Consumerist
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intimidation tactics
Freescore.com Sues Yahoo To Reveal Blogger's Identity
Freescore.com is one of those online companies that offers a free trial, and then attempts to enroll its customers in a $30/month subscription service. Now they're suing Yahoo in an attempt to reveal an anonymous blogger who quoted a Reuters article when criticizing the service, and who pointed out that Freescore is owned by a company with a reputation for billing customers without permission. More » -
how to
So You Want To Sue The Company That's Screwing You Over
Jon wants us to recommend a good lawyer to sue HP for screwing him over on laptop repairs. We do not offer legal advice like that. We do, however, believe strongly in the power of small claims court. More » -
follow ups
Reader Uses BBB To Retrieve Gold From Classmates' Clutches
Remember Kelly, the one who couldn't get her money back from Classmates after she canceled her automatically renewed gold membership? More » -
weddings
Missouri Bridal Shop Of Doom Might Actually Hate Brides, Bridesmaids
A funny story from KSDK in St. Louis looks at the bridal store "I Do I Do"—now under new management—and some of the more colorful complaints received by the Better Business Bureau over the past few years. (The store has an F rating with the BBB.) It's quite likely, based on these complaints, that "I Do I Do" was employing a chimpanzee to make alterations. More » -
pointing fingers
Sleepy's Exec Says Bedbugs Come From People
Buried in the controversy surrounding the exit of consumer reporter George Gombossy from the Hartford Courant was his article that looks at complaints against mattress company Sleepy's. We though this bit of wisdom from Sleepy's COO was worth repeating:
More »Adam S. Blank, Sleepy's general counsel and chief operating officer, said last month Sleepy's was unaware of Blumenthal's investigation and said bedbugs do not originate in beds, but come from people.
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revocations
Better Business Bureau Kicks Out Four Businesses
What can you do if you're too small to have a shot in our Worst Company In America contest, but too awful to not earn some sort of notoriety? Well, you can get your BBB membership revoked and earn a big fat F ranking. It's no golden poo, but it's a start. More » -
twitter
No, You Can't Get Rich Quick Via Twitter
The Better Business Bureau warns job-hunters and other money-seekers that no, you can't earn massive amounts of money through secretive Twitter tricks. More » -
bait and switch
NY Attorney General Fines, Closes Down Infamously Scammy Camera Stores
If you bought cameras or electronics from any of these stores recently you were probably scammed: Best Price Camera, Foto Connection, 1 Way Photo, 86th Street Photo, Broadway Photo, Camera Whiz, and Sonic Photo. Or perhaps you bought something online from one of their astonishing array of alter egos and websites (see full list). More » -
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dangerous
That Probably Isn't Really Michael Jackson's Stuff You're Buying, BBB Warns
We know how it is. As soon as a big star dies, you feel the immediate urge to buy his old stage-used sweat rag on Craigslist. More » -
auto warranties
U.S. Fidelis Hires Former Attorney General Ashcroft's Law Firm
U.S. Fidelis, the auto warranty company that's currently being investigated by 40 state attorneys general for questionable business practices, has hired the law firm headed by former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. The firm won't represent the company in litigation, but is supposed to provide an internal review of their practices. They'll also provide draping cloths for any immodest statuary, and wiretap kits for employees of interest. Hey, it's hard to do topical humor on someone who's been out of office for 4 years.
"U.S. Fidelis hires Ashcroft firm" [St. Louis Business Journal]
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tips
Don't Buy Your Magazines From Door-To-Door Salesmen This Summer
A couple of years ago, the New York Times did a piece on the poor treatment of teens hired to travel the country and sell magazine subscriptions door-to-door, but they're not the only ones getting the raw end of the deal. More » -
publisher's clearing house
Big Publisher's Clearing House Scam Drop Hits Mailboxes
Call your grandma: the BBB reports a big mailing of Publisher's Clearing house scam letters went out on March 6th and March 20th, promising people big bucks in exchange for a hefty up-front fee. The fraudulent letters use the name Publisher's Clearing House and Reader's Digest but are sent by flim-flammers, not these organizations.The prize never materializes and the scammers dematerialize after you stop forking over bogus processing fees. One grandma, thinking she won $1 million, got taken for over $4,000. The fraudsters sent her a "downpayment" check of $6,000 and told to deposit it and send $3,700 of it elsewhere to claim her million-dollar-prize. Inside, what the scam letter and check look like so you know what to call your grandma and tell her to watch out for. More » -
dell
Dell Hasn't Refunded Money For 45 Days
Rob bought a monitor from Dell. Not just any monitor, a defective one. Ok, he didn't specifically request it to come defective, but that's how it did. So did its replacement. "The backlight was flickering constantly and it made me feel nauseous just looking at it," writes Rob. He's returned the monitors but Dell has yet to give him back his money. Every time he calls, they tell him it will be just 7-10 days more and that he paid with two credit cards is complicating things. So far it's been 45 days.
"It's pretty ridiculous," writes Rob. "Their product quality has suffered considerably, but their customer service has fallen off even worse." Maybe Rob can try filing a BBB complaint. Dell has proved surprisingly responsive to them in the past.
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scams
FedMod.com: Loan Mod Scammers Advertising On Network TV?
Matt at SteadFastFinances tipped me off to a possible loan-modification scam running ads on network TV. More » -
bbb
BBB Will Now Give You An "F" Just Like Your Algebra Teacher Used To
Gone are the days of "unsatisfactory" ratings by the BBB — they've switched over to a letter grading system designed to provide consumers with "more detailed insight into a business’s track record." More » -
scams
Scams 101: Do Not Buy Things From The Internet Using A Wire Transfer!
The BBB has given us a heads up about a new scam that targets holiday shoppers — pop-up internet electronics stores that only accept payments via wire transfer. More » -
scams
Credit Cards Scammers Pretend To Be From BBB
Robo-scammers are ringing up consumers and pretending to the Better Business Bureau, saying, "We're from BBB – Because of bailout, we can offer you a low-rate credit card." In this iteration, we see several three common scam characteristics combined: *Unexpected communication * Automated communication * Mention of topical event * Use of recognizable institution's name * Money-saving opportunity. Investigators were unable to tell the exact nature of the scam. It could be been to steal your account numbers, or it might have just been a marketing affiliate's sleazy way of generating leads for a credit card company trying to get people to transfer their balances. Complaints have been received about the scam at a BBBs serving Washington, West Oregon and Northern Idaho, as well as Midland,Texas.
Scam Pre-Recorded Telemarketing Calls Being Made To Region: "We're from BBB – Because of bailout, we can offer you a low-rate credit card." [Spokane.net] (Photo: tj scenes)
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scams
Fun With Scammers: Golden Retriever Receives Check For $150,000
Congratulations! Your dog is rich! Oh wait, no. It's a scam. Meet Bruce Gadansky of the Louisville BBB. He got an email from some internet scammers and decided to reply — as his dog. The email was from a "company" looking for help cashing a check. More »
bbb
New York, 7:45 AM
Sun Nov 8
7 posts in the last 24 hours
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