here's consumer investigator chris chmura. chris: good evening, and welcome to our special. you know, we are entering our third year of "nbc bay area responds," defending consumers like you. our team works to help when you've been ripped off, ignored, or treated unfairly. more than 10,000 bay area residents have reached out to us with their consumer complaints, and we've helped viewers, like you, recover more than $1.8 million. tonight, we're sharing some of their stories and helping you be a smarter consumer to protect your family and your money.

here's consumer investigator chris chmura. chris: good evening, and welcome to our special. you know, we are entering our third year of "nbc bay area responds," defending consumers like you. our team works to help when you've been ripped off, ignored, or treated unfairly. more than 10,000 bay area residents have reached out to us with their consumer complaints, and we've helped viewers, like you, recover more than $1.8 million. tonight, we're sharing some of their stories and helping you be a smarter consumer to protect your family and your money. as part of that, you'll often hear me say, "you should always with a five-figure price tag. they turned to us for help. keith duncan: it's a rental. chris: the duncan family condo needed some remodeling-- keith: it was linoleum, and it was painting. chris: after a tenant moved out last year. keith: the kitchen had to be, pretty much, redone. chris: the duncans did their homework and got several estimates, including a quote from carpets & more in vacaville. keith: and they have very good, sort of, reviews. chris: ultimately, the dun

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, nbc bay area responds next. >> at 4:51, first happening now, uber announcing drivers in the bay area made more than a billion dollars last year. across california, ride share and delivery drivers pulled in nearly $3 billion. the ride share company says 31% of drivers were unemployed before driving with uber. >> plus, england is dealing with temperatures expected to hit 96 degrees. britain has experienced an unusual stretch of hot, dry weather this summer. alto - hwy e >>> welcome back, everyone. to today in the bay. thursday morning, taking a live look outside overlooking highway 101, university avenue over in palo alto. mike has his eye on the morning commute, make sure things are moving smoothly out there, hopefully, for your day. it's 4:55. for many parents of high school seniors, back to school time means planning for next year. >> chris chmura has an important reminder for families of college-bound students. >> it's simple, really. don't leave money on the table. in 2015, san francisco based nerd wallet estimates students nationwide left $

consumer investigator chris chmura joins us now with some simple ways every family can save money. there )s about to be a transgender superhero. "nicole maines" is joining the cast of )supergirl. ) producers describe her character as a "soulful young transgender woman with a fierce drive to protect others." this isn )t her first time in te headlines... she gained national attention for her battle against her school district over her right to use the girls) bathroom - back ni 2014. she won the case. coming up on today in the bay - a check of your forecast... kari tease mike tease plus-- we go back live to the macarthur bart station... where two women were stabbed last night. one of them died. next: the emotional new interview with family members... as police search for the man responsible. good morning and thank you for joining us. i )m laura garcia. and i )m marcus washington. great start to your workday now to a developing story at one of the bay area )s busiest bart station... a man accused of stabbing two women last night is still on the loose. one of them died. and overnight...

consumer reporter chris chmura joining us live in redwood city. , chris. >> reporter: hey, good morning, yeah. they're busy at work here. you can see the assembly line. this is where the backpacks will start and they'll end up in the hands of kids all over the bay area who need them. we're currently inside the law firm of wild and i would like to introduce you to a partner here. this is ann. good morning. >> hi, good morning. >> all right. so who do you have here and what are these guys up to? >> we have a variety of employees. we have staff, paralegals, we have attorneys. and a partner, of course. so we're starting the assembly line back over here and checking out our backpacks, we're filling up the school supplies, making sure that there is no backpack envy. everyone gets the same thing. >> same items, why. >> exactly. it is reminiscing about putting them together school supplies, we remember how excited we were to start school and have a full compliment of school supplies. so we're going down the line and checking everything in, putting in the f

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. we have one woman's six-figure loss and how to a coming up, snt illegal fireworks. the problems firefighters are already seeing ahead of the fourth of july and the new tool they're hoping to use to help track down those responsible. >>> fog is rolling right back into san francisco. we'll show you the impact for tomorrow morning's commute. plus i'll tell you why we're concerned about hurricane fabio and the impact to california. that's in about seven minutes. h is one of the fastest growing forms of fraud. on friday night you met a local woman who lost $25,000. you won't believe how much tonight's fraud victim lost and how often it's actually happening. consumer investigator chris chmura joins us now to explain. chris. >> jessica, good evening. we have heard from several different people all telling us the same story. they've lost tens of thousands of dollars, stolen in the amount of time it takes to click send uts.heir comp this case is exactly the same, only it's hundreds of thousand

chris chmura shows us how. >> good morning. dave smith was on vacation at one of the most remarkable places on earth, right there in mauchu picchu in peru, but he felt sick and went to a doctor. the situation was so serious, dave was flown to a heart hospital in lima for life saving treatment. he learned health care is much less expensive in peru than the u.s. his hospital visit came to just $456 which he paid out of pocket. his health insurance provider agreed to cover the bill. dave says kaiser told him it would mail him his reimbursement check. this was back in february, but he never got the check. after weeks of getting nowhere, dave reached out to us. we reached out to kaiser, and dave got the $456.49 check just a few days later. kaiser perm niente told us it strives to process all claims within 45 days after all documentation is received, and with this specific case, a delay occurr occurred. it went on to say we're sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. dave is fortunate his kaiser policy does cover most emerge

interestingly, our consumer investigator, chris chmura, has looked into how fire insurance claims are settled. his reports, a great resource for anyone dealing with fire damage. go to nbcbayarea.com/we investigate. >>> we're learning more tonight about a firefighter who died battling the ferguson fire near yosemite. 33-year-old brian hughes died this morning when a tree fell on him. he was the captain of a crew from sequoia and king's canyon national park. now, another firefighter died two weeks ago when his bulldozer rolled over. more than 54,000 acres are now charred with only 30% containment. smoke from this fire has yosemite valley closed through friday. >>> following another developing story, the largest wildfire in california right now, it is the carr fire, and it has claimed another life. >> six people are now dead. the fire has burned more than 95,000 acres. this is up in shasta county. this fire has destroyed close to 900 buildings. it's now moving west into trinity county. there's some good news, though. cal fire crews say they're making progress. the fire now 17% contained,

i'm chris chmura live here in san jose at the boys & girls club supporting our schools. we'll show you how it supports the kids here and how to get involved. here's a bonus, for moms and dads, any mom and dad out there, how you can save almost 10% shopping for the kids going back to school. stay with us. you know when you're at ross shopping for backpacks... ...and mom also gets a back-to-school bag? that's yes for less. ross has the brands you want for back to school. and it feels even better when you find them for less. at ross. yes for less. weaving your own shoes...rgy by out of flax. or simply adjust your thermostat. do your thing, with energy upgrade california. ...and you suddenly realizes you're really into art? that's yes for less. every trend. every room. on any budget. it feels even better when you find it for less. at ross. yes for less. take a look at these images coming into our news >>> welcome back. developing new, tragedy in greece. take a look at these images coming into the newsroom. fast-moving flames that have killed more than 70 people. much like wh

i'm consumer investigator chris chmu chmura.bc bay area responds next. >> first, happening now, australia's prime minister calling on pope francis to fire an archbishop. the country's leader says the archbishop should have resigned when he was convicted in may of failing to report the repeated abuse of two alter boys by a pedophile priest. >> and the british cave diver involved in a spat with elon musk left thailand. he's on his way to london. he's been approached by lawyers and would seek legal advice after musk directed abuse at him on twitter. musk has since apologized and deleted the insulting tweet. more news right after the break. ♪ there's a lot of volkswagen in every volkswagen. during volkswagen smile and drive days, you can lease a value-packed 2018 tiguan s for just $189 a month. atherton man whose attempt to avoid hackers backfired. he asked our team to help. >>> nbc bay area responds to an atherton man whose attempt to avoid hackers backfired. >> he asked for our team to help. chris chmura took a crack at it. >> it'

consumer investigator chris chmura looked into the apparently bungled booking. just in time for independence >> good morning. he booked his flight fthrough te web site just fly. he says he paid 3,800 bucks for a premium economy seat. quantum told him he was booked in regular economy like the rest of us. he called to ask for a partial refund. they didn't response to he turned to us. a spokesman told us this has clearly been a mistake on our part. we'll use this to improve on processes and communications. he then gave a $2,200 refund. this is the second time over the past few months that we have helped justfly situation here is how to avoid that. if you book through any travel site make just one phone call immediately after you're ticketed. call the airline and reconfirm the dates, times and of course the seats you're expecting. if you're not getting what you paid for get them back on the line and settle the discrepancy before you leave. you can also call us 888-996-tips or visit nbcbayarea.com/responds. >>> the city has put up a live bald eagle cam. >> yeah. it's

here )s consumer investigator chris chmura. coming up on today in the bay needed to replace the entire roof. the new cost nearly $9,000. mark says he had another shop look at the car and it agreed with that figure. he couldn't get any where with geiko so he turned to us. in a statement the insurance company said geiko has worked with the policyholder and the claim has been resolved. he got a second and third opinion. you should too. don't feel pressured to settle ith an insurance company. for. >>> call 888-996-tips. log onto nbcbayarea.com/responds. >>> coming up next, another look at the forecast with kari hall. >> yes. this morning we are going to see some clouds rolling by. you'll notice a little more humidity. higher humidity as we head into the upper 80s. we'll talk about the surge humidity and potential of dry lightning coming up next. >>> seeing cars driving by this is fine. we'll talk about something going on not far and low clouds. we'll keep an eye on potential for fog here. >>> and speaking out for the first time sin

the family giving tree for the backpack drive to help students and teachers in need. >> we sent chris chmura to san jose for the initiative shaping up. chris, this is always a big event. people want to help. i know a lot of people helping out behind you. >> reporter: yeah. so 250 backpacks to be built today. that's the goal. i believe we're right around the halfway mark. 125. you can see the volunteers from tech cu and this is my colleague from telemundo 48 over there. kind of like nbc responds and most of the volunteers here from tech c u and the ceo here, todd harris. good morning. >> good morning. welcome to technology credit union. >> thank you. who do we have? >> we have invitded family giving tree over and they're going to be working with about 50 of the employees assembling backpacks for the backpack program. >> tell me. why do you do this? what's the message to send to families in need? >> we all know the bay area's a wonderful place to live and part of the problem is that the cost of living keeps increasing and just looking at this chart over here, one week of food versus a backpack

i'm chris chmura. how to join us in supporting our schools next. ♪ strummed guitar you can't experience the canadian rockies through a screen. you have to be here, with us. ♪ upbeat music travel through this natural wonder and get a glimpse of amazing, with a glass of wine in one hand, and a camera in the other, aboard rocky mountaineer. canada's rocky mountains await. for special offers now. for some parents the return of school brings >>> only a few weeks left of summer vacation. for some parents the return of school brings new worries because you have to figure out all the supplies they need, the backpacks, pencils, pens and books t. can get overwhelm. >> and expensive. teaming one family giving tree for our second annual supporting our schools backpack drive. our consumer reporter, chris chmura. this is an initiative and program we're happy to be part of. >> proud. we are very proud of this program. earlier today my telemundo colleague and i joined volunteers with the law firm in redwood city. this

i'm chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next.an >>> health issues don't just happen at home, they happen on a trip as well. a san jose man who left the hospital with a bill after heart problems struck in south america. >> consumer investigator chris chmura shows us how. >> dave smith was on vacation at one of the most remarkable places on earth, right there in peru. he fell sick and went to a doctor. the situation was so serious, dave ended up being flown to a heart hospital in lima for lifesaving treatment. he learned health care is much less expensive there than in the u.s. his bill came to $456 which he paid out of pocket. kaiser agreed to pay the bill. kaiser told him they would mail him the reimbursement check. this was back in february, but he never got the check. after weeks of getting no where with kaiser, he reached out to us. we reached out to kaiser and dave got that $456.49 check. kaiser permanente told us it strives to process all claims within 45 days after all documentation is received. and with this specific case

investigator chris chmura has the unbelievable follow-up. >> you might this can't happen to me.his is proof it can. this woman doesn't want to share the identity but she wants you to hear her story. she lost nearly $500,000. hackers somehow hijacked the e-mail chain with a realtor and title company and tricked her into wiring money to the wrong account. >> you could have known. that's why we all four my agent floored, too. we don't know. we don't know that. >> tonight, at 11:00, we reveal the huge cost to the country. plus, we walk you through the crucial step every home buyer and home seller to take to prevent this kind of fraud. we have created a special section all about real estate fraud on our website. nbc bay area.com/responds. while you're there, also reach us with any consumer complaint you have. you can also call us any time. 888-996-tips. i'll see you again tonight at 11:00. >> thank you, chris. >>> going to cost less to host your july fourth cookout this year. the american farm bureau estimates the cost of summer barbecue less than $6 a person, 1% less than last year.

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next. to a car insurance company owed >>> nbc bay area responds to a man saying the car insurance company owed him $9,000 and wouldn't pay up. >> our team stepped in. here's investigator chris chmura. >> mark was driving a bmw and says a rock hit the roof of his car chipping the paint. that's not his car, by the way. geico, his insurance company, sent an adjuster and estimated to cost $570 to fix it. to fix the chip. but when mark took the car to a bmw repair center, the shop said it needed to replace the roof because it's made of carbon fiber and cannot be repaired in patches. the new cost, nearly $9,000. mark says he had another shop look at the car and it agreed with that figure. geico then denied the claim. saying the chip in the roof due to wear and tear. mark couldn't get anywhere with geico so he turned to us for help. we contacted geico, gave them time to review the claim and agreed to cover the nearly $9,000 cost to replace the roof. in a statement, the insurance company said, geic

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next.ng service was hard to do. >>> nbc bay area responds to a san francisco woman who found break up with a dating service hard to do. >> breaking up is hard to do. >> consumer investigator chris chmura says it's now the second time we've been able to help this one viewer. >> well, we're glad pamela felt like she could reach out to us more than once. earlier this year we help her sort out a problem with the dmv. this time she contacted us with an issue involving our time which is a dating service for singles in the golden years. it's owned by match.com. well, she had stopped using our time and later realized she was still being billed. pamela says she went online to cancel and couldn't log in. she couldn't remember which e-mail address she used to create the our time account and that was a brick wall, so she called us for help. we reach out to match.com and it was happy to help. match refunded her $107.76. it also closed her account. this is a good reminder to carefully review your bank an

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds, next. nbca san francisco woman who found breaking up with a dating service was >>> nbc bay area responds to a san francisco woman who found breaking up with a dating service was hard to do. >> consumer investigator chris chmura tells us it's the second time we have been able to help this viewer. >> we're glad pamela s. felt like she could reach out to us more than once. this year we helped her sort out a problem with the dmv. this time she has an issue of our time which is a dating service for singles in their golden years, owned by match.com. well, she had stopped using our time and later realized she was still being billed. pamela said she went online to cancel but couldn't log in. she couldn't remember which e-mail address she used to create the our time account and that was a brick wall. she called us for help. we reached out to match.com and happy to help. match refunded her $107.76. it also closed her account. this is a good reminder to carefully review the bank and credit card statem

chris chmura has some savvy strategies. >>> we asked ourney on their ba shopping. >> good morning. $685 is how much a family is expected to spend on back to school.s up years. a bit of planning might help. wait until september to buy clothes because prices fall after school starts. and download store apps to your phone so you can track sales and compare prices. finally, here is something that might not be on your radar, thrift stores. consider them for clothes and shoes. prices are much lower than other stores plus an added bonus of around 10% if a nonprofit operates the thrift store. >> no sales tax. we hope that helps your family. ther nbc bay area and our sister station are partnering with family giving tree to provide school supplies. if you want to donate cash you can go to nbc bay area.com slash schools. you'll find a list of needed supplies for grades k-12. >>> if you a consumer complaint call 888-996-tips or visit nbc bay area.com/responds. >> good tips there. it is 4:56. facebook employees won't have any free food to eat. back in 2014 passed a how preventing companies from offe

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. bay area responds, next. >>> nbc bay area stops to a gilroy man. here's a guy who paid for premium seats for a really long flight but ended up in economy. >> consumer investigator chris chmura looked into the bungled bo booking. >> he wanted to spend a 15-hour flight in relative comfort. he booked his flight through the website justfly. he says he paid $3,800 for a premium economy seat. but when he checked in at sfo, qantas told him he was booked in regular economy like the rest of us. after he returned to gilroy, he says he called justfly repeatedly to ask for a partial refund. the travel agency didn't respond, so he turned to us. we asked justfly to review his case. a spokesman told us this has clearly been a mistake on our part. we'll use this case to improve on processes and communications. justfly then gave malkit a $2,200 refund. this is the second time over the past few months that we've helped justfly customers who have ended up in the same situation, in coach despite paying a

consumer vector chr consumer investigator chris chmura has new findings. >> your phone doing someonelse's dirty work. >> attacking businesses around the world today. >> reporter: researchers in san francisco found something alarming. bots are secretly operating on an estimated 5.8% of phones and tablets. >> if you extrapolate that to the potential billions of mobile devices that are out there, that's a pretty staggering number. >> reporter: perhaps 15 million infected devices in the u.s. alone. it's a clever strategy. instead of using their own computing power to run illicit programs that crack passwords, stale gi steal gift cards, scoop up concert tickets and even post spam on social media, hackers have dispatched bots to covertly use your data and battery power to help them commit crime. these strategic new bots are designed to minimize red flags. they hide in the background, keeping you in the dark. they use your phone only about 50 times per day, so you don't notice the extra data use. then they time their exploits while you're moving, when your phone's ip address is changing as

chris chmura on shopping duty. >> reporter: hey, there, yeah. i'm out here with iheart radio 80s 103.7, jamba juice and pizza my heart and family giving tree and allowing you to stuff a backpack for a kid in need. we'll show you how it works and we'll -- you could save energy by living off the grid. completely. or... just set the washing machine to cold. do your thing. with energy upgrade california. >>> welcome back to your markets trading lower this morning. you know, we were talking about facebook yesterday. that stock's fallen another 1% and the big story is twitter. it is down 18%. pretty much matching percentage-wise facebook's loss yesterday. dow industrials losing 87 points. >> rough couple of days for those bay area tech companies. >>> all right. cooling down in the weather. not that much that you'll feel it but at least a little cooler in time for the weekend. >> cooler inland areas. it is much cooler for the coast. where it's already been cool and getting a live look outside right now in dublin, we are seeing a lot of sunshine and tem

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next. >>> and a pretty view looking from emeryville off to the west right now. as you can see, 70s in emeryville. still some 90s inland around livermore. currently 92 degrees. how hot will those temperatures get as we get back to the workweek? a look at that in the forecast when we come right back. ♪ strummed guitar you can't experience the canadian rockies through a screen. you have to be here, with us. ♪ upbeat music travel through this natural wonder and get a glimpse of amazing, with a glass of wine in one hand, and a camera in the other, aboard rocky mountaineer. canada's rocky mountains await. call your travel agent or rocky mountaineer for special offers now. >>> nbc bay area responds to a gilroy man who paid for premiere seats on a long flight, but he ended up in economy class. >> consumer investigator chris chmura looked into the apparently bungled booking. >> reporter: this man planned a trip to australia. he wanted to spend the 15-hour flight in relati

. >> chris chmura has been our tour guide all week showing us every step of a hes. this morning we're aimed at getting you involved. >> good morning. this is what it is all about, stuffing backpacks with supplies, so less fortunate kids are fully prepared to go back to school. hundreds of volunteers, several generous companies and one nonprofit, family giving tree, are hoping to get 37,000 backpacks into the hands of kids in need before the first day of school. it's a big job, packing 27,000 backpacks, but sadly, that's just a small fraction of what's actually needed. >> annually there is a need of over 350,000, so with our goal of this year of 37,000, we're going to reach about 10%. of course, we would like to do way more thanppor hopefully we can. >> that's your cue. you can donate a backpack today. we'll be collecting them at the jamba juice on al monte between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00. you can build a backpack virtually, head to nbcbayarom hope to hear fromne mountain view. please join us in supporting our schools. i'll be back at 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. with more o

our )chris chmura ) will be lie all week long telling you how you can help during our midday newscast. this morning - the )bay bridge series ) trophy is back in oakland. but our favorite part of the game... happened before first pitch! -ad lib- -toss to kari for weather- ad lib toss to weather a couple of new crashes... here )s a look at what )s ahead. still closed. months after a deadly shooting... the future plans for a group helping veterans in the north bay. we )re working even during commercial breaks. we are constantly tweeting and updating our social media pages. follow mike at-mikey-no-way to get traffic alerts before you head out. distance relationship. this is long distance with the best wifi experience, plus the most free shows to stream. and with savings on wireless, this is a relationship with more money to spend on the important things. this is how xfinity makes life... simple. easy. awesome. xfinity gives you the best wifi experience to stream the most free movies and shows from anywhere. plus, staying connected on the go is easy with xfinity mobile. switch today and se

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay airy responds next. >>> and another warning to stay oust the water. no more swimming at a popular park. you can see why. we'll have more details next. >>> and did you feel that humid today? i'm chief meteorologist jeffet moves out and what's next for the weekend up in aboutght minu. a local couple -- looped into a national scam. >>> nbc bay responds to a home buying nightmare. a local couple looped into a national scam. >> chris chumura is here with the loss and why nobody warned them. >> this young couple, this young familying they were looking to move into their new home. they were going to move i l week, buy it last week and move in. but in a flash, their down payment vanished p the couple feels tripped and humiliated, but they're speaking up because they feel an entire industry is not. >> they were so scared. >> reporter: it was painful but alicia and eric told their kids the truth. >> we told them that we're not going to be moving. >> reporter: the dream home they saved t

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, nbc bay area responds next. >>> and i'm tweeting about nationalntern day. i don't have one now, but i actually started as an intern. how many of you remember the great jim easton? i wonder if he would remember me. follow me on twitter. @lauragarcianbc. you're watching today in the bay. >>> welcome back. for many parents of high school seniors, back to school means planning for next year. >> that's right. consumer investigator chris chmura is here with an important reminder for all families of college-bound students. >> it's simple, really. don't leave money on the table. in 2015, san francisco based nerd wallet estimated students nationwide left $2.9 billion in financial aid unclaimed. of that, 100,000 california high school seniors gave up almost $4,000 each because they didn't apply for a pell grant. here's what they should have done. fill out the fafsa, the free application for federal student aid. >> just go to the fafsa.gov, and that will give you instructions on how to fill it out, and if all else fails, contact the financial aid office. tha

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, nbc bay area responds, next. ♪ follow the wta stars as they hitan jose the mubadala silicon valley classic where visionaries become victors july 30th to august 5th the us open series tickets on sale now >>> welcome back. we continue to follow that breaking news, a fire in far northern california threatening homes and lives in shasta county. we've been telling you about the carr fire all morning long, this is video posted to with your twitter, our viewer posting "it's actual armageddon outside." communities around reading have been evacuated, this is happening as we speak, and sadly, a bulldozer operator has been killed. the fire burned more than 45 square miles, that's about the size of san francisco. we are watching for the latest information. we will bring you updates just the moment they come in. >>> this week, nbc bay area supporting our schools in a major way, helping collect thousands of backpacks for kids in need. >> chris chmura has shown us every step of this big process. this morning we're aiming to get you involved. >> good morning. thi

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. we'll explain how you can join us in supporting your school, next. you could save energy by living off the grid. completely. or... just set the washing machine to c do your thing. with energy upgrade california. been found alive and well. >>> another update to our breaking news, this is good news, though. 16-year-old elizabeth epps has been found alive and well. b.a.r.t. police found her at the pleasant hill b.a.r.t. station. a few moments ago in this newscast we showed you a photo of the man suspected of kidnapping her. he's been arrested. he was wanted as part of an amber alert issued out of hayward this afternoon, around 2:00 this afternoon. pittsburg police pulled him over and arrested him. at that point isabelle was not in the car with him. she's been found safe and okay at the pleasant hill b.a.r.t. station. still unknown is what happened from the time she was allegedly taken by this man and how she ended up at the b.a.r.t. station. we'll of course have full coverage on this com

consumer investigator chris chmura is here with an important warning for you. >> reporter: this is very serious stuff. internet imposters are preying on people who are buying a home by hacking their communications with realtors and mortgage brokers. they get you to transfer money to the wrong account. then they vanish. >> it's like no one cares. >> reporter: cindy bernal's dream of owning a home took an abrupt u-turn when a scammer stole her money. >> i was in shock, i think. i didn't know what to do. i just didn't what i was instructed to do and thought it would be all okay.k up. a few weeks earlier, cindy began browsing online real estate listings because her rent here was about to double. she looked in ohio. it's less expensive and near her daughter. this three-bedroom, 980 square foot house south of cleveland caught her eye. >> so i put in an offer the same day with the agent, and that was it. >> reporter: cindy offered $25,400, and the seller accepted. cindy decided to pay cash, one payment, her life savings. on may 10th, she got an e-mail telling her where to wire the money. she f

here )s consumer investigator chris chmura.e over uber and lyft-- >>> he says a rock hit the roof of the car. geiko sent an adjuster and estimated it would cost $570 to fix the chip. when mark took the car the a bmw repair center they needed to replace the entire roof. mark says he had another shop and it agreed with that figure. geiko then denied the claim saying the chip in the roof was due to wear and tear. the insurance company said geiko worked with the policyholder and the claim has been resolved. mark got his second and third opinion. you should too. take your time, do your research and be sure you're getting the benefits you paid for. >>> bmw car sharing unit called reach now and you'll be able to hail a driver immediately or schedule a liride a week in advance. >> a live look this morning m people apparently living their best lives. fremont is least stressed. oakland 112, santa rosa 159, san jose 175. i guess they looked at things like income, suicide rate, divorce. >>> a sign of the times and a housing crisis in the b

consumer investigator chris chmura shows us how you can tell washington what you think about that ideaans is open >>> we are talking about the consumer protection bureau. it takes complaints from consumers like you and investigates them. they are kept in a public database. banks don't like that neatither does the white house. he directed his administration to dismantle. consumer advocates say that's a serious problem. >> we need organizations like that. they were put to protect consumers. for them to be deregulated at this point is terrible. >> your access could be cut off soon. washington is asking what taxpayers want. you can tell the government how you feel about that until midnight tonight. public comments can be submitted online. you can share your complaints about banks or anything else with us using our web site. you can also call us 888-996-tips. >>> 6:25 right now. a zoo is open again after a big cat got loose and killed several animals. a young male jaguar killed a fox as well. the zoo says it's now in a secure setting. >>> you have to see it and it might be a new vacation de

consumer investigator chris chmura is here to explain how... new this morning: >>> welcome back. it's 6 24 right now. james cancelled his home warranty. according to the contract he would get a prorated refund. he didn't get anything despite attempts since march. that's when he turned to us for help. we contacted them and james receive add prorated refund totaling $963. in a statement they didn't explain the delay it just said it was processing a refund as per the terms and conditions for the customer's service agreement. we attempted to follow up after another viewer told us they could not get ahold of the company. the phone number is disconnected and the web site is now offline. we regularly get complaints about home warranty. listen up homeowners, you need to read the contracts carefully and fully. look for copays and deductibles. make sure you fully understand what's covers and what's not before you buy in. those exclusions might surprise you. >> look online at nbcbay area.com. >>> if your child has one of those rechargeable fuidget spinners be careful. they say the battery w

here )s consumer investigator chris chmura. now to this developing story.. a lava explosion in hawaii-- >>> it is one of the independent contractors. she decide today throw in the unsold clothing. she was told she would get back about 90% of what she paid for the items. she was still waiting for a check so she turn today us. we contacted lularoe. it sent a statement saying retailers have clear and established processes for contacting lularoe. she told us she got her money just over $6,500. direct marketing sales can sound like an easy way to make money. it can be risky. you pligmight end up with a gar full of products you can't sale. always carefully read the policies by any direct marketing opportunity and research the company online. call us directly any time. 888-996-tips or visit nbc bay area.com/responds. >>> 6:26 right now. now to this developing story, a lava explosion in hawaii sends a lava bomb through the roof of a tour boat. at least 23 people were hurt. one listed in serious condition. the other passengers got burned and scraped. >> it exploded s

consumer investigator chris chmura is here to explain how... >>> nbc responds to a man who bought a home warranty. he was frustrated when the company called secure home warranty denied claims that he thought should be paid. so james canceled the coverage. according to his contract, he would get a prorated refund. but it didn't get anything despite attempts since march. that's when he turned to us for help. we contacted secure home warranty and james received a prorated refund totalling $963. in a statement, secure home warranty didn't explain the delay in his refund. it just. it was processing a refund as per the terms and conditions of the customer's service agreement. another nbc bay area viewer that they could not get a hold of the company. the phone number is disconnected is that the website is now offline. we regularly get complaints about home warranties. so read those contracts carefully and fully. interest the policies. make sure that you fully understand what's covered and what's not before you buy in. it might surprise you. you can call nbc bay area responds. >>> take a look at

consumer investigator chris chmura is here with more anchts family's life savings disappeared. >> wel people being duped into a national scam. >> good morning. clever thieves are constantly hacking the home buying process. they are sending look alike e-mails that trick home buyers into wiring money to the wrong bank account. it is exactly what they fell for last month. they now out $89,000. they said the hardest part was telling their kids who were initially afraid but also inquisitive. >> i'm skeing how did this happen? we couldn't answer that. >> they discovered this is devastating many home buyers. they feel real estate industry is to warn people. coming up at 5:00 they make the case of the key players here are too quiet about a huge security lapse. at 11:00 the surprising thing we learned when we called 100 local real estate agents and how our question could change how you buy your next home. visit nbcbayarea.com/responds. i'll join you tonight at 5:00 and 11:00. >> thank you. >>> it is 6:27 right now. monitoring your child's online activity can be a challenge. there are options

i'm chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next. gilr seats on a long-haul flight -- but ended up in economy class. >>> nbc bay area responds to a gilroy man who paid a lot of money for premium seats on a long haul flight but ended up in economy class. >> we looked into the apparently bungled booking. >> reporter: keith potta planned a trip to australia. he wanted to spend the 15-hour flight in comfort. he booked through the web site justfly. he said he flamed $3800 for a premium economy seat but when he checked in at sfo qantas told him he was booked in regular economy with the rest of us. after he returned to gilroy he said he called just fly repeatedly to ask for a refund. the travel agency didn't respond so he turned to us. a spokesman told us this has clearly been a mistake on our part. we'll use this case to improve on processes and communication. just fly then gave him a $2,200 refund. this is the second time over the past few months we've helped just fly customers who ended up in the same situation, in coach despite paying a

. >> chris chmura joins us with more. >> $6,000.othes for an independent contractor. she decided to throw in the towel and return the unsold clothing. she said she was told she would get back about 90% what she had paid for the items. but five months later, she was still waiting for the money. more than $6,000. she turned to us and we contacted the company. it declined to company on the case, citing privacy concerns, but sent a statement saying that retailers who are leaving the business have clear and established processes for contacting them. then, one day after we reached out to them, mari told me us she got her money, $6,544.34. direct marketing sales can sound like an easy way to make money but it can be risky. you m e up with full of products you simply can't sell. or you might find out you don't have the time or the business savvy for independent retail. so at sign-up, read through the enrollment packet. know what you're getting into. ask questions. and as always, before you sign up, make sure you research the company online.

consumer investigator chris chmura joins us with a quick warning, if you think those frequent flier miles airlines speak out of both sides of their mouth when they tell passengers their miles can't expire. the good news is you can earn miles without flying. you don't have to keep your account current by sitting in a tiny little seat and going across the country. you can stay in a hotel. you can rent a car. you can even get one of their credit cards. send us your consumer questions. call or go online. >> thank you, chris. >>> the wait is over. the south bay has its own dunkin' donuts. yes, people lined up this morning to be some of the first customers. the new dunkin' donuts is located in south san jose on snell avenue. some customers got up way, way, way early to get a taste. >> i came down with my son. he was like, let's get up early in the morning. we set the alarm for 5:20. we saw there was a line. we came down. it was his bright idea this morning. >> san jose once had a dunkin' donuts restaurant but it's been closed for more than 20 years. this is a new one and there are still lines.

. >> consumer investigator chris chmura is here with more on the local people roped into a national scameporter: good morning. clever thieves are constantly hacking the home buying process. they're sending look alike e-mails that trick home buyers into wiring money to the wrong bank account. that's exactly what alicia and eric fell for last month. they're now out $89,000. they said the hardest part is telling their kids who are initially afraid and also inquisitive. >> the next question was, how did this happen? and we couldn't answer that. >> reporter: they discovered this scam is devastating many home buyers. they feel the real estate industry is ignoring the responsibly to warn people. we have two stories. accommodating up at 5:00, they make the case that is right key players are too fie yet about a huge security lapse. then 11:00, surprising thing we learned calling 100 local real estate agents and how our question could change how you buy your next home. i'll join you again tonight at 5:00 and 11:00. >> all right. thanks, chris. >>> all right. so there is a celebration on the centra

chris chmura explains. >> reporter: we have heard from several home buyers who tell the same story.st tens of thousands of dollars in the time it took to click send on their computer. this story is no different except this western lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. >> $400,000. >> reporter: this san jose woman asked us to conceal her identity but she wants to you hear her story because she doesn't want this to happen to anyone else. >> i hear similar story happening everywhere around the u.s. >> reporter: she found a home she could afford to buy. in the bay area that takes a lot of money up front, $400,000. thieves had other ideas. scammers send her e-mails from the real estate agent and the title company. >> they asked me to wire the money instead of cash or checks because the seller changes the direction. >> reporter: she wired the $400,000 as instructed. then she went to the tiling company for closing. >> two hours later they called me saying they didn't receive the fund. >> reporter: desperate to stop the transaction she raced to the bank. but it was too late. hopes of buyin

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. we'll show you how when nbc bay area responds next. day to compl and financial >>> well, nbc bay area responds to complaints every day about banks and financial services. >> after today, taxpayers may lose access to a tool. you can tell washington what you think about that idea. >> talking about the consumer financial protection bureau taking complaints of consumers like you and investigates them. complaint records are kept in a public database. banks don't like, neither does the white house. president trump contends the bureau has too much power, directed the administration to dismantle the cfpb. consumer advocates say that's a serious problem. >> we need organizations like that to protect consumers. they were put in place after the financial crisis to protect consumers and for them to be defunded and deregulated at this point is terrible. >> your access to the complaint database could be cut off soon. washington is asking what taxpayers want and you can tell the government how you feel about that. until midnight tonight. public comme

having their fourth of july parade sponsored by the kiwanis club and a cool emcee over there, chris chmura. if you call his name, he'll probably respond. >> so will i, though. >> kris! >> sometimes chris with a c-h and sounds different f. you don't see chris out there check it out here. that would be the storm ranger. it will be in the parade, as well. >> cool. >> storm ranger is our mobile doppler radar. if you watched this promo from kari and jeff on the air, i'm sure you have once or twice, talks about how the high-tech radar is there for ground level readings and really cool. i don't think -- i haven't checked. i don't think we can use that during the fireworks show and like to watch it like missile command. >> i was wondering if the smoke -- pick it up. >> it has from the fires, for example, in the north bay. yeah. definitely on your lookout for that in danville. >> yes, i remember. missile command. >> you do. whatever you remember, whatever generation of game, everything on nbc bay area.com, latest updates on the information you need to know. >> thank you, mike. >>> a tragic killing,

here's investigator chris chmura. >> ivy said we can show you the pipes in the photo. right here. right there and across right there. last summer she hired roto-rooter to make repairs but water started to gushing out indicating a new problem. well, ivy says a worker mistakenly cut a plastic tube while digging to repair the bad pipe and the crew fixed the mistake but then the company zilzi billed her for the work. she said she made several calls to roto-rooter to make it right. when it didn't, she turned to us. we asked roto-rooter what happened and it waved the $158.88 in charges and late fees that accrued. corporate spokesman said a manager with the franchise who was responsible for all of this and handling the matter, he was on leave. the company said it dropped the ball and apologized. ivy, kudos to her for look at the bill. make sure you're not paying for someone else's error. call us any time, 888-996-types or visit nbc bay area.com/responds. >> thanks a lot, chris. >>> all right. a warm day here in studio. warm day outside. >> it is going to be really hotd. i guess we are ki

. >> consumer investigative chris chmura joins us with an update on how much money we've saved folks in north california. >> we want to help you get your money back. whether it's a few dollars or a few thousands, we will do our best to get you what you deserve. we have now helped bay area consumers recover more than $1.8 million since we started back in 2016. and we responded to more than 10,600 complaints from viewers just like you. some recent wins here, we helped bill in san jose get back more than $8,700 after he encountered problems with a health spending account. when greg in menlo park ran into problems getting his lap tom fixed, he contacted us. we took it up with the manufacturer and greg got $2,700 back. and dan in windsor told us his mobile phone provider made a very large mistake on his bill. we helped straighten it out with the wireless company and reverse a $590 charge. maybe we can help you, too. call us anytime. the number is 888-969-tips, or online at nbcbayarea.com/responds. have a great weekend. >> you too, chris. >>> and what will the weather hold for the weekend?

. >> here's consumer investigator chris chmura. >> laurie miller sold clothes as an independent contractor. she decided to throw in the towel and returned the unsold clothing to lularoe. she was told to get back 90% for the items and five months later she was still waiting for a check. so she turned to us. we contacted lularoe and cited privacy concerns and sent a statement saying retailer who is are leaving the business have clear and established processes for contacting lularoe. then, one day after we reached out to them, she told us she got her money, just over $6,500. direct marketing sales can sound like an easy way to make money but it can be risky. you might end up with a garage full of products you can't sell. you find out you don't really have the time or business savvy for independent retail. always carefully read the policies presented by any direct marketing opportunity and research the company online. call us directly any time. 888-996-tips or visit nbc bay area.com/responds. >> all right. thank you, chris. >>> earlier you were saying take lunch outside. not too hot? >> not to

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura.s next. >> bob redell loves his throw-back thursdays and so do we. here's an old clip from today in the bay. the bicyclists made off with bob's microphone. he had to chase after them. you're watching today in the bay. atherton man whose attempt avoid hackers backfired. >>> 6:25 for you right now. nbc bay area responds to an apalten man to attempts to avoid hackers and it backfires. >> it's more important than ever to keep your financial data safe. and that's why david says he started using prepaid debit cards. he hoped that would shield his bank information from thieves. but david says some of the prepaid cards he bought were hacked and used by someone else, and $2200 vanished. david says he filed fraud claims with the card issuer, u.s. bank, but didn't get a response. he called us. u.s. bank got back to us right away. it wouldn't comment, but offered to work with david to rezuvl his complaint. and a few days later, david told us he got a check for $2200. plus an apology. prepaid cards

consumer investigator chris chmura looked into the >>> nbc responds to a gilroy man who paid premium seats but ended up in the economy seats with the rest of us. >> a man plan ad trip to australia and wanted to spend the 15-hour trip in relative comfort. he booked on justfly.com, and he paid for a premium seat, but when he checked in at sfo, he was told that he was booked into regular economy like the rest of us. and he said that he called repeatedly to ask for the partial refund, and the travel agency wouldt not respond so he c contacted us. so we notified them on be hhalff him and he said that this is clearly a mistake on our part, and we will use this case as a way to the improve our processes, and he was included a $2,200 refund. this is the second time in a month that we have helped just fly customers in coach despite paying the four-figure premium for the nicer seats. here is how to avoid that. if you book through a travel site, and any travel site make one phone call immediately after you are ticket and call the airline yourself and reconfirm the dates and the time and of cour