Consumerist

Top Posts Of The Week

Reader Pays Off $14,330 In 20 Months With Our Tips
Lehman Brothers CEO Got Punched In The Face
The Economist Sums Up Financial Crisis: "Oh Fuck!"
The Idiot-Proof Way To Securely Use Public Wi-Fi
5 Expenses To Cut Right Now If You're In Debt
GMail's Achilles Heel: Terrible Customer Service

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Walmart Decides To Honor DRM-Protected MP3 Purchases After All, At Least For Now

Comcast Gives Reader Hurricane Ike Refund

Reader Josh is a Comcast customer says he was without power for 7 days due to Hurricane Ike, and by calling 1-800-COMCAST he was able to get a service credit for the whole time he couldn't watch TV.

(Photo: Wayne Gunn)

Supermarket Chain Adds 10% At Register, But Only In Some Stores

Nash Finch, a Minneapolis-based supermarket chain, adds a 10% fee to the bill at its stores catering to Hispanic shoppers in Colorado, reports 9News in Denver:

The Nash Finch stores Avanza, Food Bonanza and Wholesale Food Outlets add the 10 percent charge to food at the register and specialize in serving Hispanics, according to store workers.

However, the Nash Finch stores Sun Mart Foods, Econo Foods, Family Fresh Market, Pick N Save and Prairie Market stores do not charge extra at the register and do not cater to Hispanics, according to the store workers.

Community Outraged At Buca di Beppo Restaurant Manager's Firing?

$1 Netflix Price Hike For Blu-Ray Access

Netflix will be start charging you $1 more per month to offset the costs of Blu-Ray movies, starting November 5. You have to opt-in to the Blu-Ray access, and the $1 surcharge, by going to "your account" and "add Blu-Ray access." If you don't already have Blu-Ray access on your account, then your membership price stays the same. Sounds like they needed to invent a way to make more money and this fee, admittedly small, seemed the best way to go about it. Copy of the email they sent subscribers, inside.

Lawsuits Claim Applebee's Weight Watchers Food Has Too Much Fat

Here are seven wonderful photos that readers added to The Consumerist Flickr Pool this week, chosen because they're both neat and could possibly be used in a Consumerist post. Our Flickr Pool is the place where Consumerist readers go and upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click "Join Group?" up on the top right, and start hitting "send to group" on your individual photos you want to add to the pool.

Title: "18:365 The choice is yours. Choose wisely."
By: unleashedlive

The Top Ten Scapegoats For America's Depression

Maximize Your Netflix Membership With FeedFlix

People Think Coupon Users Are Cheapskates, Unless You're Hot

If you use coupons in a store, your fellow shoppers are probably negatively judging you as being cheap, according to a new study. The stigma extends to those around the coupon redeemer as well. However, if you're hot, you get a reprieve. The study had people watch consumers cash coupons, and then interviewed the participants afterward for their reaction. The stigma is lessened if you don't know the person using the coupon, the coupon is of high value, if they're in a different line, and if the coupon-user is a hottie. Researchers proposed that the reason for the coupon-hating is "the modern consumer tends to prize status and luxury over thrift."

Stigma by Association in Coupon Redemption: Looking Cheap because of Others [Journal of Consumer Research] (Photo: Getty)

Comcast Filled My House With Raw Sewage

Fake IRS Fax Demands Your Bank Account And Passport

US Muses Backing All Deposits, No Deposit-Insurance Ceiling

In order to stem the tide of panic-stricken morons taking out all their cash from banks and further destabilizing the financial system, the US is considering a proposal to completely back ALL deposits. This would mean that there would be no deposit insurance ceiling. So even if you had more than $100,000 in the bank, even if you had $1,000,000 in the bank, the government would give you back ALL of that money if your bank failed. The proposal is only in discussions right now, and several different agencies would have to agree that there was "systemic risk" in order to enact it. Europe has already guaranteed all deposits, however, and in order to keep large corporate accounts from emigrating overseas, the US may be forced to follow suit within a few weeks.

[via WSJ]

Wells Fargo Wins, Will Buy Wachovia

Morning Deals

• Diesel: Limited-edition pair of jeans for $50 starting at 10:30am eastern, free shipping on everything else with coupon code XXXSold out.
• Lowes: Waterfall & Fountains 75% off from Lowes
• Amazon: Adidas Men's Jackets for $15+ (70% off)

• Amazon.com: Diesel Men's shoes from $30 + free shipping
• Buy.com: Bluetooth Headset Roundup: Motorola H555 for $15 + $7 s&h, more
• Target: Isaac Mizrahi for Target Dresses from $9 + $5 s&h

• onSale: Westinghouse LVM-37W3SE 37 1080p LCD HDTV for $549 w/ Free shipping after rebate.
• Circuit City: %10 OFF when you select in-store pickup and apply coupon code: C9A74ZKAHP
• Deal Extreme: Noise Isolation Earbuds For iPod for $1.99 w/ Free shipping (use coupon code: BULKRATE for bulk orders)

• Newegg: Refurbished Magellan 3200 GPS Navigator $80 Shipped
• Dell Home: Guitar Hero Aerosmith Bundle for PS3 or Xbox 360 $60 with Coupon
• Amazon: Price Drop: Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-Ray Player $230 Shipped

What Are "Collateralized Debt Obligations?" Watch These Champagne Glasses.

The balls of the famous Wall Street bull got painted blue today. Before they were cleaned, a Gothamist reader snapped this pic. In terms of the creative comic output it's sparked, this may be the funniest economic meltdown ever.

Wall Street Really Needs Relief [Gothamist]