Ever wonder why stores are so strict about receipt-checking and returns? It’s not simply because they hate consumers — they might, but it’s not the sole reason — it’s because there are people out there like the South Carolina man accused of using forged receipts and counterfeit goods to steal at least $624,000 from Walmart over the last few years. [More]
Man Who Stole $624,000 From Walmart Is Ruining It For The Rest Of Us
By May 21, 2013
Victoria’s Secret Won’t Be Making A Mastectomy Bra Because It’s “Complicated”
By May 21, 2013
Back in January, the daughter of a breast cancer survivor started an online petition to ask Victoria’s Secret to design a bra for women who have undergone mastectomies. She wrote that she wanted the retailer to create the bra for her mother, and other cancer survivors because often “shopping for bras is such a discouraging, time consuming and frustrating ordeal.” Despite that petition garnering over 120,000 signatures, however, Victoria’s Secret says it’s opting not to make a mastectomy bra, because it doesn’t feel up to the challenge. [More]
My KitchenAid Oven’s Self-Cleaning Cycle Is A Self-Destruct Sequence
By May 21, 2013
Harry bought a KitchenAid oven back in 2006, but he doesn’t use his oven very much. He was deployed in the military, and hasn’t even been home for much of the time that he’s owned the appliance. Cleaning his house in preparation for his upcoming wedding, he tried out the oven’s self-cleaning feature for the first time. This turned out to be a bad idea. [More]
Megabus Oversells Tickets, Driver Calls Cops When Passengers Refuse To Give Up Seats
By May 21, 2013
When a an air carrier sells too many tickets on a particular flight, it usually asks for volunteers to take later flights (in exchange for travel vouchers and other rewards, of course). What the airline doesn’t normally do is call the cops when it can’t resolve its own screw-up. Unfortunately, the airlines aren’t running Megabus. [More]
Ice Cream Company Knows What You’re Here For: You Want Nutrition? Eat Carrots
By May 21, 2013
As the saying goes, if you don’t read the amount of calories, fat and sugar contained in a food, none of that counts and you can eat as much of it as you want. Well, that might at least be the mindset behind one Wisconsin ice cream company’s slogan, “You want nutrition? Eat carrots.” [More]
Colorado Dad Goes Out For Ice Cream, Thwarts Robbery
By May 21, 2013
Staying with her dad for the weekend, a Colorado girl wondered why it took so long for her dad to run to Safeway for some ice cream. When he got back, she asked him what too so long. “I had to break up a robbery,” he said. Yeah, right. But unlike when your dad kids about being a superhero, it was true! [More]
Residents Of Chicago Neighborhood Sue To Stop Weekly Plague Of Coupon Circulars
By May 21, 2013
In an uprising reminiscent of backlash against those oft-despised doorstops otherwise known as the Yellow Pages, residents of one Chicago neighborhood are fighting for the right to not be bombarded on a weekly basis with coupon circulars. Despite opting out, the residents claim in a lawsuit that the coupon packages keep showing up, like some sort of plague of paper zombies. [More]
The Xbox One Is Intended To Be An All-In-One Home Entertainment Solution
By May 21, 2013
It’s been eight years since Microsoft launched the Xbox 360, a wildly successful gaming console that has gradually evolved into a home entertainment hub for many users. Today, the company finally got around to releasing details of the “Durango” project, its code name for the next generation of the Xbox. [More]
Study Funded By Candy Trade Group Says Eating Candy Often Won’t Definitely Make You Fat
By May 21, 2013
Has anyone invented a time machine so I can go back to all those occasions when my parents informed me that I couldn’t have candy for dinner because it’s not good for you? I need to tell them all about the results of this fascinating new study funded by the National Confectioners Association which says that eating candy frequently is totally cool and probably won’t result in pesky side effects like “elevated waist circumference.” [More]
Taco Bell Sends Bizarre Love Letters And Rings To Models, Actresses
By May 21, 2013
We here at Consumerist often get love letters and jewelry from admirers (Well, maybe not that often… or ever), but we have yet to be wooed with handwritten letters of affection and branded rings provided by a large fast food chain. [More]
Don’t Pay $100 Or More For A Certified Copy Of Your Deed: That’s Not A Thing
By May 21, 2013
Are you a property owner? If someone sends you a solicitation or a bill asking for money in exchange for a copy of your deed, throw it away. That isn’t a thing. [More]
Watch As City Changes Parking Signs Then Issues Tickets To Cars That Had Been Parked Legally
By May 21, 2013
Finding a parking spot in many major cities can be a pain in the butt, as you not only navigate the streets but have to be mindful of “No Parking,” “No Standing,” and any other number of signs that regulate where, and for how long, you can deposit your car. So once you find a spot and check all the signs, you should be good, right? Not if the city comes by and changes the signs on you. [More]
Man Fined $2,400 For Renting Out Apartment Because Airbnb Is Technically Illegal In NYC
By May 21, 2013
As a certain political candidate once put it so very accurately, “the rent is too damn high.” New York City dwellers know this all too well, which is why services like Airbnb can be a boon to anyone who doesn’t want to waste rent money on an empty apartment or bedroom should they be out of town. But one man who rented out part of his apartment to an Airbnb customer now has to pay $2,400 to NYC, all because of a city law intended to discourage illegal hotels. [More]
Scammers Pretend To Buy Gas Station, Hold Amazing Sale, Run Away
By May 21, 2013
A strange gas station scam in Minnesota didn’t hurt customers, exactly: it benefited customers. The scam victim was the owner of the gas station, who thought that they had sold the place to credible new owners. Instead, after a glorious one-day sale with everything in the convenience store half off and gas about forty cents per gallon below the local market price, the sale collapsed. The owner says that the down payment check bounced, the buyers disappeared, and $50,000 in cash was missing…along with the gas and merchandise that local customers pounced on during that too-good-to-be-true sale. [More]
Comcast, Time Warner Cable Bring Up Rear In Cable Customer Satisfaction
By May 21, 2013
Comcast and Time Warner Cable may be two of the largest cable and Internet providers in the country, but they’re also the two worst, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index. [More]
Where’s The Beef From?: U.S. Regulators To Propose New Meat Label Requirements
By May 21, 2013
Because not knowing where your food comes from means that your food could’ve come from an unsavory source (horsemeat, anyone?), the United States is supposed to propose new rules this week that would require any meat products to be labeled with the basics: Where an animal was born, what it was fed and where it was slaughtered. [More]
“Halfway To Cyber Monday” Countdown Ushers In New Era Of Holiday Shopping Creep
By May 21, 2013
First of all, don’t be fooled by that 00:00:00 countdown in the photo accompanying this post — it’s part of an email forwarded by Consumerist reader Kaleb, and presumably the ticking clock works in the offers sent to customers on the OfficeMax mailing list. But let’s not lose sight of what it really is, at its essence, which is a countdown clock to a “halfway to Cyber Monday” sale. Yes, holiday shopping creep is a thing now and we’ll all have to deal with it. [More]
Amy’s Baking Company Cancels Press Conference Under Lawsuit Threat From Gordon Ramsay’s Production Company
By May 21, 2013
Operating on the sound principle of “if you can’t say anything nice, shut your trap,” the couple who own Amy’s Baking Company, the famed self-immolating bistro in Arizona, have canceled this afternoon’s press conference. Why is that? Did they decide to dedicate the afternoon to training their new staff and revamping the menu instead? Have too many Yelpers threatened to show up? Well, no–the production company behind Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares” sent them a letter reminding them that if they “disparage the show, the host, or its producers,” they’ll owe “liquidated damages of $100,000.” Keeping this in mind, they just went ahead and canceled the press conference. [More]
