In fact, their telephone has been shut off because they can't keep up with the bills.

The couple, because of various health problems, also tend to get confused about certain things, which makes them an easy mark.

When Veldon bit on a promotion from a local car dealer, who told him he would get $2,500 off the price of a car because his birth date was picked in a drawing, he was persuaded by a salesman at the dealership to sign on the dotted line for a $12,000 4-year-old Toyota Corolla.

When Veldon informed Colleen and the couple went through their budget, they realized they could not make the $203 monthly payment and asked to back out of the deal.

Too late.

Now, they say they may be forced into bankruptcy.

The dealer gave the McBrides the financing for the car, even though they don't have the income or the credit to afford it.

The case is similar to one a few months ago when a Davis County man tried to rescind the purchase of a new car by his father-in-law, who is mentally ill and unemployed. The man told us that after he was rebuffed by the dealership's sales manager, the sales manager turned toward his colleagues and beat his chest like King Kong.

State Division of Consumer Protection Director Francine Giani says her office has fielded complaints about some auto salespeople who either ignore the customer's financial situation or exaggerate it in order to get the financing and sell the car. That is illegal, she said, but the intent to commit the crime often is difficult to prove.

The buddy system: The Washington D.C.-based American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) recently awarded one of its annual "Dishonorable Mention" slaps to the Utah Supreme Court over its original upholding of a $145 million jury award against State Farm Insurance, then a subsequent approval of a $9 million punitive damage award after the U.S. Supreme Court said the original figure was too high.

Even the latter amount was too high for ATRA, which said the justices "defied both the language and the spirit of the U.S. Supreme Court," a comment that mirrored State Farm's language in an appeal of the ruling.

State Farm, by the way, is a member in good standing of - drum roll, please - ATRA.

Water-wasting time again: Green Pine Apartments, at 1100 East near 1400 South, has been seen watering its lawn every day since the rainstorms began last week. Some sprinkler heads are broken, resulting in even more wasted water.

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Paul Rolly welcomes e-mail at prolly@sltrib.com.