Consumerist
Fees
Fees
Most Popular Stories
- 10 Confessions Of A Kmart Manager (12,552 views, 0 comments)
- The Secret Behind Zappos Otherworldly Customer Service? Pay Employees To Quit (11,258 views, 0 comments)
- Countrywide CEO Accidentally Emails Homeowner, Calls His Plea For Help "Disgusting" (9,530 views, 0 comments)
- American Airlines Now Charges $15 For The First Checked Bag (139 comments, 6,581 views)
- Court Rules That U.S. Currency Discriminates Against The Blind (106 comments, 3,319 views)
Shopping
Live Search Cashback Offers Discounts for Searching
FROM LIFEHACKER.COM: Microsoft's Live Search Cashback program is a product search engine that provides—you guessed it—cash back for searching for products through their site. More »
Fees
How I Got Commerce To Refund $45 In Cycle Service Charge Fees
Yesterday I walked away from Commerce Bank victorious: my entire balance in my wallet, my fees reversed, and my account closed. I had an account there that I just sort of kept as a "money in a book" account. You know, you hide money in a book on your shelf so you forget about it and one day when you really need some extra scratch you realize, hey wait, I've got that money in a book. Except this way I wouldn't run the risk of forgetting which book it was. In retrospect I realize that was kind of a half-stupid, half-smart idea. That's how I roll. Another way I roll is a little policy called, "You don't get to steal my money."
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Annoying
Policy: Blockbuster Debits $1 To Test Your Card, Then Charges You For Your Rental
For every debit or credit card transaction at Blockbuster, the company will now debit $1 to "test" your card. If the transaction goes through, they'll then debit the full amount of your purchase. Blockbuster tells us your dollar will be returned in 3-10 business days. Reader Jason says he rented a game on Thursday and hasn't gotten the dollar Blockbuster borrowed back yet. Will he get it before the 10 days is up? More »
Real Estate
How to Negotiate a Better Deal on a Home
It's not new news that in most U.S. cities it's a buyer's market in real estate. But even though buyers are very likely to get a great home purchase versus even just two years ago, there are a few simple steps they can take to get an even better deal. Smart Money suggests the following as steps to paying as little as possible: More »
Videos
"Checkmate," The Straight Dope On Check Cashing Joints (Cameo By Ben Popken)
The guys who brought you "The Ghetto Big Mac" have a new video up about the the hilarious and not-so-hilarious realities behind check chasing joints (with guest appearance by yours truly, Ben Popken). Besides the part where Internet Celebrities Rafi and Dallas try to cash an oversized check at one of these places, what I like best about this video is that it actually makes a sound case for check cashing places at times. If there's no banks around in a poor neighborhood, what other choice do you have? Especially when banks have constructed all sorts of fees to discourage patronage by lower-income customers. Like Dallas says in the vid, "You really know you've made it when you move from check cashing fees to ATM fees." More »
bad install
Comcast Digs Up Your Patio After You Asked Them Not To And Other Assorted Humiliations
Reader Shannon has been without a working phone in her home office for the past 16 days thanks to Comcast. This has her in a bad mood, but she's also a little ticked off because they sent over a bunch of guys who didn't understand her when she told them not to dig up her patio. More »
Banned
XBOX Live Decides Your Surname Is Offensive Because It Contains The Letters "G-A-Y"
Reader Richard would like to use his full name as his gamer tag, but XBOX has decided that "Gaywood" is offensive. Here's his letter: More »
Confessions
10 Confessions Of A Kmart Manager
Most people consider Kmart's merger with Sears the marriage from hell. It should come as no surprise that this sinking chain is leaving thousands of upset customers and employees in its wake, which perhaps explains a letter we received marked "10 Confessions" from a person identifying his/her self as a Kmart manager. The confessions, inside... More »
Worst Company in America
Round 43: Time Warner Cable vs American Airlines
This is Round 43 in our Worst Company in America contest, Time Warner Cable vs American Airlines!Here's what readers said in previous rounds about why they hate these two companies...
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rude
Countrywide CEO Accidentally Emails Homeowner, Calls His Plea For Help "Disgusting"
Apparently Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of Countrywide, has never made a mistake and needed help (from, say, Bank of America,) because he thinks that homeowners who are desperately trying to refinance out of their disastrous home loans and avoid foreclosure are "disgusting" if they look to the internet for help writing letters. More »
Fees
American Airlines Now Charges $15 For The First Checked Bag
American Airlines has just announced that it will begin charging a $15 fee for the first checked bag starting June 15. The airline also said that it would raise fees for things like "reservation help" and "oversized bags." More »
New York Magazine
You know we're at death's door for the print industry when they have to resort to a sleazy subscription tactic like this debt collection warning New York Mag sent Keith's wife for a subscription she never signed up for. Keith called the number on the back of the card and a customer service rep said that an "affiliate" put in the order. Dawn let Keith cancel the order without fuss. When Keith asked why the company was threatening to send people to collections for something they never ordered , "Dawn" said, "Don't worry...it doesn't make a difference since we don't have your social security number and we will never ask for it." As if that's going to protect you from a debt collector. UPDATE: NYmag says the subscription renewal was valid and the customer must have forgotten about it. Full response inside.
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UPDATED: NYMag: Collections Threatened For Sub You Never Ordered
You know we're at death's door for the print industry when they have to resort to a sleazy subscription tactic like this debt collection warning New York Mag sent Keith's wife for a subscription she never signed up for. Keith called the number on the back of the card and a customer service rep said that an "affiliate" put in the order. Dawn let Keith cancel the order without fuss. When Keith asked why the company was threatening to send people to collections for something they never ordered , "Dawn" said, "Don't worry...it doesn't make a difference since we don't have your social security number and we will never ask for it." As if that's going to protect you from a debt collector. UPDATE: NYmag says the subscription renewal was valid and the customer must have forgotten about it. Full response inside.
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shady
Does That Chain Restaurant Or Fast Food Match The Nutritional Information? Apparently Not.
TV stations all over the country recently got together and tested a bunch of dishes from chain restaurants and fast food places to see if the nutritional information they were advertising actually matched the food. The report targeted menu options from chains such as Applebee's, Macaroni Grill, Taco Bell and Chili's that were marketed as healthy. So did the calories in the food match the calories on the menu? Nope. Of the items tested, all but one were way over on calories, or fat content... or both. More »
Money
Court Rules That U.S. Currency Discriminates Against The Blind
According to the AP, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that because all dollar bills are identical to the touch, it denies blind people "meaningful access" to the currency. For years, the American Council of the Blind has been going after the government to take action, but the government has always resisted. Details, inside... More »
high mileage
High Gas Prices Transform Geo Metros From Weak To Chic
The formerly mocked and neglected Geo Metro is finding new popularity amidst high gas prices. According to CNN, the Geo Metro is making a spectacular comeback, especially on eBay. You might be surprised to learn that the Geo Metro and Toyota Prius get nearly the same gas mileage. Now consider that a Metro can be found for about $7000 compared to a new Prius which costs $21,000+, it becomes easy to see the attraction. Details, inside... More »
Business
