The power button on a woman’s iPhone 4 failed, and she’s not able to turn the phone on or off. That pretty much renders it useless, so she ditched AT&T and got a new phone. But she never forgot that shiny, shiny iPhone that broke down shortly after its initial one-year warranty was up. She filed a class action on behalf of herself and other powerless iPhone users. What raised eyebrows is that she sued under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, accusing Apple and AT&T of conspiring together to sell expensive two-year contracts on phones that break after one year. [More]
Amy’s Baking Company To Re-Open May 21, Hires Damage-Control Publicist
By May 16, 2013
The saga of previously anonymous Amy’s Baking Company of Scottsdale, AZ, continues, with the eatery — which came out of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares looking like a heretofore undocumented circle of Hell — scheduling a “Grand Re-Opening” next Tuesday night and hiring a publicist known more for damage control than for shilling restaurants. [More]
This May Not Be The Best Way To Stop A Theatergoer From Using Her Phone, But It Makes A Great Story
By May 16, 2013
Imagine you’ve paid good money to see a play but someone nearby won’t stop talking and using her phone. You complain to a manager during intermission, but the distraction continues. You make a comment to the woman hoping she’ll either leave or cut it out, but to no avail. So what’s next? If you said, “grab her phone and throw it against the wall,” you wouldn’t necessarily be right, but you’d make yourself a hero to some folks out there. [More]
EA Killing Off Its Much-Hated “Online Pass” Program
By May 16, 2013
Last month, Consumerist voters chose video game publisher Electronic Arts as the Worst Company In America for the second year in a row. Whether the company listened or not, we have no idea, but it is doing something that will make some gamers happier. [More]
Man Stuffed $4 Million Lottery Ticket In Cookie Jar, Forgot About It For 3 Months
By May 16, 2013
I have a secret fear that I will win a huge lottery prize, but never know it because I had stuffed the ticket in a coat pocket or a drawer. I deal with this fear by not buying lottery tickets. But this actually happened to a man who lives near Chicago. He says that he had stuffed old lottery tickets in a cookie jar, then took them to the store to see whether they had maybe won a couple of bucks for hitting a few numbers. They had: one ticket won $3. Yay, he could almost buy a gallon of gas! Then another ticket in the pile won more than $4 million. [More]
CDC Confirms What We All Suspected But Didn’t Want To Acknowledge About Poop In The Pool Water
By May 16, 2013
Memorial Day is almost here, bringing with it a summer of bad 3-D movies, sunburn, mosquitoes, vacation rentals that smell oddly of grandma, people in shorts, and of course, trips to the local swimming poo. [More]
Report: Some Credit Unions Are Still Involved In Payday Lending
By May 16, 2013
Loans from federal credit unions are currently capped at 18%, though some qualifying short-term loans can go as high as 28% (plus a $20 fee). These numbers are far below the standard three-digit APRs you see on payday loans, but a small number of credit unions are still figuring out ways to hook customers up with these questionable, high-interest loans. [More]
Hey, Ladies! This Grocery Store Knows You’ll Need Chocolate To Go With Those Tampons
By May 16, 2013
Consumerist reader Jason was cruising the aisle of his local grocery store when he spotted a deal sure to win over anyone sporting lady parts — free chocolate, just for purchasing feminine hygiene products. [More]
Oh, Great: China Busted A Counterfeit Durex Condom Mill
By May 16, 2013
Two Chinese entrepreneurs came up with a brilliant business idea: they bought regular old no-name condoms from a factory in one province, and bought packaging material with the globally recognized brand name of Durex, as well as Russian name brand Contex and China’s own brand Jissbon. When all of these big brand condoms started hitting the market at cut-rate prices, the authorities noticed, as the authorities tend to do. [More]
Wells Fargo Forecloses On Homeowner Who Made Payments Too Early
By May 16, 2013
A homeowner in Orlando is confused, and with good reason. He says he not only made his mortgage payments on time to Wells Fargo, but that he sometimes paid early and sometimes paid more than he was supposed to. And yet, the bank decided to foreclose on his home. [More]
Man Uses $530K Of Insurance Money Meant To Pay For Wife’s Dialysis To Buy Trucks, Skid Loader
By May 16, 2013
When a loved one’s health is hanging in the balance, one might think that a husband would do anything in his power to help his wife. One might think that, but in the case of a man who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing more than $530,000 in health insurance payments, he used that money on things like cars and a skid loader instead of paying for his wife’s kidney dialysis. [More]
Why Careful Online Shopping Is Important: Identical Computers, Variable Prices
By May 16, 2013
Readers Robert and Madison are twins, so they should know better than anyone that multiple things that look exactly alike are not exactly the same. For example, they discovered on Dell’s small business website four identical versions of the exact same model of computer, but for different prices. How does that work, exactly? [More]
You Can Now E-Mail Your Friends Money Through Gmail
By May 16, 2013
While Google has made a big to-do about its new subscription music service, it has allowed a more interesting new wrinkle go virtually unmentioned, as yesterday the company integrated its Google Wallet payment system into Gmail, allowing users to send money to each other via e-mail. [More]
Prisoner Sues Taco Bell For Allegedly Stealing His Idea For Doritos Locos Tacos
By May 16, 2013
We’ve all had that moment: You’re watching TV late at night and see a commercial for a product that you swear, and will tell anyone who asks (or doesn’t), that you came up with first. They stole it! You might scream at the TV, startling the cat. One man currently incarcerated in a super-max federal prison in Colorado is taking his outrage a step further, and suing Taco Bell for allegedly swiping his idea for Doritos Locos Tacos. [More]
so longFrom humble beginnings on a farm in Maine to becoming the king of frozen fish sticks at Gorton’s, as well as serving as the CEO of General Mills, E. Robert Kinney made his mark on the food industry. He passed away earlier this month at the age of 96, but will be remembered every time someone crunches into Gorton’s frozen seafood. Here’s to hoping he’s strolling along in that big grocery store in the sky. [via Bangor Daily News]
Southwest Passenger Learns The Hard Way That Not All Checked Bags Are Treated Equally
By May 16, 2013
In spite of all the technological developments in logistics and air travel, passengers’ bags still get lost, damaged, or stolen. Luckily there are remedies in place for such instances, allowing the passenger to be reimbursed for his or her loss. But many travelers may not know that these protections don’t apply to all checked bags. [More]
McDonald’s Drive-Thru Worker Spots Own Stolen Car Pulling Up To Window
By May 16, 2013
A McDonald’s employee may have left her car unlocked outside of her apartment complex overnight–she doesn’t remember. That didn’t mean that she deserved to have it stolen, though. She woke up to discover that her car was missing, then spotted the culprit…in the drive-thru lane at her workplace. [More]
Maintenance Manager Needs To Prioritize Tasks In Order Of How Life-Threatening They Are
By May 16, 2013
Listen, we’ve all wanted our tubs caulked or a drawer fixed here and there in an apartment, but when you really need something, like your life depends on it? Where’s apartment maintenance then, huh? Just leaving behind the most important thing on the checklist to possibly crawl out from the attic and terrify you to death while you’re tucked in bed late at night. [More]
