Hotel bills
Gregg emailed us from the Westin Hotel in San Francisco:
My wife and I are there right now. We opened the minibar last night to put a piece of pizza in there in a pizza box. This morning, there’s a $26.04 charge for food on the bill slid under our door. Why? My wife just called to ask and was told, "If you open the mini bar door, there’s a sensor in there and if you move anything in there... you get billed for it." In our case, we must have jiggled a $20 bottle of wine.
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master spas
The story of Craig Hueffner, a man who sold spas with hefty rebates that weren't honored, is a good reminder of the limits of small claims court: namely that if the defendent plays dirty,
it may be a long, expensive task to make him pay up.
"People think when they come to court that they are going to get instant relief," said Judge Rebecca Dallet of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. "We can give what the law allows, but we have no way of getting the money for them. I don't think people realize that."
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Aig goes on vacation
Now that AIG has been nationalized, some folks are wondering just how their tax dollars are being spent. If you're among them, we have some bad news for you from ABC. They are reporting that papers uncovered by congressional investigators show that "less than a week after the federal government committed $85 billion to bail out AIG, executives of the giant AIG insurance company headed for a week-long retreat at a luxury resort and spa, the
St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach, California." Ouch.
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"If Radiohead can do it, so can we," writes GOOD on their subscription page. They've temporarily changed their subscription model from $20 annually to pay-what-you-can, as long as it's at least one dollar. If you're on a restricted budget but want the hard copy version of GOOD, here's your chance. [
GOOD]
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GOOD Sheet
Want to know where your fifties go when you fill up your car with gas? GOOD's latest chart breaks down the assorted costs, and compares them with other places around the globe. You can grab a free printed copy at any Starbucks, or
go here to check it out in bright RGB goodness.
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Bernanke speaks, the stock market falls. [
CNBC]
Frugality
This is a little mental trick reader Janice uses to fight unnecessary spending:
If you find yourself in one of those moods where you just “have to have it”, and end up in the store staring at it, talk to yourself about it. List all the reasons you want it (want, not need), and all the reasons you don’t want or need it...
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Credit card debt
For several years and in different forms, Citi has had an interesting idea to get you/help you to pay off your credit card called the Citi Payment Partner Program. How it works is if you enroll and make above the minimum payment due for four months, on-time, at the end they will match 10% of the amount you paid off above your minimum payment. The max cap is $550. But there are two important caveats:
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Jim Cramer
Yesterday,
Jim Cramer annoyed Ann Curry by saying the following words on her little television program, which is known as The Today Show:
"Ok, whatever money you may need for the next five years, please, take it out of the stock market. Right now. This week. I do not believe that you should risk those assets in the stock market."
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Dick fuld is punched
Dick "It Wasn't My Fault" Fuld, the CEO of bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers, (seen here being heckled after testifying on Capitol Hill) was apparently punched in the face while working out in Lehman gym on the Sunday following the bankruptcy, according to CNBC's Vicki Ward.
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Scams
Contractor scams are some of the most heartbreaking because of the potential for the scammer to obtain large amounts of money from the victim. About two weeks ago, the NY Attorney General's office announced the arrest of a Western New York home improvement contractor for "repeatedly pressuring an 88-year-old widow into paying more than $80,000 for home improvements that were never done", or were so poorly done as to be worthless.
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Wyeth
"Pre-emption" is a legal doctrine that says the federal government can claim all regulatory power over an area or subject, barring states from acting on their own. The drug maker Wyeth has brought a case before the Supreme Court arguing that a woman in Vermont, who lost her arm due to a drug complication that Wyeth knew about but did not publicize, cannot sue them in state court because of pre-emption. Wyeth says that
only the FDA has the power to regulate it—and since the FDA approved Wyeth's drug label, it's the FDA's responsibility. We think Wyeth is pretending to care about federal-versus-state power in an attempt to weasel out of any responsibility.
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Free
You can enter to win a chance for a $250 gas card by submitting a review of your car to CarMax, an online used-car retailer. 8 winners will be chosen over 8 weeks, and of those people submitting a review with a picture, an additional $300 gas card winner will be chosen. Even if it's a long shot, who couldn't use even just a
possible free gas card? Plus, writing words is fun. [
CarMax]
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