john matarese shows what to do and not to do so you don't waste your money. john: we all know what a jury duty summons means. it means you have to report to court under penalty of the law. what if someone calls and says you missed the summons and you face arrest? stim was stepping out of the car and the cell rang. >> the guy said excuse me are you tim overmeyer? i said yes. that is my name. >> he said i'm the sheriff and i'm issuing you a warrant for your arrest for skipping jury duty. >> uh-oh he thought. he might have missed the let every because he cently moved. >> the caller asked for his birth date and the social security number to confirm the identity. john: he said he thought the call was real. i was a live person and not a recording. the person spoke perfect english and seemed to know what they were talking about. >> he said, sir, if you don't give me the information i'm going to send a cruiser to your house and arrest you. >> at that point he was so shaken he hung up. good thing. when he called the sheriff department he found out he almost fell victim

so consumer reporter john matarese shows you how to protect yourself so you don't waste your money. : are the kids back in school? you might think their phone and gadgets are covered against damage through the programs like apple care. but that is not necessarily the case. important information whether or not you have kids in any d.c. area schools. move-in day at college moves carload of suitcases, box, tv's and laptops. many of the students have a lot of electronic gadgets to keep safe. >> i have laptops lock for the laptop. >> i have apple care in case anything happens. john: while both are good, they may not be enough. if you're a student, parent or anyone. all of them will cover against breakdown but they may not cover against breakage. they won't protect you if your gadget is lost or stolen. erin learned that the hard way when her new iphone 6 was stolen. >> i was not eligible for upgrade and i don't have the protection plan. john: the tech site recently compared warranties and suggests third party companies like square trade or protect your bubble.com. square trade offered me t

john matarese explains. john: at some point or another, everyone has a gripe about a company. what is the best way to get the complaint heard and fix it as soon as possible? calling or writing is so 1990's. many companies cut back on the phone reps that means longer waits for a response. if your travel plans were ruined by an airline, or are unhappy, post online, yelp, ripoff report, consumer affairs.com, twitter. that is where the other customers customers will see the comments and the companies will respond quickly. don't forget the new consumer financial bureau in washington, d.c. from the doesn't that stink file, businesses suing for slanderous complaints so "consumer reports" avoid phrases like "scammed me," or "horrible business" and similar. you'll say doesn't that stink? but the magazine says it is safe to complaint if your complaint is legit and doesn't blatantly attack the company or owner. stick with the time-trusted ways of complaining but don't forget the government agency available and be sure to take to social media so you don't waste your money. i'm john matare

jonathan: john matarese shows us if you overpaid you can get some of your money back. sale and the "star wars" fans snatched them up. for the openings at the d.c. area stores. some are discovering they may have overpaid and want to know if there is any way to get the money back. when they went on sale people snatched them up like black friday. stephanie decided to surprise her husband with one. ordering from the toys r us website and she was stunned to discover the price marked down later that morning. >> later i found out it was on sale, same day within hours. john: she paid $109 for the drone. but by the afternoon the price dropped $20. she daled -- called toys are us. >> they suggested i print out the e-mail confirmation to show i had a proof of purchase and take it to the local store and they would reimburse me the difference. she couldn't find i purchased it. but i had the confirmation e-mail, the purchase number and the more searching she did she couldn't find a record i purchased it. john: of the of frustration she bought this one off the shelves for the new low

i'm john matarese. abc7 news. jonathan: coming up for us at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- pope francis received criticism from within the catholic church for his stances on abortion and mayor. what -- abortion and marriage. what about in d.c.? some are speaking out. the question is which side are you on? alison: did elton john talk to vladimir putin? the conversations he claims to have had, one the kremlin is denying ever happened. when "abc alison: before the pope's election, issues like sexual abuse cases involving priests and corruption in the vatican captured headlines worldwide. jonathan: some speculated that pope francis was elected to bring a refreshing approach maintaining the church doctrine. that was the shot. john gonzalez has more on the ground-breaking changes he has made including in the past few weeks. john: the 266th leader of world's oldest religion has become a polarizing figure in his 2.5 years. he has bun afraid to delve in the delicate and the controversial issues that haunted the church for decades.

i'm john matarese, abc7 news. leon: all right. >> if i leave an hour early i'm still running late. the emergency changes that will last for months to come. why house speaker says he is leaving capitol hill. and 20 years later -- >> you see the bruises on her face? >> no. >> the video deposition from o.j. simpson's civil trial. what he said about the relationship with his ex-wife before her brutal murder. from abc7 news, this is a breaking news alert. leon: right now first at 5:00, this breaking news. pedestrian death in clarksburg and it may not have been an accident. news chopper 7 over the scene after a person was run over on little seneca parkway. roz plater is there now with what we know at this point. what have you learned? roz: well, this is still a very active crime scene in clarksburg. take a look behind me. homicide and major crash reconstruction team investigators here as well. there is also a second crime scene. i will tell you more about that in a second. first, the fatal pedestrian crash happened at 12:20 this an. an adult male was struck as he walked near the intersec

consumer reporter john matarese looks at which products are worth paying organic prices for and whichp so you don't waste your money. john: so many products in the d.c. product froesry stores are organic. they sell for a premium. when is it worth your while and when is it case of don't waste your money? organic product keep you and your children from easting pesticide revenue. in a new report aol daily finance suggests buying organic with the items most exposed to toxins in the field. apples, peaches, strawberries, grapes, spinach and cherry tomatoes but says you can skip organic on items that are not exposed to chemicals chemicals u don't eat the skin like bananas, grapefruit, aca does, onions and sweat potatoes. from the doesn't that stink file? the insane prices on some organic products, organic olive oil $1 more a bottle. organic maple syrup, $1-$2 more. organic coffee, $3 more a pound. doesn't that stink? the report claims there is no need to pay extra for organic maple syrup, it all comes from inside the maple tree. what is more important is it is real maple not corn syrup. buy

i'm john matarese, abc7 news. afternoon at union station on the anniversary of 9/11. >> i heard someone scream, "he's got a gun." i heard a gunshot. kimberly: a violent confrontation stops train and forces evacuations that rattles nerves. 9/11 14 years later. it's not just about remembering anymore. how some mark the day in a new way. >> shut it down. so it's safe. >> "7 on your side" goes back to a local school that the officials once declared mold-free. the iteam has documents that tell a different story. announcer: now, "abc7 news at 5:00". on your side. scott: shots ring out at union station forcing people to evacuate and train service grinds to a halt. tonight we know that it was a security guard who opened fire. d.c. bureau chief sam ford was one of the first reporters on the scene and he joins us now live to explain what happened. sam? sam: scott, according to police, it happened at an entrance of union station between the security and the exchange commission and kaiser permanente. a man stabbed a woman in

consumer reporter john matarese looks into phantom data use so you don't waste your money. john: have a high school or college student on the family cell phone plan? if so, you need to know why more are blowing through the data plan and getting huge monthly bulls. in many cases they don't realize they are doing it. the college students head back to class, many of them are still on their parent's cell plan. watch out for the phantom data use where a phone uses expensive data when you think it's on free wi-fi. >> we have a high data limit and i'm shocked we could reach that. my son is all on wi-fi. john: he thought he was watching video on the family wi-fi until the bill arrived. >> you use 12 gig of data in 15 days. john: he called the carrier and found when a signal is weak many phones jump over to the ltd data figure. >> it will pitch whichever is factor. >> how do you protect yourself or your kids going over on the monthly data allowance? easiest is to switch off the cellular data when you are home. but then you turn it on again when you go out so a better option is turn o

consumer reporter john matarese explains when a free repair can be legally deny and he is telling you so you don't waste your money. john: you probably heard the term "preexisting condition" where they may not cover a health procedure. but it can apply to cars as well. brittany, her 3-year-old daughter is in a body cast due to surgery on her hips. >> what do you want to do today? >> mom and the big sister lift the spirits up. >> put your hair up. >> she bought the minivan for the wheelchair but suspected something wasn't right from the start. >> she says the dealer claimed it was nothing. she bought it. >> but it gets worse. >> she had the transmission checked. she told me i had to get it fixed. john:she called the extended warranty company -- >> they said it was a preexisting condition. >> most of rus familiar with that with the medical experience but it can also apply to buying a used car. so we called the dealer explaining the tough situation. he agreed to try to fix it or put her in a different car. >> brittany has learned something about the warranty coverage. >> i didn't know wh

john matarese shows you how to claim what is rightly yours so you don't waste your money. ou eat -- drink beer? eat tuna fish? clash action settlement means free money. many of us pay no attention to that or if we get a notice we toss it out. >> i heard of it and i got flyers in the mail but i never have done action on it. john: have you heard of the class action cases that you might get money back? >> not really. john: you could turn down easy money. if you bought starquist tuna you are eligible for money or coupons. many canned foods contain large amount of water. one shopper was so upset he filed a class action case against starkist, while not admitting wrongdoing will refund money. tuna fish is the beginning of it when it comes to the money you may receive in recent class action settlements. drink beer? there is a suit settling anheuser-busch misrepresented brewed in germany. red bull settled the case over the health claims. if you are locked out of a recent sephora rewards promotion, you could have a few dollars coming your way, too. instead of pitching the notices --

consumer reporter john matarese tells us about a big change coming so you don't waste your news. john: verizon and sprint are joining t-mobile to get rid of the two-year phone contact and the end of the $199 smartphone. what does it mean for the phone owners? next time you need a new phone? it's a right of fall. apple releases a new iphone and the smart phone frenzy is on. for $199 millions upgrade the phones but that is about to change. most jay your carriers are -- major carriers are ditching the contract. so the next phone if you want a new model will cost $600 or more. don't panic. you can spread out the payments paying $25 a month. an analysis says over the two-year period the costs will be the same and maybe less. from the doesn't that stink file, the fact that you still won't switch carriers easily. you want out of your deal in six months or a year? you have to pay the full $650 price of your phone instantly. doesn't that stink? the early termination fees will be a thing of the past. this is no way to panic or drop the carrier. once you fete used to the change you look at t