Consumerist
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Texting
NYT: Text Messaging "Virtually No Cost" to Carriers
Hear the scorn of a million parents cry out in righteous anger: despite recently increasing basic text messaging rates from ten cents to twenty across the board, NYT reveals that Carriers pay roughly nothing. -
Expiration Daze
Always Check the (Sometimes Sketchy) Expiration Dates on Food
This is a friendly Consumerist reminder: always make sure you check the expiration dates on all of your food purchases, especially as alternative expiration 'Codes' confuse the employees checking for spoilage. -
DirectTV
DirectTV's "Free Professional Installation" Neither Professional Nor Free
"Professional Installation - free." Seems simple, right? I mean, there's no way DirectTV would just be using that as a bait-and-switch and actually end up charging you for an install...Right? As Dimitriy learned: Wrong. -
Best Buy
Best Buy Sneaky Sneaky Calibration Tricks Make a Comeback
Remember when Best Buy was using HD channels to make "Calibrated" televisions seem miraculously better? Well, their methods have changed, but using different cables to improve definition doesn't mean they've improved. -
Above and Beyond
Buried Under Books, Borders Goes Above and Beyond
Reader Katie writes to us with an amazing Borders customer service story, full of love, loss, credit, and a fiery inferno of possible death. Katie's letter inside. -
Haggling
As Retailers Suffer, Shoppers Start Haggling
Shoppers are frequently haggling over prices, even at major chain stores, the AP reports. With retail stores suffering, "you'd have to be a moron not to ask for a discount." -
Sales
Morning Deals
- Valve: Doom II or Ultimate Doom for PC downloads, $1 each
- Amazon: EyeClops BioniCam magnifying toy for $17.99 (78% off)
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Academic and New York Times blogger Stanley Fish kicks off nominations for Worst Company in America 2009 with his account of frustrations—both consumer and grammatical—with AT&T.
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Now, It's Personal
Wendy's Annoying Gift Card Policy Keeps 'Em Coming Back
Lets start Monday off with some math: If I buy food totaling 20.84 from Wendy's and pay with two fifteen dollar gift cards, how many gift cards should I have left? Puzzling answer inside. -
Money
Now Is The Time To Lock In Interest Rates With CDs
If you're a saver, the Fed flipped you the bird this week. They dropped interest rates and introduced "quantitative easing," two things that will make interest rates plummet. Here's how you can protect yourself. More » -
Security
Tampa Bay Handcuffs And Ejects You For Rooting For The Opposing Football Team
Steve flew down to Tampa to watch his Raiders play the Buccaneers. After cheering for the away team, he was handcuffed, detained, frisked, and ejected with no explanation. He'd like one. -
Above and Beyond
Amazon Replaces And Expedites Order That USPS Lost
Our reader ordered some gifts from Amazon in early December, only to have the post office lose them right before Christmas. Amazon saved his Christmas by overnighting a new package at no charge. -
Borders gave a reader a coupon for $5 off any purchase of $5 or more. As our reader notes, "is this the right tactic for a struggling company to take?"
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Sea world
Sea World Honors Military By Not Seating Them
Reader Lynn and her family visited Sea World, which trumpets its support and free admission for military visitors, but discovered that support meant "not letting your active duty son sit with his family." -
Ask the Consumerists
What's The Matter With GameFly?
Considering the price of buying or renting video games, GameFly, a Netflix-style program for video games, seems like a useful service. According to our inbox, not so much. -
markups
Another Gap Markup Story, Higher Price Rung Up At The Register
After seeing our story about Gap selling pants at an elevated sale price, reader Neff told us the same thing happened to him in Texas, with the higher price ringing up at checkout. -
cigna
Family Of Daughter Who Died After Cigna Denied Her A Liver Transplant Files Lawsuit
Remember last December when Cigna delayed approval of a liver transplant for a leukemia patient and she died? The girl's family has filed a lawsuit against the insurance giant. -
Racism
Sikh Signs For Package, UPS Driver Enters His Name As "TERRORIST"
A UPS driver entered a Sikh man's name as TERRORIST on its online package-tracking database. The man's family discovered the epithet when they searched for a package UPS failed to deliver.
New York, 1:16 AM
Mon Nov 23
7 posts in the last 24 hours
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