Consumerist
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lawsuits
How To File A Lawsuit
Consumerist empowers consumers to take on bad companies, but sometimes even the negative PR that Consumerist can bring to bear is not enough to persuade companies to behave. When that happens, you might have to sue in order to get what you want. Here is a brief guide to your options when you decide you need to escalate your complaint to the courts. -
In Canada, the supreme court has ruled that obese people have the right to two seats for the price of one on flights within Canada. [Yahoo!] (Thanks, Steven!)
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rights
Do I Get Time Off To Vote? Know Your Rights
Reader Daniel says his employer is violating state law by not offering paid time off for employees to vote. He forwarded a handy list that you can use to check to see if you're entitled to time off to vote.
Daniel says: More » -
discover
Discover Won't Let Man Opt Out Of Arbitration, Even Though Their Terms Allow It
When John signed up for a Discover card a few months ago, he noticed an interesting item in the fine print—he could opt out of binding arbitration if he sent in a written request that contained a few lines of necessary info and his signature. John followed the instructions, but Discover rejected it. Since then they've rejected his request a second time, failed to call him back when promised, and transferred him to CSRs who don't know what the word means. The latest news: now that 30 days have passed, he's no longer eligible to opt out. John's thinking about canceling the card. More » -
jetblue
JetBlue Has Grandmother Arrested For Refusing To Delete An Unflattering Video Recording
Marilyn Parver is taking her story to the media after JetBlue had her arrested and walked off the plane in handcuffs for refusing to delete a video recording she made of an altercation between passengers. She told Christopher Elliott that JetBlue accused her of interfering with a flight crew (a federal crime) and threatened to blacklist her by adding her name to the dreaded "no-fly list." More » -
foreclosure
Halt Foreclosure Proceedings By Challenging Your Bank's Claim To Your House
Banks don't always own the homes they're trying to repossess, a crucial oversight that residents facing foreclosure can exploit to stay in their homes—though not without effort. Mamie Ruth Palmer successfully sued the Bank of New York after the bank tried to foreclose her home without possessing the note securing the property. After six years in court, the bank agreed to slash her outstanding mortgage in half and waive $12,000 in foreclosure fees so she could keep her home. More » -
cvs
CVS Doesn't Like Kids
Lisa sent us a short angry email about her local CVS, and how it treats local teens. Her local store separates customers into two lines, and the line containing the 18 and under crowd is only allowed into the store two at a time. The store employees say it's to keep down shoplifting. Lisa thinks it's blatant ageism, and she's avoiding the store from now on. Teens can be annoying, but did CVS cross the line in punishing all for the bad actions of a few? Read her letter and leave your comments, inside. More » -
receipt checking controversy
Wal-Mart Reports You To The Police For Not Allowing Them To Check Your Receipt
The epic conflict between shoppers and receipt checkers continues! Reader Michael was unwilling to wait in line to have his cart searched, prompting Wal-Mart to threaten to file a police report as they wrote down his license place... More » -
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BoingBoing notes that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the notorious PRO-IP bill that " puts local law enforcement in a position to demand the forfeiture in criminal proceedings of stuff used to violate copyright. Which means that instead of the RIAA simply trying to collect fines, they can also incite local authorities to collect all the computers and related gear that was used to pirate." [ BoingBoing ] (Thanks, John!)
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bad company
EMI Says You Can't Store Your Music Files Online
Today, MP3tunes' CEO Michael Robertson sent out an email to all users of the online music backup and place-shifting service MP3tunes.com, asking them to help publicize EMI's ridiculous and ignorant lawsuit against the company. EMI believes that consumers aren't allowed to store their music files online, and that MP3tunes is violating copyright law by providing a backup service. (And we're not using a euphemism here—it really is a backup/place-shifting service and not a file sharing site in disguise.) More » -
rectal exams
Jury Says 'Up Yours' To Rectal Exam Lawsuit
Remember Brian Persaud, the Brooklyn construction worker who tried to sue a New York hospital for performing a by-the-books rectal exam on him in 2003? On Monday, a Manhattan jury tossed his lawsuit, claiming he failed to show he suffered assault and battery. This means we'll never get to hear both sides splitting hairs about what constitutes a full "rectal examination"—Persaud says the doctor did it, and the doctor says she didn't.
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parody
Court Says Man Can Continue To Sell Tasteless Walmart Parody T-Shirts
Score one for the First Amendment:
A Conyers man may continue criticizing Wal-Mart with parodies on T-shirts that compare the retail giant to the Holocaust and al-Qaida terrorists, a federal judge has ruled.
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Timothy Batten in Atlanta ruled that Charles Smith may maintain his Web sites, www.walocaust.com and www.walqaeda.com. Smith also may continue to sell novelty, satirical merchandise that criticizes the company, the judge said. -
airport security
What Does A "Clear" Membership Actually Get You At Airport Security?
A PR hack sent us a stupidly long press release a few hours ago about Clear, the company that—for an annual $100 fee—will pre-authorize you with TSA to speed up your passage through security. Clear started operating in select airports over a year ago, and this month will add Reagan National and Dulles International airports to its list. So, is the service worth it? We guess that depends on how much you're willing to spend to be able to jump ahead of all the poor people waiting in line like the common criminals they surely are. We wanted a slightly more objective way to evaluate it, though, so we started looking around online for first-hand experiences of what exactly happens when you flash your Clear card. More » -
censorship
Go Daddy Refutes Censorship Claim
The reader who sent Go Daddy an email asking why they shut down RateMyCop.com received a response in which they emphatically denied any censorship—this was all about a customer exceeding his contracted server usage limits and nothing else, they say. Read their full response after the jump.
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censorship
Go Daddy Shuts Down RateMyCop Watchdog Site
Yesterday, Go Daddy pulled the plug on RateMyCop.com, which has been criticized by law enforcement officials for allegedly putting police officers in danger by listing their names and in some cases badge numbers. Visitors can then add comments and post critiques or praise about specific cops in their area. The website collected its officer data via public information requests, and no personal information is used, nor are undercover agents revealed. Still, law enforcement officials are upset at the exposure. When the site's owner, Gino Sesto, called Go Daddy, he was first told it was removed due to "suspicious activity," but then the reason was changed by a supervisor to an exceeded bandwidth cap, which Sesto disputes. Update: Go Daddy responded to our reader's email and said taking the site offline had nothing to do with censorship. More » -
receipt controversy
Detained And Harassed At Walmart For Not Showing A Receipt
Reader J was detained and harassed by some Walmart employees on his way out of the store the other day. J had already put his receipt inside his wallet after purchasing a $25 shower rack when a Walmart employee demanded to see his receipt. J declined and continued exiting the store. That's when things got weird. First, he was grabbed by a Walmart employee, then another customer started pushing him back inside the store.
Yesterday (2-28-08) late afternoon I bought a $25 shower rack at the Wal-mart in [redacted] New Hampshire, and then tucked the receipt safely inside my wallet so I wouldn't lose it in case I had to return the item. The cashier did not bag the shower rack, so after I was done at the register I picked up my item and headed for the door. As I was approaching the door, the receipt checker Bob said, "Do you have your receipt?" To which I responded, "Yes, it's in my wallet" and I kept walking towards the door. Behind me, I could hear him yell "Sir! Sir! I need to see your receipt!", but being an avid Consumerist reader, I knew I didn't need to stop, so I kept walking. Bob ran up in front of me and stood between the slider doors, blocking my exit and budging me back inside. Appalled that the Wal-mart employee had just touched me, I said "excuse me", but Bob refused to budge, demanding again to see my receipt. I attempted to walk around him, but he kept stepping in front of me, and I would bounce off of him. Now, I was bigger than Bob, but I didn't wish to get physical and blow the situation out of proportion.
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rights
New York's Passenger Bill Of Rights Goes Into Effect
Back in those lazy summer days of August, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer signed a "passenger bill of rights" into law—requiring airlines who keep passengers on a grounded airplane more than 3 hours to provide water, snacks, fresh air and a working toilet. More » -
lawsuits
InfomercialScams.com Gets Sued Constantly
Over at the Consumer Law & Policy blog there is a post about the legal troubles of Justin Leonard, the owner of InfomercialScams.com, a site that posts unedited reviews of various infomercial products. More »
rights
New York, 4:38 AM
Fri Jan 9
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