The John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 became law this last October.  One small section of this Act, Section 670 under “Subtitle F--Other Matters,” gives marching orders to the practices of creditors who prey upon military service members and their dependents.

Here’s the catch:  Attractive, affordable gemstone jewelry entices shoppers to buy through USN’s TV auction or from its website.  But some buyers learn that the gemstones they receive--if, indeed, they receive them at all--are as flawed as the company’s descriptions of them, that its customer service department is, if not nonexistent, at least diamond-hard to deal with, and that often the only aspect of their transaction that can be considered genuine is their 24 karat disappointment.

“Renting to Own,” the Bureau’s special report no. 145, has been revised to incorporate the latest changes in California law. 

Retail sales of general merchandise over the Internet was the category that generated the highest number of complaints received by the Better Business Bureau in 2006.