. >> she buys into solar but says the installer isn't i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. bay area responds next. >>> happening now at 4:53, the last great race has a new champion. alaska's over after nine days on the trail. he's getting cash and a new 2019 ram track. to simone, i l son, the wine collecti. grace, you get the beach house, just don't leave the lights on, okay? to mateo, my favorite chair. to chris, the family recipes. to craig, this rock. to jamie, well, let's just say, enjoy the ride. the redwoods to the redheads. the rainbows to the proud. the almonds to walter. the beaches to the bums. and the fog to, who else, karl. i leave these things to my heirs, all 39 million of you, on one condition. that you do everything in your power to preserve and protect them. with love, california. dublin woman who says a solar panel installer left her in the >>> 4:56, nbc bay area responds to a woman who says solar panel installer left her in the dark. >> she asked chris chmura to shed light on the situation. >> reporter: good morning. we received 120 solar complaints since

the movies with access like an "a" lister but instead they give it an i'm consumer investigator chris chmurabc bay area responds," next. >>> but first, happening now, china is censoring more than two minutes of lgbtq content from "bohemian rhapsody." some people call the release in china a victory, particularly only a limited number of western films are screened in the country every year. we'll be back with more news in two minutes. stick around. it's 4:52. ad lib live picture--n francisco >>> a very good morning to you. taking a livek beautiful look at san francisco illuminated on this monday morning. rain in the works, starting in the north bay. we'll check in with kari for the full forecast. 4:55 right now. >>> happening today, ride share drivers demanding their fair share plan to protest and strike across california. a union supporting drivers claims, uber recently cut drivers pay by 25% in some places. uber reportedly says this was actually the unintended result of an incentive promotion. union leaders have planned a one-day strike in southern california and in san francisco, ride share

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next. >>> and happening now, a high-ranking member of the catholic church convicted of hiding sex abuse. the french court finds top will cardinal guilty of failing to report a pedophile priest. this is france's most important sex abuse trial so far. the cardinal was given a six-month suspended sentence. the priest confessed to abusing the boy scout in the 1970s and '80s will be tried separately. we'll have more news right after this break. can i have a peanut butter sandwich? can charlie have one, too? charlie can have one too. one for charlie. (gasp) look mom! charlie took a bite. feed his imagination, with the fresh roasted peanut taste he loves. where there's jif, there's love. has been making folks feel right at home, with meals like homestyle country fried steak, grandma's sampler, and our signature chicken n' dumplins. so, come on home to what you love. come on home to cracker barrel. to take care of yourself. but nature's bounty has innovative ways to help

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," next. >>> happening now, at 4:51, more children and young adults are going to the emergency room for psychiatric care. researchers from john hopkins university looked at er visits between 2011 and 2015 and found psychiatric related visits rose 28% in people under the age of 24, the largest increases were among teens, young adults and minorities. and although most of these visits were long, very few patients saw a mental health specialist while in the er. >>> a lot more news ahead. stick around. ad lib live picturo alto >>> good monday morning to you. a live look outside near palo alto. mike has tabs on the morning commute if you're trying to get out the door early. it's 4:54 right now. >>> nbc bay area responds to a vallejo man who says a garage door installer didn't fulfill his promises. >> consumer investigator chris chmura found an important for everybody. >> brad hired a contract why are to install a new garage door with an $89 battery backup so the door would open during the power outage. he did not get the battery he

i'm consumier investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," next. >>> first, today is the last day to use payless gift cards in store credits. last month the shoe store chain declared bankruptcy. payless not accepting returns, customer coupons or any reward redemptions. the company is going out of business sale is expected to continue through the end of may. more news right after this break. fremont >>> and good monday morning to you. right now, a live look out of fremont. a few cars on the road there, getting started with their week. mike will have a look at the commute for you coming up in just a bit. >>> nbc bay area responds to a san jose woman whose designer backpack purchase hit a snag. >> consumer investigator chris chmura and his team helped iron things out. >> good morning. skr jessica williams tried to use her $100 gift card to buy a drawstring backpack on the true religion website. she says she redeemed her card at checkout but the purchase didn't go through. so she tried again, and the card was empty. so if you're keeping score, no money, and no bag, also, no respon

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. that's next. >>> and happening now, people in oregon protesting over a new bill that would limit vaccine exemptions. the northwest dealing with an outbreak of measles, we told but that. state lawmakers in oregon and washington state are pushing new bills that would crack down on a vaccine exemptions. under the new oregon bill, parents would no longer be able to claim vaccine exemptions for religious, personal or philosophical reasons. more news after this break. it's 4:51. >>> good morning to you. what a lovely, live look outside, looking this is from emeryville looking toward the city of san francisco. some nice clearing we'll see today. full forecast coming in moments. 4:53 right now. >>> on the prowl, you need to watch out for mountain lions in the south bay. deputies received multiple calls about mountain lions and coyotes spotted in cupertino and sar e saratoga. beneath the tree you can see the mountain lion. animal control found one of the big cats in saratoga yesterday afternoo

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," next. >>> but first, happening now,utiful start to spring. tokyo officially announcing the cherry blossom season has started. the first cherry blossoms of the season were observed at a shrine. the flowers also blossomed in southwestern japan. the pink phenomenon not around for long. people will be able to enjoy the beauty for just a few weeks. more news ahead. it's 4:52. to simone, i leave the van gogh. to harrison, the wine collection. grace, you get the beach house, just don't leave the lights on, okay? to mateo, my favorite chair. to chris, the family recipes. to craig, this rock. to jamie, well, let's just say, enjoy the ride. the redwoods to the redheads. the rainbows to the proud. the almonds to walter. the beaches to the bums. and the fog to, who else, karl. i leave these things to my heirs, all 39 million of you, on one condition. that you do everything in your power to preserve and protect them. with love, california. i'm an ice cruncher. so i was excited about all-new colgate total. it has sensitivity relief,

our consumer investigator chris chmura's been following this robocall problem for months now. chris, we need help. what's the skinny? >> good evening. at&t and comcast told us they made the first ever authenticated call between two separate networks. sounds geeky but basically they made the very first call with caller i.d. you can actually trust. and that's bad news for scammers because their main tactic to get you to answer a robo call is caller i.d. that looks legit. but is it? let's get geeky again. comcast, which owns nbc bay area told us that it and at&t made the first authenticated call by embedding a data fingerprint called a token. the receiving phone checked that token to make sure it was legit and marked the caller i.d. as verified, therefore safe to answer. once everyone gets this technology and we know to look for the word verified on caller i.d. we should finally be in good shape to undercut the scammers. if everyone sfopz answering their unverified calls maybe that will force the bad guys out of business once and for all. so when will we get this caller i.d. upgr

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura.or three years now, our team has been hard at work solving your consumer problems and helping you get your money back. we've helped recover nearly $2.5 million since 2016 for families just like yours. tonight, we're going to look at some of the cases we've investigated and the answers we've found that might help you save time and money. we begin this evening with some bay area families who've faced enormous bills for air ambulances. these flights can and do save lives,

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. a quick progress report from "nbc bay area responds," next. >>> and happening now, a huge methamphetamine bust just southeast of the bay area. more than half a million dollars worth of the drug off the street. police say an informant tipped off authorities that a los angeles man was in town to sell drugs. officers found 11 pounds of meth. narcotics detectives say the drugs came in from mexico. more news right after this break. our nbc bay area respondsm has received more than >>> 4:55 now. our "nbc bay area responds" team has gotten more than 13,000 calls for help from viewers just like you. >> it's ringing off the hook. consumer investigator chris chmura has a peek behind the scenes in some cases they're actively working to resolve. >> we investigate. we mediate, and we negotiate. that's what's happening with several dozen cases in the works with our team now. we're helping hadley in san jose, she's having trouble with her driving record, an error caused her car insurance to jump 500

i'm consumer investigators chris chmu chmura. nbc bay area responds.>>> happening now animal rights activists are cheering on a new proposal to make some california racetracks change. whips might be banned from santa anita in los angeles, golden gate field right here in the bay area. a majority of jockeys are against the proposal. hit-and-run died and it was shut down for racing. the whip was not connected to any of the horses deaths we might add. that all important forecast at 4:51. ♪ ♪ the things that matter most happen one morning and one cup at a time. >>> welcome back, everyone. it's 4:54. nbc bay area responds to a san jose woman's mess with a smartphone. >> investigative reporter or investigative consumer reporter chris chmura is here to give usa lesson to learn from all of her headaches. >> good morning. let's talk about martha coke. she asked us tops settle a dispute with sprint. she wound up with one of her daughter's friends on the account without her knowledge or permission. that extra phone line racked up charges she said she simply couldn

i'm investigator chris chmura. that's next. ♪ ♪ with the chase mobile app, jason wu could pay practically anyone, at any bank, all while putting on a runway show for new york fashion week. ♪ ♪ he could. or, he could make it even easier - and set up recurring payments to his neighbor. for cat sitting. (meow) whoa. you've groomed her, too. (cell phone vibrating) and now she's ready for the catwalk. life, lived jason's way. chase. make more of what's yours. wasn )t doing its job. and when she tried to get it repaired, she was stuck with mo >>> nbc bay area responds to a san jose woman today whose dishwasher wasn't doing its job. >> a dishwasher only has one job. >> washing dishes. >> chris chmura joins us, our consumer investigative reporter. >> what's with the dishwashers? we've had several of these cases recently. let's talk about sylvia flanders. it broke down this past august. she called series where she had bought the dishwasher and an extended service plan. shre canceled several service calls over several months

smart phone mess. >> consumer investigator chris chmura joining us. >> read the bills. that's what ma that coke was doing when she discovered she had this dispute with sprint. somehow she wound up with one of her daughter's friends on her sprint account without her knowledge or her permission. that extra phone line racked up charges she said she couldn't afford. martha said she tried to unwind it all but spent seven months getting nowhere with sprint and she was facing collections at that point. our team stepped in and helped sort it all out. sprint gave martha a refund of $437 and said we strive to provide our customers with the best possible products and service. when sprint fails to meet their expectation, it's important for us to know. martha's case races questions we should all ask. do you have a p.i.n. i'm not talking about the pass code on the phone or the log in to look at your bill, i'm talking a p.i.n. specific to account changes. lots of carriers offer them. it's a six to ten-digit number you can set up and lock down service modifications like adding users in

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, nbc bay area responds next.hopper whose experience with a beauty product got pretty u >>> nbc bay area responds to a san mateo shopper whose experience with a beauty product got pretty ugly. >> chris chmura stepped in to help. chris? >> jocelyn says i know the amount is not much, but i hope you can help me. how much are we talking about here? well, 40 bucks, well, $39.95 to be exact. here's what happened. jocelyn ordered a product that offered natural radiance from west moore beauty. she returned it 16 days later. but we checked their return policy and it's actually pretty generous. it says you can return any new or gently used products within 60 days of your purchase. please allow two to four weeks to process the return. but after three months of waiting, jocelyn says she did not get her money back. so she wrote us. our team contactedt and it responded saying jocelyn's account was refunded $39.95. west more didn't respond to our questions about the delay. send us your unsolved consumer complaints, 888-996-tips

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. we respond, next.undreds of co every week, from families like yours. >>> nbc bay area responds to hundreds of consumer complaints every week from families like yours. >> consumer investigator chris chmura is here to tell us about the recent wins. >> you can't predict what i'll talk about each night. >> you always talk about getting me money back for our viewers, we know that. >> the viewers really do keep us guessing. our cases are genuinely all over the map, specifically when it comes to subject matter. look at all of these different topics. but yeah, also all over the map, the actual map. let's go to the map and start up in the north bay. we're talking about patricia in mill valley. she had trouble with her car's extended warranty, it wasn't as advertised. we got the wheels turning with her deal and her aer and a $3,0. another woman, christine in burlingame, was not happy with her daughter's math tutor, she got back more than $1,000. linda in san jose ran into problems with an online exam for her job

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds, next.ulance bill turned into a real headache. >>> nbc bay area responds to a san francisco mom whose ambulance bill turned into a headache. >> a lot of people have this problem. our consumer investigator chris chmura stepped in to ease the pain. >> reporter: judith says her son had a nasty cut on his face from a playground accident, nothing too serious but he did need treatment. a city ambulance crew saw her carrying her little boy and offered to help. the medics told her, she said, they would bill her insurance. yet she got a bill for $2,100 in the bail. she said she asked the billing company to file a claim with her health insurance but that didn't happen. after four months of trying to resolve this herself, judith asked us to help out. we reached out to the city's ambulance billing service. and about a week later, judith says it sent her bill to the insurance provider which paid it in full, all $2,100. health insurance doesn't always the cover ambulance rides at 100%. so you should check

i'm investigator chris chmura, next. nbc bay area responds to a dublin woman who says a solar panel installer left her in the >>> well nbc bay area responds to a dublin woman who said that a solar panel installer left her in the dark. >> we're going to turn it over to consumer investigator chris chmura as we do when we have issues like this. solar very hot right now. >> in our department. over the past three years more than 120 complaints about solar installations. from various people about various companies. and various problems over the past three years. let's talk about fada, who wrote in to say her solar system wasn't generating as much power as she expected. she said she asked the company to send a tech out to inspect the panels, but got no response. so she turned to us. we contacted the company. well it didn't get back to us either. but it did send a crew to her house and she said they replaced nearly the entire solar system free of charge. and fada said if she paid for that herself, it would have cost her $30,215.

i'm consumer investigators chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next. malta tanker ship that was >>> 6:22 right now. chaos out at sea. maltese navy seizes control of a tanker ship hijacked by migrants in the mediterranean. a new video showing several military officials there with the weapons on board the turkish oil taerng when it arrived this morning. the migrants are being turned over to police. maltese special operations boarded that ship returning control to the captain who sailed to malta under military escort. >>> a concern the active volcano could erupt any time. it's a story we're covering for weeks on "today in the bay." the volcano seeing activity lately. it released a powerful explosion lighting up the sky with lava and incandescent rock. no communities in danger from the blast but authorities urged nearby towns to be on alert. >>> nbc bay area responds to a san jose woman's smartphone mess. >> consumer investigator chris chmura is here with a lesson from all of us to take from her headache. >> good morning. let's talk about martha koch. she

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next.ear to resolve. >>> nbc bay area responds to a san pablo woman whose case took a year to resolve. >> consumer investigator chris chmura joins us now to explain why it took so long. >> a year. >> a year. >> that's a long time. >> that's what they call an outlier for us. most of the time we can get results pretty quickly. sometimes in a couple hours, not so much for ella. she owns a small business, and in late 2017 she had dhl deliver a 30-pound crate of honey from africa. it's for her business. now, this is where it gets sticky. the shipping bill later listed the 30 pound crate as 50 pounds, and that drove the cost $500 higher than she budgeted. well, ella disputed that bill and refused to pay, then dhl closed her account. so she turned to us in early 2018. we contacted dhl several times throughout 2018. then in january of this year, 2019, ella says dhl finally compromised. it reopened her account and gave her a $300 refund. dhl did not respond to our request for comment. ella told us,

i'm consumer investor chris chmura. radar >>> well, taking a look right here at the radar as you see on the right, you can see that rain hovering over the bay area. to your left, you see walnut creek. definitely a wet start to your morning. the commute -- we'll look at the traffic and the weather. >>> 5:55 right now. all the wet weather has prompted caltrans to postpone work on the san rafael bridge. chunks of concrete was sent on cars driving by last month. >>> and happening today, a man accused of recently sucker punching a conservative activist on cal campus is due in court. >> zachary greenberg is expected to be formally charged with assault. cell phone video captured that confrontation on february 19th. williams the man who was punched was representing turning point. the video shows him being struck one time. neither of the victim of the -- williams appeared at cpac in maryland. >>> unusual grass roots efforts now under way in the south bay. teachers, staff and students at san jose's burnett academy are seeking to

i'm nbc bay area chris chmura, nbc responds. ♪ grocery outlet bargain market ♪ - wow!anic at this price? [gentle harp chords] is this for real? - not exactly. that's "bargain bliss" setting in. you're basking in the glow of name brand organic food products for shockingly low prices. - i guess the harpist isn't real either. - oh, she's real. she shops here every sunday. ♪ grocery outlet bargain market ♪ - [chord played] - [laughter] confirmed in nigeria .. where a school building collapsed. >>> welcome back, everyone. it is 6:23, eight deaths confirmed in nigeria where a school building collapsed. 37 more people have been rescued. there are fears the number of dead could go higher as emergency crews worked frantically through the night searching through all that rubble. it happened yesterday in the capital of lagos. it's believed up to 100 children were on the top floors of the cool when it collapsed. >>> well, a man thought to be one of the leaders of the infamous gambino crime family is found shot to death outside of his home in the new york city area. police responde

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. quick progress report from be in "nbc bay area responds" next. m has received more than 13- thousand calls for help from viewers like you. >>> our nbc bay area team responds to a lot of phone calls, more than 13,000 calls for help from viewers just like you. >> consumer investigator chris chmura has a peek behind the scenes in some cases they're actively working to resolve. >> we investigate. we mediate, and we negotiate. that's what's happening with several dozen cases in the works with our team now. we're helping hadley in san jose, she's having trouble with her driving record, an error caused her car insurance to jump 500 bucks. we're on it. we're also working with rene and jeanann in san jose. a company saddled them with more than $10,000 in what looks like it's mistaken identity or i.d. theft. it's debt they wound up with that is not theirs. >>> we're on another five-figure case, angela in los gatos was billed for several years of utility service she didn't use. we've gotten some

i'm consumier investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," next. >>> first, saturday was fight night on nbc bay area. it was our first airing of an exciting egaming competition in oakland. our very own mike inouye was live on the floor for all of the action. you can follow him on facebook for more of those photos and coverage. it is 6:20 right now. you're watching "today in the bay." [ dramatic orchestral music ] [ announcer ] tiger woods. [ tap of the putt ] expect anything different? [ waves crashing ] probably the most important shot dustin johnson has ever hit right here. [ crowd cheering ] what a gem! now keopka, down there into the wind. [ club thwacking ] how about that? back to back united states opens. [ tense elegant music ] just awesome. women )s national soccer team ae >>> welcome back, everyone. it is 6:23. several players on the u.s. women's national soccer team are fighting for equal pay. they are filing a lawsuit seeking equal pay, and treatment. the suit against the united states soccer federation is also alleging gender based discrimination. it includes 28 tea

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," next. >>> but first, "today in the bay'smike inouye still celebrating st. patrick's day on facebook. he wants to know if you used a leprechaun trap yesterday. be sure to share some of your holiday photos with us, using #nbcbayarea. we'd love to hear from you. you're watching "today in the bay." nbc bay area responds to a vallejo man who says a garage door installer didn )t fulfill its >>> nbc bay area responds to a vallejo man who says garage door installer didn't fulfill its promises. >> consumer investigator chris chmura found an important reminder for everyone in this dispute. >> brad hired a contractor to install a new garage door with an $89 battery backup so the door would open during the power outage. he did not get the battery he expected. so he called us. here is the thing. the battery backup wasn't offered in writing. brad said the promise was verbal. stalemate. but our teams got the two sides talking and they settled the $89 dispute. now, if we could rewind to when brad was hiring his contractor, we'd make sure ev

we have chris chmura. >> i can hear the passion in your voice. you love these things. here's the news. this might be history making. at&t and comcast told us they made the first-ever authenticated call between two networks. sounds geeky. they made the first call with caller id you can actually trust. that's bad news for scammers. because their main tactic to get you to answer is caller id that looks legit but isn't. comcast said it and at&t made the first authenticated call by using a token. the receiving phone checked that token to make sure it was legit and marked the caller id as verified and safe to answer. once we know to look for the word verified on caller id we should be in good shape to undercut the scammers. if everyone stops answering the unverified calls maybe that will force the bad guys out of business. so when will we get this caller id upgrade? not soon enough, i know. but close. the every major phone carrier to provide caller id authentication by the end of this year. we have whipped up this short, snappy video to help you spot robocalls. we have just

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," next. >>> and on facebook, "today in the bay's" mike inouye posting a warning for north bay drivers for next week. find out more about the roadwork being done near the robin williams tunnel. be sure to follow mike. you're watching "today in the bay." 6:21. as the crisis in venezuela continues -- the u-s is removing >>> new for you this morning, laura? >> a crisis in venezuela continues. the u.s. is removing all remaining personnel from its embassy in caracas. this is a fire, after an explosion at a power situation in the venezuelan capital. president nicolas maduro accuses the u.s.-led opposition for staging a cyber attack on the grid that left millions without power. last night, u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo tweeted "all remaining diplomats will leave by the end of the week." >>> this morning, ufc star conor mcgregor is out of jail after posting bail. he was arrested yesterday morning in miami after being accused of smashing a fan's phone at a hotel. the fan was attempting to take a photo of mcgregor. mcgregor is

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura., in two languages, next. >>> and happening now, tragedy at the grand canyon. a tourist from hong kong died when he fell a thousand pete into a ravine. authorities say he was trying to take photos. he is the second person to die at the grand canyon in just a week. last year, more than 6 million people visited the grand canyon. more news right after this break. tangled tickets, >>> 4:54 for you this morning. and "tatangled tickets, delayed departure, lost luggage with airlines arrival arrive to our spon "nbc bay area responds" office. >> the responds team at our nbc and telemundo sister stations around the country logged more than 3,000 airline gripes. locally, we just helped pam in half moon bay. she had an issue with an overseas flight and a delay that caused unplanned expenses. we're going to go in-depth with pam's case in a few weeks, because we see a lesson for everyone in how she got tripped up and how we got her $1800. over at telemundo responde, isaac vargas vass helped in san f

. >> she asked consumer investigator chris chmura and his team to help her get some value for them. >rning. celia bought gift certificates for two friends to use as a spa in nearby los gatos. when her friends tried to make an appointment, celia says no one answered. it turns out the spa had been sold. celia talked to the new owner she told celia she was no longer accepting old gift cards so celia turned to us. we got a discussion going and the new owner did something they didn't have to, they agreed to accept the gift cards for $400 worth of beauty products. gift cards are one of the most common complaints we get. we received more than 190 since 2016. california law protects your gift cards and forbids expiration dates but does not say anything about a change in store ownership. we say use them quickly. call us any time, 888-996-tips, or visit nbcbayarea.com/responds. >>> the playoffs can't start soon enough for the san jose sharks. >> the sharks are so hot right now, it's hard to believe the ice is staying frozen beneath them. ha, ha, ha. last night they were ies where minnesota wild

that happened to one woman, i'm chris chmura, nbc bay area responds, next. area resa san leandro woman whose high-flying purchase wound up grounded -- along with her >>> well, nbc bay area responds to a san leandro woman whose money ended up grounded. >> did you parachute in to help? >> yes, we did. this dates back to christmas. sandra hoffwood spent $124 on a drone kit. it was supposed to be a christmas gift. but it was not delivered in time for christmas, so she canceled and expected a $124 refund, but they didn't deliver that either. griphon air tech said we verified and noticed there was a technical error and proceeded to do the refund directly. sondra finally landed her $124 refund, which is supposed to be right there. little known fact, the federal trade commission says companies are supposed to deliver merchandise within 30 days of your order. if not, they should obtain written permission to delay the shipment or refund you in full. now i think this is really important information. so the next time an order is late and you're about to call customer se

i'm chris chmura, nbc bay area responds next. some film buffs wy signed up for a movie ticket subscription -- that bombed. consumer investigator >>> nshs bay area responds to film buffs who siepd up for a movie subscription that bombed. >> it's jep ragenerated gripes nationwide. don't mess with the movies. >>> nbc responds teams nationwide, heard from dozens of people who paid to join a movie ticket service. 15 of those from the bay area. members tell us the company keeps changing the rules and they're not getting their money's worth. sta a fire.y get absolutely try to send smoke signals to customer service. they're more likely to answer that than an e-mail i send. >> some e sorastic step. at 11:00 tonight, we'll explain how they're publicly fighting back against the company that ripped them off. why the company says the dispute should be handled confidentially. if a company is ignoring your complaints maybe we can help. 888-996-tips or nbc bay area/respond. >> we don't have film anymore. >> thank you, chris. >>> get ready here.

. >> our consumer investigator chris chmura shows us the one thing to protect your pin. >> newer chipre supposed to be more secure but thieves are still hacking our accounts. one weak spot, gas pumps. they're not required to take these cards yet. and won't be until 2020. thieves knowsone way to perhaps your account number right now, pay for your gas inside with a cashier. >> instead of at the pump. let us know if you have a consumer complaint at 888-996-tips or online at nbcbayarea.com/responds. >> thank you, chris. >>> it is not anything parents want to hear. the numbers show that more teens continue to take up vaping. now the fda is hoping to break that trend by restricting the sales of e flavored cigarettes. they will only be sold at retailers and websites that strictly enforce age restrictions. the changes do not apply to men thal and mint and tobacco to prevent youth vaping which has been labelled an epidemic. >>> if you want a pair of new shoes. write to steph curry. he wanted to give a special gift for father's day in june. so down the road a bit. jackson smoke is his name. he

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next.kpack purchase hit a snag. >>> nbc bay area responds to a san jose woman who's designer back pack purchase hit a snag. >> designer back pack. consumer investigator krchris chmura joins us. how did you iron it out? >> stephanie ironed it out. let's talk about jessica williams. she tried to use her $100 gift card to buy a draw string back pack on tweite. she said she redeemed her card at check out, but the purchase didn't go through. so she tried again, but guess what happened? the card was then empty. so if you're keeping score here, that's no bag, and no money, and no way to try and purchase it again. well, guess what? also when she called the company, no response. yeah, no response from customer service. now, in the meantime, that back pack she wanted so badly, it sold out, so she's got an empty gift card and no back pack to buy. she reached out to us and stephanie on our team, reached out to true religion. we heard back from the c.e.o. herself. she said she called jessica personally

. >> consumer investigators chris chmura and his team worked to ease some of that pain. >> good morning said her son had a nasty cut on his face from a playground accident. nothing too serious but he did need treatment. a san francisco ambulance crew saw her carrying the little boy and stopped to help. the medics told her they would bill her insurance, instead she got a bill for $2100 in the mail. she asked the billing company to file a claim with her health insurance but that didn't happen. after four months of trying to resolve this herself, judith asked us to reach out. we reached out to the billing service and a week later judith said it sent her bill to the insurance adviser and paid it in full, all $2100. health insurance doesn't always cover ambulance rides at 100%. you should check your policy or call your insurance company now. you should check or call your insurance company now, find out now what they will pay for an ambulance in case you need one someday. call us any time. 888-996-tips or online at nbcbayarea.com/responds. >> thanks, chris. >> you know as lady gaga famously q

. >> consumer investigator chris chmura is here with some of our recent successes at "nbc bay area respondsnd telemundo 48 responde. >> good morning. let's do the tote board first together, "nbc bay area responds" and telemundo responde helped $2.7 million for you, one case at a time. arlen fernandez helped out gabriel in san francisco. he had trouble with a new stove but got the cold shoulder from the appliance store that sold it to him. arlen turned up the heat and gatt gabriel a respond. robert in san jose was struggling with health insurance after a hospital stay. we attend to a lot of the cases, we applied our billing expertise and saved robert $1,069. let us know if you're of help, in english 888-996-tips, in spanish, 844-408-4848. have a great weekend. >> you, too, chris. >>> a texas woman recently learned her family actually is much bigger, much, much bigger than she knew. >> shaquana bell was adopted at birth, already had eight siblings. her niece wanted to find her aunt. after doing search online she found belle and another big surprise there, she has 13 other siblings she didn't

. >> consumer investigator chris chmura is here to share some of our team's recent wins. >> good morning. our cases are all over the map, in subject matter and in geography. up in the north bay, patricia in mill valley said her car's extended warranty wasn't as advertised. we got the wheels turning with the dealer, and a $3,000 refund. on the peninsula, christine in burlingame wasn't pleased with a math tutor she hired for her teenage daughter. we spoke up. what christine got back added up to more than $1,000. and in the south bay, linda in san jose ran into problems with an online exam for her job. we stepped in and the website manager passed along a full $75 refund. with those cases, plus all the others that we have closed, getting refunds and credits and such, our team has now saved our nbc bay area viewers just shy of $2.5 million. got a consumer complaint and need some help? call us any time, 888-996-tips or online at nbcbayarea.com/responds. have a great weekend. >> thanks, chris. >>> one of the leaders of "game of thrones" opens up about two brushes with death. >> emilia clarke pl

. >> consumer investigator chris chmura and his team are looking into the problem that generated gripes nationwide. >> good morning. nbc responds teams around the country have responded to dozens of complaints, 15 of those from right here in the bay area. members say the company keeps changing the rules on them, and they're not getting their money's worth. when they try to complain, they get nowhere. >> i might as well start a fire and try and send customer service smoke signals, they're more likely to answer that than their phone or the email that i sent. >> some customers are so fed up, they've taken a drastic step. tonight at 11:00, we'll explain how they're publicly fighting back against the company they say ripped them off, and why the company says their dispute should be handled confidentially. if a company is ignoring your complaints, maybe we can help. call us, 888-996-tips, or visit nbcbayarea.com/responds. i'll see you again tonight at 11:00. >> thanks, chris. >> 6:25. >>> it could be a historical first for the red planet. picture a helicopter on mars. >> the chopper would be