Consumerist


Animal House

This Foreclosed Property Is An Excellent Home For Bobcats

Unlike prospective homebuyers, this pair of bobcats went absolutely wild over a foreclosed Lake Elsinore home. According to the L.A. Times, the bobcats were likely attracted by an outdoor koi pond, which isn't just decorative, but serves as a fabulous source of drinking water. Like any suburban couple, the pair is expected to stay until the kids are old enough to leave. More »

12:00 AM on Sun Sep 7 2008
By Carey
1,897 views, 18 comments

Latest by henrygates: They'll probably keep the place cleaner than the previous owners. more »

Road rage

Comcast Driver To Senior Citizen: "Get The F!@# Down From Your Car So I Can Kick Your Ass"

Northfaceninja watched in horror as a Comcast employee repeatedly smashed his Comcast van into a car driven by a senior citizen before barking: "Get the fuck down from your car so I can kick your ass." The angry employee quickly abandoned his ass-kicking plan once he noticed onlookers jotting down his license plate number. More »

8:00 PM on Sat Sep 6 2008
By Carey
7,253 views, 53 comments

Latest by GreatWhiteNorth: Hey folks let's remember that this Comcast driver is drawn from the same pool of citizen drivers that we all more »

Too Big Too Fail

Nobody Panic: Government Seizes Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae

Oh dear, all that talk about Freddie and Fannie being "adequately capitalized" was utter bullshit and the government has now announced plans to place the failed government sponsored enterprises into conservatorship. That means the fate of the housing market and the global economy rest squarely on the shoulders of U.S. taxpayers. More »

5:45 PM on Sat Sep 6 2008
By Carey
6,165 views, 42 comments

Latest by zymase: "If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." - more »

Bad Ideas

Sears Offer To Mail Customer Missing Key To Floor Model Snowblower

Aaron visited Sears to pick up a new Craftsman snowblower he bought for 10% off on Sears.com, but the store only had one floor model in stock. Aaron agreed to take the unit after staff assured him that it came with a warranty, manuals, and all the things normally bundled with new snowblowers. Of course, Sears couldn't find either the manual or the keys. A salesman promised that "Ray from Lawn & Garden" would mail the key whenever he returned, an offer Aaron refused. The salesman then offered a key from another snowblower, promising "the keys are basically universal." That key didn't work because, as a different associate later discovered, the unit was missing its electric start socket. More »

3:45 PM on Sat Sep 6 2008
By Carey
5,101 views, 19 comments

Latest by bobpence: I think the 'positive outcome' was realizing that Sears has gotten to the point where they are unable to sell more »

Restaurants

Want That Hot Restaurant Reservation? Ask With A European Accent

The parasitic Grocery Shrink Ray has infected restaurants, shrinking portions and spurring substitutions as restaurateurs struggle to pry revenue from cash-strapped customers. Desperate to fill seats by any means, restaurants are borrowing from the airlines and starting to overbook reservations for peak times. They're also giving preference to the new big spenders: Europeans. More »

1:25 PM on Sat Sep 6 2008
By Carey
6,007 views, 44 comments

Latest by shufflemoomin: Well done to the Americans here showing how prejudiced and narrowminded you can be. You're saying Europeans 'are crap tippers'? more »

Pawn Shops

Looking For Great Deals? Try The Local Pawn Shop

Pawn shops are becoming an unlikely source of great deals thanks to the ongoing non-recession thing, according to CBS. Where else can you turn pop's old watch into last month's overdue rent check? We always see pawn shops as a half-step up from dumpster diving, a semi-acceptable sad-land where each abandoned item comes with a free story and a frown. More »

9:30 AM on Sat Sep 6 2008
By Carey
7,050 views, 62 comments

Latest by dragonfire81: Like most businesses there are higher priced pawn shops and lower priced ones. Be smart, compare prices and shop around. I more »

Storm Chasers

Priceline Encourages Deal-Seekers To Vacation Under Tropical Storm Hanna

Priceline won't let deal-hating weathermen keep you from the amazing savings churned up by Tropical Storm Hanna. Rooms in Hilton Head are now going for the low, low price of $64 per night, but act fast because the deal is only valid while Hanna pummels the dream destination's shores with 70 mph winds! More »

12:00 AM on Sat Sep 6 2008
By Carey
3,437 views, 34 comments

Latest by Gstein: doesn't priceline buy the rooms/tickets/etc way in advance for very little, then sell them to us much later on at more »

Above and Beyond

This Apology Letter From Southwest Is Refreshingly Honest And Informative

A fluid leak forced Deepak's Southwest flight from Oakland to Seattle back to the airport. Southwest shifted passengers to a waiting plane, and everyone made it to Seattle about two hours late. Within a week, Southwest sent passengers an extraordinarily honest and informative letter detailing exactly what went wrong, and by way of apology, tossed in a $175 voucher. More »

5:00 PM on Sun Aug 31 2008
By Carey
70,545 views, 75 comments

Latest by Hands: everybody makes mistakes sometimes, right Hands? I've heard that but I couldn't testify to it from my own experience. more »

Empathy

U.S. Airways: Abandoning Passengers "Is Not A Compensation Issue"

Remember the 274 passengers stranded by U.S. Airways in Punta Cana? According to the airline, compensating those passengers would be unsafe. Seriously, that's their argument:
"In order to ensure that all carriers remain focused on safety, aviation regulations do not require airlines to pay compensation for consequential expenses because of delayed or canceled flights."
More »

4:00 PM on Sun Aug 31 2008
By Carey
24,547 views, 58 comments

Latest by nicleo: I thought this post was funny because something similar happened to me last week. After checking my flight status on more »

Pre-Orders

Electronic Arts Can't Process Address Change, Cancels Your Sold-Out Pre-Ordered Collector's Edition Of Warhammer

Electronic Arts immediately forwards all pre-orders to a secretive processing facility, so if you happy to change your address after ordering a game eight months in advance, well, tough. At least that's what Electronic Arts told Micah when he asked to update his pre-order for the now sold-out limited-run collector's edition of Warhammer: Age of Reckoning. When Micah pointed out that it might not be the best idea to sell games eight months in advance without a way to update addresses, Electronic Arts canceled his order altogether and told him to find another copy somewhere else. More »

2:30 PM on Sun Aug 31 2008
By Carey
31,795 views, 64 comments

Latest by kbrook: Having worked in customer service, it may be that the flunky the OP talked to literally could not access the more »

Debt Collectors

Vonage Insists You're Still A Customer Two Years After You Canceled Service

Listen Vonage, Garry isn't your customer anymore. You need to stop sending him bills and let him go. Sure, he liked you back in 2004, but he found a better company at a cheaper price and he's moved on. Billing his AmEx every single month for two years after he canceled? Not cute. Sending his account to collections when his AmEx finally expired? Seems desperate. Please Vonage, get over Garry and move on with your life. More »

12:15 PM on Sun Aug 31 2008
By Carey
25,448 views, 33 comments

Latest by Aisley: "First, ask your ex-phone company for written confirmation that you canceled your service two years ago." I must say, this is more »

Unacceptable food

This Giant Grasshopper Does Not Belong In A Tuna Melt

The Bluebird Cafe in Culver City sold Seth a grasshopper home gussied up us a tuna melt. A waitress deftly handled the very-live and confused grasshopper by picking him up and tossing him on the ground. That's it. No apology, no replacement sandwich. More »

10:45 AM on Sun Aug 31 2008
By Carey
11,087 views, 55 comments

Latest by hexychick: I like good stories like this. I'm glad to see this guy didn't make a scene in front of everyone more »

Appliances

Invest In A New Freezer And Start Buying In Bulk

Freezer sales are heating up as thrifty consumers spend cash now so they can realize savings later by buying in bulk. More »

9:00 AM on Sun Aug 31 2008
By Carey
7,021 views, 33 comments

Fire Hazards

Most Verizon FIOS Installations Violate National Electric Standards

A two-year investigation has concluded that most Verizon FIOS installations fail to meet national safety standards, and could cause fires or electrocutions. FIOS is famous for house fires, but New York's Public Service Commission first started its investigation back in 2006 after several inspectors discovered improperly grounded installations. More »

6:00 PM on Sat Aug 30 2008
By Carey
18,078 views, 32 comments

Latest by u1itn0w2day: Oh I agree it's low voltage work but how come the BOCs aren't even required to pull somekind of general more »

Ups

UPS Randomly Delivers Unordered, Damaged TV, Charges You For The Pleasure

Matt didn't order a broken 42" plasma TV, and he didn't ship one either, but that didn't stop UPS from plopping a big box with a broken TV on his porch, a service for which they charged $120.12. UPS explained that the TV Matt didn't ship was being returned to him by the recipient because it was damaged, and it was now his responsibility to arrange for re-delivery. “If I was the shipper," asked Matt, who lives in Ohio, "why would the package have come from Ontario, CA, not Medina, Ohio?" The TV sat in the rain overnight, and it wasn't until Matt reached the local depot, where his father worked for 27 years, that he convinced someone to take back the mystery box. Two weeks later, a bill arrived... More »

3:45 PM on Sat Aug 30 2008
By Carey
22,622 views, 42 comments

Latest by venomroses: Interesting, I have never had a problem with UPS (yet). Fedex is okay, but its much harder for me to more »

Videos

Mythbusters Gagged: Credit Card Companies Kill Episode Exposing RFID Security Flaws

UPDATE: Mythbusters Host Retracts RFID Censorship Comments More »
Customer service

Best Buy Questions Your Ability To Plug In A Computer

Mike's friend gave Best Buy $200 to install anti-virus software and an HDMI input, but Best Buy somehow sent him home with the wrong power adapter. Mike works in IT and knows how to feed and bathe himself, but Best Buy insisted that he had the right adapter and that Mike had to be "doing something wrong." Guess how this ends... More »

12:15 PM on Sat Aug 30 2008
By Carey
51,057 views, 91 comments

Latest by Oranges w/ Cheese: Best Buy's whole warranty deal *seems* like a good idea, but I wouldn't trust it because their service is so more »

Travel

Don't Let Credit Blocks Eat Up Your Available Balance

Hotels and rental agencies like to carve out the full cost of their services on your credit or debit card before you pay in full. This credit blocking can catch anyone who sticks near their minimum or maximum balance off guard when they try to use their card. Inside, learn how to keep retailers from unexpectedly clogging your credit and debit cards with unwanted blocks. More »

10:45 AM on Sat Aug 30 2008
By Carey
9,124 views, 30 comments

Latest by Amry: Great call-out that people should be aware of these holds and act accordingly, but I'm fairly certain that a lowly more »

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