Tim Evans

tim.evans@indystar.com



I’ve got more than a half-million reasons today to brag on our IndyStar Call for Action volunteers.

To be exact: $542,220.

That’s the amount of money the volunteers who staff our free consumer helpline have saved or recovered for Hoosiers since January 2016.

It’s a milestone that blows me away, far exceeding even my wildest dreams when I pitched a cockamamie idea to my editors nearly two years ago.

Good things will happen, I assured them, perhaps with more bravado than brains. All they had to do was invest thousands of dollars in new telephone and computer equipment, invite 30 volunteers into our busy newsroom, provide them with work stations, and pay for their parking and office supplies.

I also informed my bosses the volunteers would be fair and considerate, but they wouldn't be pulling any punches. There was a very real possibility, I warned, that at some point a valued advertiser might come under scrutiny.

I mean, what could go wrong with a scheme like that?

So far, I’m relieved to report, not much. I'm even happier to tell you about all the good things that have come from it, including a lot that doesn’t show up in the financial tally.

The credit goes to our volunteers (one of my colleagues refers to them as “Tim’s Army”) and the long and sterling track record of our partner in this project, Call for Action, a national nonprofit that operates 21 other consumer hotlines across the U.S.

Call for Action has been teaming with media outlets to provide free help to consumers since 1963. Over those 54 years, they’ve developed a tried-and-true training and operational model focused on voluntary mediation. Their approach works so well, in my opinion, because it starts with an acknowledgement that there are always two sides to every story. That means our volunteers are committed to getting input from everyone before trying to broker a settlement.

As a result of that approach, we’ve had scores of cases where volunteers determined — after gathering information from all involved — that a complaint was not legitimate. But in more than 550 cases which were found to have merit, we’ve successfully negotiated resolutions.

"Five hundred thousand is an impressive milestone,” said Eduard Bartholme, executive director of Call for Action. “It really speaks to the talent and dedication of our local volunteers. They are applying their varied backgrounds and experiences to solving problems big and small for Indiana consumers."

That help starts with a phone call to our hotline, which is staffed from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday. The number is (317) 444-6800. If you can't call us during that window, you can submit an online request for help any time at indystar.com/callforaction.

The case that put us over $500,000 involved an Indianapolis man who lost his long-term insurance coverage last year. George Brown of Indianapolis reached out for assistance in November and volunteer Bill helped him navigate an appeal process that concluded with Brown’s policy being reinstated.

Brown, 72, didn’t even realize the case had been solved, he said, until he received a bank statement earlier this month that he thought must be wrong. When he checked with the bank, Brown was informed the statement was correct. His insurance company had sent a check for more than $9,400 to cover payments he missed when the coverage was canceled. Even better, Brown learned he is back on track to receive more than $49,000 in monthly payments of more than $800.

“It was amazing what Bill was able to do,” Brown told me Friday. “I’d been getting benefits for about four years when they just stopped. He helped me quite a bit. I can’t thank you and Bill enough.”

Insurance disputes have provided our biggest settlements so far. We helped a Hancock County man clear up a $79,000 hospital bill that should have been covered, and got $49,000 for another caller who had been denied coverage for a medical procedure the insurance company had approved.

Other common complaints included disputes with retail businesses, which accounted for more than a quarter of the 1,152 cases we've opened. Beefs involving home improvement work and government issues each accounted for about 10 percent of our cases. Conflicts between landlords and tenants made up about five percent of our cases.

Settlements we’ve secured typically involved bills forgiven, cash refunds, offers to replace defective products or redo work, and credits. They've ranged from $5 to more than $79,000. Still, they weren’t always everything our callers wanted. But of the 552 cases we resolved in favor of people who turned to us for help, 386 were solved “successfully” in their eyes. That’s 70 percent.

The fact that we've been able to resolve so many cases also is a tribute to the stand-up character of the individuals and businesses who were willing to engage with our volunteers. They’re under no obligation to take our calls. But the majority have been gracious enough to listen and, when confronted with compelling facts or concerns, do what they can to correct those problems.

Equally rewarding in my eyes have been several cases where we didn’t get any money back, but still found help in ways that can’t be easily quantified in dollars and cents. We helped two struggling homeowners stave off imminent foreclosures, and broken through bureaucracies that had delayed assistance, including a powered wheelchair that a disabled man had been waiting on for several months. We've persuaded landlords to replace broken appliances and fix heat and hot water problems.

One of my favorite stories involves volunteer Rose, who couldn’t find any organization or health care service to provide a special chair with a hydraulic seat for a woman who needed it to remain mobile following surgery.

Rose was, to say the least, bothered by the woman’s hardship and took it upon herself to find the Indianapolis woman a lift chair. After weeks of searching, she found a used one on Craigslist and bought it for the woman. My son and I delivered the chair to the woman, who couldn’t stop crying as she thanked us. Through her tears, the woman told us she couldn’t believe a stranger cared enough to go that far to help her.

That's just the way our little "army" rolls.

To borrow a quote from my late mother, a frugal worrywart of the first degree, this project has turned out “better than ever I dared hope for” as I hovered over the volunteers minding the hotline phones back on Jan. 11, 2016, wondering if anyone would call. It was time for a reality check on my blind bravado, not to mention IndyStar’s hefty investment.

My concerns were quickly allayed.

The phones started ringing even before the designated opening time and haven’t stopped since that day. We’ve opened more than 1,150 cases and directed hundreds more callers to other community resources when their cases fell outside what we could do.

And I still have a job. But not just any job. Thanks to the support of IndyStar’s editor and publisher, I’ve been granted a unique opportunity to be part of something special — working with an amazing team of volunteers on a project where, every day, we have a chance to help Hoosiers who often have nowhere else to turn.

One million dollars, here we come!

Tim Evans is IndyStar's consumer advocate. Contact him at (317) 444-6204 or tim.evans@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @starwatchtim.