Consumerist
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Sprint class action
Judge Rules That Early Termination Fees Are ILLEGAL In California
A California Superior Court judge has ruled that cellphone early termination fees are ILLEGAL and that Sprint must pay $18.2 M as part of a class action lawsuit. Of course, the decision could be appealed, but in the meantime.... (drum roll, please) the judge ordered Sprint to stop trying to collect the fees from customers in California who were refusing to pay them! More » -
Con Ed
Help! Are "Free Light Bulbs" From Con Ed A Scam?
Reader Fiona wants to know if the people calling from "Con Ed" offering "free light bulbs" are running a scam. More » -
Most Popular Stories
- Top 10 Norton/Symantec Secrets You Shouldn't Know (27,377 views, 65 comments)
- Sprint Makes Customer Wait 6 Hours For Chat (12,830 views, 28 comments)
- Geek Squad Cuts The Cables Inside Your Computer Instead Of Backing Up Your Data? (10,388 views, 67 comments)
- Papa John's Is Taking Your Theft Seriously, And Gets Offended If You Don't Believe Them (109 comments, 9,751 views)
- Getting Nigerian Email Scammed, A First-Person Story (83 comments, 10,339 views)
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Profits
Exxon Posts The Highest Profit Ever By Any U.S. Company In Any Industry, But It's Not Enough
Exxon made $11.68 billion in the second quarter, says the AP, which is "the biggest profit from operations ever by any U.S. corporation," but that wasn't quite enough to please investors, who were disappointed. More » -
United
United's "Bad Weather" Excuse Isn't Very Believable
Jonathan wants to know how long an airline can blame a cancellation on bad weather, and whether there's any way to get such a claim rejected when it's used inappropriately. Is it legitimate, for example, to say tomorrow's flight is canceled due to weather, when what you really mean is an isolated thunderstorm the day before—which evidently affected no other airlines in the area—triggered a domino effect in getting a certain plane to the right airport a full day later? More » -
grocery shrink ray
Grocery Shrink Ray Hits UK
The Grocery Shrink Ray has expanded its range and is no longer just hitting the US. Pint-sized woe has befallen the the UK snack section. For one, the Dairylea triangle is shrinking from 180 to 160g per cheese wheel. Other shrunken products include Rolo, Palmolive, Olvatine, Dairy Milk, Mars bars, Yorkie chocolate bars, and Pringles.Check out the company double-talk as they tried to explain away the changes, sometimes with verbal softshoe, others with oddly pugilistic rebuttals: More » -
Estate planning
Are You Ready For Death? Financially Speaking.
According to Bankrate, 57% of Americans do not have a will, leaving their personal finance, guardianship of children, and many other end-of-life decisions in the hands of strangers (state judges.) The lynchpin of a solid estate plan is having a will, but Vanguard suggests you also need the following assembled to leave your loved ones in good shape following your death: More » -
Fonolo
Fonolo.com Slash And Burns Dread Phone Trees
Fonolo.com promises to be an industrial-powered buzzsaw for hacking down phone trees. They've spidered companies' entire customer service phone trees and you just click on a chart online where you want to go. Fonolo calls the company for you, navigates to that point, and calls you on your phone when the call is ready. Boom, you're transferred right in without waiting or wanting to kill yourself. It's also free. Good news for Vincent Ferrari wannabes, a forthcoming feature will let you record calls and publish them online at the click of a button. Currently in closed beta, you can enter your email address on their front page and they'll let you know when it's ready. Screenshots inside... More »
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Verizon
Verizon Suspends Door-To-Door Marketing In Delaware Thanks To Masturbating Salesman
Yesterday, we told you about a outsourced door-to-door salesman who was soliciting for Verizon when he was caught masturbating while watching a woman work in her garden. He's been charged with two counts of "lewdness, resisting arrest and criminal trespassing," and now Verizon tells us that they've suspended all door-to-door marketing in Delaware until they're done investigating the incident. More » -
Fees
Delta Wants $300 In Fees On A $306 Ticket
When reader Anayah booked a ticket for her little sister to come visit her in New York, she specifically asked Delta if there would be a fee for an unaccompanied minor. They told her (twice) that since her sister was 14, there would be no fee. When Anayah's family got to the gate Delta informed them that there would be a charge of $100 each way. Anayah's mother could not afford to pay this fee and, since Delta would not allow Anayah to pay the fee in person at the ticket counter in New York, there would be an additional charge of $100 to pay by phone. The confusion caused her sister to miss her flight, and now Delta wants another fee to rebook her. More » -
iPhone 3G
My White iPhone Is Cracked, But Not In A Good Way
Reader Zach says that he heard that white iPhones were cracking, but he got one anyway because there was a longer wait for the black ones. When he got home, he noticed two small cracks in the back of the phone. More » -
Sprint
Sprint Makes Customer Wait 6 Hours For Chat
Adam had a question on his bill—either about the $9.68 adjustment in his favor, or the $102,861.30 they say he still owes, we're not sure—so he decided to take advantage of their online chat. He writes, "Conveniently, they have a link that says 'Questions about your bill?' When you click it, it brings you to a live agent. This is a picture of our session." More » -
Money
Personal Finance Roundup
5 Mortgage Fees to Watch Out For [Smart Money] "Here are five fees to watch out for and how to avoid paying them."
5 Tips for Starting a Small Business [Get Rich Slowly] "What sort of advice do you have for somebody who might be starting a small business?"
When to Hire a Tax Professional [Free Money Finance] "Here are some instances when you might benefit from hiring a tax professional."
10 Things I've Learned From Grocery Shopping on a Budget [Wise Bread] "The budget goal has taught me a few things about shopping and about myself."
Eight Little Frugal Tactics I've Found So Far This Summer [The Simple Dollar] "Here are eight [ways to save money] we've discovered over the last several months."
— FREE MONEY FINANCE
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Silly
Earthlink Tries To Sell You Anti-Virus Protection When You Contact Them To Cancel Your Anti-Virus Protection
Sometimes we feel sorry for CSRs who have to try to sell you stuff you don't want or need when you're contacting them to correct a billing mistake. It's just so sad. Reader ajlei contacted Earthlink's chat support to cancel an anti-virus service that wasn't supposed to be included on her bill, after canceling, the chat support rep kept asking her if she wanted a more expensive version of the service. When she said no, the chat rep asked her again, in bold this time... because asking in bold will make customers want more expensive versions of services they just canceled? More » -
taking it seriously
Papa John's Is Taking Your Theft Seriously, And Gets Offended If You Don't Believe Them
Mark didn't like how a Papa John's pizza delivery guy was acting, so he paid the delivery charge but marked through the tip line on his receipt. Two days later, he discovered an extra $6.42 had been tacked on. When Mark called Papa John's to report the theft, he spoke to someone who obviously hasn't gotten our memo that "taking it seriously" is about as reassuring as "your call is very important to us." More » -
Geek Squad
Geek Squad Cuts The Cables Inside Your Computer Instead Of Backing Up Your Data?
Reader Kevin forwarded us this story from Dave, a I.T. consultant friend of his who helps people with their computer problems in exchange for hardware donations to the school he works at. Dave's "propane guy" said he recently took a desktop computer to Geek Squad after it failed, and "great Geek Squad guys were AWESOME and had been able to retrieve all of his family pictures for him," before selling him a new laptop. Dave offered to take a look at the desktop and try to retrieve the rest of the important files— the "7 years of QuickBooks 2005 data" that Best Buy wasn't able to save, but when Dave opened up the computer he says he was surprised to see that someone had cut some important cables. More » -
Norton
Complete Norton Symantec Executive Contact List
If you have an unresolved Norton/Symantec complaint and regular customer service doesn't help you out, you might want to try giving one of the top-ranking company executives inside a call or an email. Don't forget to be nice, polite, and professional, and remember the guidelines for contacting executive customer service. If you need help writing a solid complaint letter, here's a template to follow. And if you want a real anti-virus program that won't hose up your computer, try NOD32. Now here's the complete executive contact list... More » -
Norton
Top 10 Norton/Symantec Secrets You Shouldn't Know
I awoke this morning to find a dead man on my doorstep, apparently from the gunshot wound to his back. By examining the depth of the tread marks and the streak of blood on the walls, I determined that he had dragged himself up after receiving the fatal bullet. I cleaned up the pool of blood with some extra-thirsty Brawny towels, and rifled the pockets of his black trench coat to find a package addressed to "The Consumerist." A hastily scrawled coversheet read, "Please keep my identity secret, I could lose my job. I have compiled a "10 Norton/Symantec secrets I shouldn't be telling you" list." Too late. Someone already punched his pink slip. Let's read what was inside... More »
New York, 11:32 PM
Tue Nov 10
22 posts in the last 24 hours
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