Washington AG To Probe Gas Prices

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna(R) will probe gasoline prices in the state, which can vary greatly from place to place.

"Washington consumers frequently wonder why gas prices are consistently higher in some areas of the state than others," McKenna said. "To answer that question and analyze Washington's current petroleum market generally, the attorney general's office, governor, and Community, Trade and Economic Development Department are partnering to launch state government's most comprehensive investigation of that market in 16 years."

The state expects to publish initial findings in July and will share the results during a series of public forums this fall.

"This study's findings will give us the information we need to help legislators, county and city executives and other constituents better understand the transportation fuel market, fuel prices and how they affect Washington consumers," said Juli Wilkerson, director of the trade department.

"Should our research uncover price-fixing or other violations of our state's consumer protection or antitrust laws, the attorney general's office stands ready to take enforcement action," McKenna said.

"Consumers can help by alerting our office if they overhear a conversation that suggests rival businesses intend to fix or manipulate prices, or if they spot prices that appear out of the ordinary and can't be explained by obvious supply and demand factors."

McKenna said the attorney general's antitrust division collects and analyzes petroleum pricing data every month and publishes a quarterly report. The report is available online.

On Tuesday the AAA said the average price of gasoline in Washington is a near-record $3.15 per gallon.

The record is $3.17, set just before Memorial Day last May. The current national average is $2.86, according to the AAA.

No IRS Penalty For Turbo Tax Users

The Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday it would not penalize TurboTax and ProSeries users whose 11th-hour electronic returns were delayed by Intuit Inc.'s overloaded servers.

A record number of returns from both individual taxpayers and accountants started causing delays early Tuesday in customers receiving online confirmation that their tax returns were submitted successfully, said Intuit spokesman Harry Pforzheimer.

As the midnight filing deadline approached, the problem got worse. During times of peak demand, Intuit was processing 50 to 60 returns per second, he said.

IRS spokesman Bruce Friedland said filers who encountered delays with Intuit's servers will not be penalized if their returns rolled in late. The reprieve also extends to people who tried to file Tuesday night but could not. Penalties for late filing start at 5 percent of the unpaid taxes per month, and max out at a total of 25 percent.

"They will not be penalized for filing late," Friedland said. "We will do everything we can to assist taxpayers affected by the situation. If people couldn't e-file last night, we encourage them to file as soon as they can. We encourage people to continue using e-file."

How To Get An Automatic filing Extension

Ahh, the dreaded taxes. If you are not done, we have listed an option for you to fill out your taxes.

You may get an extension without waiting for the IRS to act on your request. You receive an automatic six-month extension for your 2006 return if you file Form 4868 by April 17, 2007. The extension gives you until October 15, 2007, to file your return. A late filing penalty will not be imposed if you fail to submit a payment with Form 4868, provided you make a good faith estimate of your liability based upon available information at the time of filing. However, although the extension will be allowed without a payment, you will be subject to interest charges and possible penalties (discussed below) on 2006 taxes paid after April 17, 2007. You may file Form 4868 electronically and use a credit card (American Express, MasterCard, Visa, or Discover Card) to make a tax payment. Payment is made through a service provider that handles the credit card transaction and charges you a fee. See the Form 4868 instructions for the phone numbers and web addresses of the service providers.

When you file your return within the extension period, you enter on the appropriate line of the return any tax payment that you sent with your extension request and include the balance of the unpaid tax, if any.

Please note: While the extension is automatically obtained by a proper filing on Form 4868, the IRS may terminate the extension by mailing you a notice at least 10 days prior to the termination date designated in the notice.

Ford Recalls Escape SUV's

Ford Motor announced Tuesday it was recalling more than 500,000 Ford Escape sport utility vehicles after receiving reports of engine fires linked to corrosion on antilock brake connectors. The recall involved 444,880 Escapes from the 2001-2004 model years in the U.S., and about 75,000 Escapes in Canada, Mexico and Europe. The recall does not affect hybrid versions of the SUV, the automaker said.

Ford said there have been about 50 engine fires connected to the problems, which had been under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. There have been no reports of accidents or injuries. We have identified a repair, and owners of affected vehicles will be notified soon," said Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley. The company said the recall would address missing or incorrectly installed seals on the wiring harness of the antilock brake connector.

Water and contaminants such as brake fluid or road salt could enter the connector and cause corrosion. That could lead to the ABS warning indicator lighting up, an open fuse or in some cases smoking, melting or burning of the electrical ABS connector.

Dealers will inspect the vehicles for corrosion and replace the connector and ABS module if necessary. Ford said it expects most vehicles will not have any corrosion concern, and will have the connector greased and reconnected.

Best Products

Consumer Reports is a great clearing house for many different kinds of consumer information, such as the best new and used cars. Recently, they have just come out with their product reliability survey, which has gathered information from over a million readers. A couple of general suggestions from the magazine: Sony for electronic products and Whirlpool for appliances. Read the complete report here.

Vonage Barred From Selling To New Subscribers

A federal judge Friday barred Internet phone company Vonage from adding new customers, following a recent ruling that the company violated certain patents owned by Verizon Communications. Naturally, Vonage is expected to appeal the ruling.

On March 8, a federal jury ruled that Vonage violated three of five Verizon patents, finding the Internet phone provider guilty of violating Verizon patents covering technology used to link Internet calls to the traditional phone networks and to retrieve voice mail. The judge issued an injunction and ordered Vonage to pay $58 million in damages on top of sizeable royalty fees.

Rear Crash Test Results Posted

Head restraints in several passenger vehicles provided marginal or poor protection against neck injuries and whiplash, the insurance industry reported Thursday in new crash test results.

Only 22 of 75 vehicles tested in a simulated rear crash at 20 miles per hour received the top score of good from the Virginia-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Several 2007 vehicles got the lowest score of poor in the tests. The vehicles include: Acura TSX, some versions of the BMW 5 Series, Buick Lacrosse and Lucerne; Cadillac CTS, STS and DTS; Chevrolet Aveo, Pontiac Grand Prix, Honda Accord and Fit; Hyundai Accent, Infiniti M35, Jaguar X-Type, Kia Rio, Mitsubishi Galant, Toyota Avalon, Toyota Corolla, and the Suzuki Forenza and Reno.

The institute estimates that neck injuries account for 2 million insurance claims annually costing at least $8.5 billion.

Among the top vehicles for head protection, according to the Institute's testing, were the Audi A4, A6 and S4; Chevrolet Cobalt, Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego; Hyundai Sonata, Jaguar S-Type, Kia Optima, Mercedes E-Class, Nissan Sentra and Versa; Saab 9-3, Subaru Impreza, Outback and Legacy; Volvo S40, S60, S80; the Honda Civic 2-door and 4-door versions and some versions of the Volkswagen New Beetle.

The vehicles were tested on a crash simulation sled, replicating the forces in a stationary vehicle that is struck in the rear by a similar vehicle at 20 mph.

Vehicles got a higher rating if the head restraint contacted the dummy's head quickly and the forces on the dummy's neck and the acceleration of the torso were low.

The tests also consider the height of the restraint and its horizontal distance behind the back of the head of an average-size man.

The institute says a head restraint should extend at least as high as the top of the ears of the tallest motorist and be placed close to the back of the head so the restraint can support it early in a rear-end crash.

Models that received poor or marginal scores for the restraint design were given poor overall marks because they could not be positioned to protect many motorists.