Consumerist

Morning Deals [Sales]

Chris Walters — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:07:40 EST

Travel

Delta: [In Flight WiFi] Free Wifi on your next Delta flight with coupon code DELTATRYGOGO (good through 12/31/09) (Thanks to catastrophegirl!)

Clothing

Liz Claiborne: [Apparel] Liz Claiborne Coupon Code 30% Off Storewide + Free Shipping $50+
Joe's New Balance Outlet: [Shoes] Joe's New Balance Outlet sale: Up to 85% off
Reebok : [Apparel] 25% Off Entire Purchase w/ Coupon FRIEND + Printable

Original Penguin : [Apparel] 33% Off All Outerwear and Sweaters + One More Coupon OPG33
Motorcycle Superstore: [Men's Apparel] Motorcycle Superstore sale: Up to 80% off

Computers and Electronics

Newegg: [HDTV] Samsung LN52B550 52 inch LCD HDTV 1080p ToC $1169 Free Ship
Newegg: [HDTV] Auria 24-inch 1080p LCD HDTV $250 Shipped
Sixth Avenue : [Phone] General Electric Dual Handset Cordless Phone System for $23.46 w/ Coupon BONUSBUY w/ Free Shipping

JR.com: [Home Theater] Denon S102 2.1ch 145Wl Premium Home Theater w/ 1080p Upconverting DVD Player $399.99 Free Shipping
Beach Camera: [HDTV] LG 50PQ30 50 inch Plasma HDTV (720p) + Blu-Ray Player + Maintenance Kit $779 Free Shipping
Buy.com : [Two-Way Radios] Cobra 16-Mile Two-Way Radios (Refurbished) for $19.99 w/ Free Shipping

US Appliance : [TV] Samsung 46" LCD 1080p HDTV + Samsung Blu-Ray Player for $919 w/ Coupon LN46B550 w/ Free Shipping
NewEgg: [Monitor] Hanns·G 24.6" 1080p LCD Monitor w/ Speakers $200 + free shipping

Entertainment

Club Pogo: [Online Games] One month free membership, no credit card required (Thanks to John!)
6pm: [Blu-ray Movies] 6PM Blu-ray Movie Sale - up to 78% Off MSRP (starting at $9.95)
Discovery Channel Store: [Education & Entertainment] Save an Extra $5 to $20 off Orders

Amazon : [Music] Free Song Download of CMA Award Nominated Artist (Over 3000 Choices) w/ Coupon CMAAWARD
Buy.com: [HD DVD Movies] HD DVD movies and TV shows from $4 + free shipping: Transformers, 300, Top Gun, more
Amazon: [DVD] The Office on BBC Seasons 1 & 2 Complete Collection $25.49 + free shipping

Miscellaneous

Kodak Gallery: [Photo Gifts] $15 gift certificate free on future photo and photo gift purchases for signing up for promotional emails. Note: you must leave the "Yes" statement checked or you will not receive the gift certificate. (Thanks to nycrecessiondiary.com!)
Amazon: [Tools] Extra $10 off Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Orders
Disney Outlet : [Gifts] 20% Off $89 or More Purchase w/ Coupon DISNEYFAN09

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.

MacPadd Inventor Drinks With Wife, Brags About Education, Curses, But Does Not Provide Tracking Number [Don't Buy A Macpadd]

Chris Walters — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:01:40 EST

Some people should never go the entrepreneur route. Meet David Free, the man behind QMS, a company that sells and sometimes even ships an aluminum mousepad called the MacPadd. When the guys at TomsHardware.com started asking why theirs hadn't arrived, they discovered that Free does business his own way. Or sometimes not at all:

Free then exclaimed, "Get out of my f***ing life!" And hung up on us. By now it was becoming clear to us that we weren't going to receive the product we paid for.

Tuan Nguyen at Tom's Hardware ordered a MacPadd to review it on October 23rd. He subsequently tried repeatedly to contact MacPadd or QMS to inquire about the order, but he was ignored.

After going through the confirmation process and payment (done through PayPal), we received an automated response. The website also indicates that the product should ship to the US within "3 to 7 business days."

During the next 7 days following the initial order date, we contacted the vendor several times with no success. The business number constantly goes to a voicemail. An attempt to call the vendor on the 30th of October did not yield any success either. Leaving a voicemail to have a rep respond went unheard.

We never received a shipment confirmation, tracking email notification, or any other type of email to indicate that the product would be delayed, was unavailable, or was on back order.

Suffice to say, we were getting a bit worried.

After looking through the PayPal transaction record, we were able to find another business contact number listed by PayPal for QMS Inc. We called that several times. No answer either.

The only way Nguyen managed to get the owner to acknowledge him was by opening a dispute with through PayPal. But even that didn't resolve things, with Free first breaking promises to send a tracking number, then sending one that turned out to be for another customer's order, then eventually threatening to sue Nguyen and/or Tom's Hardware.

It gets crazier from there, and includes accusations of mental illness, vague threats, and evidence that others have complained about being ripped off by MacPadd.com. Eventually PayPal resolved the dispute in favor of Tom's Hardware and that was that. Well, except for the follow-up article Nguyen wrote to warn others away from the MacPadd, which drew more rants from Free, who signed up as a commenter on the tomshardware.com site to leave personal attacks.

When you buy something from an untested, small-time online vendor, always do a search for complaints first, both on Google and with the Better Business Bureau. Hopefully the experience that Tom's Hardware had with MacPadd.com will stick around online for a long time to warn future shoppers.

"Company to Avoid: QMS Inc./MacPadd.com" [Tom's Hardware]

Don't Let Maintenance Fees Ruin Your Automatic Savings Program [Savings Accounts]

Chris Walters — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:57:29 EST

If you participate in an automatic savings program like Bank of America's Keep the Change service, where debit card purchases are rounded up and the difference is deposited into your savings account, keep an eye on maintenance fees. James says he was hit with a $5 charge last month because he hadn't met the minimum monthly deposit requirement of $25: "It turns out that I wasn't even accruing $5 worth of change per month, so I was losing more money due to the maintenance fee than I was saving via Keep the Change!"

A few years ago, I signed up for Bank of America's "Keep the Change" program. With Keep the Change, every charge to your debit card is rounded up to the nearest dollar, and the difference is automatically deposited in your savings account. The idea is that you save a small amount with each purchase without even thinking about it, which gradually adds up over time.

So far, so good. However, somewhere along the line, Bank of America started charging a $5 monthly maintenance fee on the account. I was never formally notified of this additional fee, and so I didn't even realize it until I noticed one month that my savings account balance had gone DOWN instead of up. It turns out that I wasn't even accruing $5 worth of change per month, so I was losing more money due to the maintenance fee than I was saving via Keep the Change!

I called Bank of America and they explained that I could avoid the maintenance fee either by making a minimum deposit of $25 into the account each month, or by maintaining a minimum balance of $300 (I had $250). Of course, these terms aren't detailed anywhere on their website (at least not that I could find); Keep the Change is described as a "free service," and the only stipulation is that your savings account has an initial $25 balance.

In summary, if you prop up your savings account by depositing more money into it than you'll ever realistically save with Keep the Change, you'll avoid the fees - but then you might as well not even bother with the program in the first place. And if you don't, you'll never even reach the $300 balance on a new account as the maintenance fee could well end up costing you more than what you're saving!

The easy solution: find out what you need to do to avoid maintenance fees on your savings account, and if you agree to the requirements, follow them every month.

In this case, scheduling a $25 transfer from checking to savings every month would suffice, but James never intended to use the service in that manner. Not every bank product is designed to eat up your money, but if you're not careful you can get hit with unnecessary fees, so always take the time to look for ways the bank can charge you and then make sure you're willing to do the opposite—or walk away from the offer.

Update: I failed to address James' real issue, which is that he says BofA never told him about the fee. If your bank institutes a new monthly fee and doesn't tell you about it, contact them and request a refund. If they refuse, tell them you plan on reporting them to the appropriate agencies, and then follow up on that threat. (You might also want to move your business elsewhere just on principal.) Banks do make mistakes whether they like to admit it or not, especially when they're "too big to fail" and running themselves ragged trying to find new ways to generate revenue.

(Photo: Nieve44/La Luz)

Block Spam Callers From Your Blackberry With Call Control [Telemarketers]

Chris Walters — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:14:29 EST

You can always just not answer your phone, but if a telemarketer calling you on your Blackberry sends you into a rage, you might want to look at Call Control. The app relies on the telemarketer database at everycall.us to screen out known spammers. The free version screens out the top 100 telemarketers; an $8 version uses the entire database and includes updates.

Call Control for Blackberry [EveryCall]

Sony's Ebook Store Prices Too High? Try Shortcovers [Ebooks]

Chris Walters — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:49:19 EST

Michael bought a Sony Pocket Reader last month, but with the exception of $10 bestsellers, he's finding that other books he wants are priced higher than he's willing to pay. For example, Tad Friend's memoir Cheerful Money is $10 on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble, but $17.49 from Sony. Michael wants to know if we have any advice on how to get Sony to lower their prices.

Yeah, can't help you with that too much, Michael. The problem is we're in the early stages of ebook sales going mainstream, and that means every publisher and every retailer is trying something different. The good news is sometimes it will work out in your favor as a consumer, like Amazon forcing competitors into selling new releases for $10 no matter how high publishers want to price them; the bad news is that sometimes you'll get screwed, like every format being locked down by DRM so that you can't read it on a competing device.

One thing you can do is buy from the independent ebook retailer shortcovers.com, which I've found frequently sells ebooks at prices lower than Sony, and competitive with Amazon and Barnes & Noble. (They're currently selling Cheerful Money for $10.49.) Shortcovers sells ebooks in the ePub format, locked down with Adobe Digital Editions DRM, and they say you can read their books on Sony Readers as well as several other ereader devices currently on the market.

The site doesn't offer as large a library as the other retailers, and as I noted the books come with the same DRM plaguing every ebook retailer. But it's a good alternative for owners of Sony Reader devices until Sony discovers competitive pricing.

Update: You can also try ebookprice.info to comparison shop—just make sure that whatever format you buy will work with your ereader. (Thanks to BinaryTB!)

(Photo: kevindooley)

Geek Squad Agent Doesn't Have Time To Look For Multimeter, Let's Just Send Off Laptop For 3 Weeks Instead [Lazy]

Chris Walters — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:58:52 EST

The usefulness of Best Buy's Geek Squad depends entirely on the competence of the employee you get when you go in for help, and unfortunately Scott landed one of the lazier ones. Here's his sales pitch to Scott over a laptop that wouldn't start: "It's going to take at least 10 minutes for me to get the multimeter or another adapter. It's going to be a problem inside the computer, let's just send it in."

What's even better about this story, though, is how it ends.

The other day my laptop quit working. I noticed the LED display that shows that it is plugged in was not glowing. First I tried plugging my cell phone adapter into the outlet just to see if the outlet was working and of course, there was nothing wrong with the outlet (hooray for paying my electric bill), next I tried plugging the laptop into a different plug and still no luck. Through this basic troubleshooting I realized that either my AC adapter was bad or the problem was inside my laptop! Off to Best Buy and their Weak Squad, I mean Geek Squad.

When I got to Best Buy I told the Geek Squad / Mormon impersonator about my problem. I even suggested that all I needed for them to do was plug my laptop in with a different cord and/or check my adapter with a multimeter. The Geek told me that they did not have an adapter for my computer (an obvious lie, I have had my laptop worked on twice by the Geek Squad and both times they used their own adapter); however he did agree to check it with the multimeter. He then looked around for about 5 seconds and could not find the multimeter, so he did the next logical thing, he picked up my laptop, stared into the AC adapter receiver and then told me "It is definitely going to be a problem with the computer, we are going to need to send it in for three weeks."

Obviously I was shocked. I told him before I sent off my computer for 3 weeks I would like to make sure it is not a problem with the AC adapter, could he please check it out first. "It is going to take at least 10 minutes for me to get the multimeter or another adapter, it's going to be a problem inside the computer, lets just send it in."

I thought for a second... 3 weeks vs 10 minutes... 3 vs 10... well, 3 is less than 10 (Shel Silverstein showed me that in his economy-based poem "Smart")... Despite Shel's frugal advice I decided I would wait out those ten minutes and see what happens.

Turns out, when plugged into a different adapter my computer turns right on! Now, I know all I need to do is buy an adapter, but to be honest I was pretty angry at the Geek Squad's lack of effort in troubleshooting my computer, so I did not purchase the adapter from them.

Instead I went across the street to "The Shack" and started to explain my troubles to the employee there. Before I was done with my story he had already pulled out a multimeter and another adapter. He first plugged in the other adapter and it worked, so then he took the multimeter to my adapter and checked it in two places, before the transformer (from the wall to the plug was 110v) and then post transformer to plug (3.5v, when it as supposed to be putting out 19v). Not only did he confirm (by using science!) that the adapter was bad, he then told me "I'll be honest with you, the universal adapter we sell here is more expensive than the one across the street at Best Buy." To me, his willingness to do the right thing (and not send my laptop away for 3 weeks) was worth the extra 10 dollars.

Your Credit Report Isn't The Only Report You Should Monitor [Personal Information]

Chris Walters — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:53:24 EST

When an insurer decides whether to offer you a new policy, or whether to raise rates on a current one, he most likely pulls a CLUE report that lists any homeowner or automobile insurance loss claims (or sometimes even just inquiries) that you've made over the past 3-7 years. Hopefully you monitor your consumer credit report for errors, but as you can see, that's not the only one you should keep an eye on.

Consumer Reports has a detailed information page about companies that track and sell your personal information. The data comes in the form of consumer credit reports, insurance credit reports, your health history, your checking and banking account history, your criminal background, your history of retail returns, and your property rental history.

In most cases, you can pull free copies of these reports periodically, which is good because errors can pop up in these reports just like they can in a consumer credit history. But who has time to pull and monitor that many databases of personal information? The website PrivacyRights.org suggests you stick with yearly monitoring of your consumer credit report (the one you can get for free only at www.annualcreditreport.com), and pay attention to the other ones only under certain circumstances:

New homeowner's or auto insurance: order your CLUE or A-PLUS reports
Victim of check fraud or general checking or savings account problems: order your ChexSystems report
Employer (current or potential) asks for permission to run background check: ask for name of the screening company and contact them as soon as they've issued the report
Applying for a new job: order Employment Data Report from Work Number if any past employers used that company; also consider ordering a ChoicePoint Full File Disclosure
Renting an apartment or home: ask the landlord for the name of the screening company, as there are several
Health, life, long-term care, or disability insurance: order your MIB report from Medical Information Bureau
General overall check-up on what you look like as data: order a ChoicePoint Full File Disclosure and a Lexus-Nexis Accurint Person Report

There is one time when you may want to go crazy and order everything, and that's if you've been a victim of identity theft.

(Thanks to commenter mac-phisto, whose advice in an earlier post on auto insurance triggered this one.)

"Big Brother is watching" [Consumer Reports]
"What You Should Know about 'Specialty' Reports" [Privacy Rights Clearinghouse]
(Photo: Erik Pitti)

Morning Deals [Sales]

Chris Walters — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:13:28 EST

Veterans Day Specials

(Thanks to John!)

KrispyKreme: [Donut] Free donut! Today only, at participating locations
Applebees: [Restaurant] Free meal for Veterans on Veterans Day. See available menu on Applebees promo site.
Brides Across America: [Wedding Gowns] Free gowns from participating shops on first come, first serve basis, for brides-to-be with deployed fiancés

Golden Corral: [Restaurant]Free meal for veterans from 5 to 9pm on Monday, November 16th
MilitaryAvenue.com: [Discounts] List of discounts or freebies offered to veterans

Clothing

New York & Co.: [Women's Fashions] Save 30% off All Women's Apparel
Nike: [Men's Apparel] Nike Men's Graphic Sport T-Shirts for $10 + free shipping
Lands' End: [Men's Apparel] Lands' End Men's Dress Shirts: Deals from $10 + free shipping

Computers and Electronics

Buy.com: [MP3 Player] V-Clip 4GB Compact Portable MP3 Player $20 Shipped
CompUSA: [Blu-ray Player] Samsung BD-P1590 Blu-Ray Player (Refurb, Netflix/Pandora Streaming & BD-Live) $100.00 Free Shipping
Kodak Store: [HD Camcorder] Kodak Zi8 1080p High Definition Pocket Video Camera $152.96 Free Shipping

Walmart: [Media Player] WD TV Mini Media Player (Smaller Size, 1080i Upconversion) $59.99 Free Shipping
Nero: [TV Tuner Cards] LiquidTV TiVo PC w/ USB tuner, 1-year TiVo subscription for $35 + free shipping
Adorama: [HDTV] Netflix-ready LG 50-inch 1080p 600Hz Plasma HDTV $900 + free shipping

Amazon: [Printer] Canon PIXMA MX860 Wireless All-In-One Photo Printer $110 + free shipping
MacMall: [Mac Portable] Save $99: Apple 13.3-in 2.26GHz MacBook Pro $1100

Entertainment

Walmart: [Blu-ray Movie] The Hangover Movie (Blu-ray) Preorder $16.86 Free Shipping
Buy.com : [Console Accessory] DS Lite 10-Piece Accessory Pack for $5.99 w/ Free shipping
Buy.com : [Movie] Batman Begins DVD - Widescreen for $4.99 w/ Free shipping

Shortcovers: [Ebooks] $2 off ebook purchase through November 13th with coupon code Nov2dollar

Health and Beauty

Amazon: [Trail Running] Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Wrist-mounted Trainer with Heart Rate Monitor $149 Shipped
1-800 CONTACTS: [Health] New 1-800 CONTACTS Coupon Code $8 Off $85 + Free Shipping
~~Sensis: [Condom] Free sample condom by mail (our tipster John writes, "great for any occasion, including Veterans Day")~~

Misc

BJ's Wholesale Club: [Memberships] Free 60-Day Trial Membership (regular 12-month membership is $45)
Petco : [Pets] $5 Off $25 and $10 Off $50 w/ Coupons - Printable

Toys

StarWarsShop: [Toys & Hobbies] StarWarsShop.com Sale: 25% off sitewide
Buy.com : [Toys] Lionel Railroad Crossing Coin Bank for $19.99 w/ Free shipping
Amazon: [Puzzle] Earth 540-piece puzzle ball $28 + free shipping

Target Pays New Jersey $375K To Settle Fraud Charges [Settlements]

Chris Walters — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:27:39 EST

Target has agreed to pay New Jersey $375,000 to settle charges that it sold baby formula and non-prescription drugs that had expired, and that it charged higher prices on some products than what was displayed on the shelves.

From NJ.com:

State officials said the company will no longer sell non-prescription drugs or infant formula beyond their expiration dates, nor will it sell merchandise for more money than the displayed price. Target also created a new position to monitor the company's compliance with the settlement for the next two years.

The state's Division of Consumer Affairs sued Target, Walmart, and Drug Fair in September 2008, after finding that despite earlier agreements with the state, they were still selling expired products and charging wrong prices. Lawsuits against the other two retailers are still pending.

"Target reaches $375K settlement with N.J. for selling expired baby formula, charging different prices" [NJ.com]
(Photo: j.reed)

Staples Wants To Know If They're Freaking You Out With Their All-Knowing Emails [Unsubscribe]

Chris Walters — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:09:27 EST

Apparently Staples is worried that their emails might be too accurate when it comes to marketing office supplies to people—accurate enough to make potential customers paranoid.

Alexandra writes,

I recently grew tired of the daily Staples email I received. Somehow, hot discounted office supplies just weren't doing it for me anymore. I diligently followed the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email, and was led to a page that immediately let me unsubscribe. Nice. Once unsubscribed I had the option of selecting why I no longer wanted to be pestered with daily deals on manila folders.

Hilariously, one of these options is "Staples emails are too relevant (feel watched)."

Guess which one I picked? I also wonder if they are gathering any usable statistics from this form. I'd think that it would all be skewed by what I assume (perhaps incorrectly) to be a joke.

(Photo: bdjsb7)

Google Offering Temporary Free WiFi Access At 47 Airports [Freebies]

Chris Walters — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:46:09 EST

From now until January 15th, 2010, Google will offer free WiFi access at 47 airports around the country. As part of the promotion, they'll be collecting donations through Google Checkout for three non-profit organizations and will provide matching funds up to $250,000. But whether you donate or not, there's a much better chance now that you'll be able to go online while waiting for your flight. Imagine all the airline tips you can send to us!

"Free WiFi for the Holidays" [Google via IntoMobile]
(Photo: quinn.anya)

10 Strategies To Lower Your Auto Insurance [Insurance]

Chris Walters — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:32:40 EST

Over at the Mint blog they've posted a list of 10 ways to reduce your car insurance premium. You'll want to contact your current insurer and ask some questions, like whether they offer a discount for paying up front, or if they'll cut you a deal for being a long-term customer.

Other tips include reducing your mileage and having a theft-deterrent device installed. You might also want to compare risk classifications for cars if you're shopping for a new one—your insurer should be able to provide you with a comparison chart.

"10 Things That You Can Do To Lower your Auto Insurance Premium" [Mint]
(Photo: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³)

Keep Track Of Which Diploma Mills Will Work Out Best For Your Pet [Higher Education]

Chris Walters — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:50:04 EST

In this job market, anything you can do to give your cat or dog an edge is worth pursuing. That's why you shouldn't enroll your pet in just any diploma mill—you want one that's a proven scam. Boingboing points out that there's a Wikipedia page to keep track of animals with fraudulent diplomas to make it easier to comparison shop for that next fake certificate.

"List of animals with fraudulent diplomas" [Wikipedia via Boingboing] (Thanks to Trai_Dep!)
(Photo: ourdogholly)

Is Bank Of America Of Trying To Skirt The CARD Act With New Annual Fees? [Testing The Water]

Chris Walters — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:35:10 EST

In a series of recent posts, WalletBlog has accused Bank of America of breaking the spirit of its "no new fees" promise and of potentially breaking the law next year, after it announced it will introduce annual fees on some existing credit card accounts in 2010.

Here's the blog's argument for why Bank of America isn't honoring its promise to customers and to Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA). On October 6th the bank released a letter in which it pledged to stop re-pricing existing credit card accounts—but introducing an annual fee where none existed before sure sounds like re-pricing, doesn't it? BoA explained it like this: they only promised to not raise interest rates.

However, that's not true. WalletBlog points out that the bank made no such distinction in their October 6th letter. Here's the relevant excerpt:

"In light of the concerns expressed to us by our customers, Bank of America will not implement any change in terms (risk or economic based) re-pricing of consumer credit card accounts between now and the effective date of the CARD Act."

That language doesn't draw any distinctions between types of re-pricing, so it's kind of weird to retroactively define the term as only relating to interest rates.

But this is a moot point because the letter only promises that they won't practice re-pricing between now and the implementation of the CARD Act. After that goes into effect in February 2010, the promise no longer applies. I don't know why BoA's representative bothered to misrepresent the language of the letter when he could just as easily have pointed out that it was nothing more than a temporary pledge—and mostly an empty once, since they had already re-priced many accounts in the month leading up to the letter.

As far as implementing fees after the CARD Act goes into effect, well, that's where WalletBlog says that BoA may end up in violation of the law. BoA argues that the CARD Act prohibits raising interest rates but says nothing about implementing annual fees, but WalletBlog points out that the language of the CARD Act is ambiguous, and thanks to a 1996 Supreme Court case involving Citibank, the FDIC considers the term "interest" to include:

...among other things, the following fees connected with credit extension or availability: numerical periodic rates, late fees, not sufficient funds (NSF) fees, overlimit fees, annual fees, cash advance fees, and membership fees.

It sounds like BoA may be testing the boundaries of the CARD Act and seeing if it can get away with annual fees by arguing that they're not specifically prohibited.

Be sure to check out WalletBlog's full post on the matter.

"Bank of America Tries but Fails to Defend New Annual Fees" [WalletBlog]
"Bank of America Readies Itself to Break the Law" [WalletBlog]
(Photo: mrkathika)

Morning Deals [Sales]

Chris Walters — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:02:25 EST

Clothing

Bloomingdale's: [Apparel] New Bloomingdale's Coupon Code 20% off + $100 Gift Credit w/ $500 Purchase
6pm.com: [Shoes] 6PM Unlisted by Kenneth Cole Men's Shoes $14.95
Coldwater Creek : [Apparel] $30 Off $100 Purchase w/ Coupon NKA9439

Lands' End: [Men's Apparel] Lands' End Men's Overstocks: Deals from $4 + free shipping
eBags: [Bags] 25% off 1 Item Tuesday Only

Computers and Electronics

Lenovo: [Laptop] Lenovo ThinkPad T500 Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz 15.4in Laptop w/ Windows 7 $662.15
Newegg: [LCD HDTV] Samsung 32-inch LCD HDTV only $430 Shipped
Buy.com: [Data Back-up] 2TB USB & eSATA GreenDrive $160 & Free Shipping

Best Buy : [TV] Dynex 26" LCD 720p HDTV for $249.99 + $31.22 Shipping
Walmart : [Printer] Lexmark Wireless All-in-One Printer for $59 + $0.97 Shipping
NewEgg: [HDTV] LG 42LH40 42-inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV $699.99 + free shipping

HP: [Laptop] HP dm3t 13.3-inch LED ULV Windows 7 Laptop $575 + free shipping
NewEgg: [HDTV] Auria 24-inch 1080p LCD HDTV $250 + free shipping
Amazon: [Blu-ray] LG BD 370 Network Blu-ray Player + 3 FREE Blu-ray Movies (choose from 32 titles) $148 + free shipping

Entertainment

Walmart: [Video Game] Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Preorder (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) w/ $20 Walmart or Amazon Credit $59.82
Eastern Mountain Sports: [Sporting Goods] Eastern Mountain Sports up to 40% off Storewide + FREE $25 Gear Bucks w/ $100 Purchase
Amazon : [Game] Free Ricochet Computer Game (Download)

Warner Bros. Online Shop: [Gaming & Toys] WBshop.com Pre-Holiday Sale: Up to 50% off, free shipping w/ $30+
Amazon: [DVD] Up to $120 off Family Guy, Simpsons, King of the Hill, American Dad, Futurama

Health and Beauty

CVS Pharmacy : [Health] 20% Off Entire Purchase w/ Coupon 2DAY20
Walgreens : [Health] $5 Off $25 Purchase w/ Coupon - Printable
Bath and Body Works : [Skincare] 20% Off Entire Purchase w/ Coupon TWENTYOFF

PlanForYourHealth.com: [Book] Navigating Your Health Benefits For Dummies - FREE

Home

Sears : [Tools] Craftsman Combo Kit w/ Power Drill + Trim Saw + Work Light + Vacuum for $79.99 + $8.20 Shipping
Brylane Home : [Cookware] 10-Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set for $20.99 w/ Coupon BHBREWARD + $7.99 Shipping
~~Walmart: [Kitchen] Rubbermaid 24-Piece Easy Find Storage Set for $10 + $4 s&h~~

Miscellaneous

Coinstar: Free $10 gift card by mail when you convert at least $40 into a gift card or eCertificate. At "participating machines only," but we can't tell how you might determine ahead of time which machines participate. (Thanks to John!)

Citibank To Charge Fees On Checking Accounts [Fees]

Chris Walters — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:49:41 EST

If you're a Citibank customer who has one of the bank's two smaller checking account plans—the ones where the monthly fee is waived as long as you use direct deposit or their online bill payment—then maybe it's time to consider taking your business elsewhere. Starting in February, anyone with an average balance of less than $1500 will be assessed a monthly $7.50 service fee, reports the New York Post.

Penny-pinching Citibank will put the squeeze on small-fry customers, charging them up to $90 a year by demanding a fee every time their average monthly checking account balance sinks below $1,500.

Starting in February, Citibank will no longer automatically waive its $7.50 monthly fee for its "EZ" and "Access" checking-account holders who make either a direct deposit, or two bill payments online monthly.

A management consultant told the Post that if customers stay with Citibank even after they implement the new fee rule, it will send a signal to other banks that they can do the same with low-balance checking account customers. Hmm, maybe it's time to start looking around for a good credit union?

"Really Citi treatment" [New York Post] (Thanks to Kearas!)
(Photo: Mike McCaffrey)

Never Follow A Security Guard Into The Back Of The Store [You're A Criminal]

Chris Walters — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:28:08 EST

Here's some advice for you, the regular customer who doesn't shoplift: never go into the back of a store with a security guard, store manager, rent-a-cop, etc. Never. Someone posted the following story in the Janesville, Wisconsin CraigsList over the weekend. Because the poster cooperated in good faith with the security personnel at her local Menards home store, she had to pay $150 to avoid having the police called on her.

(I've edited the post for clarity and punctuation.)

So I will start off saying my husband and I have been shopping at Menards since they opened and because of our business we are there almost daily and sometime twice a day. This afternoon [November 7th, 2009] we came for the second time to get lumber and paint. I just bought my husband a surprise drywall gun last night from Menards so in exchange he thought it would be nice to look at a new drill for me.

I have had my eye on a light weight compact cordless so we started comparing them. He noticed a complete set of 2 drills, bat, chargers and so on but they were not on display, just in the box. Well I opened the box so I could see how light they are and they were perfect for me. I picked everything up that I removed from the box and stuffed it back in the box and set it in the cart. I tried to close the top of the box however because i removed everything it would not go back in place, So I left the box open.

We had several items in our cart and within a minute I found some drill bits to go with my new set so I tossed the small package in the cart. I turned my back to talk to my husband about more bits and some guy comes cruising around the corner grabs my cart and takes off walking very fast. "HEY you have my cart!" I yelled to the guy as he was already down the aisle. He let go of the cart said sorry and disappeared around the corner leaving my cart. I walked down, grabbed the cart, and came back to my husband. Very strange we both thought but we just continued shopping.

Over to building materials we went before checking out. We checked our items out (over $300.00) and the cashier never questioned the open box or looked inside.

We leave the store and a man walks up and asks for our receipt. My husband went to pull it out of his wallet and before he gets it out the guy reaches into the drill box and pulls out the small pack of drill bits. He looks at us and said you took these. We replied oh they must have been missed we will come back in and pay for them.

The guy who we now know as security asked us to come back inside. We went inside expecting to pay for the $5.99 drill bits and he tells us we have to fill out an incident paper.

They take our cart full of $300.00 worth of stuff and lead us into the security room. Inside the room we are sitting in silence while this guy is filling out paperwork and a lady that works as a CSM(?) is standing guard at the door like we are hard criminals ready to flee the country.

After several minutes of silence I ask if I am being charged for something. The security man said no I just need you to fill out this paperwork and give me your drivers license.

So I hand over my license and he said to me that he'd seen the drill bits on top of the open box then he'd seen us walk into the checkouts and not pay for them. I could not believe what I was hearing. I told him over and over this is a mistake I threw the bits in the cart and they must have landed on the box. The guard then said maybe they slipped further in the box when you moved your cart. He said well that sounds like you're just having bad luck. My husband asked if they'd seen me put the package in the box. He would not respond.

He then told me I have 2 choices. I can pay Menards $150.00 or they will call the police and charge me with theft and a $350.00 fine. We could not believe what was happening. CHARGE ME WITH THEFT! JUST BAD LUCK??? What is happening! Have they gone crazy!

I have thrown items in my cart many times and never thought twice about it. I understand if the bits were in my pocket or hidden under everything in the box but they were on top of a opened box that the cashier never even looked in the box. Honest mistake is what I call it not bad luck or theft.

So now I am in tears and faced with a choice I never thought I would make in my life. We run a professional business and I would never want to risk my reputation by being hauled out of Menards in front of everyone by the police. I was told to sign the paperwork and pay the $150.00 to avoid this from happening. So I signed and paid what they called a restitution. They refused to give me a copy of the paperwork I signed. Then they sent us on our way with tears in my eyes. I went quietly but I can't let this go.

"Just having bad luck???? (Beloit Menards)" [janesville.craigslist.org] (Thanks to M!)
(Photo: TheTruthAbout...)

Ulta Manager: "Take Your Pen To Your Car, You're Not Allowed To Write Anything Down" [Paranoid]

Chris Walters — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:03:18 EST

In a world where smartphones can shoot video, snap photos, record audio, scan barcodes, and let you make price comparisons via text message, it's almost funny to run into a paranoid manager like the one at an Ulta makeup store in Seattle. Well, funny except for that petty tyrant part where she tells you that you'll have to take your old-school pen and papers out to the car and come back empty handed before she'll sell you any makeup.

Daynah is the database coordinator and researcher for Beautypedia, a consumer advocacy website for makeup products. She is also, one might imagine, a real life wearer of makeup products. Over the weekend, she printed out some information sheets from Ulta's website and headed to a nearby physical location to compare the shades in person and make notes before buying them.

Today, in a blog entry on the Beautypedia website, she writes, "Given that the store's motto is 'Play, touch, test, learn and explore,' and given that my print-outs all came from Ulta.com, there was no conceivable reason for me to think that the following was about to unfold."

After being in the store for less than an hour, discretely taking notes, a floor manager approached me.

"Can I help you with anything?" she asked.

"I'm good," I replied and smiled.

She then came at me, quite close, and said, "You are not allowed to write anything down in our store. I have to ask you to leave."

I let out a small laugh; I was surprised, thinking that surely she misunderstood what I was doing. She pointed her finger at me and said, "Don't act surprised. You've been told this before."

Daynah had never been told that before, in fact, but the rest of the conversation slowly spiraled into a pit of stupidity as the manager, sensing that this customer was going to put up a fight, refused to see logic or reason.

Finally, Daynah just asked her point blank if she was being banned from the store.

When I asked if I was banned permanently, she said-and get this-as long as I put my print-outs and pen in my car, I was allowed back inside to make my purchase. So, like a scolded child, she watched me walk my papers to my car, and then come back in to be rung up. Had I not absolutely needed to make the purchases, I would have surely walked away and never returned. As a paying customer, I have never been so belittled, harassed and infuriated. Ever.

Other things that are now official Ulta policy, at least when this manager is on duty at the store in Seattle: you can't write down anything a salesperson tells you about a product, you can't use the testers unless you're a paying customer, and if you want to select a specific shade of makeup you have to ask a salesperson for help. Because at Ulta, beauty is not just hard, but top secret.

"Ultimate Showdown at Ulta, Part One" [Beautypedia] (Thanks to Amy!)
(Photo: foxyvoxy and anja_johnson)

What To Consider Before Buying An Extended Warranty [Bad Decisions]

Chris Walters — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:43:45 EST

The New York Times has an article about why consumers buy extended warranties for electronic products and other appliances, especially since we rarely have enough information at the moment of sale to make an informed decision. Here are three things to watch out for the next time you're buying some fun electronic device.

Know the failure rate of the product you're buying.
The best way to establish the actual value of an extended warranty is to know the failure rate of the product; then you can make a better guess about whether it's financially acceptable to you. For instance, the warranty website SquareTrade estimates failure rates for Wii consoles at 2.7% over 3 years, and they sell their Wii warranty for $30.

To a perfectly rational person, that insurance is worth exactly 2.7 percent of $200, or $5.40. But it can be worth more to someone who fears financial loss of the product or the inconvenience of repairs.

Finding failure rates can be difficult, though. Here's a list of generic failure rates from data released in 2006, or you can sometimes find info by Googling the name of the item + "failure rate." You might also want to find out beforehand how responsive the manufacturer is with defective products—Nintendo, for example, has a pretty good reputation when it comes to fixing devices that break through no fault of the owner.

If you're buying something that gives you pleasure, put off any decision about a warranty for a week or two.
The NYT article cites some research by psychologists that indicates consumers who are buying products that make them happier tend to buy more extended warranties. You might think this is because they tend to break down more, but you'd be wrong—with the exception of the Xbox 360, which I believe has a failure rate of somewhere around 11,000%, it's household appliances like washers and dryers that break down more frequently. And yet, fewer customers buy those extended warranties, and pay less for them when they do.

If you get a good deal on something, don't even consider an extended warranty at the time of purchase.
Because you'll be so high on the fact that you got a good deal, you'll fall right into the trap described above of being more risk-averse than normal, and hence more likely to throw away your savings at the register on an overpriced extended warranty.

"Don't Worry, Be Happy: The Warranty Psychology" [New York Times]
(Photo: shalf)

MPAA Asks FCC For Control Of Your TV's Analog Outputs [Video On Demand]

Chris Walters — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:02:04 EST

The Motion Picture Association of American wants to rent movies to TV viewers earlier in the release window, but they don't want anyone potentially streaming that video out to other appliances. That's why last week they went back to the FCC to once again ask for the power to disable analog ports on consumer television sets.

This capability is called selectable output control or SOC, and the FCC banned it back in 2003. SOC would allow "service operators, such as cable companies, to turn off analog outputs on consumer electronics devices, only allowing digital plugs" such as HDMI. The MPAA is arguing that if they could directly turn those plugs on and off, they could offer more goods to consumers and therefore make everyone happier.

But that's not what over a dozen public interest groups think, notes Home Media Magazine:

[Groups] including Public Knowledge, the Digital Freedom Campaign, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Consumer Federation of America and the Media Access Project, are fighting the MPAA over the request, saying it puts control of privately owned consumer electronics into the hands of the movie industry, hurts TiVo and Slingbox owners, and leaves out consumers who own TVs without digital connections.

"The MPAA has failed to provide a reason as to why the limited interests of its six member movie studios should be allowed to outweigh the interests of those consumers that will be forced to replace over 20 million television sets and countless other devices in order to view content that their current equipment is capable of displaying," the Nov. 4 letter from the interest groups reads. "Furthermore, granting the waiver effectively would allow MPAA member companies to control the types of connections and features offered to all U.S. consumers, forcing consumer electronics designers and manufacturers to agree to almost any consumer-unfriendly conditions just to display SOC content."

Here's a video from Public Knowledge that addresses SOC. (Hey Public Knowledge guys, record your audio in a room with less background noise!)

"MPAA, Consumer Groups Battle Over FCC Waiver" [Home Media Magazine]
"MPAA Wants to Control TVs in Your Home; Consumer Groups Fight Back" [The Wrap]
Public Knowledge page on SOC [Public Knowledge]

Layaway Making A Comeback [Shopping]

Chris Walters — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:48:25 EST

Sears and Toys R Us are among retailers who have brought back layaway programs to help boost sales, reports Eve Mitchell at the San Jose Mercury News. Not all stores think it's worth the effort, so you won't find it at JCPenney, Target, or Walmart. However, if you want to use layaway at retailers that don't offer it, there are now websites that can help.

Consumer electronics, appliances, toys and games are sold at www.lay-away.com, which charges no service fees to consumers because revenues come from sales commissions paid by retailers. A $35 fee applies on canceled orders.

Consumers who go to www.elayaway.com are charged a 1.9 percent transaction fee on merchandise purchased from retail partners that include Apple, Bass Pro Shops, Best Buy and Home Depot. Cancellation fees are $25, or 10 percent of the cost of the merchandise, whichever is less.

I can't recommend either site without knowing more about how well they work, but a quick comparison of a Nintendo DS Lite at eLayaway.com showed one available from Best Buy for $129, the same price being offered on the official Best Buy site. As always, read the fine print and make sure that any hidden costs aren't being bundled into the total price.

"Layaway makes a return as stores court strapped consumers" [San Jose Mercury News]
(Photo: No Trams To lime Street)

Morning Deals [Sales]

Chris Walters — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:22:06 EST

Clothing

Cole Haan : [Apparel] 25% Off Entire Purchase w/ Coupon OURGUEST + Printable
Woman Within : [Apparel] $25 Off $50 Purchase w/ Coupon WW2550

Computers and Electronics

MacHeist: [OS X Software] Twitterrific, Writeroom, and 4 other applications for free.
Buy.com : [Remote Control] Philips 15-Device Universal Remote Control for $39.99 w/ Free shipping
PC Connection: [Monitor] LG 22-inch Energy-saving LCD Monitor $119 + free shipping

Radio Shack: [Camera & Printer] Casio Exilim 10.1MP Camera & Polaroid PoGo Pocket Printer Bundle $120
Walmart : [Digital Camera] Kodak EasyShare 8MP Digital Camera Bundle - Aqua for $69 + $2.97 Shipping
Staples: [Digital Camera] Canon PowerShot SD1200 10MP 3X Digital Camera w/ $50 Staples Gift Card for $129.99 plus free shipping

Best Buy : [Electronics] $20 Cash Back with $100 Purchase When Using PayPal
Sony Style: [HDTV] 40" Sony BRAVIA VE-40VE5 LCD HDTV (REFURB, 1080p, 120Hz, Energy Efficient) for $719.99 plus free shipping

NewEgg: [Video cam] Flip UltraHD 120min Camcorder + AC Adapter $160 + free shipping

Entertainment

Musician's Friend: [Making Music] Epiphone Les Paul Player Pack $199 Shipped
Amazon: [Blu-ray] Save up to $100 off Purchase of Blu-ray Disc Titles

Health and Beauty

Walgreens : [Health] $10 Off $40 Purchase w/ Coupon BHEALTHY
Clinique: [Beauty] Clinique coupon: Free 7-Piece Gift Set with $22 or more + free shipping

Toys

Toys R Us: [Card And Board Games] Toys "R" Us: Select board games for $2 after rebate + $6 s&h, more

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds [Flickr]

Chris Walters — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:55:32 EST

Here are nine wonderful photos readers added to The Consumerist Flickr Pool this week, picked for neatness and usability in a Consumerist post. Check 'em out!

by Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie

by mightyb

by James Callan

by Ninja M.

by cyrusrassool

by D.P. Rubino

by SA_Steve

by digitizedchaos

by legotech

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.

Note that if you want them to have a shot at ending up on the Consumerist Friday post, you'll need to open up your sharing settings on your Flickr account so we can grab the HTML from the "Share This" tab. Sorry, but that's the only way to get Flickr and Consumerist to play with each other.

Add your shots to The Consumerist Flickr Pool, and perhaps they'll get featured in a future story, or even highlighted in a Friday Consumerist Flickr Pool Finds post. See previous winners of the Friday Consumerist Flickr Pool finds here.

Capital One Activates Payment Protection Plan Thanks To EECB [Follow Ups]

Chris Walters — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:25:10 EST

Earlier this week, I posted about a college student who couldn't get Capital One's Emergency Payment Protection Plan activated on his account because of missed deadlines. Andon wrote back today to say that after he sent an EECB to the credit card company's executives, they apologized and activated the service.

To recap, Capital One told Andon to wait 30 days before calling in to request activation. When he followed their instructions and called back 30 days later, he was told that he had to have called 5 days earlier to activate it for that month. Then he was charged a late fee.

Andon sent the company an Email Executive Carpet Bomb, or EECB, explaining what happened. This was the result:

I would just like to let you know that I sent an EECB, and was contacted today by Greg at Capital One who worked out the problem for me. He said I was absolutely right about the problem with the first month of the Emergency Payment Protection (the whole waiting for thirty days since unemployment, but having to have called five days before the payment's due date,) and that there is actually a special exception program in order to address this, but that it just wasn't followed properly in this case. They were very understanding, and apologized for the inconvenience - all is well, now.

Congratulations, Andon! Remember, if the front line of customer service at a company refuses to see logic or reason, try to escalate it to higher levels. Frequently it's either a case of the CSR being powerless to help you, or a breakdown in training or communication.

Here Are Your Shipping Deadlines For Christmas 2009 [Online Shopping]

Chris Walters — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:50:15 EST

If you're planning on spending the next 6-8 weeks pouring cash into Mammon's gaping maw—and really, who isn't? it's how we love each other—then here are the shipping deadlines for over 100 online retailers, courtesy of CouponSherpa. In today's UPS/FedEx world you can frequently wait right up until Christmas week, but you might want to double-check the list if there's a retailer you absolutely have to shop from.

"Holiday Shipping Deadlines for Christmas 2009" [CouponSherpa] (Thanks to Jeff!)
(Photo: dierken)

Walmart Goes Crazy On Couple Suspected Of Shoplifting [Walmart Is Your God Now]

Chris Walters — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:16:28 EST

Walmart can try to spin itself as being on the side of good all it wants, but if it ever suspects you of shoplifting, you may find that you're powerless to fight back. In the case of a couple accused of shoplifting some Bic lighters in Niles, Michigan this past August, Walmart detained them, the police came and cuffed one of them, their two kids were taken to a security room, and—after a review of security footage proved the couple's innocence—they were banned for life from all Walmarts. To top it off, Walmart's legal team has sent the couple a letter asking to be reimbursed for 10 times the value of the lighters, even though the police determined no shoplifting had taken place.

(It's unclear whether the couple ever actually paid for the Bic lighters in question—the article only specifies that the footage shows they scanned the package of lighters but that the scanner didn't register it.)

The couple in question is gay and their sons are adopted, which may have introduced a whole new level of emotional reactions on both sides of the dispute. The men say their children told them that while they were being held in the security room, the security staff threatened the kids and "had made disparaging remarks about Paolucci and Hitchcock's lifestyle." It's not a stretch to imagine that such an attitude, if it existed, carried over into any face-to-face interactions. Meanwhile, the police who showed up and cuffed Paolucci, then forced the two men into the backs of different squad cars, claim that the men were causing a disturbance when they arrived at the scene.

Still, no amount of pro-gay or anti-gay outrage makes it okay for a retailer to place paying customers in such an abusive situation, especially when the retailer's own security footage—which was immediately available for review—shows that if there was any inventory issue it was due to a malfunction of the scanner. But Walmart can get away with it because it can afford to:

Asked if they intend to sue Wal-Mart, Paolucci said he and Hitchcock probably won't because other attorneys have advised them Wal-Mart historically "plays hardball" and isn't prone to settle cases out of court.

"We could spend a couple million dollars to sue them," Paolucci said.

But that doesn't mean there won't be court action. Paolucci and Hitchcock e-mailed The Tribune a copy of a letter from a law firm representing Wal-Mart seeking 10 times the retail price of the items the store still claims were shoplifted by Paolucci. The letter states the matter will be dropped if Paolucci submits the $158.40 payment.

Fortunately, the men seem to have enough money that they can afford to never shop at the discount retailer again, even if they weren't banned for life. If you're not part of a wealthy two-income family, though... well hopefully Walmart will look down favorably upon you when your post-checkout time comes, so long as you act contrite and respectful of their security team's authority.

(Oh yeah, now I remember why I don't want a Walmart anywhere near where I live.)

*Note: I originally reported the Walmart as being located in Niles, Illinois. However, the South Bend Tribune generally covers areas in Michigan and Indiana, and the couple lives in Buchanan, Michigan, which also has a Niles located nearby. I've updated the post to report the Walmart as being located in Niles, Michigan. -Chris

"Niles couple banned from Wal-Mart after dispute over BIC lighters" [South Bend Tribune] (Thanks to Shanon!)

Bally Reps Drove Developmentally Disabled Man To Gym, Signed Him Up [Taking Advantage]

Chris Walters — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:38:29 EST

Family members of a developmentally disabled 49-year-old man told 6 News in Indianapolis that two men from Bally Total Fitness showed up at the man's apartment, drove him to a Bally location at Pike Plaza, and signed him up to a monthly membership. When the man's family asked Bally to invalidate the agreement, the gym refused.

The brothers told [6News reporter Rafael] Sanchez that they went to the gym Monday hoping to resolve the issue, but that their requests were rejected by the management at the facility.

[...]

"I'm wondering how more people are they going to do it to? After meeting two young gentlemen yesterday, they don't feel they've done anything wrong," said [brother] Pat Hannon. "They feel it's their right to get America fit."

So there you have it. Bally's wants the developmentally disabled to be physically fit. I don't see how that's a bad thing—we should all take care of our health—but it seems weird to target men and women who, you know, can't drive themselves to the gym they're joining. Maybe the two salesmen who showed up at the apartment—where "no soliciting" signs are posted—should agree to shuttle their new client back and forth whenever he feels like it.

Update: Bally's PR firm just contacted us with the following statement on behalf of the gym:

We regret that this incident occurred and have accordingly addressed the issue with the employees involved. It is common practice that we market our clubs with free trial passes to the local community but it is against our corporate policy to transport anyone to or from our facility. When our management found out about Mr. Hannon's disability, we immediately cancelled his membership and refunded all of his fees.

"Family: Gym Took Advantage Of Man With Disability" [WRTV Indianapolis] (Thanks to Becky!)
(Photo: geocam20000)

What You Need To Know About Today's Unemployment Benefits Extension [Budgets]

Chris Walters — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:10:43 EST

If you're still struggling to find a job in the current economy, you'll be happy to know that this morning President Obama is expected to sign legislation to extend benefits for few more months. The New York Times has more info on how the extension will work, and who qualifies for it.

"Extended Unemployment Benefits: F.A.Q." [New York Times]
(Photo: Kapungo and laurenatclemson)

PerfectPitch Owner Apologizes For DMCA Notice, Explains What Happened [Follow Ups]

Chris Walters — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:28:52 EST

Gary Boucherle, the owner of the website and product PerfectPitch, sent us an explanation of why he got Google to remove links to mentions of his product on another person's blog.

The short version: Jeremy Keith's blog was accidentally lumped into a list of blogs being reported to Google for mentioning pirate copies of PerfectPitch, and Boucherle apologizes for the mistake.

Here's what he sent us (I've added the links):

Official Statement from PerfectPitch.com

Re: Google DMCA Removal of a Blog Page

To All Readers:

Here at PerfectPitch.com we made a big mistake.

We instructed Google to block a blog site managed by Jeremy Keith, citing that they were in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyrights Act (DMCA). As per our request, Google did indeed remove this page from their search listings.

We wish to formally apologize to Mr. Keith and his bloggers for this mistake, for which we are deeply regretful.

Please understand that we had no intention whatsoever to suppress the speech on Mr. Keith's page. Please know that we are ardent supporters and advocates of free speech for everyone.

We recognize this was a careless error, and there is really no excuse for this. Nevertheless, please permit us a moment to explain.

Here's what happened:

We were actually submitting to Google a list of sites that were illegally distributing copies of our copyrighted intellectual property. We of course have every right to request that Google have these sites removed from their search engine results because we believe these sites violate the DMCA, which prohibits the illegal distribution of copyrighted materials over the internet.

To our shock and horror, an employee of ours mistakenly included Mr. Keith's site in our list, merely because it made a reference to illegal copies of our course. Naturally, this is not grounds for removal of this page at Google. Our intention was only to remove actual pages where the course is being illegally distributed, and not any pages of free speech, such as Mr. Keith's blog. This was a misjudgment and error on our employee's side, and on behalf of our company, we sincerely apologize.

This event has never happened to us before when reporting illegal distribution of our materials. Please rest assured that we will redouble our efforts to ensure this never happens again.

We have requested that Google immediately reinstate this page in their search results, along with our apology to Google as well.

Again, please accept our sincere regrets for this goof.

Happy blogging, everyone.

Sincerely yours,
Gary Boucherle
PerfectPitch.com

Keith over at Adactio has posted a follow-up report, which includes part of another email from Boucherle that explains what happened in greater detail

Periodically we've contacted Google to submit the following complaint:

We believe our copyrighted works have been illegally copied and made available for free download at the web sites listed below

The following URL was one of hundreds of URLS (mostly torrent sites) found with the Google search terms Burge+Pitch+Torrent:

http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/21250

While we try to check every URL to make sure it either contains torrents, or is a torrent file sharing site (not the case with this site), it was included with our complaint inadvertently.

Keith says he then had a phone call with Boucherle where they discussed things like takedown notices and using the DMCA to protect your copyright, and how it can blow up in the aggressor's face if used incorrectly:

I subsequently had a phone conversation with Gary and he was quite contrite about his actions—although he did try to claim that the mere mention of torrents in an online discussion might be justification for a take down (a completely indefensible attitude).

The more I talked to him, the more I realised that he simply had no idea about the DMCA. He was completely oblivious to the potential consequences of his actions were he to lose a counter-claim in court.

Gary Bourcherle abused a piece of extremely poor legislation in a scattergun approach without even understanding what he was doing.

About that counter-claim example: Diebold was found to have violated section 512(f) of the DMCA, and ordered to pay $125,000 in damages and fees—which is something you may want to point out to anyone who misuses the DMCA against your own online content in the future.

"Burge Pitch Torrent " [Adactio]

RELATED
"How To Protect Yourself From Takedown Notices"
(Meerkat illustrations of how to reject a hug: Valerie Everett)

Morning Deals [Sales]

Chris Walters — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:06:38 EST

Automobiles

Buy.com: [Tire Gauge] Accutire Mechanical Tire Gauge w/ Backlight & Set-point $11 + free shipping

Clothing

American Eagle Outfitters: [Apparel] American Eagle Outfitters Coupon Code 15% off Sitewide w/ PayPal
Banana Republic: [Apparel] New Banana Republic Coupon Code 25% off $100+
Puma : [First Class Running Suits] 30% Off Entire Online Purchase or 20% Off In-Store Purchase w/ Coupon FANDF0911 + Printable

Computers and Electronics

Epson Store: [Printers] Epson Store Coupon Code $5-$50 off (Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One Printer w/ Wifi, Duplex $119.99)
OneCall: [HDTVs] Get a Free TiVo HD XL DVR with select Samsung HDTVs
Amazon: [Digital Camera] Kodak EasyShare V1073 10MP Camera $120 + free shipping

Buy.com : [Monitor] Compaq 20'' Widescreen LCD Monitor (Refurbished) for $109.99 w/ Free Shipping
Newegg : [Headset] LG Bluetooth Headset for $13.99 w/ Free Shipping
Amazon : [Digital Camera] Kodak EasyShare 10MP Digital Camera + 55 Free Prints From Shutterfly for $69.99 w/ Free Shipping

Entertainment

Old Navy: [Video Games] Free LEGO Rock Band video game with $20 purchase while supplies last, November 27th only (Black Friday)
Amazon : [Magazine] National Geographic Magazine 1-Year Subscription for $10
Amazon : [Game] The Beatles Rock Band Value Edition for $99.99 w/ Free Shipping

Amazon : [TV Series] The Greatest American Hero - The Complete Series w/ Bonus Cape + Instruction Manual for $65.99 w/ Free Shipping
Walmart: [DVDs] DVD preorders at Walmart for $10 + free shipping: Star Trek, Harry Potter, more

Food

Silk : [Grocery] 75 Cents Off Silk Soymilk w/ Coupon - Printable
The Cheesecake Factory : [Food] $5 Off 10" Cheesecake w/ Coupon CAKE5

Office Supplies

OfficeDepot: [Office Supplies] 1,000 Full-Color Custom Business Cards for $3 + free shipping

Toys

Walmart: [Toys] LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table (blue or pink) $19

Travel

Travelocity: [Airfare] United Airlines round-trip flights from $103 via Travelocity
Travelocity: [Vacations] Travelocity deals: Virgin America 1-way flights from $49, more

Company Sued For Selling Beatles MP3s Says They're Original Works, So It's Okay [We All Live In A Yellow Boat]

Chris Walters — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:33:02 EST

Since the Beatles are notorious for refusing to release their music online, the mere fact that BlueBeat.com was selling them was kind of strange, which probably explains why EMI just sued them for copyright infringement. But BlueBeat has come up with a perfectly reasonable explanation. The songs aren't really Beatles songs, you see, but "psycho-acoustic simulations" and therefore original works.

According to Macworld,

BlueBeat's lawyers claim that the Website is "entirely lawful and does not constitute piracy" and that the plaintiffs are not likely to succeed. Also, the plaintiffs are well aware that the defendants "developed a series of entirely new and original sounds that it allows the general public to purchase" and that "copyright protection does not extend to the independant fixation of sounds other than those contained in their copyrighted recordings."

Macworld points out that even if this were a sane argument that was remotely believable, BlueBeat sells their so-called knockoff Beatles tracks as real Beatles tracks, complete with "album title, track titles, record label, and release date." I just hope BlueBeat presents some sort of online demo of what "psycho-acoustic simulation" entails, so I can duplicate it at home and create my own music store.

Update, Friday Nov 6th: The judge has ordered Bluebeat to stop selling the Beatles tracks at once. (Thanks to sakanagai!)

"BlueBeat says Beatles songs are its own creations" [Macworld]

Toyota Says It's Not Hiding Anything In Runaway Cars Investigation [Safety]

Chris Walters — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:54:33 EST

One of Toyota's execs said today that the company isn't covering up information about its suddenly accelerating cars, but the Department of Transportation doesn't seem to agree.

From ABC News:

The Toyota denial comes after U.S. highway safety officials rebuked the company for falsely claiming government inspectors had found "no defects exist" in the suspect cars other than loose floor mats.

[...]

"This matter is not closed," said a statement issued by the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). "Removal of the floor mats is simply an interim measure, not a remedy of the underlying defect in the vehicles."

The article points out that some of the 2,000 complaints in the U.S. over suddenly accelerating Toyotas involved cars that didn't have the recalled mats, or that didn't have floor mats at all, which seems to hint that there could be something else behind the problem. But so far, federal inspectors haven't been able to identify another cause, either.

ABC News has put together a collection of articles about the runaway cars, including interviews with drivers who were involved in sudden acceleration crashes, and advice (some of it from our own Consumer Reports) on what to do if you find yourself in a similar situation. For instance, as they describe in-depth on their blog and with video, don't pump the brakes!

"Toyota Executive Denies "Cover Up" In Probe of Runaway Cars" [ABC News]
Toyota recall and investigation is not over, yet [CR Cars Blog]

PerfectPitch Uses DMCA To Get Product Mentions Removed From Google [Copyfraud]

Chris Walters — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:55:43 EST

Update: The owner of the website PerfectPitch.com has apologized for the takedown notice, and says it was an accident on his end. Here's his email.

[Original post follows:]
Here's another example of a company misusing the law to try to hide or remove third-party commentary about its services. This time it's a website called PerfectPitch.com, and its owner Gary Boucherle of American Educational Music, Inc. apparently doesn't like it when anyone talks about the product without his permission.

Jeremy Keith of the blog Adactio says he received a notice from Google two days ago that the search engine was removing all links to a post where PerfectPitch was mentioned by a commenter. The reason Google provided: "Somone has filed a DMCA complaint against your site."

Keith posted the offending comment from the original thread on his other blog, The Session, which I'll repost below:

I think that is referring to www.PerfectPitch.com. I'm not saying anything about such commercially-oriented courses because I don't know them, but I think we'd all be wise to bear in mind the general comments voiced in the first two posts on this thread.

Because that comment is so innocuous, Keith is wondering if Boucherle wanted it gone because he thought it was criticism, or if really he's just trying to force his own site to the top of the Google search results page by abusing the DMCA to get other results kicked off. Either way, it's not a legitimate use of the DMCA. Or as Keith puts it:

The Session has pretty good Google juice. The markup is pretty lean, the content is semantically structured and there's plenty of inbound links. Could it be that the owner of perfectpitch.com sent a DMCA complaint to Google simply because another site was getting higher rankings for the phrase "perfect pitch"? If so, then that's a whole new level of SEO snake-oilery.

Blog post on 'PerfectPitch' Takedown Notice [Adactio via Techdirt]
"Perfect Pitch" [The Session]

Michigan Utility Company Must Refund $39 Million To Overcharged Customers [Rate Decreases]

Chris Walters — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:31:54 EST

In Michigan, utilities can increase rates without first getting approval, but that means the Michigan Public Service Commission can later reduce them. That's what happened on Monday, when the Commission ordered Consumers Energy to refund about $39.6 million to customers it overcharged since last May.

The $39.6 million should be returned to customers by January of next year. The Commission also ordered the energy company to start refunding about $73 million from the sale of its Palisades Nuclear Plant, but there's no timetable on that.

"Consumers must refund about $39M to customers" [Jackson-Citizen Patriot]
(Photo: tsmall)

Expedia Drops Fee For Booking By Phone [Online Booking]

Chris Walters — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:43:17 EST

This morning, travel service Expedia announced it will abandon its book by phone fee, which it first implemented last May. This makes it the only major online travel agency to not ding customers with a fee for booking flights over the phone, notes consumer travel advocate Christopher Elliott.

Elliott spoke with an Expedia spokesman to find out why the company dropped the fee so soon, and whether this hints at a brewing price war among Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz.

This is not a competitive response to Travelocity's recent announcement. It's a move to strengthen our leadership in the entire industry. We don't feel that we are engaged in a continuing fee battle with other OTAs. On the contrary, we feel like we are setting the market rates – or lack thereof – and it's up to our competitors to react.

[...]

we'd like to point out that Expedia was already charging a smaller fee than our competitors, so the impact to us isn't nearly as significant as it would be to other OTAs. We believe that if we remove this fee, travelers will reward us with their loyalty.

Will Travelocity and Orbitz respond in kind? There's no word yet, maybe because only last week they were busy out-doing each other on sunny sounding "price guarantees" that seem designed more to generate good PR than to protect customers.

"Fee Wars II? Expedia plans to remove book-by-phone charges" [Elliott.org]

Morning Deals [Sales]

Chris Walters — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:02:34 EST

Bags and Luggage

Sears: [Travel] American Tourister 7PC Luggage Set $64.99 Free Shipping
REI Outlet: [Messenger] Save $80 off Timbuk2 Classic Covert Messenger

Clothing

Nordstrom: [Apparel] Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale + Free Shipping on Orders $100+
Under Armour: [Apparel] Under Armour Coupon Code up to 50% off Outlet + Free Shipping $75+
Chadwicks : [Apparel] 40% Off Any One Item w/ Coupon CHDEAL40

Computers and Electronics

J&R Music: [Compact Audio] Sennheiser CX300 Earbud Headphones $20 Shipped
Buy.com: [DVD+ Player] Philips 1080p HD Upscaling DVD Player $40 Shipped
Newegg: [LCD Frame] Kodak P725 7-inch High Resolution LCD Photo Frame $69 Shipped

TigerDirect: [Home Theater] Onkyo TX-SR607 7.2ch 90W/ch Home Theater Receiver (6 HDMI, HDMI Upconversion) $349.97 Free Shipping
BestBuy: [Laptop] Toshiba Satellite L455-S5975 Celeron 2.2 GHz 2GB, 250 GB Win 7 for $329.99 + $14.99 Shipping

Entertainment

Walmart: [Store Events] Upcoming at Walmart: Xbox 360 Arcade w/ $100 GC for $199, 16" Win 7 Laptop $298, more
Musician's Friend: [Music] Rogue Starter Acoustic Guitar only $35
eBay: [Video Game] DJ Hero Game w/ Turntable Controller Bundle (Wii) $89 Free Shipping

Toys

Hand Held Items: [Toys] SlingShot Flying Animals (Monkey, Chicken, Pig, Cow, Frog) $1.99 ($2.85 Shipping)
Target: [Toys & Hobbies] Clearance toys at Target: 50% to 75% off + extra 10% off, deals from $2 + $5 s&h

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Payless Shoesource For Text Message Spamming [Lawsuits]

Chris Walters — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:48:06 EST

Peter, who wrote in last month to complain about being text-spammed by Payless Shoesource on his phone, wasn't the only customer they annoyed. A man in California has filed a class action lawsuit against the shoe company and Voice & Mobile Broadcast Corporation, which is the marketing company it hired to run the campaign.

The plaintiff, Mohammad Kazemi, says he never authorized Payless to contact him via text message, but that at least 3 times between September 2008 and 2009 he received promotions from them on his phone.

From the SF Weekly:

Not only is this a pain in the ass, says Kazemi, a San Jose resident, but it's costing people money. Also, it forced Kazemi to read junk like this (repeatedly):

Psst ... Payless Insider, Ur the 1st to know BOGO starts today, 9/29! bUY 1get 1/2 off EVERYTHING 866 746 5923 or END3 to Opt-Out Txt fees apply Not @ Shopko

Complaint for damages and injunctive relief (pdf) [Courthouse News via SF Weekly] (Thanks to Sarah!)

United Says No Track Suits In First Class [Dress Codes]

Chris Walters — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:13:27 EST

How casual is too casual for an airplane's first class section? If you paid for first class, and a bald guy in a Puma running outfit sat down across the aisle from you, would you honestly feel short-changed? United seems to think it's inappropriate.

MyFox ~~Atlanta~~ DC says that Best Buy vice president Armando Alavarez's first class upgrade was revoked last week, after the gate agent saw he was wearing a Puma running outfit. He said he frequently checks his suits and wears more comfortable clothes for the flight. You can see by the photo or the video clip below that his Puma running outfit was in excellent shape.

For those who don't want to watch the video (are you sure? you'll miss Alvarez talking about his Puma running outfit!), MyFox DC says Alvarez wrote a letter to United to complain about having his upgrade revoked, but he hasn't heard back from them. The network says it contacted their customer service department three times but never heard back, either. I'm pretty sure you have to write a hit YouTube song to get United's attention these days, Alvarez; you might want to see if Best Buy can hold a United Hates Puma Running Suits sale or something.

"Man Denied First Class Seat on United" [MyFox Atlanta] (Thanks to Diasdiem!)

Quicken Online To Be Shut Down Next Year, Accounts Merged With Mint [Personal Finance]

Chris Walters — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:00:04 EST

When news broke back in September that Intuit, the company behind Quicken, was buying personal finance website Mint, everyone wondered how the two services would co-exist. The worst case scenario was that Mint would be absorbed somehow into Intuit's in-house competitor, Quicken Online. Thankfully, it looks like the opposite will happen.

Mint founder Aaron Patzer, who is now the new vice president and general manager of Intuit's Personal Finance Group, told TechCrunch, "Over the next 6 to 9 months we will end-of-life Quicken Online and their customer's data will be migrated over to Mint." Patzer also talked a little about what Mint might look like in the future, as Intuit weaves products like Turbo Tax into the service:

Patzer has other ideas for connecting Mint and TurboTax as well: "What I want to do is to take your stock transactions and everything you've tagged in Mint as a medical expense or business expense and push that over to see if you should itemize deductions. If we pull in your 1099s and deductions, we have done half your taxes for you. We could reduce the time it takes you to do your taxes to 20 minutes or less."

"Mint's Aaron Patzer: "We Will End-Of-Life Quicken Online" In Six to Nine Months" [TechCrunch]

Walmart Wants You To Buy All Your Turkey And TV From Them This Year [Price Wars]

Chris Walters — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:42:29 EST

Walmart is ramping up the price war on another front. Instead of hardcovers, this time the retailer is cutting prices on turkey and flat-panel TVs, reports Bloomberg.

Will this force Best Buy and Amazon, among others, to lower their TV prices? If you've been saving up for a new TV, this might be a fun season to comparison shop.

"This is the proven and effective method they deploy using major categories to drive loyalty and to take marginal sales away from the competition," Richard Hastings, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based consumer strategist for Global Hunter Securities LLC, said in an e-mail. The strategy may force others to lower prices, he said.

"Walmart Cuts Turkey, Television Prices to Grab Holiday Sales" [Bloomberg]
(Photo: laurgasms)