Consumerist
-
Seafood
Now In Farmed Fish: Mad Cow Disease?!
Three scientists worry that feeding cow parts to farmed fish could expose seafood consumers to mad cow disease. The scientists published their findings in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and called on the government to ban cow meat and bone meal from appearing in fish feed. More » -
New And Exciting Products
Chinese Discount Airline To Sell Standing Room Tickets
Spring Airlines, a discount Chinese carrier, plans to ask the government for permission to sell standing room tickets. The plan will likely win approval, since Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang was recently quoted as saying: "for a lower price, passengers should be able to get on a plane like catching a bus, with no seat, no luggage consignment, no food, no water, but very convenient." More » -
cancel the account
What, You Expect Comcast To Stop Billing You Just Because You Canceled Your Account?
Look, Comcast, when you take back someone's equipment and give them a receipt confirming that their account has no balance, it's not unreasonable for them to think that their account is canceled. Don't keep billing them for service and equipment rentals, and don't tell them that you "can keep [the account] active and [bill] indefinitely until [you] decide to disconnect it." Because if you do, they're going to call their state Attorney General's office. At least that's how Paul convinced Comcast to finally cancel his account. More » -
Tax
Radio Shack Is Levying The Wrong Sales Tax In New York City
Radio Shack is charging New York City consumers an extra half-percent of sales tax, even though the State hasn't approved a new tax rate. Before descending into a chaotic mess of embarrassing inaction, the New York State Senate was widely expected to hike the sales tax New York City's local sales from 8.375% to 8.875%. That never happened, a minor detail that isn't stopping Radio Shack from collecting more tax, as reader Jeff discovered... More » -
Seating
Get The Best Seat When Flying Coach
Snagging the best plane seat doesn't always require an upgrade, thanks to a few handy tips from Condé Nast Traveler. Inside, how to avoid the dreaded middle seat and keep yourself entertained on the flight... More » -
chinese poison train
Radioactive Chinese Drywall Is Stinking Up U.S. Homes
The government thinks radioactive industrial waste from China is responsible for a recent sulfur stench that has plagued hundreds of Florida homes. Demand for Chinese drywall spiked during the housing boom, but federal regulators believe the drywall contained phosphogypsum, a banned waste byproduct that features prominently in Chinese construction. When used in drywall, the probable carcinogen can corrode "air conditioners, mirrors, electrical outlets and even jewelry." More » -
Restaurants
How Much Does That $12 Chain Restaurant Sandwich Really Cost?
Chain restaurants are trying to lure in recession-weary diners with deep discounts, but franchisers worry that if you suddenly start paying half-price for sandwiches, you won't be willing to pay full price when the economy recovers. We're all accustomed to chain restaurant sandwiches costing $8 and up, but how much do those sandwiches really cost restaurants to make? More » -
Travel
15 Ways To Protect Your Money While Traveling
Bankrate shares 15 tips to protect your stash of cash while traveling abroad. Before leaving, strip down your wallet to the bare essentials, including a backup credit card, and make copies of all financial documents. While abroad, stash the copies and the backup card in your hotel safe, and take common-sense precautions like sticking to legitimate bank ATMs, and avoiding crowds. Hit the link for the rundown of all 15 tips.
15 ways to protect your money on vacation [Bankrate]
(Photo: isfullofcrap) -
-
Repairs
Geek Squad: Sorry We Accidentally Hosed Your Motherboard. Here's A Vastly Inferior Replacement
Geek Squad tried to repair a broken fan in Brian's Sony laptop, but somehow managed to instead break the laptop's motherboard, processor, and much of the internal cabling. Though Geek Squad replaced all the damaged parts, Brian soon realized that the laptop's new processor was slower and cheaper than the original model... More » -
Kansas
Need An Ambulance? If You're Overweight, It's Going To Cost An Extra $543
An ambulance ride with American Medical Response in Topeka, Kansas will soon cost an extra $543 for folks weighing 350 pounds or more. Though AMR already owns cots that can support up to 500 pounds, they claim that because of rising demand from so-called "bariatric patients," they now need to buy winches and "extra large and reinforced cots." More » -
Sales
Morning Deals
- Woot!: Mr. Clean AutoDry Carwash System
- Highlights From Buxr
- The Container Store: [Storage] The Container Store coupon: 25% off online w/ coupon CLUTTERCREW and printable coupon
- Zip Zoom Fly: [Hard Drive] Hitachi Deskstar 1TB Hard Drive for $68.99 after $10 rebate w/ Free shipping
- New Egg: [Kitchen Appliance] Continental Electric 8-Cup Rice Cooker for $16.99 w/ Free shipping
- Highlights From Dealhack
- eBags: [Luggage] Save an Extra 20% off Most Luggage & Bags Store-Wide
- Amazon: [Anywhere WiFi] Sprint MiFi 2200 Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot 1 Cent Shipped
- Best Buy: [HDTV + DVD] Insignia 26-inch LCD HDTV/DVD Player Combo $380
- Highlights From Dealnews
- iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] App Store Freebies: NMobile: Speed Traps, Bill, Rise&Shine, JumiMouse, more
eForCity: [iPod Accessories] Universal Cassette Adapter for 25 cents- Lenovo: [PC Laptop] Lenovo IdeaPad S12 VIA Nano 1.3GHz 12" Widescreen Laptop for $395 + free shipping
- Highlights From Techbargains
- Sams Club: [Computer Speakers] Bose Companion 2 2ch Multimedia Speaker System $69.83
- Buydig.com: [Plasma HDTV] LG 42PQ30 42 inch Plasma HDTV (720p) $619 Free Shipping
- TireRack: [Tires] Tire Rack Deals: $50 to $80 Rebates on Dunlop, Goodyear, BFGoodrich, Continental Tire Sets
Morning Deals are purely an informational service for the readers. Consumerist receives nothing in exchange for their posting.
If you have a tip for Morning Deals, send it to tips@consumerist.com, and be sure to put "morning deals" in the subject line. -
Sales
Morning Deals
- Woot!: Carlisle 3 Piece Luggage Set
- Highlights From Buxr
- Buy.com: [TV] Memorex 32" HDTV (Recertified) for $369.99 after $30 rebate w/ Free shipping
- Office Depot: [Office] $20 Off $75 Purchase w/ Coupon 11189658
- Comienzos Saludables: [Home and Garden] Free Baby's First Year Calendar
- Highlights From Dealhack
- Newegg: [USB Flash] Corsair Voyager 16GB USB Drive $25 & Free Shipping
- Dell Home: [Noteboook PCs] Inspiron 15 Widescreen Notebook PC $399
- Newegg: [WiFi Wireless] Linksys USB 802.11b/g WiFi Adapter $15 Shipped
- Highlights From Dealnews
- Sierra Trading Post: [Clothing & Accessories] Sierra Trading Post Summer 2009 Summer Blowout: 60% to 90% off
- Nordstrom: [Men's Apparel] 33% to 50% off The North Face men's jackets at Nordstrom: Deals from $42 + $8 s&h
- LEGO Shop at Home: [Toys & Hobbies] LEGO Shop at Home Sale: Temple of the Crystal Skull for $56 + $9 s&h, more
- Highlights From Techbargains
- Buy.com: [Headphones] Sennheiser HD 555 Stereo Circumaural Headphone $98.86 Free Shipping
- Newegg: [GPS] Garmin nuvi 255 Portable GPS Navigation (3.5in, Text to Speech, Traffic Updates) $139.99 Free Shipping
- Walmart: [Toys] Titan Blast 7 Foot Hydro Powered Inflatable Rocket $25
Morning Deals are purely an informational service for the readers. Consumerist receives nothing in exchange for their posting.
If you have a tip for Morning Deals, send it to tips@consumerist.com, and be sure to put "morning deals" in the subject line. -
Tickets
Ticketmaster Pays $50,000 Fine, Closes More Than 100 Deceptive Site
Ticketmaster will pay a $50,000 fine and shutter more than 100 deceptive brokerage sites as part of a wide-reaching agreement with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Madigan's office accused Ticketmaster's always shady subsidy, TicketsNow, of creating sites that masqueraded as local venues selling tickets at face value. The settlement also requires TicketsNow to wait until after Ticketmaster puts non-sporting events on sale before hawking tickets at outrageously inflated prices. More » -
Children
Frontier's Computer System Lands Unaccompanied Minor In Security Room For An Hour
Ok, here's a crazy idea: if you're an airline, and you have a form with room to list two adults who are authorized to pick up an unaccompanied minor, wouldn't it make sense to have room for both names in your computer system? Because whoever is running Frontier Airline's system doesn't seem to think so! Kayla's mother spent a frantic hour, IDs in hand, trying to prove that she was authorized to meet her 13-year-old daughter at the gate. The form accompanying her daughter clearly had both her and Kayla's father listed, but the computer listed only the father's name. While Frontier sorted out the confusion, Kayla spent an hour waiting in Denver Airport's security room. More » -
File Sharing
The Pirate Bay Bought For $7.7 Million, Plans To Evolve Into Legitimate P2P Service
The Swedish gaming company Global Gaming Factory X AB has purchased The Pirate Bay for $7.7 million, and plans to transform the embattled file sharing site into a legitimate peer-to-peer service. "We would like to introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site," the buyers said in an ambiguous statement. The Pirate Bay's current administrators did offer up one undeniable truth to comfort the site's fans... More » -
Drugs
FDA: Hey America, Stop Overdosing On Painkillers!
Look, we know this recession is tough and all, but you've gotta lay off the NyQuil and Theraflu or the FDA will stuff them behind a counter, ok? Seriously, an advisory panel is meeting today, and already voted to reduce the maximum daily dose of Tylenol and other painkillers. They might even slap scary "black box" warnings on all over-the-counter painkillers to dissuade you acetaminophen addicts from overdosing. More » -
Consumer Protection
Here Comes The Consumer Financial Protection Agency!
Shhh, everyone, gather near and listen to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner deliver the most beautiful, wonderful mandate we could give to a new federal agency: "The agency will have only one mission—to protect consumers." And with that, the Treasury Department sent to Congress legislation that will create the brand new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. More » -
Meals
Eat Out And Save
Eating out is one of the fastest ways to burn a hole through your wallet, but with a few tips from Five Cent Nickel, you can still enjoy a good meal without breaking the bank. More »
New York, 4:50 PM
Sun Jul 5
6 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip Your Editors:
tips@consumerist.com
Co-Executive Editor:
Ben Popken
Email | AIM | Twitter
Co-Executive Editor:
Meghann Marco
Email | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Chris Walters
Email | Twitter
Weekend Editor:
Carey Greenberg-Berger
Email | AIM
Associate Editor:
Alex Chasick | Email
Assistant Editor:
Laura Northrup
Email | AIM | Twitter
Comments Moderator:
Email | AIM
Contributing Editors:
Lucy Bayly | Email
Phil Villarreal | Email
