Consumerist
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Follow-ups
Comcast Apologizes For $2 Charge, Says It Will Make Sure CSRs Don't Do That Anymore
After we posted yesterday about Ian's surprise $1.99 fee for asking Comcast to stop mailing him junk mail, a Comcast rep contacted Ian and apologized for the confusion, explaining that the fee is real but "it is not for changing marketing preferences." Read his full email after the jump. More » -
Roundups
Top Posts Of The Week
Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money
"So, what if I was say, Donald Trump and wanted to spend 30 grand on something?" His response, " Well , for Mr Trump we would have made an accommodation ahead of time."Man Records Phishing Call
"Scammer: I'm just coming within two days with two FBI agents, OK.
Howard: Well, you bring 'em here. I've got a 357. I'll put your name on it."Unlawfully Detained At Home Depot For Not Showing Receipt
"According to his police report, the officer stopped Matt without reasonable cause and forced him to comply with "store policy." Matt feels that this was a violation of his 4th amendment rights."This Sports Authority Coupon For 20% Off Cannot Be Used For Anything
"Sports Authority misses you so much that they sent out a 20% off coupon that doesn't apply to sports equipment or 68 named brands. You might, might be able to get 20% off a pair of socks."We're Too Pretty For Southwest!
"I think they were just discriminating against because we were young decent-looking girls. I mean, nobody else on the plane looked like us except us," she said. "[The flight attendants] were like older ladies...Who knows, they could have been just jealous of us because we were younger." -
Safety
Lead Found In Dental Appliance
Finally! It's been so long since we've posted about anything tainted with lead that we were starting to wonder if all the world's trade problems had been resolved—but now comes a new study that found 210 parts per million (ppm) of lead in the porcelain veneer of a dental crown ordered from China. That's a lot less than the CPSC's current 600 ppm threshold, but a lot more than the international standard of only 90 ppm. The good news is it's highly unlikely developing children will need a mouth full of crowns and bridges. The bad news is it's yet another example of how hazardous material can slip undiscovered into the marketplace—and your mouth. More » -
Lawsuits
Motivational Company Waterboarded Employees?
Motivational coaching company Prosper is the subject of an unusual lawsuit: "A supervisor...is accused of waterboarding an employee in front of his sales team to demonstrate that they should work as hard on sales as the employee had worked to breathe." C'mon team, let's Gitmo sales! [Salt Lake Tribuine] -
Photos
Please Wait Until Restroom Is Unoccupied To Use Microwave. Don't Ask...
With this homespun sign, Shapiro Hardware in SoHo New York politely asks that you please wait until the restroom is unoccupied before using the microwave. Huh? A commenter on the Copyranter blog where we found this notes that he used to work in a jewelry store where the electrical box was installed in the bathroom. "we got shocked when we washed our hands." says Anonymous, "25 year old owner's son didn't care. I hope his balls fry some day. There are many small businesses like this I bet." -
success stories
Case Closed: HSBC Won't Tell You Someone In Bulgaria Is Stealing $2,000 From You
Last week reader Keith told us how scammers in Bulgaria siphoned $2,000 from his account, and his story snowballed into an entire HSBC class breach. Now Keith tells us that he has all the money back. He writes:Once I was able to get in touch with Robert Olejniczak of corporate security he was extremely helpful, concerned and empathetic. The missing money was credited back to my account on 2/25, 6 business days after it went missing. I just received a letter in the mail stating that the "investigation is complete." I guess they figured they didn't need to do much investigating to determine that I couldn't be swiping my card at a diner in Manhattan and in Bulgaria withdrawing large sums from an ATM at the same time.
They even gave him $.02 in interest, how nice. -
Badvertising
Discover The Fairsley Difference!
This fake ad-battle from "Mr. Show"—a big city supermarket chain squares off against a naïve local grocer—perfectly captures a certain type of aggressive, scorched-earth advertising style usually reserved for political campaigns.
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Complaints
WaMu Sides With Thieves Stealing Your $373.64
Brian writes:I've been fighting with WaMu on the same fraudulent transaction now since August 24th. They sent me a fraud affidavit, which I quickly signed, and sent back to them, both by fax, and by registered mail. They are playing the "We never got the paperwork game" in September of Last year. I started dealing with a Lilly, & a Rosie from WaMu (Rosie being the supervisor) both of them actually at the executive offices, I got in touch with Rosie because I purchased a share of Wamu's public stock and started complaining to investor relations. I may try that method again...
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Bad Consumer: If you decide to rob a bank, then feel bad about it later, apologizing and returning the money won't keep you from going to jail. Just ask Catherine Kaczazanowski. [NBC4]
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Cars
Consumer Reports Top Auto Picks 2008
Here are the cars Consumer Reports says are standouts in 2008 for "performance, versatility, reliability, and safety."
Small Sedan: Hyundai Elantra SE ($18,000)
Midsized SUV: Hyundai Santa Fe ($27,000 to $39,000)
Luxury Sedan: Lexus LS 460L ($77,000)
Family Sedan: Honda Accord ($22,000 to $31,000)
Upscale Sedan: Infiniti G35 ($33,000 to $35,000)
Fun To Drive: Mazda MX-5 Miata ($27,000)
Small SUV: Toyota RAV4 ($23,000 to $30,000)
Minivan: Toyota Sienna ($24,000 to $37,000)
"Green" Car: Toyota Prius. ($24,000)A good starting guide if you're looking to pick up a new car this year.
Top Picks 2008 [Consumer Reports]
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subprime meldtown
Can't Afford Your Mortgage? Walk Away!
We've talked about this issue a few times here on Consumerist and now the New York Times has gotten into the act with an article about people who've chosen use the new service "You Walk Away" to let the bank take over their mortgages after their homes turned out to be bad investments. More » -
The top 10 most common complaints received by the Illinois Attorney General's office during 2007 were:
1. Identity theft: 6,388 complaints
Yikes, that's a lot of ID theft complaints. You should really consider shredding all of your paper garbage before you throw it out and all that other good stuff—whether you live in Illinois or not. [Sun-Times] MORE »
2. Credit/financial services: 5,267
3. Promotions and schemes: 3,168
4. Construction and home improvement: 2,714
5. Telecommunications: 2,537
6. New and used auto sales: 1,487
7. Mail order: 1,390
8. Utilities: 908
9. Auto repair: 748
10. Business fraud: 722 -
Some interesting thoughts concerning the tyranny of "the tip jar" from the Wall Street Journal. [Wall Street Journal]
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Customer Service
The $1,000 Gas Bills
David City, Nebraska residents were shocked to open their Aquila gas bills and find bills several hundreds of dollars over the norm, in some cases as high as $1,000. Aquila says that an inexperienced meter reader incorrectly read meters in the area too low for several months and now that the error has been caught, 1,100 affected residents will have to make up the difference. Customers aren't too thrilled. Aquila is giving them three months to pay up, saying that all they're doing is charging customers for the gas they used, that to do otherwise would be unfair to other Aquila customers, and that they won't be shutting off anyone due to this billing snafu. Resident Cheryl Gregg was none too thrilled, saying, "A lot of companies that you go into, if they make a mistake, they take the loss. That's kind of how it works." What do you think? Should Alquila have paid for the cost of its mistake or is it only fair for customers to pay for the gas they used?
(Thanks to Stephen!)
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Poverty
Kelly's Will Rent-To-Own You This Wii For $948
Here's a perfect example of what a ripoff rent-to-own or "lease-purchase" (to use the Kelly's phrase) arrangements are to the consumer. This $250 Wii console can be yours for only $79 a month, and after 12 months, it's yours to keep. By that time, you will have paid $948 for it. By comparison, if you charged it to a credit card with 18% interest, you could pay $23 a month and have it paid off after 12 months. Kelly's offer will cost you $673 more than paying with the credit card. More » -
phone numbers
Reach Busey Bank Executive Customer Service
Bryan V. Kehoe
Vice President - Commercial Team Leader
Busey Bank, N.A.
1490 Tamiami Trail
Port Charlotte, FL 33948phone 941-764-5114
fax 941-625-1732
email bryan.kehoe@busey.com -
Readers
Friday Consumerist Flickr Pool Finds
Here are five special photos that readers added to the The Consumerist Flickr Pool this week, chosen because they're both neat and could possibly be used in a Consumerist post. Our Flickr Pool is the place where Consumerist readers go and upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click "Join Group?" up on the top right, and start hitting "send to group" on your individual photos you want to add to the pool.
(Photo: SisterLoquacious) More »
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Recalls
24,000 Cribs Recalled For Faulty Railing
The CPSC has announced the recall of 24,000 cribs for a faulty railing that puts children at risk of falling out. More »
New York, 12:03 PM
Wed Nov 11
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