Consumerist
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pharma
Video: Go In For Migraine, End Up With Amputation
Imagine going to the doctor for a severe migraine and ending up with your right arm amputated. That's what happened to Diana Levine when her doctor injected her with Phenergan, it seeped out of the vein into an artery, and gave her gangrene. More » -
success stories
EECB Convinces Best Buy To Pay For Damage To Car
Here's a good example of how to write an effective Executive Email Carpet Bomb, or EECB, to break through the "please hold" purgatory of the company's phone system. Alicia's car's bumper was scratched by a Best Buy employee, and calling consumer relations as directed proved fruitless. Now she's got a check in her hands from Best Buy to pay for the repairs.
We have quite a few stories now about Best Buy responding favorably to EECBs, which goes to show that if you can find a way to reach the company's executives—and you write a good EECB—your odds of having your problem favorably resolved improves considerably. More »
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aig
AIG's CEO Issues Statement About $343,000 Phoenix Seminar
Bothered by news reports about another high-priced junket, AIG's CEO Edward M. Liddy issued a public statement to correct the innacuracies he saw. AIG Media Relations emailed it to us and wanted to make sure we shared it with our readers, and since we're all about sharing at The Consumerist, here it is: More »
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taking it seriously
AIG Spends $343,000 On Secret Seminar
AIG is hurting so bad that we just gave them another $40 billion, while execs live it up at another luxury junket, this one costing $343,000. KNVX uncovered another high-priced conference taking place at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix, AZ. They reported that AIG made efforts to disguise its presence, making sure no AIG iconography was out in the open. One hotel employee said that staff was forbidden from even saying the word AIG. AIG said seminars like this, which was for independent financial advisers who steer customers to AIG, are essential to its business. They also said that most of the seminar's costs would be picked up by other corporate sponsors. AIG said in a statement, "We take very seriously our commitment to aggressively manage meeting costs."
Another AIG Resort "Junket": Top Execs Caught on Tape [ABC] (Thanks to Andy!)
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debt collectors
Debt Collector Bullying Me To Sign Affidavit Saying I Can Pay More Than I Can
Sarah has $40k+ in student debt that went into default after she got sick and had to spend a lot of money on medical care. She's been paying it off, but one of the companies that owns one of her loans, NCO Financial, has told her that unless she signs a legal document that says she can pay $260 a month, they're going to place her account back in collections and start harassing her even more than they are now (they're already calling her daily at home and work)... More » -
insurance
How To Save On Homeowners Insurance
With the economy in the dumper, it seems like everyone is looking for ways to save on everything. Not wanting to stand in the way of this lovefest for saving, we're proud to bring you six ways to save on homeowners insurance from Smart Money: More » -
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insurance
Hospital Bills Woman For Waiting 19 Hours Without Seeing Dr
Amber Joy Milbrodt waited for 19 hours in a Dallas emergency room to get her broken leg fixed without seeing a doctor before she finally left. Two weeks later, she got a bill for $162. The hospital says it was for when a nurse checked her vital signs. "She's not paying for waiting...She's paying for the assessment she received." said Rick Rhine, the hospital's vice president in charge of billing. "It should have been more like them paying me for having to sit in the emergency room for 19 hours," Amber told The Dallas Morning News. Amber says she's not going to pay the bill.
Dallas hospital bills woman who waited 19 hours and never saw a doctor [Chron] (Thanks to Chester!) (Photo: xxxlps)
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money meltdown
Backlash: Outrage Forces AIG To Cancel Second Pricey Hotel Party
AIG has decided to cancel a second pricey hotel party for their brokers after receiving another loan from the Federal Reserve for $37.8 billion dollars. AIG defended throwing a $400,000 week long bash for its top independent insurance agents and some AIG employees immediately after the bailout — claiming that these events were "standard industry practice" and that they must continue. They announced that they would go ahead with another event at the Half Moon Bay Ritz-Carlton in northern California. 50 AIG employees were expected to attend. More » -
personal finance
Test Your Personal Finance Skills With These Quizzes
Kiplinger has two quizzes named "Financial Truth or Bunk?", and they go through some of the more popular tips you've heard about personal finance, including lines like:- You can't lose money investing in bonds.
- Stay-at-home moms or dads need life insurance, too.
- Don't buy a red car — it'll cost more to insure.
- Dollar-cost averaging boosts investment returns.
- The percentage of stock in your portfolio should equal 100 minus your age.
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insurance
Confronted With Hotel Bills, AIG Says, "This Is Totally Normal!" And "We're Having Another One!"
AIG says that the "retreat" that ABC News reported on the other day was really just an event for AIG's top independent agents — and that only 10 employees were present out of 100 attendees. Here's how they explain in a press release: More »
insurance
New York, 3:56 AM
Wed Dec 3
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