Latest news with #JeffDeal
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘I really trusted them': Senior denied travel insurance claim after getting COVID
Orlando senior, Joshula Flowers, was looking forward to a tour of Washington D.C. 'I thought, with it being a bus trip, that it would be good to get the insurance,' Flowers told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal. She booked that trip through the City of Orlando's Beardall Senior Center, but she got COVID shortly before the trip. So, she filed a claim with the trip insurance company, Travel Insured International. She said, 'And so I really trusted them to be able to be on my side if something happened.' Do you have a consumer complaint or need help from Jeff Deal and Action 9? Click the banner below to submit a tip. The 86-year-old lives on a fixed income. She made monthly payments to cover the cost of the trip that added up to $1270. That included a little extra for the travel insurance. In the weeks leading up to the tour, she fell ill, left a message for her doctor and did an at-home COVID test that came up positive. 'I was in bed most of the time and sick, just very, very weak and tired,' Flowers said. She called the senior center to let them know she couldn't make it just in case someone else was on a waiting list. The next day, she said she had a consultation with her doctor who confirmed she had COVID. Joshula Flowers assumed her travel insurance would make her whole, but she said the claims process dragged out. 'Here's some of the letters that they sent me… asking for more information,' she said as she showed the Action 9 team her paperwork. After 5-months, she received another letter that showed Travel Insured International denied her claim. Jeff Deal asked, 'What did you think when you received this letter?' Flowers answered, 'This is… it's just… I was two seconds away from tearing it up.' Under the fine print in the policy, the traveler had to be 'examined and treated by a physician prior to cancellation unless it is not reasonably possible to do so.' Even though she tested positive first, since Joshula Flowers' consultation with her doctor was the day after she cancelled, that appears to be the reason for the denied claim. 'I couldn't cancel. I couldn't do 'A' before I did 'B',' she said. On Yelp, Travel Insured International gets 1.4 stars out of five. Reviewers also complained about the company dragging out the process. One wrote, 'we would provide the requested document. Weeks would go by before they would ask for some other DIFFERENT document.' Another customer wrote, 'This company make(s) a living on saying no' and gave the company 'the royal toilet bowl award.' After Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal went to the company for answers, it sent an email saying in part, 'We are currently reviewing Ms. Flowers' case and will be in touch with her as part of that process.' The whole process left Joshula Flowers frustrated. 'I could not believe it. It was just so devastating,' she said. Two weeks after Action 9 reached out to Travel Insured International, Flowers said the insurance company called her to offer part of her money back. It promised to call back later to discuss it further. City of Orlando Commissioner Tony Ortiz is also trying to help her. He said if the insurance company doesn't come through, the city's Senior Connections program will help her out.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Repair shop worker racked up tolls and miles on customer car
All Eric Montgomery wanted was to get his car repaired. 'I dropped it off, and then I flew out of town for almost four weeks,' Montgomery explained. But he claims the repair shop added miles and racked up tolls while he was out of town. He said, 'So obviously, somebody was utilizing the vehicle, you know, the way they shouldn't have been.' Do you have a consumer complaint or need help from Jeff Deal and Action 9? Click the banner below to submit a tip. Montgomery bought a 2018 Cadillac ATS from a dealership off East Colonial Drive in Orlando called DriveHub. 'They really hyped up this 150-point inspection,' he said. But he had some problems with the car almost immediately after closing the deal. Montgomery told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal, 'Honestly, it was like one of those terrible old cartoons where you drive off the lot and the car starts falling apart initially. You know what I mean? Like, almost immediately.' It turned out to be a brake problem and the windshield wipers didn't work, but he said DriveHub was responsive. It instructed him to take it to Repair Hub, a shop a short distance away. Although the companies have similar names, they have different ownership. DriveHub sent an email to Action 9 explaining it frequently collaborates with Repair Hub to resolve post-sale repairs. When Montgomery returned to central Florida, he said he still had to wait for some repairs and when it was time to take it home, he noticed the valve caps on his tires were missing. Montgomery said, 'One of the gentlemen went around to other, I'm assuming, other customers' cars, and just started pulling them off of other people's cars and putting them on mine, like, oh my God.' In the days that followed, he received notices in the mail from the Central Florida Expressway Authority showing 107 toll transactions on his car over a 19-day period. They were all dates Eric Montgomery was out of town. The tolls were on a route between east Orlando and Horizon West for at least 9-days. It appears the car was kept overnights and weekends in the Horizon West area. In an email to Action 9, DriveHub wrote, 'there is no evidence that the vehicle was excessively driven or misused while in Repair Hub's custody.' So, Action 9 stopped at Repair Hub to ask about the tolls. Jeff Deal said, 'Somebody was clearly driving it. Nine different times kept overnight on the weekends and everything.' A man who identified himself as Joao, one of the owners, responded, 'Because I tell you, I can show you the last owner of the car is a friend.' He admitted an employee drove the Cadillac, but claimed the employee thought the car belonged to a friend who used to own it and wouldn't have minded him driving it. He said the employee didn't realize it had been sold to Montgomery. The owner said, 'I think it was two weeks he used. The once employed here, the guy, don't work here anymore.' While Action 9 hasn't been able to determine the exact number of miles put on the car while in the care of Repair Hub, Montgomery got stuck paying $196.64 in tolls. Montgomery said, 'You know, my father was a mechanic, and he owned a garage. If I was ever doing that to one of his clients' cars, I didn't want to think what would happen to me.' Repair Hub told Action 9 it has offered to reimburse Montgomery for the tolls and offered him an extra service package at no charge. DriveHub also said it remains open to assisting Montgomery in finalizing the toll reimbursements and willing to collaborate toward a fair resolution. Montgomery said he hadn't heard from anyone at Repair Hub, but Action 9 has now provided him with the direct phone number for one of the owners.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘What are you doing tonight, baby?': Romance scams are big business
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, people need to know about the dark side of romance that can ruin lives and leave victims heartbroken. Romance scams cost Americans more than a billion dollars in 2023. Romance scams are sophisticated. There are entire networks of scammers, usually overseas, that treat scamming like a business. They find vulnerable people, manipulate them, and often get away with big money. Do you have a consumer complaint or need help from Jeff Deal and Action 9? Click the banner below to submit a tip. With more people looking for love online, criminals know it and they use that to prey on people. Action 9 spoke with a central Florida woman whose mother fell victim to a romance scam that started online. She said, 'I have seen texts on her phone that say, 'Hey, baby, how are you? What are you doing tonight, baby?'' 'We about fell out of our seat': Elderly couple surprised by $55,000 timeshare bill Her elderly mother had more than $600,000 in late 2022. She fell in love with someone online who claimed to be the face of Tesla and Space X, Elon Musk. The scammer used artificial intelligence to make it more believable. 'They hear that voice. They hear Elon Musk's voice, and they know it's his voice,' she explained. 'I just want to warn people': Consumer claims he lost $3K to Orlando business First there were wire transfers with huge amounts of money going out. She showed Action 9, documents indicating one wire transfer topped $100,000. It was money her mother believed she was investing. There were daily ATM withdrawals of $3,000. Much of the cash went to buy gift cards for the scammers. In less than a year, her life savings was wiped out. 'You may have entered into the dating scene or a dating app looking for love, but scammers are out there looking for their next victim,' said Better Business Bureau President Holly Salmons. She told Action 9, in these scams of the heart, the bad guys work to gain their victims' trust and then work to get their money. Here are some red flags: -The relationship moves quickly -You never meet in person -The love interest claims to be a celebrity or in the military -They ask for money or try to draw you into an investment like cryptocurrency Salmons said, 'Especially if this is not why you came to the dating app, right? Most people did not come to a dating app for investment advice.' 'They didn't protect my property': Woman's car stolen at off-site airport parking lot Like many romance scams, for the woman Action 9 interviewed the scam meant devastation. Her mom now lives on Social Security, stress on the family mounted quickly and she wants to warn others before they lose everything in romance scam like her mom did. She said, 'It's like you want to walk out of her house and scream or cry. It's so frustrating.' If you fall victim to a romance scam, contact the FBI through its IC3 website(Home Page - Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)) and the Federal Trade Commission to file a complaint( Also, report it to the social media company where you met the scammer. Unfortunately, many times the victims still never get their money back.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
‘I just want to warn people': Consumer claims he lost $3K to Orlando business
An Orlando auto parts business claims to be AAA Approved, but some customers question if it's even a real company. One customer told Action 9 he paid thousands of dollars for parts that that were never delivered. After getting complaints, Action 9 Consumer Investigator started looking into the website: A Google search landed Tony Carbajal on the Unlimited Speedshop website. He was looking to find the perfect blower for his '57 Chevy pick-up truck. Carbajal is a self-described car guy. He said, 'I've got a '33 Plymouth Coupe that I restored, a '57 chevy truck, a '66 Mustang for my wife that I restored.' READ: Tariff Tension: What tariffs could mean for your wallet? He said the website looks legitimate and $3000 for the part he needed was a good deal. Carbajal said, 'I was going to use my card (to pay), and they said that they didn't use a card that it was Wells Fargo wire to wire. In November, he and his wife Natalie wired the money and received a tracking number from a company called Universal Parcel Deliveries. READ: 'We about fell out of our seat': Elderly couple surprised by $55,000 timeshare bill He received tracking updates showing the blower was making its way from Florida west across the country toward New Mexico where Carbajal lives. Then there were delays. Eventually the shipping company claimed it tried to deliver it. It was odd because it was a day the Carbajals were home and they have a doorbell camera. But they said they didn't get a shipment. Action 9 couldn't find Unlimited Speedshop LLC registered in state records and couldn't find a tax ID for that business in Orange County. READ: 'The worst nightmare': Homeowner claims solar panels don't work So, Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal went to the address on Sand Lake Road in Dr. Phillips and found another company called Globalfy. A worker at the address said Unlimited Speedshop has a virtual address there. Globalfy receives mail for several companies and forwards it. Jeff Deal then called Unlimited Speedshop at the phone number listed on its website. Once on the phone, Deal said, 'He paid $3,000 and you still haven't delivered it.' The customer service agent answered, 'Yes, we sent it, but there are issues with the shipping company.' After blaming the shipping company, the agent told Jeff Deal the company's auto parts warehouse was in Orlando. READ: Owners of Legacy Pools accused of defrauding central Florida homeowners out of millions Jeff Deal asked, 'That's the address of the warehouse on Sand Lake Road?' The man on the phone answered, 'Yes.' Deal responded, 'Well, we went there and it's just a drop box.' When Jeff Deal asked about a refund for Tony Carbajal, the agent mentioned he would talk to a manager and call back. The man on the phone then hung up after Deal asked if it was even a legitimate business. Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal then called the shipping company, Universal Parcel Deliveries. The background noise on the line and the voice of the man who answered sounded like it was the same person who answered at the number for Unlimited Speedshop. As soon as Deal identified himself the man hung up. 'Online auto parts scams are becoming more and more prevalent,' said Better Business Bureau President Holly Salmons. BBB received a complaint about Unlimited Speedshop through its Scam Tracker. ( Salmons warned against ever paying by wire transfer or gift cards for goods online. She said, 'If you're purchasing online, there are very, very few things that anyone's ever going to legitimately ask you to pay for that by wire transfer.' That's something the Carbajals wish they had known sooner. 'I know that I won't be able to get my money back, but I just want to warn people,' Tony Carbajal said. AAA told Action 9, Unlimited Speedshop is not an approved shop and it couldn't find records indicating it ever was AAA Approved. It's always best to pay by credit card especially is using a business you aren't familiar with since there are some protections built in Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Action 9 Investigates Orlando auto shop business after customer claims he lost thousands
An Orlando auto parts business claims to be AAA Approved, but some customers question if it's even a real company. Action 9 talks to one customer who said he paid thousands of dollars for parts that that were never delivered. Read: Tariff Tension: What tariffs could mean for your wallet? Carbajal is a self-described car guy. He said, 'I've got a '33 Plymouth Coupe that I restored, a '57 chevy truck, a '66 Mustang for my wife that I restored.' Looking to find the perfect blower for his '57 Chevy pick-up truck, Carbajal found the website for Unlimited Speedshop. Read: 'We about fell out of our seat': Elderly couple surprised by $55,000 timeshare bill That's when the trouble began. After losing thousands of dollars, Carbajal reached out to WFTV. Action 9′s Jeff Deal presses on the gas and gets to the bottom of the custom car deal gone wrong. Read: 'The worst nightmare': Homeowner claims solar panels don't work Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
