It’s nice that Big Lots takes toy recalls seriously: we agree that alerting people to dangerous products so they can get pulled off shelves as soon as possible is a noble undertaking. It’s also very well and good that they promote their low prices as “Unbelievable!” However, when you combine the two, that’s when things get a little confusing. [More]
Big Lots Finds Kids’ Safety Unbelievably Important
By May 21, 2013
Maintenance Manager Needs To Prioritize Tasks In Order Of How Life-Threatening They Are
By May 16, 2013
Listen, we’ve all wanted our tubs caulked or a drawer fixed here and there in an apartment, but when you really need something, like your life depends on it? Where’s apartment maintenance then, huh? Just leaving behind the most important thing on the checklist to possibly crawl out from the attic and terrify you to death while you’re tucked in bed late at night. [More]
Some Jiffy Lubes Still Charging Customers For Unnecessary And Undone Repairs
By May 14, 2013
For years, Jiffy Lube employees around the country have repeatedly been accused — and sometimes caught — charging for repairs that weren’t necessary or weren’t even performed. The company has promised change, but that memo didn’t seem to reach everyone. [More]
UPS Not Experimenting With Exciting New Teleportation Service
By May 8, 2013
Did you know that UPS is now able to teleport packages hundreds of miles in only a few minutes? It’s true. Well, that, or something went slightly wrong with the timestamps on reader Kain’s package. [More]
Squatter Takes Over $2.5 Million Bank-Owned Home, Bank Of America Doesn’t Seem To Care
By January 24, 2013
If you’re going to squat, you might as well squat like a rich dude. Just ask the man in Florida who has been enjoying the mortgage-free life in a $2.5 million, 7,200 sq-ft house, all while the owner — Bank of America — appears to be doing nothing to get him out. [More]
Dear Redbox Users, Please Stop Using Handicap Parking Spaces
By January 21, 2013
We understand the temptation — you’re just going to pull up for a minute or two to pick up or return a movie from the Redbox kiosk and the handicap parking spots are right there. It would be so much easier to pull into that spot than find one elsewhere and trek back. [More]
Google Says Street View Car Didn’t Hit That Donkey Lying In The Road, It’s Just Sleeping
By January 16, 2013
So there’s this donkey, on a road in Botswana, right? And like, it seemed as if he was just going along on his little donkey way when along comes Google’s Street View car and what’s this? Suddenly he’s lying on the ground. That is the sequence of events some are citing while accusing Google’s car of hitting — and gulp, maybe killing — the poor fella. But Google says its own set of pictures shows that’s not the case at all. [More]
FTC To POM Wonderful: But Seriously, Stop Claiming Your Products Make People Healthier
By January 16, 2013
POM Wonderful received another smackdown from the Federal Trade Commission today, when the commission agreed with an internal FTC judge who previously said the company was making deceptive advertising claims by telling consumers its products would make them healthier. And to top it all off, it added 17 more examples of advertising in addition to 19 previous ads that were deemed to be less than truthy. [More]
Sprint Glitch Repeatedly Directs Police & Angry Customers To Home Of Innocent Retiree
By January 14, 2013
You know how annoying it is when you keep getting calls or mail for someone that isn’t you? That’s nothing compared to the Las Vegas man who has spent two years trying to convince police and angry Sprint customers that he does not have their lost phone. [More]
Yellow Pages Works Hard To Make Sure Non-Customer Stays Happy Non-Customer
By January 8, 2013
Maurice isn’t an anti-phone book zealot, but he doesn’t need one, either. A few months ago, an unwanted one showed up on his porch. Instead of saving it for a power or Internet service outage or sticking it under a wobbly table leg, he decided to contact the company that delivered it and let them know that they didn’t need to waste any more trees or time delivering phone books to him. The message didn’t quite take. Unwanted phone books are pretty low on his list of problems in life, but that’s an easy problem to solve. Right? [More]
DOT Issued Record-Setting Number Of Violations To Airlines In 2012
By January 2, 2013
Up until the very end of 2012, it looked like the Dept. of Transportation was only going to tie the record it set in 2011 for the number of fines handed out to airlines. But a pair of Dec. 31 violations pushed 2012 into a spot on top of the charts all on its own. [More]
The Doctor Is In: The Real Life Implications Of The Burglars’ Injuries in ‘Home Alone’
By December 24, 2012
There’s a certain suspension of disbelief one needs in order to enjoy almost any Hollywood movie, and perhaps none more so than the holiday classic Home Alone. The plot in a nutshell: Kevin McCallister (Macauley Culkin) gets left behind when his family leaves town for Christmas, enjoys himself to the fullest and then has to protect the house from burglars Harry and Marv played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. To do so, he employs a bunch of DIY torture devices and seems to inflict a lot of pain on the Wet Bandits. But come on, how could those guys have handled the pain from even one of those injuries? [More]
Oh, Sweet: Canadian Police Arrest 3 In $20M Maple Syrup Heist, 5 Others Still At Large
By December 18, 2012
You think you can pilfer $20 million worth of the global strategic maple syrup reserve and just get away with it, you’ve got another think coming. There are a lot of pancakes and waffles that are well served by the sweet stuff and Canadian police are taking the job of rounding up those responsible for the heist very seriously. They just made three arrests in the case, and are looking for five others allegedly involved. [More]
Regulators Ask Mortgage Marketers To Please Cut Down On The Lying In Their Ads
By November 19, 2012
The 2011 Mortgage Acts and Practices Advertising Rule prohibit mortgage lenders and brokers from making misleading claims about government affiliation, interest rates, fees, costs, associated payments, and the amount of cash or credit available to the consumer. Shockingly, some folks just didn’t listen. [More]
Exec Who Looked Other Way As Countrywide Sold Off Bad Mortgages Is Now Running Chase’s Foreclosure Review Dept.
By November 9, 2012
The federal government recently filed a lawsuit over a Countrywide scheme dubbed “The Hustle” that removed impediments to a mortgage approval so the company could sell as many mortgages as possible to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Now comes news that a Countrywide exec who ignored warnings about the Hustle is currently running Chase’s foreclosure review initiative. [More]
Carnival Offers 2-Day Ride To Nowhere Instead Of Canceled 7-Day Caribbean Cruise
By October 29, 2012
Hurricane Sandy is messing with plenty of travel plans this week, including a seven-day Carnival cruise that was supposed to sail down to the Caribbean. The cruise company announced it would of course be canceling that boat trip, because no one wants to be on a large boat in the middle of a hurricane, and is instead offering a two-day trip to nowhere up the Chesapeake for $99. [More]
Scourge Of Drunken Toddlers In Chain Restaurants Spreads To The UK
By October 12, 2012
Here at the Consumerist, we’ve been at the forefront of reporting on incidents where chain restaurant personnel accidentally servem alcoholic beverages to very small children. We’re sad to note that the phenomenon has crossed the Atlantic. A mother in Wales was out for lunch to celebrate her son’s second birthday when she noticed that her toddler was making faces while drinking his juice. She took a sip herself, and found that the child had been drinking whiskey instead of his usual lime juice and water. A double, it seemed. They took him to the hospital for observation. [More]
Roving Bands Of Pushy Comcast Workers Freaking Out Seattle Residents
By October 8, 2012
I don’t think I’m going out on a limb here to say Cable Guy was not a good movie. And having a Jim Carrey-esque worker show up to your home in real life and get all up in your face and pushy? That’s downright terrifying. Some Seattle residents are claiming Comcast contract workers are going too far and totally freaking out potential customers with their overly aggressive ways. [More]
