Not all abuse is physical. One tough-to-detect method of control and domination is financial manipulation, and victims may not always be aware they’re being exploited. [More]
Toshiba Considers Using Your Laptop Mouse 'Abuse'
By August 24, 2011
Even though his Toshiba laptop is less than a year old, Toshiba won’t repair the touchpad of Justin’s computer. He doesn’t think that he’s done anything out of the ordinary with the machine, but Toshiba insists that the button won’t work because of “accident, misuse, abuse, neglect, improper installation, or improper maintenance.” They’re happy to sell him an extended warranty that will cover the repair, though. [More]
What To Do When A Company Pulls Your Fair Use Video From YouTube
By April 26, 2010
Last week Constantin Films got YouTube to pull almost all the Angry Hitler parody clips by using the website’s Content ID tracking system. The process is automatic, and YouTube immediately takes down a video once it’s been tagged. However, that also means you can use this system in reverse to get your clips back up, at least for as long as you’re in dispute with the copyright holder. Whether you do this or not will depend on how willing you are to risk a potential lawsuit later on. [More]
"The Woman Next To Me At Eat'n Park Kept Kicking An Old Lady!"
By March 22, 2010
What should you do when you witness someone abusing someone else, but you’re in a retail establishment and the management won’t help you? While eating at an Eat’n Park last week, Myriad claims she watched a young woman repeatedly kick the elderly lady sitting with her, and when Myriad tried to intervene the girl threatened to punch Myriad in the face. Myriad says the manager refused to cooperate, only repeating that he knew the girl and that she was “very nice.” [More]
Hungry McDonald's Customer Throws Mop Water At Cashiers
By January 6, 2010
A bucket of dirty mop water is nobody’s friend, which is exactly why you shouldn’t leave it out where customers can reach it. Because eventually someone will get angry over an order and feel a need to throw something, and oh look, mop water. [More]
Sprint Served Customer GPS Data To Cops Over 8 Million Times
By December 3, 2009
An Indiana University grad student has made public an audio recording of a Sprint employee who describes how the company has given away customer GPS location data to cops over 8 million times in less than a year. Ars technica reports that “law enforcement [officers] could log into a special Sprint Web portal and, without ever having to demonstrate probable cause to a judge, gain access to geolocation logs detailing where they’ve been and where they are.” Update: Sprint says the 8 million figure refers to individual pings of GPS data, and that the number of individuals involved is in the thousands. [More]
Walmart Goes Crazy On Couple Suspected Of Shoplifting
By November 6, 2009
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.
PerfectPitch Owner Apologizes For DMCA Notice, Explains What Happened
By November 6, 2009
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.
PerfectPitch Uses DMCA To Get Product Mentions Removed From Google
By November 5, 2009
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.
Banks Cling To Overdraft Fees Because They Need Them To Survive
By September 10, 2009
Banks now make more on debit card overdraft fees than credit card penalties—they’ll rake in about $27 billion in 2009 alone, according to the New York Times. They obviously have zero incentive to curb the practice. In fact, one economist told the paper that “45 percent of the nation’s banks and credit unions collect more from overdraft services than they make in profits.”
Mom Drags Kid Through Verizon Store On Leash
By August 3, 2009
Dear kid of abusive mom: yes, this is what it feels like for us when we deal with cell phone retailers, too. At least your mom was arrested. Video below.
Debt Collectors Will Stop Calling If You Sue Them
By May 30, 2009
“Litigant Alert” from WebRecon promises to help debt collection companies ferret out “overly-litigious debtors” with “a history of suing collection agencies.” It’s basically a Do Not Call list of troublemakers who had the nerve to fight aggressive collection practices with the law. Debt collectors are apparently willing to pay $1,595 to figure out who they should leave alone.
Tennessee Pushes Back Against Late Fees By Credit Card Companies
By April 8, 2009
Although it has yet to pass into law, the Tennessee Senate Commerce Committee has approved a bill that requires creditors to count the postmark date of a payment as the payment date, not the day they say they receive it.
IRS Fires Private Debt Collectors, Plans To Pursue Deadbeats On Its Own
By March 7, 2009
The IRS has ended a controversial program that allowed private debt collectors to pursue individual debts owed to the government. The private debt collectors, described as “bounty hunters who collect taxes from vulnerable people for profit,” were allowed to keep 25% of any collected debts for themselves. Before we celebrate, let’s all take a moment to join Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa in thinking about those poor private debt collectors who no longer have jobs harassing and abusing people…
Walmart Employee Hates New Trash Cans, Will Throw Yours If You Set It Near Him
By October 17, 2008
Ricky had a bizarre run-in with “Larry” at his local Walmart, where he was shopping recently with his mother, who needed a new trash can. While Ricky browsed the automotive accessories counter, his mom did mom things in the silk flower department, and she left her new trash can next to Ricky’s leg while she wandered off. It turns out, you do not leave trash cans anywhere in Larry’s line of sight if you know what’s good for you.
Delta Makes Woman With Muscular Dystrophy Crawl Off Plane
By July 29, 2008
On July 20th, Julianna’s (delayed) Delta flight landed in Atlanta at 7:30pm, with a connecting flight scheduled for 8:05pm. Julianna, who has muscular dystrophy, missed the connecting flight because nobody came with a wheelchair until 8:05—the same time the connecting flight took off. To make matters worse, the plane crew told Julianna she might make the flight anyway if she stopped waiting for help and got off the plane right now, so she crawled down the stairs on her own. When the wheelchair came she was “wheeled into a back room and advised” that her plane had taken off. But that was just the first half of her ordeal, and the next eight hours only got worse.
Wal-Mart & Local Police Detain Man, Threaten Arrest Over 4 Bags Of Sugar
By June 14, 2008
This guy was trying to make strawberry jam this morning, and he had to go buy 4 bags of sugar. The cashier threw away the original receipt but put the sugar in a couple of Wal-Mart shopping bags, so Ben left the store thinking everything was, you know, normal for a Saturday morning. Then he was stopped by a security guard, a store manager, and an off-duty police officer, all of whom went batshit crazy on Ben over his 4 bags of sugar and lack of receipt. Before it was over one of the shopping bags was ripped open, a bag of sugar lay broken open on the parking lot, the guard had threatened to kick Ben’s ass, and the police officer said, “you’d better not be lying to me.” Ben was marched back into the store so they could verify with his cashier that he wasn’t a sugar thief. Welcome to Wal-Mart, the police-state superstore where prices are low and civil rights don’t exist.
Meet The Coupon-Throwing Papa John's Owner From Hell
By June 8, 2008
Papa John’s wouldn’t let reader Adi redeem her coupon for a $9.99 extra-large pizza online, so she trekked over to the nearest store in Weymouth, Massachusetts, where she met the franchise owner from hell. The owner insisted that the coupon didn’t apply to online orders, so Adi asked to cancel her online order and re-order her pizza in person to get the discount. This prompted the owner to angrily throw the coupon at Adi, before throwing away her ready-made pizza. And was just the start of the fun…
