Ticketmaster is now set to pay for its five-year Entertainment Rewards biff, after customers complained that they signed up for the program without realizing it’d cost $9 a month, and never actually got any rewards for doing so. A U.S. District Court judge has approved up to $23 million in payouts as part of settlement over a lawsuit that said not only did customers come up empty-handed, they didn’t even know there were fees associated with enrolling in the program. [More]
Ticketmaster Settles $23M Lawsuit Over Rewards Program That Didn’t Give Out Any Rewards
By May 17, 2013
Security Questions Aren’t Very Secure When Your Whole Family Knows The Answers
By May 17, 2013
If you’re a forgetful person or have too many accounts to keep track of, the ability to reset an account password by typing the answers to a few questions about yourself can be a lifesaver. But there’s a dark side, too: it leaves you vulnerable to social engineering. Or having your Amazon password reset by your 94-year-old dad. [More]
My Health Insurer’s Idea Of ‘Healthy’ Food Is Mayonnaise And Ice Cream
By May 15, 2013
Should our health insurers try to nudge us toward the healthiest habits possible, like eating fresh, healthy food and exercising regularly? Or should they just give up, accept Americans’ crappy habits and hope that we do less healthy versions of unhealthy things, like eating giant plates of whole-wheat pasta? Reader Scott wonders whether that’s what his health insurance company, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, is up to with a package of coupons that they sent recently. [More]
JCPenney Says Coupon Code Users Can Only Get One Of Those “Free” Towels They Ordered Online
By May 14, 2013
We told you last week about savvy online shoppers who realized that a JCPenney coupon code for $10 off purchases of $10 or more could be used to snap up a washcloth/towel combination that cost exactly $10. It also looked like the code could be used repeatedly, so some folks just kept ordering these items until JCP ran out of every possible color. But now the retailer is saying “not so fast” to customers who placed multiple orders. [More]
Adobe’s Creative Suite: Now Only For Rent, Not For Sale
By May 8, 2013
“Ahhh…the joys of having a monopoly running your professional life,” writes reader Brian. Like many people who depend on Adobe’s Creative Suite to perform their creative work, he’s upset at the news that Adobe is abandoning the stuffy, old-fashioned software business model where you buy a program once and get to keep it. Instead, they’re going to release new versions solely through their Creative Cloud service, charging a monthly subscription price. [More]
Macy’s Doesn’t Want You Stockpiling Lip Gloss, Cuts You Off At Six
By May 8, 2013
“Your activity on our site indicates that you are trying to circumvent our restrictions by submitting multiple orders,” said the letter that Macy’s sent to reader Janet. What was she doing? Buying up loss leaders to resell? Taking advantage of a pricing error for her own profit? No…her crime was placing two separate orders for lip gloss from their website. [More]
Haggling For People Who Are Terrified To Haggle
By May 7, 2013
Unless they’re flea market regulars, modern Americans are not great at haggling. It’s why we hate car shopping so much. Most of us want our prices posted on the wall or on a little sticker, and that’s all. But simple haggling can save a lot of money, and it can be relatively painless. You just have to say seven words. [More]
Hey Best Buy, If You Want Us To Shop There, Try Selling People Stuff
By May 7, 2013
Michael is buying his mother a new computer for Mother’s Day, because he’s a good son and she’s moving away soon. As long as he was buying a computer, he wanted to get some reward points from Best Buy on his credit card. Only he couldn’t. While the product page bragged of “free shipping,” Best Buy was not willing to ship the item. At all. [More]
UPDATE: Travel Insurer Decides To Listen To Customer’s Doctor After Public Shaming
By May 3, 2013
Last month, we told you about a California woman whose travel insurance claim was denied because the insurance company posed her doctor a single yes/no question rather than let him explain his patient’s condition. After being shamed in public, the insurer is changing its tune — at least for this case. [More]
Humor Website Offers To Buy Giant Stuffed Carnival Banana For $2600
By May 2, 2013
Earlier this week, we shared with you the sad story of a dad who lost his life’s savings playing a carnival game trying to win an Xbox Kinect for his kids (okay, probably for himself too.) He lost $2,600 when going “double or nothing” got terribly out of hand, and has nothing to show for it but a human-sized stuffed banana with dreadlocks. We shared this story as a cautionary tale about gambling, carnival games, and making sound investment choices. Over at CollegeHumor.com, they have a different take. They want the banana. [More]
Study: Nearly Half Of U.S. Consumers Went To McDonald’s In March
By May 2, 2013
A new study attempts to determine the businesses that American consumers visit most often. Not surprisingly, the list is dominated by places that sell food; and that McDonald’s was by far the most-visited business in the U.S. [More]
What Are America’s Most Damaged Brands Right Now?
By April 26, 2013
How mighty brands fall. Bad leadership, bad planning, a run of bad products: any of these can damage a brand in a short amount of time, and it can take years to recover: if, indeed, the brand recovers at all. What brands are the most battered in the United States right now? 24/7 Wall Street rounded them up, based on which publicly-traded major companies are currently dealing with aggressive competition, reputation disasters, and a lack of direction. [More]
Galaxy S3 Owner Pens Love Letter To His Phone, Gets Samsung CEO To Pay For Out-Of-Warranty Repair
By April 25, 2013
Vince sent a love letter to Y.K. Kim, the head of Samsung USA. No, he doesn’t have a crush on Mr. Kim. He is deeply in love with his Galaxy S3, and shared that love with the regional CEO of the company that brought it to him. Only his love has a problem. A pink discoloration on the screen. He was brokenhearted, and also doubtful about his future plans to buy an S4. [More]
I May Or May Not Have Preordered Samsung Galaxy S4 From Best Buy
By April 18, 2013
Trevor might be getting a Samsung Galaxy S4. He might not. His order went through fine the first time, but it turned out that he made an error, and had asked for the wrong phone number to be upgraded. Oops. He called to cancel the order, but didn’t have a credit card handy to place a new one. That is how his saga began. A saga of trying to place a preorder that Best Buy apparently doesn’t want to accept. [More]
More Than 125 Sketchy Domains Registered Within Hours Of Boston Marathon Explosions
By April 16, 2013
Yesterday, many of us stopped giving a hoot about — at least for a few minutes — about problems with our wireless bills and cable connection to watch with concern as news reports tried to piece together exactly what happened during and after the explosions that rocked the Boston Marathon. Then there were those jerks who, as will all high-profile tragedies, sought to cash in. [More]
This Is, Quite Literally, The Sweetest Resignation Letter You’ve Ever Seen
By April 16, 2013
Most folks’ resignation letters are of the two word variety, or even just a single finger held defiantly in the air. But a pastry chef in England decided the best way to say goodbye to his daytime gig with the border protection folks at Stansted Airport was to sweeten his leaving with a little dessert. [More]
Former Fry’s Employee Explains Why Store’s Commission-Based Pay System Fails Consumers
By April 16, 2013
For people looking to shop for TVs and computers at someplace other than Best Buy or Walmart, California-based chain Fry’s Electronics might seem like a viable option. But one former Fry’s employee says the store’s commission-based pay system for salespeople is hurting both the workers and Fry’s customers. [More]
Maybe You Can’t Deduct Nose Jobs & Sex Toys From Your Taxes, But Someone Can
By April 15, 2013
One of the only entertaining things about tax season has to be the crazy deductions. Because honestly, what other joy can be reaped from this most dreaded of days? Well, besides a refund, if you get one. While you might not be able to write off a nose job or your excessive sweating as tax deductions, somewhere out there, someone can. We salute you, crazy deduction-takers. [More]
