(Photo: jgodsey)

AirTran? Really? Turns out that the discount carrier once known as ValuJet has turned safety into a priority.

"It has been a great five years for us in which our continual dedication to safety has paid off," says Christopher White, a spokesman for AirTran. "Our 8,500 crew members make safety their No. 1 priority every day.

Meanwhile, United, accused of being the least safe of the major airlines, wasn't impressed with the analysis. "It is difficult for us to comment on these figures because we do not know the methodology behind them," said a United spokesperson.

You can see the Daily Beast's results, here.

One interesting bit of information from the article is that the age of the actual aircraft in which you're flying has less of an impact on safety than how long ago that particular model was designed. In aviation writer CLive Irving's analysis of the research, he noted:

Last December a Continental 737 [designed in the 1950s] taking off from Denver aborted at the last second and, in icy conditions, skidded into a ravine. Thirty eight passengers were injured. The 737's fuselage broke apart behind the wings, a failure typical of a design of that age.

Now look at the Miracle on the Hudson. The Airbus A320 [designed in the 1980s] hit the water at around 160 mph, a considerable impact. The fuselage remained in one piece, everybody got out. I doubt very much that would have been true in the case of a 737. Add to that the ability of the A320's fly-by-wire controls to give Captain Sully Sullenberger a stable attitude on very little backup power and the Airbus technology is proved to be a real life saver.

How Safe Is Your Airline? [The Daily Beast]
What to Know About Airline Safety Records [The Daily Beast]

(Photo: Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie)

Thanks to reader fantomesq, we now know more of what happened.

According to the Associated Press,

Anna Ramirez thought she had dodged foreclosure after a judge stepped in at the last-minute to block her home's sale. So it was a devastating shock when a buyer showed up with police to evict her family.

A clerical error at the court had let the buyer complete the purchase, and she and her family were told to gather their things and leave. She even tried showing the officers a judge's order, but her family was still kicked out.

Ramirez's parents had just completed a purchase of the house to reduce her mortgage payments, but apparently the Clerk's Office hadn't correctly noted the change. Chase told the AP that they did "everything we could to help the homeowner." The Clerk's Office now has the correct information on file.

"My Bad! Woman's House Mistakenly Auctioned by Bank" [NBC Miami] (Thanks to Shawn!)
"Court mix-up leaves Fla. family evicted for a day" [Associated Press] (Thanks to fantomesq!)
(Photo: Dano)

A bit of the analysis:

The National Safety Council (NSC) earlier this month released an estimate described as "conservative" that more than 636,000 crashes, 330,000 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries, and 2,600 deaths are caused a year by a distracted drivers on cell phones.

NHTSA estimates that driver distraction from all sources contributes to 25 percent of all police-reported traffic crashes. If so, then data from this federal agency released this month shows that the NSC figures are indeed conservative.

NHTSA shows 5,811,000 total crashes in 2008-notably down from 2007. (It is important to note that during the first three months of 2009, national vehicle miles declined by about 11.7 billion miles compared to the previous year. That said, deaths per mile are also down.) One quarter of that 2008 figure is 1,452,750-a significant number of crashes potentially impacted by driver distraction.

Just put down the phone, people.

Real cell-phone dangers exposed: Using wireless communication devices while driving [Consumer Reports Cars]
NHTSA withholds government study exposing cell phone driving dangers [Consumer Reports Cars]

(Photo: LaserGuided)

Citigroup analyst David Driscoll cut the stock to "hold" from "buy" due to the explosion, and was quoted as saying that Slim Jim generates $200 million in annual sales and $0.06 a share for ConAgra.

"Slim Jim loyalty is very high," food industry consultant Jim Degan told the New York Post. "If you eat Slim Jims, you aren't going to find brand B or C to be an acceptable substitute."

It's no tragedy, it's true, but it shows how an accident in one factory can affect a major company—and, more importantly, corner stores across the country.

Sudden Shortage of Slim Jims Causes Widespread Panic [Minyanville]

(Photo: spidra)

Police say that after the Verizon tech was finished working on the man's service, he got into his van and began to leave. The homeowner was upset and followed the tech to his vehicle.

The homeowner "continued to express his dissatisfaction and tried to block the technician's van from leaving his driveway," a police spokesperson told the Post.

The technician got inside his van. [The homeowner] Cornelius moved out of the way, and the technician began to drive away, according to police.

That was when Cornelius "reached in through the van window and grabbed the steering wheel," [the police spokesperson] said. Cornelius fell to the ground. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Police are still investigating whether the man's death was caused by the fall or something else.

Verizon called the incident a "tragic accident," and are cooperating with police.

Vienna Man Dies After Bid to Stop Verizon Van [Washington Post] (Thanks, Shera!)
(Photo:dooleymtv)

From the Pottstown Mercury:

"I called Comcast because I wanted the kitchen TV hooked up to cable," she said, describing how the digital TV converter box hadn't worked as planned. "They said no problem, we can do it, no extra charge." Tyson was already a Comcast subscriber before the incident Monday.

"They drilled right into the electrical box," Tyson said in disbelief, looking over at the side of her home where a long black burn mark extended up to the roof from a burnt electrical box and meter.

Luckily, she had a fire extinguisher handy or the damage might have been much worse. As it is, a local Fire Marshall told the paper that the damage was probably about $20,000 — and that Tyson would have to live somewhere else while the repairs are being made.

Comcast says they're taking all of this very seriously:

"Our first priority is the comfort and well-being of our customer and dog. The first thing we did was to offer accommodations while repairs are made to the home.

"We take this matter very seriously," [a Comcast spokesperson] said. "We are going to review the details of the fire with the contractor and local officials as they investigate."

House fire started by cable worker [Pottstown Mercury] (Thanks, Ed!)
(Photo:Tyler Yip)

KING 5 tracked down Blessed Limo and tried to get a ride to the airport, but the driver sped away when he realized he was about to pick up a pack of biased reporters.

I contacted the Department of Licensing and they told me that Blessed Limo's license to operate had expired in late October. And that's why we couldn't believe he sent someone to take us to Sea-Tac.

"Blessed Limo is anything but. It's a roll of the dice at best with those guys," Gary Sharnbroich says.

The owner promised to speak with us last night, but then changed his mind.

The company did take care of the parent's car that was hit.

But he did charge us $55 for the trip we never took to the airport.

Washington's Attorney General recommends running any limo company by both the Department of Licensing and the BBB before finalizing your big plans for the big day.

Limo service blessed with complaints [KING 5 via All Consuming]
(Photo: faster panda kill kill)

We thought there was a risk of cargo holds being unheated or unpressurized, but luckily for the anonymous stowaway Jet Blue pressurizes theirs. It's certainly a better place to hide than the wheel well.

"The flight was free, but the ride was rough" [The Boston Globe] (Thanks to R!)
(Photo: Spring Dew)

You may think a veteran consumer advocate would be able to resolve an incident like this with the company fairly quickly, but Jennifer's experiences over the past two years show just how difficult corporations can be when you try to get them to own up to their responsibility. Just look at how hard they tried to avoid talking to her a few days after the accident:

I left a message with the company's "Risk Management" office, which didn't call me back. The next day, I called again and got someone. They assigned me a "file number" and a "case worker," but told me that the case worker they were assigning me was out on medical leave for an indefinite period. This concerned me, and I protested, but the representative assured that if I needed anything, "anyone who answers the phone will be able to help."

Later, I received a letter from Toys 'R' Us which stated that due to their "inability" to reach me via telephone they were contacting me via letter. My home phone number is a VoIP line, so I logged into my account and checked the incoming calls to my home phone. Not one was identified as coming from Toys 'R' Us or the corporate office's area code.

Being a consumer advocate may not give you an edge in being taken seriously by a corporation, but it does give you the drive you need to publicize a company's negligence. We can't wait to see how this develops in the coming months.

If and when we get to trial, I will be not only the plaintiff but a blogger on the scene. Now that we have a court date set, what's truly ironic is that we have a well-established model for this new project. This is what we do. We gather information, ask probing questions, parse out the answers, publicize our findings, and make an argument for how things should be. We've done it with Avent, Playtex, Sassy, Tupperware, Carter's, and continue to apply pressure to companies to make them change for the better and respond to what they've done. We go to trade shows in part to introduce ourselves to new vendors and discover all of the great new children's products that come online every year. But we also go to put faces to names for people we've dealt with over the previous year, and you know what? When we show up at the booth of someone we've worked with on a contentious consumer issue, they either groan or cheer. And we like it that way.

The difference, of course, is that it's personal now - but so is the BPA Dr. Brown's introduced to Z through her bottles before we knew about endocrine disruptors, or the skin lesions other people's children suffered from onesies with the same likely chemical formulation our daughter wore, but did not react to, when she was an infant. Compassion means seeing harm to everyone, yourself included, in the harm that is done to others, and we've learned that lesson well, both through parenting and through blogging. In fact, I'd say that this merging of personal and social interests is at the heart of advocacy blogging, and we're ready to show Toys 'R' Us how it's done. Low-level chemical toxicity is an evolving field of knowledge, but basic maintenance is a question of simple procedures and the reinvestment of a modest share of corporate profits to ensure customer safety. It isn't the sexiest way to spend your company's money; doing it right means your efforts barely get noticed. But doing it wrong can have deadly consequences.

"How Toys ‘R' Us can change your life" [Z Recommends] (Thanks to Jim!)
(Photo: Carey Tilden; photo of collapsed stall from Z Recommends)

"Officers: Wal-Mart Guard Slammed Woman To Floor" [WYFF4.com] (Thanks to Jeff!)

Reader Mark is a California Tortilla fanatic. He slept outside the Ranson store so he could be their first customer, earning a year of free burritos. Mark kept patronizing California Tortilla even after he fractured his back in a car accident and started wearing a bulky back brace that limited his ability to move or bend. On one visit, Mark accidentally knocked over his tray. When nobody came to help, Mark asked the cashier for assistance and was startled when she replied, "So I guess you want me to clean it up?" She then managed to further embarrass Mark by loudly explaining to other customers, "Sorry I kinda have to clean up when someone makes a mess."

Mark cc'd us on his email to California Tortilla headquarters:

I wanted to convey my recent dining experience at the Ranson California Tortilla.

I have been a long time customer and was extremely excited when the Ranson location opened in the summer of 2007. Heck I was so excited I slept outside the restaurant and managed to be the 1st customer in line on opening day garnering the fame and awe of my friends and co-workers and even random strangers I meet when I tell the tale of that fateful night, how awesome and spunky California Tortilla is and the fact that yes they may shake my hand since I have earned the prestigious honor of free burritos for a year!

Ever since that fateful day I have been religiously eating out at California Tortilla, admittedly spending way too much money (Damn you and your gimmicky marketing ploy!).

In early December of 2007 I was involved in a serious car accident fracturing my back and leaving my incapacitated for several weeks. When I finally regained the ability to move I was placed in a brace that runs from my lower back up to my neck. As you can imagine this not only made life not so fun it also limited my ability to do simple things like bend or move, isn’t it amazing how much these basic activities play a roll in your daily life? Needless to say I neglected my duty to eat at California Tortilla for almost two grueling months.

Upon receiving your monthly Taco Talk© (Issue 150!) (or as I refer to it as your ‘Call to Action! Newsletter!) detailing the plight of the worst sales week of the year I decided it was my duty as a loyal spunky customer to support your American dream of a bigger vacation home or possibly a new sports car, and had to act!

Despite the fact that I was still unable to fully function and had limited mobility I took the family to the Ranson California Tortilla and ordered 1 kids burrito, 1 chili taco bowl, 1 Caribbean Jerk burrito combo and 1 Kids MYO platter at 12:20pm (order #221). I received the food and began to prepare to eat having the usual joyous time picking out a new hot sauce and to get a drink. Upon attempting to sit down in my seat my body brace made contact with my food tray and spilled my entire meal ($19.57 after discount) onto the floor spilling the drink on the floor, throwing the chips and queso around and destroying the meals. After the customary cursing at myself for being so stupid and figured your normally awesome, attentive and friendly employees, several of whom were walking around the restaurant would come to help me out, none did. Several fellow customers offered napkins to help me clean up but obviously making such a mess required more than several napkins, not to mention the fact that I could not bend over to attempt to clean up. Seeing that no one was helping me I approached the take out cashier station and began to explain my predicament to the female behind the counter (white female, 18-22 years old, 5’3”), she yelled ‘what I can’t hear you’. I again told her that spilled my food and drink all over the floor, she rudely sighed and stated ‘so I guess you want me to clean it up?’ A short while later the employee trudged over to began to assist in cleaning up the mess, when another customer attempted to walk by the employee yelled to him ‘sorry I kinda have to clean up when someone makes a mess’. Needless to say if I didn’t feel enough like shit for ruining my family’s meal the comment by the employee and her entire reaction to the event pretty much sealed the deal.

The employee than left the area, neither her nor any other employee approached me and offered any replacement food items or any other type of encouragement. I allowed my children to finish their brownies and drinks and promptly left feeling about as big as an ant, still hungry after paying $20 to throw food on the floor.

I understand that this incident is not your employees fault, but as awesome as employees, managers and store owners have been in the past helping refill drinks and other needs I was a little shocked at the treatment I received. I’ve received friendlier and warmer customer service from the employees at McDonald's when such an event happens there then I received from the employees on this visit. Knowing how you strive to provide an exceptional customer experience I’m sure you share my disgust with the treatment I received on this visit. If this is going to be the type of treatment I receive from your employees I think I’ll take my business elsewhere!

Owner Larry Herman responded with the following:

My name is Larry Herman, Owner of California Tortilla in Ranson, WV. Thanks so much for the post. Two minutes ago was the first I became aware of your story as I was forwarded an email from someone who read that post. It was the first time that I have been made aware of this incident. I was never forwarded the email sent to headquarters. Not an excuse, just an explanation as to why I am commenting now. I want to immediately respond. I apologize for our failure to communicate and accept all responsibility. In spite of the fact that I have many, many wonderful emails explaining great experiences (a few references were made in yours), anything less than the finest service on every visit with every customer is unacceptable. Plain and simple. Even one instance will not be tolerated. I would like to know some more details from you so I can address and deal with the employee and any other staff that were involved as well as ensure that any and all future visits were just like all the others that you have had. I appreciate the comments suggesting possible scenarios. I accept NONE of them! We employ people to do the exact opposite of this and think they all do. Obviously, someone did not this time. Once is over my limit. 100% concern 100% of the time for 100% of the customers is our ONLY acceptable type of behavior. This type of attitude, EVEN ONCE, is something up with which we will not put! There is NEVER a reason to treat anyone with this or any type of disrespect. I will personally make sure that this employee and situation is dealt with swiftly and immediately. Please contact me at the store 304-728-7500 or ranson@californiatortilla.com. YOU and all of our customers are the reason we are here. We appreciate you and will only employ people who treat everyone with the most superior respect, care, and courtesy. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks. Larry

(Photo: Getty)

[YouTube via The Soup Blog]

Ryan says:

Apparently their trucks run on "high speed" only. And guess what? No free cable.

From the Charleston Daily Mail:

The Milton Middle School student jerked her hand out of the produce box to find a stinger in her finger and a tan, 1-inch-long creature still attached, William said.

The girl turned to her father and said something he at first didn't believe.

"She said a scorpion stung her on the finger," William, 36, said. "I didn't believe her at first, but then I saw it run underneath (the box)."

William said he immediately called his wife, Paula, who is a paramedic, and told her what had happened.

Paula drove to the store, picked up Megan and rushed her to nearby Cabell-Huntington Hospital.

William said before his wife had even arrived, Wal-Mart employees were on the scene and helped scoop up the exotic arachnid so it could be taken to the hospital for identification purposes.

William said he also peeled a sticker off a watermelon showing the shipment was from Mexico, which he hoped could help hospital workers treat his daughter.

The sting was harmless, but it caused a stir at the West Virginia hospital where Megan was treated. No one had ever seen a scorpion sting before. "They had to look it up on the Internet because it is so unusual in the area," Megan's father said. "Everybody came down to look at it." Walmart says they'll be checking that watermelon shipment for more scorpions— just in case.

12-year-old W.Va. girl gets scorpion bite in the produce department [Charleston Daily Mail]
(Photo: babasteve )

Paul reached into a clearance bin at Kmart and cut himself on a rotary blade. Blood everywhere, fingertips flying like chunky confetti, you can imagine the scene (oh wait, we just did for you). He went to the customer service desk to ask for help and was greeted with an annoyed store manager who was concerned about two things only: whether or not there was any "contaminated area" to clean up, and getting Paul to fill out some paperwork for insurance purposes. What she wasn't concerned about was helping Paul in any way, even after he explicitly asked for help, as the following exchange makes clear.

Mgr: What happened?

Me: I cut myself on a blade in your clearance aisle that was loose in a bin. This one. Do you have a first aid kit?

Mgr: That stuff is in the pharmacy, and it's closed right now. Did you bleed anywhere?

Me: Uh...maybe? probably?

Mgr: ::calls someone on a walkie or something who then comes up and they spend like 5 minutes trying to figure out where their bloodborne pathogen cleanup kit is::

Me: So. Can I have something? You don't have anything at all?

Mgr: We don't have any way of getting into the pharmacy.

Paul excused himself to clean up in their public bathroom, which we pray to all the gods is more sanitary than the one at the Kmart at Astor Place in NYC. When he came back, the manager made him write down a statement on the back of an unrelated sheet of paper because she couldn't find the right form. At this point, an employee brought him bandages and Neosporin. But shouldn't every store have a basic first aid kit of some sort?

Highlights were

• the woman saying "oh no, don't put that there, we don't want to contaminate more stuff" when I was handling the things I was buying. Which I still bought.
• Not getting a copy of the paperwork I signed, which I realized in hindsight.
• Having them be so blatantly concerned about their procedures and completely, totally not about me.

So yeah. I was pissed, I mean. Things happen. They didn't put the cutter there, most likely it was some minimum wage, dissatisfied person doing reshopping and wanting to get home and just chucking it into the clearance box, or some trashy customer taking it out of the package for some inane reason. But at least give a glimmer of "whoops, sorry about that, our bad". C'mon.

"Man, K-Mart blows." [Vartan] (Thanks to Ben!)

From The Somogyi Perspective:

However, a week ago, I decided to purchase an MP3 album from Amazon's MP3 store. (Rage Against the Machine's "Evil Empire", if you MUST know.) I'd totally forgotten about 2 things, by this point:

1 - That my old, canceled card was linked to my Amazon account.

2 - That I'd turned on "1-Click" purchasing for MP3 albums.

So, I clicked purchase and the album immediately started downloading. It was at this point that I had the thought cross my mind: "Did I update my credit card info?"

Well, no, I didn't. Before the album finished downloading, I was trying to change the method of payment. Turns out, for a digital purchase, you can't do such a thing. So, I waited and wondered was was going to come of this...

An angry letter from Jeff Bezos, perhaps?

Well, I DID receive a letter - via e-mail - telling me that they could not successfully charge my card, and that my purchases would be canceled.

Now, I'd already downloaded the album. So, I opened up my music folder, and - even though I knew there was no way they could do this - expected the music to be missing... or at least unable to play. I was wrong on both accounts. I still had the music, and it still played.

Well, it was never my intent to dupe the giant corporation, nor steal from them, so I wanted to put this right. I'd bought the album - I wanted to pay for it.

So I went to Amazon and found their "contact us" page and used their nifty "Call me back" feature. In a couple of seconds my phone rang. The hiss of static on the line let me know that my case was important enough for someone in India to make a long-distance call to set things right.

I explained the situation, and I was met with silence. After a pause, I resumed my case, pleading, "I didn't MEAN to steal. I just want to pay for what I bought."

Another moment of stunned silence followed. Right now, I could only imagine what the operator on the other end of the line was thinking. (Probably the same thing a cop thinks when a criminal turns himself in... that being, "WHY?!"... Well, either that, or he was scrolling through all of the computer-based answers to find the correct response to "Fraudulent purchasers is calling to make good on payment - which is probably buried way deep in the page, as it's not often used.)

Finally, the operator chuckles a bit and says, "Well, thank you for your honesty... ummm... but digital download transactions are charged at the point of purchase. We CAN'T charge you again. What you can do, is re-purchase the album, if you REALLY want to be charged for the purchase."

Well, that's very kind of them. Don't you think?

Amazon Doesn't Want My Money [The Somogyi Perspective] (Thanks, James!)

U-Haul will appeal, of course, and announced that "the damages awarded are particularly outrageous given the circumstances of this case... The final verdict is another example of abuse of the legal system against corporate citizens in America."

What they failed to mention in their statement was that Waldrip's pelvis was crushed in the accident, "leaving him unable to walk and with no bowel control," and that "six previous renters had similar problems with the truck."

"Jury says U-Haul must pay $84 million to injured man" [Los Angeles Times] (Thanks to Peter!)
(Photo: Roland)

"Taking it seriously" is a phrase companies use over and over again in public statements whenever they have bad PR. Our series of posts on occurrences of the phrase is our attempt to question how seriously companies are really taking these matters if every time they trot out this phrase by rote. To see more examples of how companies are "taking it seriously" click here.

(Photo:Flying Photog)

"Fire at Best Buy" [WGEM]

(Photo: Brett L.)

He said other passengers aboard Flight 896 became agitated over the situation, and the flight attendant, apparently after phone consultation with the cockpit, tried to administer oxygen from a portable tank and mask, but the tank was empty.

Mr. Oliver said two doctors and two nurses who were aboard tried to administer oxygen from a second tank, which was also empty.

Sonja Whitemon, a spokeswoman for American Airlines, would not comment on Mr. Oliver's claims of faulty medical equipment aboard the plane.

Ms. Desir was placed on the floor and a nurse tried to resuscitate her, but to no avail, Mr. Oliver said. "I cannot believe what is happening on the plane," he said, sobbing. "She cannot get up, and nothing on the plane works."

(Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)

"Woman, 44, Dies on Plane With 2 Empty Oxygen Tanks " [New York Times]

(Airplane photo: Adrian Pingstone)

UPDATE: American Airlines disputes this story.

Courtney Prebich, a MWAA spokeswoman, said that the two planes — a U.S. Airways Airbus A319 headed to LaGuardia Airport and a smaller U.S. Airways Express regional jet on the way to Rochester, N.Y. — were in an area at the north side of the airport waiting for their turn at the runway when the collision occurred.

The smaller jet — operated by regional carrier Republic Airways — was carrying 21 passengers in taxi mode toward the runway when it clipped the wing of the larger aircraft and became lodged there, according to Andrea Rader, a spokeswoman for U.S. Airways.

Emergency response vehicles evacuated a total of 63 passengers from the two planes onto buses and took them to the airport terminal, where they were booked onto later flights, officials said. One passenger complaining of back pain after the collision was taken to a nearby hospital for examination, Prebich said.

U.S. Airways Planes Clip Wings at Reagan Airport [Washington Post]
(Photo:Cubbie_n_Vegas)

Helen writes: "I had some friends over for dinner last night, and didn't feel like making dessert from scratch so I bought a package of Dancing Deer brand blondies (they're advertised as organic, all-natural, etc. etc.) to serve instead. So after dinner I opened the package, took out the top three blondie bars, cut them in half to be a bit more normal-sized, and set them out on a plate. Everyone loved theirs, but when I bit into mine — it bit back. I pulled it out of my mouth to find a two-inch-long. quarter-inch cylinder of metal baked right into the damn thing."

Of course I documented it with a digital camera and a ruler, and I kept all the packaging, the uneaten blondies, and the piece of metal itself. Today I called Dancing Deer and spoke to their Quality Assurance person, Anne Zielinski, who — while very nice — at no point apologized (I guess this is a legal thing?), though she took down my personal information and said she would be sending me a mailing kit so I could return to them the metal, the packaging, and the remaining product.

A couple of my less scrupulous friends are urging me to sue Dancing Deer for whatever they've got, but that's probably not going to happen: I like their products, I wasn't hurt, and I don't want to lie and say I was. At the same time, Dancing Deer hasn't offered me *anything* - an apology, money, products, coupons, even a refund - and I'm not sure what I deserve here. What's the protocol for this? What happens next?

Two weeks after speaking with quality assurance staffer Zielinski, Helen has yet to receive the promised return kit or an apology, and two messages left with Dancing Deer have gone unreturned. The blondie-encrusted cylinder is sitting idly in a sealed container. Tell us, dear Consumerists, what, beyond an apology and a few freebies, should Helen reasonably expect?

Update: Helen reports a happy ending: "Actually, I spoke to Anne Zielinski again yesterday (finally got through!) and she was very apologetic about them, in her words, "dropping the ball." She said she would send over the UPS kit right away, along with lots of cookies. I'm feeling much better about everything :)"

GIANT METAL STICK [flickr]

Robert writes:

I've had a horrible consumer problem plaguing me for months now. But thanks to your help, all is well. Here's the short story:

In September 07, my wife's car was hit by another driver making an illegal U-turn. We had to get a rental and the other drivers insurance agreed to pay for it. When we picked up our car the insurance company billed us $856 for the rental bill. They claimed that they had never approved to cover a car rental and had "notes" in their logs to indicated they had explained this to me. Let's just say the other drivers insurance company is not always on YOUR side.

So we finally got fed up waiting for them and emailed consumerist. Theresa, your lovely intern emailed us back with a link for the ultimate consumerist guide to fighting back.

We decided to go the hard ball route and begin filing charges of mail fraud, since they had sent the bill to us via mail. We contacted the local attorneys general office and told them our story. They seemed quite upset about our issue and promised to get right on it. That was Friday. Today I came home to discover the following message on my answering machine:

"Hello, this message is for Jennifer and Robert [redacted]. My name is Mike and I'm with the billing department from [redacted]. I just wanted to let you know that I received your request for reimbursement in the amount of $856. I will process this immediately and will have a check in your mailbox for the full amount by the end of the week. If you have any questions please give me a call at [redacted]."

Oh the power. It feels good. That, and having my $856 back. Thanks consumerist!

-Robert

(Photo:Micah Taylor)

The next day, Amazon followed up with this email:

We're contacting you about the e-mail message we mistakenly sent to you indicating that an item was purchased from your baby registry; this message was sent to you in error. We intended to send you an e-mail regarding your Amazon Wedding Registry, but the text of the message was incorrect. Please watch for a message regarding your Amazon Wedding Registry in the next day or two.

We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

I'm glad that the situation has been cleared up, but only after causing several high-stress and awkward moments of, "Did you fill out a baby registry while you were drunk?" among recently married couples I know.

(Thanks to Julee!)
(Photo: Getty)

All snark aside (okay, not all), it's worth a quick glance just in case there's something here you've managed to miss your whole life. Or just trust us that these seemed like the most important items:

• Use care with "fire salts," which produce colored flames when thrown on wood fires. They contain heavy metals that, if eaten, can cause intense gastrointestinal irritation and vomiting. Keep them away from children.
• Do not burn wrapping paper or plastic items in the fireplace. These materials can ignite suddenly and burn intensely, resulting in a flash fire.
• Never use electric lights on a metallic tree. The tree can become charged with electricity from faulty lights, and a person touching a branch could be electrocuted.
• Burning evergreens in the fireplace can also be hazardous. When dry, greens burn like tinder. Flames can flare out of control, and send sparks flying into a room, or up the chimney to ignite creosote deposits.

"CPSC Warns: Avoid Hazards Related to Holiday Decorating" [CPSC]

RELATED
downloadable PDF version
(Photo: Getty)

Well if you have a child (mine is 4) you know having a portable gaming system can make things like Doctor visits and trips to the DMV a lot less fidgety, so I called up Nintendo with Visa in hand ready to shell out at least 80 or 90 dollars. After being on hold for all of 20 seconds a very nice gentleman answered, and asked why I was calling. I explained that my son's DS would not power on and before I could go any further he asked me to provide me with the serial number and after looking up my information (I register all my Nintendo products online) he told me that they would be sending me a replacement DS and all I had to do was ship the old one back to them, they even provided a shipping label. Already happy beyond belief I was even more surprised when they sent it 2 day UPS air!!!! GO NINTENDO! I have had returned my Xbox 360 7 times for repair and never received treatment anywhere near that nice.

(Photo: mightynine)

UPDATE: Here is the full video of the incident (32 MB, ZIP).

On February 21, 2007, I was taking my 4 year old special needs child to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). It was around 2:50pm and we got to the TriMet bus which was on layover (Line 12). I smelled something coming from my son and considered the possibility that he may have a dirty diaper (thankfully, he's out of them now).

So I asked the bus driver if she would be willing to let me on the bus so I can change his diaper and then toss it away outside the bus so it wasn't on the bus the whole trip up to Portland (about an hour).

She said that it was against TriMet policy to change a diaper on the bus and to use the bathrooms across the street. She was getting ready to leave and I wouldn't have been able to go to the restrooms and be sure to catch the bus (It was the last bus that would've gotten us there while it was still open).

So I mentioned to her that I could change the diaper now (there was no place to change him outside as the area had no bench and had pretty sharp rocks along the side of the road), or I could change it while on the bus.

She got very upset at this and started screaming at me. I took it in stride and figured either I could wait an hour or I could miss the bus and have a screaming child who was promised OMSI and now isn't going. So I picked the hour.

After about 5 mins., the bus pulled forward and the driver announced that I wasn't allowed to board the bus. She told everyone to go around the corner where there is no stop and she will pick them up there.

So as the crown started moving towards that area, I followed along. Now, I'm overweight and I was holding my sons hand (who had started already crying because the bus was leaving for OMSI and we weren't on it). The bus came to a stop in the middle of the street and there were cars on the right hand side. Everyone had about a 3 foot gap to come up to the bus.

I was the last one to get there and as I got to the door, she closed it and started driving away. I started banging on the window to try and get her to stop and she didn't. I was in plain view when I tripped and a second later, my son saw me get run over by a bus and the meat on my left leg get ripped off.

I had 7 surgeries and a month in the hospital (racking up around $100,000 in medical costs). The lawyer that I got said that they are dropping the case because I can be considered to be at least 50% responsible (She didn't want me on the bus and I attempted to get on, so she gets to run over me). TriMet is (of course) denying any wrongdoing (in fact, according to the police report, they told police that the bus didn't run over my leg even though the doctors in ER saw the tire prints on the muscle I had left).

So now.. I essentially have to eat the costs of the medical (and have a deformed leg for the rest of my life) because I wanted to ride the bus and take my kid to OMSI.

I have a video of the accident and you can see that I remain calm during the whole process. The bus driver said that she was scared for her life, but shouldn't she have called the police if she was?

According to Consumer Reports, the second highest cause of accidental death is poisoning, and its the fastest growing, too. After car accidents, you're more likely to accidentally poison yourself than anything else.

Uncool. Also of note: Deaths from accidental falls rank third and choking and drowning are fifth. In some states fire is number 5, so please check your smoke detectors.

Accidents also accounted for more than 24 million nonfatal injuries in 2005. The economic cost of all fatal and nonfatal injuries amounted to $625.5 billion nationally, or $5,500 per household. "Our research shows that when it comes to safety, most Americans are more concerned about being the victim of a random act of violence than they are about being seriously injured in an accident," said [National Safety Council] President and CEO Alan McMillan. "The reality is that while we are at greater risk of experiencing an accidental injury, we have greater control over managing those risks."

Accidental deaths, a silent epidemic [Consumer Reports]
Mr. Yuk [Children's Hospital Of Pittsburgh]

Fire, smoke, raw sewage, and, hey, do you smell gas? Yup, Verizon's here. [NetworkWorld]
(Photo: JGNY)

From SFWeekly:

Early last month my father, a retired Methodist pastor in Red Bluff, three hours north of San Francisco, ordered a cup of coffee for himself at Starbucks. Before Dad picked up the coffee, the barista bumped it off the counter. It spilled on the front of Dad's pants, burning his crotch, then running down his legs and settling into his shoes.

Instead of running to get some ice, the barista grabbed a questionnaire.

"I don't remember all the questions, because I was thinking, 'What am I going to do with this burn?'" Dad recalls. "There was a man in the shop who was a male nurse. He came from where he was sitting and said, 'I've been watching this, and I'm a nurse, and I must say to you, you must not fill out this form. You must take yourself to the bathroom and make sure you get some water on your foot.'"

The nervous employee persisted. "He said, 'I'm almost done.' I said I had to go to the bathroom and cool my foot," Dad recalled.

The resulting burn was so bad that Dad had to go to the emergency room, get the welts on his foot treated, and take pain medication so strong he wasn't supposed to drive for three weeks. His hospital visit and medicine cost around $500.

"I thought they'd call and say, 'We heard you were injured, and we want to know what we can do in response to that, and these are our protocols, and we want to do what we can,'" Dad said.

Such a humane approach would apparently fall outside the guidelines of a secret corporate "program" Starbucks has in place to deal with scalding incidents.

"Do we have a policy in place for responding? Yes, we do. We have a policy in place. I can't really give you details," Darrow said.

She said that scalding incidents do happen at Starbucks stores, but that it's a secret how often.

Can't you explain how you care for people who are scalded in your stores? I asked.

"No, because, first of all, we don't give specifics on the program," she said.

Did you just say "program?" I asked.

"Our scalding incident program," Darrow said. "They have guidelines for how to respond. I'm not sharing those, because they are part of an internal practice."

Accidents happen, Starbucks. What's the big mystery? In any case, if a Starbucks barista accidentally throws a pot of coffee at you, don't wait around for the questionnaire. It's important to get cool running water or cold moist cloths on your burn as soon as possible. Don't use ice or ice water, and don't rely on Starbucks for first aid.

Burning Brew [SF Weekly] (Thanks, Scott!)
(Photo:smcgee)

From the AP:

Prescher said she knew nothing about what happened until hospital employees revived her.

"And I was just, 'You've got to be kidding me,'" she said. "I just couldn't believe it, that they would leave me in there."

73-year-old SoCal woman accidentally left locked in bank [AP]
(Photo: LYDIA and her SALAD DAYS)

My colleague came to work waving around a new pair of Sony headphone's he'd bought on the way over, still new in the blister plastic packaging. He was excited because he got such a good deal on them, and tried cutting through the package with a pair of heavy duty scissors. The plastic was unusually strong and was resisting even our most well made scissors (we work in a printing facility, and have lots of types of scissors, all high quality). He switched to the x-acto knife after the scissors were unable to pierce the thick bonded plastic.

We also use these knives regularly and have never had an accident. Well the plastic was so strong he needed to apply a large amount of force to the blade, which caused his hand to slip toward his body and into his abdomen. The cut was deep and he bled through his shirt; we found gauze in the first aid kit and dressed the wound using sterile wipes and pads until he was cleaned up enough to go to the emergency room. I had to use the x-acto knife again to open the package all the way, and it took me nearly ten minutes of precise, careful cuts to get the headphones out, and I use these knives almost every day as part of my various craft hobbies. I literally had to slice all the way around the perimeter of the package, and that was not easy. I doubt somone without a lot of cutting experience could ever have opened this package safely.

This is not a directed complaint toward Sony specifically, but to all manufacturers to make your packaging reasonably easy to open for customers that spent money on your products. More directly, you should be able to open any package with a pair of scissors in a minute or less. If not, your packaging becomes hazardous by causing people to resort to sharper utensils like knives and rasors. My colleage is recovering well and does not plan to pursue a lawsuit.

We are not surprised. Liberating consumer electronics from their protective armor can be a Sisyphean struggle. Fortified enclosures help retailers by deterring theft and making products easier to ship, but rob consumers of their ability to delightedly tear open a present. Retailers should develop a better way to cocoon their products, one that discourages consumers from accidently stabbing themselves.