The Consumerist: Shoppers Bite Back

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
1,855 views, 17 comments

Latest by GreatWhiteNorth: in another announcement... BOA, tired of vandals damaging vacant properties recovered by the bank, has instituted a new security protocol to 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
7,200 views, 52 comments

Latest by Triborough: The California license plate 6295791 would not be on a commercial vehicle. 1A23456 would be the proper format for a 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
6,143 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
5,083 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
6,002 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
7,042 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
3,435 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 »

Carters tagless

Carter's Tagless Baby Clothes Causing Rashes?

Parents are complaining online that Carter's line of "tagless" baby clothes could be responsible for causing rashes and sores on babies. Instead of a traditional tag on the inside back of the shirt, a "tagless" has a solid silk-screen flat label. Carter's is said to be aware of the problem and that it's limited to their Fall 2007 line of tagless infant clothing. One blogger described the effect the shirt had on her daughter, writing, "Her back will turn very red and start oozing right where the tag (stamp) is in the back, the rash will appear as the exact size and shape of the stamp. The redness will then spread out from there." Googling "carters tagless" reveals a number of parents complaining about the same issue. I smell class action lawsuit.

5:31 PM on Fri Sep 5 2008
By Ben Popken
6,978 views, 41 comments

Latest by Scoop11: Going online, I'm reading that it's not just Carter's. Gerber and Circo also have been named as culprits when it more »

MythBusters

Rogue Sandwich Delivery Guy Wants To Tell World Not To Buy Chips

This little email from an apoplectic-sounding Jimmy John's delivery guy just popped into our inbox and we felt the need to share it with you, our readers. The moral? Don't buy overpriced chips. More »

4:32 PM on Fri Sep 5 2008
By Meg Marco
19,449 views, 62 comments

Followups

PedEgg Works

Turns out PedEgg, a home foot buffer, didn't need to allegedly hire a "horror" makeup artist to increase the contrast in the infomercial's before and after shots. In the September issue, Consumer Reports says the results from their 29 testers indicated the product worked quite well.

4:05 PM on Fri Sep 5 2008
By Ben Popken
9,691 views, 61 comments

Latest by Keter: $1 heavy duty 100 grit extra-wide emery board (the kind that has a plastic core and is washable) takes care more »

Tropicana

Tropicana: Our 100% Juice Could Contain "Anything From Nature," Even Dairy

It's apparently a whole lot of fun to try to get a straight answer out of Tropicana as to what "natural flavors" are in their 100% juice. More »

3:59 PM on Fri Sep 5 2008
By Meg Marco
35,976 views, 63 comments

phone numbers

Updated: Reach HSBC Executive Customer Service

If regular HSBC customer service are being bitches (as they are wont to do) and you're not making any headway, try calling 877-472-2005 which is the number to reach HSBC executive customer service. Also, a number for card services is 831-755-6699.

(Photo: Maulleigh)

3:54 PM on Fri Sep 5 2008
By Ben Popken
2,785 views, 13 comments

Latest by hektik: I could have used this number a few years ago. I have a business account with HSBC (I'm closing it shortly) more »

Safeway

Safeway IDs Everyone In Your Party When You Buy Beer

Daniel went to his local Safeway with his brother to buy some beer. Daniel had his ID, but his brother didn't—but that's okay, because Daniel was the one buying the beer. The cashier, however, felt otherwise, and wouldn't complete the transaction without carding both of them. The store manager told him "the policy is, at the discretion of the clerk, to check the ID of every person present." More »

3:50 PM on Fri Sep 5 2008
By Chris Walters
15,448 views, 243 comments

Latest by silvershoes: This is regular practice at most stores where I live (Austin). Young-looking people know to bring ID or stay outside, more »

Recalls

Pricey Stove Recalled For Shooting Flames At Your Face

Here's something you might want to get fixed. Wolf Appliance Inc., of Madison, Wis. is recalling 24,000 of their gas ranges because the 18" oven has a tendency to shoot flames when the door is opened. This has resulted in 15 minor burns. More »

1:47 PM on Fri Sep 5 2008
By Meg Marco
3,955 views, 30 comments

Flickr

Friday Consumerist Flickr Pool Finds

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

Title: "[Day 5] Making It Up"
By: Cavale

More »

1:42 PM on Fri Sep 5 2008
By Ben Popken
6,866 views, 29 comments

Latest by battra92: No hot girls in retro clothes? Epic Fail! J/K Modestly cute nude girl will do. I really don't get the Ikea cult. more »

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