I'm thinking death peanuts will steal this one

tough one....but killing people worse than whatever AMEX has done

Yeah, hard to compare a company that kills people to one that only scams them.

Hmm .. Killing people v. Killing credit cards . . bah

@sponica: That was my thought process...

American Express lowered my credit. I don't know, but I somehow rank "Peanut Butter Apocalypse" as a delicious, yet deadlier evil than anything AMEX has done.

how the hell did AMEX get on here? getting your CC cancelled is nothing new to any CC company, hell I've had a better time with AMEX than BOA or capital One.

I don't know guys. Peanut Corp is already out of business. I think I'd prefer for this tournament to be a lesson to those that are still around. I think it would be a great opportunity for them to take the criticism constructively and focus on what they can do to change.

full disclosure: I'm kind of a hippie

My chances are better with a Credit-Card and Jelly sandwhich thanks to PC of A.

A great battle of America themed companies though. Brings a red, whie and blue tear to my eye.

This is like comparing France to N. Korea... no contest.

@bluebuilder: HOLY COW MY REPLY WORKS!!!

*ahem* now that that's out of my system...

I agree. Death by peanuts or death by debt....hmmm...it's a tough one.

Any chance we can get like a little list under each vote box of the past five or so stories for each company in?

I'm going to have to vote PCOA, as the last time I heard AmEx killed someone, it was b/c they used their card to snort cocaine.

Voted for Amex here.

Peanut Corp is evil, BUT the lax policies of the FDA, our lack of funding of inspection an inability to order a prompt recall, the responsiblity is also shared with our government.

Amex, by raising interest rates and cutting credit limits is causing millions to:
Incur over limit charges & suffer serious damage to FICO scores.

This can cause a cascading effect due to reduced available credit & credit utilization than cause cause other credit card rates to skyrocket, affect ability to refinance mortgage, impact auto rates, even employment (since employers do run credit checks).

American Express' actions are going to drive people and business into bankruptcy and destroy lives. This even more egregious because of the taxpayer money Amex has received.

@Fresh-Fest-1986: Remember, PCA doesn't make eatin' peanut butter, just manufacturin' peanut butter. So your jar of Jif should be okay.

(Of course, Conagra did let salmonella into "Peter Pan" brand peanut butter two years ago, so don't get too cocky.)

Intentionally selling infected peanut butter, or cutting the credit lines for a few customers who probably were given too much credit in the first place.

Gee, tough call. Same thing with Target? Who nominated these companies? I can think of 5 worse credit card companies and 5 worse mass market retailers. Rare trip on the Failboat.

Amex can still profit from stupidity. My vote was for Mr. Peanut's second cousin.

@Quake 'n' Shake: Yeah! Screw the French!

@Porntipsguzzardo_GitEmSteveDave: You can use the tags for each company to see their full Consumerist history. Successive tags will allow you to catch all of the combinations for some company names/acronyms.

[consumerist.com]
[consumerist.com]

I don't understand why Amex would be on here. From my personal experience with them, they have only treated me very fairly in this crisis. I have several cards with them, only one with a balance. They cut my credit limit only on the cards I don't use and never raised my interest rate, which has always been quite low. In addition, I've always had excellent customer service and some sort of great, free rewards program. Amex seems pretty solid to me.

A little different from Chase who decided to un-enroll me in their paperless billing program, not tell me about it, and then charged me a $39 late fee when I was late on my payment (because I never received a bill). They eventually refunded the $39 (after 3 months), but treated me like I was a criminal when they begrudgingly did it. They also upped my interest rate. There's no contest as to who the better company is here.

They 'effed with my favorite food. I use peanut butter to cure my hiccups (yeah, I don't get it either, but it works for me and I refuse to question God's plan - I get to eat peanut butter by the spoonful. Or at least I DID!).

I have to go with knowing what your doing is pretty much going to be making people sick enough to kill them, vs the guys who just take your credit away for no reason, even if your a good member in standing with them.

@bluebuilder: Scams? My amex card gives me money at the end of the year. It's the best credit card I have. Now I would be upset if they canceled it on me, but if they don't there is no reason to complain.

Peanut Corp is evil, BUT the lax policies of the FDA, our lack of funding of inspection an inability to order a prompt recall, the responsiblity is also shared with our government.

@SkokieGuy: If Peanut Corp were simply inept I might side with you but they knowingly sent out tainted food. That the FDA didn't stop them is, for me, beside the point. Just because someone isn't able to stop you from doing something evil doesn't mean you should go on and do it.

I can't vote for the dope pusher instead of the serial killer just because the killer had an accomplice inside the FBI.

I agree...how did AMEX get on here? They're one of the *best* companies I deal with...

@sponica: People mostly respond to Amex because they have the reputation of an amazing company. Their bad press comes from them acting like a normal one.

Dead people beats over-hyped credit card company any day of the week.

The tainted peanut butter is a tough contender, but I have to go with AmEx. Why?

1) PCoA is most definitely at fault for the outbreak, but they weren't the only ones. The FDA and CDC screwed up a bit to let this happen as well.

2) While PCoA made one huge mistake, AmEx makes hundreds (thousands?) of smaller, but WILLFULL transgressions every day. They know full well that they're doing is screwing you for their own benefit, and do it anyways.

So yeah, I'm playing the longshot here, but I'd like to show that it's far easier to go for the one event that hit the news rather than the myriad of things that individually barely register, but if combined it would cause a riot.

Hmm.. Murder butter or credit card shenanigans. Choices, choices.

It's too bad that, if PCA ends up winning (being worse), it's no sweat off their back since they're going out of business.

Peanut Butter Zombies... Not ready for that...

Now we have to rewrite the PB&J song:

"Peanuuut, Peanut Butter... and salmonella..."

PCA is my personal pick to cut down the nets at the end of this thing. This is an easy first round win.

I don't have an Amex credit card. I have a charge card through them though.

Amazing customer service, I don't know why they are on here.

Same with T-Mobile. I just got a replacement Android because my accelerometer was busted, and I really wasn't supposed to get a new one. The rep was awesome. Also, I've had them offer to overnight a loner phone to me.

@Corporate_guy: What if they cancelled it on you right before you got your rebate check?

What in the world is up with these one-sided fights? It's true that both, in some form or fashion, compromised public safety, but which one has directly caused deaths and losses abound?

I voted for Peanut Corporation for America.

Their product intentionally killed people... at least AmEx only gets you into debt.

@TinkishDelight:

And you are correct.

@edwardso: Yeah.

American Express: Cuts credit lines.
Peanut Corp: Cuts life lines.

Advantage: Peanut Corp.

@Oranges w/ Cheese: Death and destruction, that's what!

@broken5hift: Agreed. Some companies seem to make the cut in this contest just because they're big. AMEX is by far the best CC company out there, in my opinion.

/unapologetic shill for the AMEX Blue Cash card

I live in Georgia, home of peanuts. We count on your salmonella dollars to survive, so please vote for AMEX. Save redneck jobs.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, evil peanut butter!

@TinkishDelight:
Exactly why I chose AMEX. AMEX does more than just credit cards, and badly.

@Oranges w/ Cheese: Better than if they killed me before I got my rebate.

@highmodulus: It's how seeding works (and personally its the dumbest thing ever). #1 meets #last, and #2 meets #secondtolast, which given they haven't been juicing, #1 and #2 will ALMOST ALWAYS win.

@Jabberkaty: There's nothing wrong with jarred PB. There never was anything wrong with jarred PB. Especially the name brands. Its idiotic to completely swear off a food just because one company does something stupid. Read the recall notices for heavens sake.

Anyway, it cures your hiccups because of the soft palette. My mom always used to tell me to use my tongue to rub my soft palette and it would cure the hiccups.

@Preyfar: how did they do that? can you provide a little more insight?

@Oranges w/ Cheese: Hmm... Perhaps my use of the present tense wasn't clear. I'm just mad the 'effed with PB in general. I never swore it off. I still use it to cure the hiccups.

And um, way to be really mean to someone you don't know. Kudos. Ah, the anonymity of the interwebs, you bring us together to tear us apart.

@edwardso: yeah, it too bad peanut corp and AIG face eachother so early i nthe competition. that would have been a good late match-up.

@edwardso: agreed.

I wonder too why Amex is on this list. Over many years they never played games with my APR, and their customer service was always responsive and courteous. Also, little things like a bill you can understand, and a website that is immediately navigable indicates a more than average intelligence in charge of the controls there.

I am distrustful and cynical to a depressing degree, so for me to defend a company may be taken as high praise.