Fish Fraud Investigation

My friend Al Tompkins at the Poytner Institute blogged about a new GAO report that explains why seafood fraud is so widespread. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says most seafood buyers -- supermarkets, restaurants, individual consumers and importers -- assume they are buying a particular seafood, not realizing that the seller may have led them astray.

Of course this doesn't surprise me, since we have investigated fish fraud the last 2 years here in the Carolina's. Below is a look back at our series of investigations and the results we got!

Are you getting the fish you ordered?
http://www.wcnc.com/6newsextra/investigators/stories/wcnc-052107-jmn-fish2.934c5a34.html
Restaurants serving cheaper fish as red snapper
http://www.wcnc.com/6newsextra/investigators/stories/wcnc-052207-krg-red_snapper_INV.968f25ad.html
Regulators act after WCNC investigates fish switch
http://www.wcnc.com/6newsextra/investigators/stories/wcnc-052407-jmn-fish_swith3-no_tc.6f5d122.html
Are you getting the right fish at the supermarket?
http://www.wcnc.com/6newsextra/investigators/stories/wcnc-071207-krg-fish_supermarket_INV.6c9438d4.html
More restaurants caught in fish-switch
http://www.wcnc.com/consumer/stories/wcnc-013108-ah-fishreport_investigators.7c2b6a42.html
WCNC investigation into fish switch gets results
http://www.wcnc.com/consumer/stories/wcnc-021408-krg-fish.c2179601.html

We got a shout out from Mann Travels!

NewsChannel 36 Anchor Bobby Sisk receives Mann Travel's newsletter. He passed this on to me! It's nice to know that people are interested in your stories and like to share them with others!

The Mann Traveler
February 19, 2009
Presented by Mann Travels, the Carolinas' Premier Full-Service Travel Agency, providing 30 years of service excellence in business, leisure and group travel.

Welcome to The Mann Traveler... Mann Travels' Corporate Newsletter. We hope you enjoy this service. If you know someone who would like to subscribe, please e-mail us at corporateservices@manntravels.com with name, company and e-mail address.

It’s all in the Bag The signs at the airline check-in counters are pretty clear. If your bag is overweight, you could pay up to $100. But what if the scale weighing your bag isn't accurate? Inspectors with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services use calibrated weights to make sure scales are correct. At Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, inspectors rejected six out of 67 airline scales in January. Crewmembers are trained to ensure that the scale reads zero before customers place their bags on it. If for some reason the display does not read ‘0’ it can be manually reset to ‘0’. Any scale rejected by the state during inspection is taken out of service and the airline has 30 days to fix it. The state only inspects airport scales once a year. If you think a scale is wrong, ask the airline to weigh your bag on another scale.
Source WCNC.com

Are Airport Scales Accurate?

Airlines charge you to check a bag, but you'll also be charged a fee if your bag is overweight. So how do you know that the scales are accurate. We went along with state inspectors. Watch our investigation below.

http://www.wcnc.com/yourmoney/stories/wcnc-021809-mw-airline_scales.2b7797fc.html

By the way, you can weigh your bag at home and caliberate your scale by putting a five pound weight on it. Some airports also have a community scale you can use.

Are Liquation Sales the real deal?

When you hear about a going out of business sale, you immediately think you're going to get a good deal. I found that's not always the case. Watch my story below.

http://www.wcnc.com/consumer/stories/wcnc-020109-sjf-circutcityinvestigation.e5a9716.html

Consumer News - It's What I love!

Do you ever feel like you're getting ripped off! I know I have! I've been working in local news for almost ten years delivering news you can use to arm yourself from getting ripped off. I've exposed dangerous products that the government has recalled. I've also educated consumers on how to get the best deals and save money. Trust me, there's a lot of bad businesses out there and you need every advantage you can get. So that's why I'm starting this consumer blog. I want to continue to deliver on news that will protect you, by bringing you the latest consumer warnings and alerting you to scams. I'd love to hear your ideas. In the meantime, I'm going to upload some of the consumer investigations I've produced. Thanks for reading! Kelly