The driver of the Megabus traveling from Philadelphia from Pittsburgh was, witnesses told various local media, “out of it.” She forgot to take her blood pressure medication, became ill, and lost consciousness. Dozing passengers were alerted to her state when two tractor-trailers boxed in the bus. Passengers rushed to the front to help, but one man happened to be in the right place and had the right qualifications. That was a Pittsburgh pastor who has driven a variety of large vehicles, and had just earned his commercial driver’s license. [More]
Man Tracks Down His Stolen Laptop & Starts Fund To Help Teen Who Ended Up With It
By August 29, 2012
Having your stuff stolen really sucks. Something is yours, you own it and then poof — it’s gone. One Boston graphic designer was so sick of his computers being stolen, he installed security software on his Macbook Pro just in case and ended up finding out where his laptop had wandered off to. But instead of punishing the new owner of this third stolen piece of electronics, he decided to do something positive. [More]
Woman Tracks Down Her Stolen Wallet On A Hunch, Catches Thief Using Her Debit Card
By August 29, 2012
We’re so used to witnessing the theft of our money by tracking bank statements online or fielding phone calls from our credit card issuers over potentially bogus charges, but as it turns out, there are still real-life vigilantes taking their property loss into their own hands in real time. A Brooklyn woman found her wallet had gone missing while shopping in Manhattan and soon embarked on a personal reconnaissance mission to get it back. [More]
How I Finally Escaped Verizon's Droid R2D2 Smartphone Replacement Purgatory
By August 28, 2012
Like many of our readers, Elizabeth is sort of a nerd. When a special edition of Motorola’s Droid smartphone came out that’s dressed up to look like actual fictional ‘droid R2D2 from “Star Wars,” she took the opportunity to upgrade. Critics say that the phone is just a painted-up Droid 2, but Elizabeth liked it. Well, she liked it until a week or so later when it stopped working properly. That’s when Verizon encased her in carbonite and cast her into Smartphone Replacement Purgatory. [More]
iRobot's Outsourced Customer Service Tired Of Me, Dumps Me As A Customer
By August 21, 2012
“Outsourced” doesn’t always mean that work is shipped overseas. An outsourced call center can be anywhere. Well, anywhere with a low cost of living. What it always means is that the people doing outsourced customer-facing work are stuck reading from scripts and have limited information. That’s what Charles’ wife discovered this past weekend when dealing with an issue with her Scooba floor-cleaning robot. When she tried to order a replacement core for her broken Scooba, she received cryptic e-mails telling her that the company was “unable to complete [her] order” and that they would be “unable to assist [her] with this or future orders,” according to the corporate office. Wait, was iRobot breaking up with her? [More]
Electric Company Reimburses Woman $10,500 After Billing Her For Powering Nearby Streetlights For 25 Years
By August 14, 2012
If you’ve ever wondered how much it might cost you to power the streetlights that go on every night near your home for say, 25 years, wonder no longer. One woman found out she’d been over-charged on her electric bill for a quarter century because the power company had her paying for the electricity used for nearby streetlights. She’s just gotten $10,500 back in her pocket. [More]
Update: State Decides Man No Longer Needs To Repay $19K In Unemployment Benefits
By August 10, 2012
Back in April we told you about a New Jersey man who was stuck in a bureaucratic battle between church and state, as he tried to figure out why he needed to repay more than $19,000 in unemployment benefits he’d believed he was entitled to. After pulling their heads out of the sand at the shore, officials have realized the man was right all along. [More]
Wawa Pays $12,500 To Kicked-Out Customer With Service Dog
By August 8, 2012
Many people in Pennsylvania and New Jersey speak highly of the Wawa chain of convenience stores. Which is why it was a bit of surprise to folks in the area when a man was kicked out of a store earlier this summer because he brought his service dog into the building. Now the chain has not only agreed to fork over a bit of cash to the customer, but to also make sure its employees don’t repeat the mistake. [More]
Couple Duped Into Not Actually Booking Tom Petty For Their Wedding Ends Up With Tom Petty Anyway
By August 7, 2012
Talk about a heartbreaker: Can you imagine thinking you’ve managed to book your favorite musician to play at your wedding, only to find out you’ve been duped to the tune of $165,000? An Amazon exec was dazzled by the tales of a booking firm that said it could not only get Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to play at his July nuptials, but also boasted a roster of artists such as Run-DMC and Ludacris. Had to be legit, right? Wrong. [More]
Wedding Venue Refuses Refund For Canceled Ceremony, Even Though It Books Replacement Event
By August 6, 2012
Cancelling wedding plans can be a huge financial nightmare, especially if you’re already locked into big-ticket, non-refundable purchases. But if one of your non-refundable buys — the venue, for example — is able to fill the spot your cancellation leaves vacant, could you make an argument that you deserve some of your cash back? [More]
Family Reunited With Muscle Car Stolen During Foreclosure Wants Bank Of America To Pay For Damages
By August 2, 2012
Remember Aaron and his missing purple muscle car that disappeared after Bank of America sent in a winterizing crew? He’d been storing the car in his late mother’s garage when the crew contracted by BofA showed up to secure the foreclosed house against the elements, and poof — his car was gone. It’s been returned to him now due to the hard work of investigators, and two men have been arrested, but he says Bank of America still isn’t being very helpful. [More]
Cancer-Stricken Student Convinces Aetna CEO To Pay Off His Medical Bills Via Twitter
By August 2, 2012
Talk about the power of social media — one graduate student battling Stage IV colon cancer in Arizona found out his Aetna health insurance plan had exceeded his $300,000 limit.He took to Twitter to express his frustration as his medical bills continued to grow and it turns out someone very influential was listening — the CEO of Aetna, who has subsequently agreed to pay “every last penny” of the man’s medical expenses and agrees that the healthcare system is broken. [More]
Fans Of The Who Allowed To Exchange Tickets From Cancelled Concert… 33 Years Later
By August 1, 2012
Back in 1979, a little band out of the UK called The Who was slated to play a show in Providence, Rhode Island. But after 11 people were killed during a stampede at a Who show in Ohio, the venue nixed the concert. In a few months, that same band will be playing that same venue, and folks who still have tickets to that cancelled performance are being allowed to exchange them for seats at the upcoming show. [More]
Saucony Wins Dedicated Customer By Replacing Worn-Out Sneaker Without Hassle
By July 27, 2012
It’s Friday, the Olympics are starting, the sun is shining (though maybe a bit too much for some folks) and well… like we said, it’s Friday. So let’s start the weekend off with a story of a company that looked at a customer’s complaint, dealt with it quickly and without hassle, and earned a loyal supporter in the process. [More]
Good To Know: Stripping In The Airport Security Line Is Totally Cool With The Constitution
By July 19, 2012
Do you ever get so angry that you just start tearing off your clothing in public? No? Us either, but one Oregon man was upset enough by Transportation Security Administration measures he found invasive, he stripped down to his birthday suit while in line at Portland’s airport. Luckily for him, a judge thinks that’s just fine. [More]
Man’s Tireless Search For His Stolen Car Pays Off 42 Years Later When He Spots It On eBay
By July 16, 2012
Dogged determination and persistence in the face of likely failure paid off for one man, who never stopped searching for his 1967 Austin Healey 3000 after it was stolen 42 years ago in Philadelphia. He kept searching the Internet and looking at similar cars to see if his was out there, despite the fact that it could’ve been broken up and sold for parts by whoever had taken it. And then, voila — a hit on eBay. [More]
Man’s Family Determined To Carry Out A Last Request: Order A Pizza & Tip The Server $500
By July 13, 2012
When Aaron passed away at the age of 30, he left his family with a will with all the usual instructions, including that any debt he owed his parents be repaid if he had money in the bank when he died. But he also had another request, one that his family has succeeded in thanks to the generosity of strangers: Order a meal and leave the server a really awesome tip. [More]
Digging Around In Attic Unearths $3M In Rare 1910 Baseball Cards
By July 11, 2012
It’s one thing when you know for certain that your carefully curated collection could be worth a lot of money, but what we all really dream about is that elusive surprise find hiding right under our noses. An Ohio man was rummaging around in a box from his grandfather’s attic when he dug up just such a rare score — a collection of baseball cards from 1910 that could be worth millions. [More]
