr code to fill out our consumer

consumer investigator chris chmura and his team want to help. >>> good morning. we've been taking your complaints almost eight years now, and i'm happy to report we don't hear from many heartbroken viewers with flower problems, even though flowers are the number three valentine's day gift behind candy and cards. still, folks like diana and victor and karen, all told us about flower failures. the most memorable, jennifer in san jose. a florist advertised that bouquet and then delivered that limp arrangement. we helped jennifer get a $70 refund. what if your flowers aren't lovely? speak up. flowers are expensive. refunds and redeliveries are on the table. we found some florists guaranteeing 100% quality and satisfaction. your satisfaction with your cut roses, by the way, should extend longer than a week after delivery. the agriculture pros at uc davis say when roses are properly handled, most commercially cut roses will easily last in the vase ten days. so what does properly handled mean? pro flowers and 1-800 flowers recommend you cut an inch or so off the stems a

. >> consumer investigator chris chmura's team stepped in to break this six-month standstill. >> goodning. keith in san jose has solar panels on his house, and each year san jose clean energy pays him for the true-up, the extra energy he made but didn't use. well, this past year keith says a rep told him he would be getting $224, but he didn't. despite calls he made for six months. so keith asked us to put our energy behind his case. we contacted san jose clean energy. it then sent keith a check for $224 and told us a partner company didn't share metering details in time. sjce says its billing team is processing some things manually, but it is working to automate and speed up in 2024. we believe our new true-up protocol will eliminate delays. do you have an issue you can't resolve even after talking to the utilities customer service rep? we've got a qr code. scan that there to file a complaint at california's public utilities commission. a formal complaint might cause the cpuc to order a utility into action. you can also let us know about your utility issue. scan this qr code to fill

chris chmura shows us how you can save money on your property taxes. >> we are talking about the home own it and live in it no matter what county, you qualify. it saves you $70 to $80 a year. some data we obtained suggests lots of families are missing out. 243,000 homes are claiming the homeowners exexgs but 210 are not. some homes in the no column are rentals, which are not eligible. some homeowners who live in their home are missing out on this $70 a year. we quickly found four folks on our own news team. here is the good news for my colleagues plus anyone else. you can apply to get the homeowners exemption tax break. >> most people don't know. the other thing is that if you change your title, when i moved my home from an individual with my wife and my name into a trust, the homeowner exemption drops off. >> you have to reapply. the assessor told me adding or removing someone from your home title might cause you to loose the break. the office said it is required to take full advantage of transfer benefits under prop 19. figure out whether you are getting it by calling your local ass

ahead on "today in the bay," consumer investigator chris chmura responds to viewers whose flower purchases turned thorny. flower purchases turned thorny. >>> if you haven't got a diabetes can serve up a lot of questions, like... what is your glucose, and can you have more carbs? before you decide... with the freestyle libre 3 system... know your glucose and where it's headed. no fingersticks needed. now the world's smallest and thinnest sensor... sends your glucose levels directly to your smartphone. manage your diabetes with more confidence, and lower your a1c. the number one cgm prescribed in the us. try it for free at freestylelibre.us. ♪♪ >>> microclimate weather, certified most accurate by weatherate. >> good wednesday morning. the time is 5:14. let's get a look at our morning planner for martinez. it's going to be in the upper 40s as you head out, mostly cloudy. the clouds will linger and eventually the rain will come in. here it will be around 11:00 to 12:00, picking up for the afternoon into the evening commute. we'll talk more about how much rain we're expecting and what's ahead f

. >> consumer investigator chris chmura wants to make sure that you don't get soaked financially when it comes to hiring movers. here is how. >> in the next minute or two we're going to run you through eight important points for dealing with a mover. do not accept a written estimate. two, do not sign a document with open blanks. take time to understand the mover's liability to you for losses and damage. take a day to literally weigh your options. four, uncle sam says give your mover a list of high value items. anything worth more than 100 bucks per pound. think expensive clothes or china. five, uncle sam says you have a right to be present when the movers weigh your stuff. six, confirm how you'll pay, ideally stand your ground to pay with a credit card. seven, we've seen horror stories about some movers holding people's stuff hostage in order to get their hands on more cash. don't cave. call uncle sam at 888-368-7238. eight, demand a delivery receipt. uncle sam says do not sign the delivery receipt if it contains any language releasing or discharging your mover or its agents from liab

. >> consumer investigator chris chmura and his team stepped in. >> good morning. diana in san ramon bought this, a $950 philips medical device that helps you breathe while sleeping. it's called a cpap, continuous positive airway pressure. diana says she got a recall notice in 2021 and has been waiting ever since for a replacement. she says she can't get a straight answer from philips. so she asked us for help. we sent philips an email. it took action and ultimately gave diana $500 so she can buy a new cpap. we asked philips for a statement but it didn't reply. recalls are, unfortunately, part of life today. the best way to know if any of your stuff is ever recalled is to register it right after you buy it. there's a bonus to filling out the registration card for some products. for example, i bought a tv that included a one-year warranty or three years if i registered it. well, lo and behold, i needed warranty service in year three, and thankfully i had registered the set right after i bought it. you can register your consumer gripes with us. scan this qr code to f

. >> consumer investigator chris chmura's team stepped in to break this six-month standstill. >> goodning. keith in san jose has solar panels on his house, and each year san jose clean energy pays him for the true-up, the extra energy he made but didn't use. well, this past year keith says a rep told him he would be getting $224, but he didn't. despite calls he made for six months. so keith asked us to put our energy behind his case. we contacted san jose clean energy. it then sent keith a check for $224 and told us a partner company didn't share metering details in time. sjce says its billing team is processing some things manually, but it is working to automate and speed up in 2024. we believe our new true-up protocol will eliminate delays. do you have an issue you can't resolve even after talking to the utilities customer service rep? we've got a qr code. scan that there to file a complaint at california's public utilities commission. a formal complaint might cause the pcuc to order a utility into action. you can also let us know about your utility our consumer complaint form onlin

consumer investigator chris chmura is going to show us how to find out. >> the food and drug administration says you shouldn't use an expired covid-19 test kit because the components inside could degrade or break down over time, and that could mean invalid or inaccurate test results. but some expiration dates have been extended because the manufacturers have proven the tests still work. so let's find the expiration date on your test and then see if it's the actual expiration date. first, grab the box. on these rapid tests we found the expiration date stamped on the side or a sticker, along with the lot number, which you might need later. you're looking for this hourglass icon, that is the expiration date. if the date next to the hourglass is passed, don't just toss the kit. let's see if the fda has extended the expiration date. checking takes a couple steps but they're easy. start by clicking this qr code that will take you to an fda list of tests. in the first column, scroll until you find your test manufacturer and type. two more steps, first, click the link that says updated expiration d

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura.ll help you figure out whetherou're missing y >>> good morning. we're talking about the homeowners exemption. if you own your home, condo or townhouse and live in it, no matter what county, you qualify. it saves you about 70 to 80 bucks a year. some data we obtained suggests families are moving out. the santa clara assessor told us 240,000 homes are claiming but 210,000 are not. now, yes, some homes in the no column are rentals, which are not eligible. still, some homeowners who live in their home are missing out on their 70 bucks a year. we know because we quickly found four folks on our own news team. here is good news, you can apply now to get the little publicized homeowners exemption tax break going forward. >> most people don't know. the other thing is if you change your title, like when i moved my home from an individual with my wife and my name into a trust, the homeowner exemption drops off. >> and you have to reapply. santa clara county assessor larry stone told he adding or

chris chmura's team stepped in to break the six-month standstill. >> keith in san jose has solar pablspays him for the extra energy he made but didn't use. this past year, keith says a rep toeldz him he would be getting $224. but he didn't. despite calls he made for six months. keith asked us to put our energy behind his case. we contacted san jose clean energy. it then sent keith a check for $224. and told us a partner company didn't share metering details in time. sjce says its billing team is processing things manually. it is working to automate and speed up in 2024. we believe that our new true-up protocols will eliminate those like keith experienced. do you have an issue you can't resolve. scan that qr code to file a complaint at california's public utilities commission. a formal complaint might cause the cpuc to order a utility into action. you can lot us know about your utility issues. scan this qr code to fill out our consumer complaint form online. >>> thanks. a programming note. four main senate candidates running for the [♪♪] if you're only using facial moisturizer in the mo

chris chmura shows us how to find out if you can still use them. >> the food and drug administration test kit because the components inside could degrade or break down over time. that could mean invalid or inaccurate test results. some expiration dates have been extended because the manufacturers have proven the tests still work. let's find the expiration date on your test and see if it's the actual date. grab the box. on these rapid tests, we found the date on the side or a sticker along with the lot number, which you might need later. you are looking for this hour glass icon. that's the expiration date. if the next is past, don't just toss it. let's see if the fda extended the expiration date. checking takes a couple steps, but they are easy. start by clicking this qr code. it will take you to an fda list of tests. in the first column, scroll until you find your test manufacturer and type. go more steps. first, click the link that says updated expiration dates. finally, look for the lot number of your test. you will find that lot number on the sticker with the dates or printed some

. >> consumer investigator chris chmura is here with a story that motivated many of you to respond to us. >> good morning. we're talking about fridge failures, lots of viewers like betsy in redwood city have contacted us and our sister stations coast to coast. some are suing because their fridges are dying young. we recently featured betsy's story and it went viral online. more than a million people watched on tv and youtube. >> she has exactly the same refrigerator that i have. so when i saw that, i said, okay, let me now contact chris. >> folks flooded our in box and phone lines for the l.a. lawyer seeking a class action lawsuit. she claims a problem-prone part is at the heart of people's fridge failures. before that is litigated, the case is focusing some place we did not expect, refrigerator boxes. tonight at 11:00, we'll explain how and why this federal fridge case could hinge on a message on a cardboard box. many angry appliance owners contacted us online. you can, too. scan the qr code on screen to fill out our consumer complaint form. please join us again tonight at 11:00. >>

i'm chris chmura live. we start with the wet weather that's hitting.d flooding. vianey is live with the latest. >> of course, the heaviest impact of the atmospheric river is trekking through central and southern california. we have a lot of instability as the cold front passes through. we are not in the clear just yet. expect pockets of rain continue to move through. you could see some of that moving through right now in parts of san francisco. we had a decent cell over santa clara county for some time. that brought a good amount of rain. we will continue to see this become more scattered as we inch closer toward the evening. we will not rule out isolated thunderstorms. could see the possibility of small hail as well, inching closer toward the evening. even though we saw the heaviest rain rates move through because of soil so saturated, we will remain under a flood watch through 4:00 a.m. friday with a high rain rate expected to pick up once again late sunday night, which means another rise in creeks and streeps. >> we will see you in 30 minutes. >>> a

chris chmura joins with us a pair of cases where list team ended it. >> happy friday.wasn't working. they sent him a replacement. it also didn't work. william returned both of them. the cable company still billed him $72 for internet. he connected with us. we connected with the cable company which credited william his $72. next, michael in san jose. he bought five seats up front for a live musical performance. ushers reseated his group out of the front row. why? still isn't clear. the producer reimbursed him the price difference of one ticket, $120. that left $480 on the table. michael asked us to step in. we did. the producer issued a $600 credit for future shows. michael sang our praises. i don't think any movement would have happened without your support. we are happy to help. if your battle needs an audience, let us know. scan the code to fill out our consumer complaint form online. have a great weekend. >> you toochri >>> let's tal about the niners. ey will face the chiefs on sunday, february 11th. super bowl in las vegas. as we gear up for th, we want to let you

chris chmura joins us with a few cases we recently championed. >> when companies sideline your complainte. we handled cases from all around the bay area, including lisa. here is what happened. she had a home warranty. good thing, because her drier broke. she says they kept punting the time line to fix it. she asked us to help. we reached out to the warranty company. they completed her repairs. next we fielded nicole. a company fumbled her dad's ambulance bill. after two years of delay of game penalties, the insurance paid. it left a $654 balance and wouldn't budge. they asked us to run interference. we did. the company responded and now her dad is out of pocket 0. that's the touchdown. if your complaint could use a referee, let us know. scan the qr code on screen to fill out our consumer complaint form online. have a super weekend. >> thank you, chris. like your puns. >>> the 49ers gear up for the showdown. samuel is giving back. he surprised his high school football coach from south carolina. >> thank you for all the things you helped me accomplish. from being an athlete to being a grea