Joe Rojas

Some Bay Area consumers are frustrated with vacation home rental site VRBO. They say VRBO took their money for a service, but then changed the terms of that service. The dispute has even sparked a class action lawsuit.

A paperwork shuffle forces a woman to pay a huge towing bill – more than many peoples’ monthly rent. A state lawmaker says the high price of towing needs to be reined in.

Consumer advocates say millions of Americans are driving their families into debt, taking on car loans they might not be able to afford.

When she made a change to her phone service, a San Jose woman realized she’d spent more than $16,000 on satellite TV over ten years. The problem: she never requested or used the service. Her plight serves as a reminder for all consumers to closely monitor auto-pay bills.

Very few air passengers are aware that certain flight delays trigger a rule known as EU261. It dictates cash payments to passengers. A Half Moon Bay woman needed NBC Bay Area’s help to get her EU 261 cash.

Some taxpayers fear the Internal Revenue Service, worried a single mistake will cost them their car or their house. Uncle Sam’s finance arm can and does flex its muscles. A former IRS agent shared a revealing take on the agency’s ruthless reputation with NBC Responds.

Some taxpayers fear the Internal Revenue Service, worried a single mistake will cost them their car or their house. Uncle Sam’s finance arm can and does flex is muscles. But should we really be that afraid of the IRS? We spoke with a former IRS agent who shared a revealing take on the agency’s ruthless reputation.

Embattled cinema subscription MoviePass faces a class action lawsuit in Northern California, on behalf of customers who say they didn’t get what they paid for.

Embattled cinema subscription MoviePass faces a class action lawsuit in Northern California, on behalf of customers who say they didn’t get what they paid for.

Families are paying triple-digital interest on everyday items despite a cap on small loans around 36%. The crux of the practice is whether you’re getting an ordinary loan or an unconventional lease.

After a San Francisco woman told NBC Bay Area about an oil change that led to $16,000 in damage to her car, we learned the auto shop was previously accused of fraud by state investigators — but allowed to keep its doors open.

A man looks to book a simple roundtrip flight for his family of four, but mistakenly winds up with enough airline seats to occupy one third of a jumbo jet. He hit turbulence trying to get a refund.

A Redwood City man won a small settlement in a class action lawsuit, and ended up with a check for $500 million. It was an error, but class actions like this affect millions of Americans – and you may be eligible for a tiny slice of the pie, if you’re a “class member”.

New Year’s Day is ranked as the worst major holiday of the year for auto theft nationwide. With Bay Area vehicle crime trending above the national average, local engineers have come up with clever ways to make vehicles a less-appealing target for crooks.

A man’s fight with a life insurance company ends in victory. The predicament he faced could easily occur in your family, too.

41,000 donors from all 50 U.S. states and 23 foreign countries gave a total of $32,028,981. We asked where it all went.

The Better Business Bureau has logged hundreds of new complaints about Yeezy Supply. Fans of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian say their fashion brand isn’t delivering.

Fire victims are discovering that their insurance policies don’t reflect the actual cost of rebuilding. We explain how to fill a potentially crushing gap in homeowner coverage.

After the North Bay wildfires, some homeowners found even their supposedly “fireproof” safes had completely melted, destroying their valuables.

Real estate wire fraud is among the fastest-growing cyber-crimes in the U.S., and California homebuyers are among thieves’ favorite targets.

We can thank Stormy Daniels for adding the term “non-disclosure agreement” to the everyday American’s vocabulary. Even before that episode, more entities were asking consumers to agree to confidentiality — just to get a refund.

A condo owner sent a $24,000 check to the wrong contractor by mistake. When the business owner failed to restore the full payment, NBC Bay Area Consumer Investigator Chris Chmura demanded answers.

Where did my money go? That was the question one customer had to ask Wells Fargo for eight long years.

A San Francisco cybers security firm says illicit computers systems are exploiting airline systems and driving up airfare.

A family of four with an income of more than $100K might be able to request help paying off a high hospital bill. In some cases, the bill can be erased completely. You’ve got to ask for Charity Care.

Complaints about solar installations have nearly doubled. Sales practices are often to blame.

To get 100 percent of the benefits they paid for, many North Bay fire victims say their insurance companies are requiring an item-by-item list of what burned in October. One victim called the requirement “cruel.” And now, the state is stepping in.

Say the auto maintenance shop damages your car. Who pays for the repair? The state says the shops should.

One man’s nearly $400 headache is a lesson for all of us about how most data recovery companies operate.

A man’s $8 return is rejected and he wants to know why. It turns out there’s a third party that tells the store whether to accept returns — a third party that labels some shoppers return-a-holics.

After a Lyft driver’s car collides with an Oakland bicyclist, a $1,600 insurance question is raised: who pays?

A man thinks his prepaid purchase expires at midnight on the expiration date. But he’s proven wrong — even though there’s no warning on his receipt.

A cemetery tells a man that he is due just $15 in compensation when his pre-purchased grave site — next to his parents — is given away to a stranger.

A San Francisco man’s lost luggage story twists to the absurd when he’s sent a part for a car instead of his bag.

San Jose says it will evaluate the process that has sent fireworks fines to some residents who insist they did nothing. Those people complain that the system is flawed.

A San Francisco start-up takes thousands of pre-orders worth millions, but never delivers the promised product. Consumers want refunds. And now, the DA is involved.

Residents are frustrated to discover that they can be fined $500 even if a law enforcement officer never visits their home.

They are hired to provide an unbiased thumbs up or thumbs down when you’re about to spend your life savings on a home. But, the State of California sets no standards and requires no licenses for home inspectors. Some say that needs to change. Not everyone agrees.

The City of San Jose concedes there might be problems with a system that spit out $500 fireworks fines with little or no investigation. Residents are frustrated because they’re still being forced to pay the fines — that they say are flawed and baseless.

The City of San Jose dismisses all citations it issued this summer, because the criteria for fireworks citations “had not been evenly applied.”

A Redwood City woman’s mortgage payments were out of whack and she feared they would trigger a foreclosure. She turned to consumer investigator Chris Chmura for help.

Consumers say a local health club sold them one thing, but billed them for something more expensive. And it put them on the hook for thousands of dollars.

If your new car repeatedly visits the shop, the manufacturer is supposed to offer to buy it back — even if you don’t ask. But some say that never happens.

They paid thousands of dollars to hire a local matchmaker who knows the Bay Area dating scene. But, they’re still alone…feeling duped.

Bay Area homeowners relied on a popular website to find a contractor they could trust. But we found many you can’t trust – many who are breaking the law from the moment they first make contact.

A DNA test that’s designed to reveal family history also requires users to give up their rights to their DNA data. One consumer says the contract is too broad for him to continue with the service.

A Menlo Park woman says her homeowners insurance company made a promise that it didn’t keep. And it was going to cost her thousands of dollars. She turned to Consumer Investigator Chris Chmura for help.

Secondhand gift cards offer an easy way to save money, but criminals are exploiting them.

A Pleasanton woman canceled a much-anticipated vacation for health reasons. She thought she’d get a no-questions-asked refund from her airline, but that wasn’t the case. So she reached out to NBC Bay Area Responds.

Your smartphone could get you out of a ticket for not having your insurance card. But state law does not require law enforcement officers to tell you about that. So, they continue writing tickets.

A San Jose woman received an unusual promise from an electrician, and then couldn’t get him to follow through – leaving more than $5,000 on the line.

More than two dozen Bay Area consumers say they were sent to a debt collector before they ever had a chance to pay the bill.

Two elderly consumers say a hearing aid company made them assurances of a risk-free purchase, but did not deliver on its promises.

Some California dentists may soon have to change the way they operate on children. Experts have demanded changes to pediatric dentistry after the death of a young Albany boy. But they’ve hit roadblocks. But now, in an unexpected twist, change may be on the way.

Refinancing your student loan can be an excellent way to save money, but it’s not for everyone. We have tips on that. But first, we helped one man clear up a glitch that saved him hundreds of dollars.

An intruder broke a surveillance camera, sawed into two metal change machines, and stole the money inside them. Not to fear, though. The family had insurance. Or so they thought.

An eagle-eyed consumer questions home insurance bill and asks a simple question: why don’t the numbers add up?

When flying, many travelers tuck and hide valuables in their checked bags. But they’ve learned those valuables aren’t always safe there. And there’s little chance the airlines will do anything about it.

A used car is sold, but can’t be registered. That means it can’t be legally driven. The woman who faced that dilemma speaks up to warn others and get a refund.

A consumer paid off his Macy’s credit card, yet the payment was never applied to his account. He spent month fighting with Macy’s, and he finally turned to NBC Bay Area Responds.

We received calls from six pet owners who took their sick animals to UC Davis Veterinary Hospital. They all say they felt misled or ignored by some of the veterinarians there. And in the end, they were left with pets that were even more sick – or dead – and thousands of dollars in bills. They also didn’t realize they...

Imagine someone creating a Facebook page using your name and friending your friends — basically, pretending to be you. It happened to one consumer, and she couldn’t get Facebook to help out. But we did, and it may have saved her Facebook friends some money.

A San Ramon woman was owed some money when trading in her car, but couldn’t get it. NBC Bay Area Responds helped her out, and has some advice when buying a new car.

An Alameda man bought new furniture, but the furniture that was delivered was not-so-new. NBC Bay Area Responds helped him out.

A San Jose woman bought a used car and said she started having problems with it shortly after driving it off the lot.

A Santa Clara man cancels his trip after terrorists attack Paris. But he has a hard time getting his prepaid lodging refunded.

We interviewed two consumer who have one complaint in common: they bought bonded leather furniture that is starting to peel and crack. And they’re far from alone.

One East Bay homeowner says she was misled by a contractor who left her home with an unusual paint job. On top of that, she says the contractor wasn’t upfront about how she’d pay for the work. It was through a lien on her home, and she had no idea.

One Sonoma County man was excited to invest in a Kickstarter campaign. But now he’s asking – where did my money go?

Is the post office putting people at risk for identity theft? One woman found a loophole in the postal service’s website that allows thieves to pick up your mail.

Some San Francisco homeowners are on the hook for thousands of dollars in fines because their tenants are breaking the city’s short-term rental law. And some renegade renters are even giving homeowners – and the city – a run for their money.

A San Rafael man was billed for someone else’s car to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. And he spent years trying to get his money back.

Long contracts. Insider lingo. And big penalties. Critics say the airlines could do a much better job disclosing the fees that make them billions annually.

Four easy remedies for four common air travel headaches.

When Democrats controlled Congress, what did the party pass in the way of gun reform? Sam Brock investigates.

Are AR-15 style rifles protected by the 2nd Amendment? Sam Brock investigates the debate over assault weapons in this edition of Reality Check.

Donald Trump says former foes Jeb Bush and Lindsey Graham are reneging on a pledge they made to support the Republican nominee, no matter who it is. Is that true? Sam Brock investigates.

Bernie Sanders says Hillary Clinton has supported free trade without fail. Is that true? Sam Brock investigates.

Bernie Sanders says low income people don’t vote. Is that true? Sam Brock investigates.

George Clooney says most of the money raised at a fundraiser he hosted for Hillary Clinton will not actually be going directly to the presidential candidate. Is that true? Sam Brock investigates.

Donald Trump says the delegate selection process in Colorado is rigged. Is that true? Sam Brock investigates.

A review of more than five decades of seismic damage inside schools finds a dangerous pattern of safety failures.

Critics of a new development project in Oakland say the city is creating the wrong kind of housing. So, is it better to build homes or apartments? Sam Brock investigates.

In this Reality Check, Sam Brock looks at various sources of mass shooting data to get to the truth behind the numbers.

For years schools in California have been ranked by test scores. That system is coming to an end, but the controversy over what replaces it is just beginning.

After 10 successive years of declines, teacher credentialing programs enjoy a much-needed uptick in enrollment. But no one knows yet if the gains can undo years of shrinking enrollment.

Will a proposition on the San Francisco ballot intended to put a halt on building in the Mission District preserve or push out long time residents? Sam Brock investigates.

A new campaign by Marriott claims “It pays to book direct.” But is it really cheaper to go straight to the source than book through third party sites? Sam Brock investigates.

It’s been called “dysfunctional” and a violation of basic rights. Now the state’s death penalty is up for debate in Southern California. Could the court’s ruling pose an end to capital punishment in the Golden State? Sam Brock investigates.