Consumerist
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mygallons
success stories
BBB Complaint Gets LA Fitness To Refund $5620 They Stole From You 3 Years Ago
I don't know why so many gyms decide to run themselves like giant fitness scams, jacking people's money from their bank account and never letting them leave a contract, but after hearing a bunch of horror stories, this is probably the worst. It definitely is in terms of dollar amounts. Here's her story, and how she fought back and won:I was ripped off to the tune of $5620. They refused for 3 years to refund my money. Then they told me I have I have no recourse. It was electronic funds transfer for personal training that I never authorized. The people who did it were fired shortly after. It had happened to several other members, and most of the cases were settled. Except mine.More »
success stories
BBB Works Against Sprint
Some people think the BBB doesn't work. They do, but only if the company cares about keeping a clean record. See when you look up a company in the BBB database it shows you how many complaints have been filed against the company, how many were answered, how many did the consumer report as being satisfactorily resolved, etc. So if you have a valid complaint, file it with the BBB, and the company cares about its BBB record, you have a decent chance of getting a solution. You might not believe it, but it turns out Sprint is one of those companies. Here's Kevin's story of how the BBB got his erroneous text message charges refunded and let him leave contract early without early termination fee... More »
bad company
Company Bills Customer For Chargeback
After Ilan successfully filed a chargeback on a company, the company decided to bill him directly for the amount that was refunded. What's even sneakier is the company (which Ilan didn't name) waited until after they reported the matter resolved to the Better Business Bureau. Now Ilan's wondering what options he has to fight back. More »
complaints
BBB Complaint Gets Dell To Pledge To Stop Sending Catalogs
Two Fridays ago I filed a Better Business Bureau complaint against Dell because they ignored my repeated cries to please remove me from their catalog mailing list, and today I got this following message from Dell's corporate office (listen here). The nice lady says she located my address and is removing it from their system. This is redundant as some other Dell execs say they've finally got my address removed but it does show that filing a BBB complaint does work for getting Dell to promise to stop sending you junk mail (we'll have to see what the mail man brings, or rather, doesn't bring, to know whether it worked completely). Here's where you can go to easily file one online.
(Photo: What Rhymes With Nicole)
mystery meat
Do You Know What Grade Of Beef Taco Bell Uses? Do They? Does Anyone?
A reader sent us the contents of a Better Business Bureau complaint filed against Taco Bell. It describes how a customer tried repeatedly to find out what grade beef Taco Bell uses in its food, and how nobody at the company was able or willing to provide an answer. Not surprisingly, the BBB complaint also went unanswered. Let's just hope they're not sourcing their beef from forklift cattle, which is like downer cattle but has odd prong-shaped bruises on the side. More »
bbb
"BBB Is Useless" Says Cable Company Call Center Manager
If you have a hassle with a cable company and you want to escalate it to an outside agency, one cable company call center manager told The Consumerist to forget the BBB. His exact words were, "The Better Business Bureau is useless — Public Service Commission is best policy (but a last resort)." Straight from the mouth of a man on the inside and in a position to know, the cable companies are more afraid of PSCs and PUCs than the BBB. Probably because of the two, only the PUC has direct oversight! So, you're more likely to get action by ccing your cable company complaint to the PUC than the BBB. Don't know your PUC's info? Here's a state-by-state list.
tools
Find Your Attorney General Or Better Business Bureau
Bookmark this: MSNBC has a nice interactive map you can click to find your state Attorney General and/or Better Business Bureau. If a company is being really bad, it's important to file an official complaint so it's on the record. If a company gets enough complaints, it can move an AG's office to investigate. The BBB will sometimes open a hearing in the event of a dispute, and your complaint goes into a publicly searchable database, although the anecdotal evidence supplied by our readers doesn't paint a very encouraging picture of their dispute resolution process.
(Thanks to Bob!)
legal threats
"Tiny Details" Owner Sends Miniature Threats To Former Customer
Tiny Details is a work-at-home company that pays hobbyists to make little dollhousey things. You buy the materials from Tiny Details for $55, make the assigned object(s), and Tiny Details buys them back. Unfortunately, many customers have complained about problems getting payments or refunds from the company over the years—here's their less-than-stellar BBB entry. Yesterday Kristopher Buchan, the owner of Tiny Details, emailed one former customer/client to tell him his complaints amounted to libel. Buchan demanded the customer remove them from teh interweb, and threatened him repeatedly with a lawsuit. And now we're posting about it on The Consumerist! See how that works, Tiny Details? More »
How To Avoid Counterfeit Tickets
Looking for tickets but worried you'll get stuck with fakes? Washington's Attorney General has a few tips to make sure the tickets you buy are more than expensive wallet ornaments.
Looking for tickets but worried you'll get stuck with fakes? Washington's Attorney General has a few tips to make sure the tickets you buy are more than expensive wallet ornaments.
success stories
Executive Email Carpet Bomb Against Vonage Results In $450 Credit
Score another point for consumers making it over the unyielding wall of "customer service." Keith writes in about his recent struggles with Vonage, over an account he thought had been completely canceled six months earlier, "The carpet bomb instructions were inspired and within 3 weeks of sending my carpet bomb I got my resolve... The great part is I got my credit from the same person who stone walled me the months previous. Oh success is sweet." More »
kodak
Kodak Moments: Kodak Quits Council of Better Business Bureaus Rather Than Face Expulsion
Kodak resigned from the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB,) rather than face expulsion for their refusal to respond to complaints lodged by spurned customers.Kodak was advised it could contest the termination but chose instead to resign its national membership in early March. The photography company allowed its membership in the Buffalo-based branch to lapse about five years ago.More »
complaints
BBB Sluts For GM
The BBB is GM's bitch, at least that's what we gather from a post by David Berlind, Executive Editor at ZDNet. More »
broadway photo
Broadway Photo's Sheisty-Looking Business Addresses
Broadway Photo is a New York area camera cabal infamous for ripping customers off. First they lure in people with camera kits below market value. Then they try to upsell customers on all sorts of accessories and try to make them believe their gear won't work without it. People have experienced unauthorized charges and report being verbally abused when they try to dispute the charges. More »
complaints
WeddingDepot Wants Our "Libelous" Post Removed
WeddingDepot.com wants our post detailing an exchange between themselves and a customer, which they call libel, removed. More »
complaints
WeddingDepot's Nonresponsive, Passive Aggressive, Customer Service
UPDATE: WeddingDepot calls this post libel and requests its removal. More »
lawsuits
Ohio AG Suing Scammy Gift Card Site
The Ohio Attorney General is suing GiftAssistant.com for using unfair and deceptive methods to take at least $42,000 from at least 250 people. At least one of those people the company bilked was a Consumerist reader, as we reported previously. More »
tips
