Consumerist: Better Business Bureau,

Better Business Bureau Kicks Out Four Businesses

Chris Walters — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:53:29 EDT

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.

This is from the BBB in Buffalo, NY, so all four businesses are New York Based. Two of them, AC Design & Construction and Black Tie Catering, will probably only matter to locals.

FFEMAX.com, also doing business as ElectronicsAvenue.com, has a couple of web presences, but they're both down as of this post and the company may be out of business (which may explain partly why they earned the F rating to begin with).

FireplaceEssentials.com is still up and running though, so watch out. The "F" in "fireplace" stands for BBB FAIL in this case.

BBB page for FireplaceEssentials.com

No, You Can't Get Rich Quick Via Twitter

Laura Northrup — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:34:37 EDT

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.

Not only are the profits they promise not, strictly speaking, possible, but the fine print of the deal leads unsuspecting Twitterpreneurs to pay as much as $100 per month for the program. This when the large print promises that the secrets of Twitter income will be unlocked after you buy mere $1.95 CD.

Overall, the marketing methods are similar to those for acai berry and government grants scams. Don't be fooled. The BBB reminds everyone that no matter how badly in need of work you might be, there are surefire signs of a work-at-home scam that you should look for:

• The "job" is actually a money-making scheme and doesn't provide actual employment.
• The work-at-home scheme claims that you can make lots of money with little effort and no experience.
• You have to pay money upfront in order to be considered for the job or receive more information.
• The exact same tweet touting the program is posted by many different Twitterers. The links in such tweets could lead you to scam sites or install malware onto your computer.

Stay safe, be careful, and remember the real profit center of Twitter: getting companies that have wronged you to listen to you.

BBB Warns Against Twitter Money-Making Schemes [BBB]
BBB sees rise in Pay-to-Tweet scams [Consumer Reports]

That Probably Isn't Really Michael Jackson's Stuff You're Buying, BBB Warns

Phil Villarreal — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:00:37 EDT

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.

Alas, the cranky-pants Better Business Bureau warns you to hold off for a while — like, forever — when considering such purchases, the St. Petersburg Times reports:

The Better Business Bureau just warns consumers who want to purchase some Jackson memorabilia to carefully evaluate the source of the product and the transaction as classified advertisements and e-mail solicitations are soaring.

At times like these, scams become abundant. And while collectors and fans want to snag a great piece of history, it behooves consumers to be cautious.

"The cause of Michael Jackson's untimely death still needs to be determined, and already people are seeing suspicious and awkwardly written e-mails appear in their in-boxes offering supposedly authentic items from the pop singer's life," Steve Bernas, chief executive officer of the Better Business Bureau office in Chicago, said in a statement.

Either the BBB is looking out for your best interests here or they're secretly trying to hoard all the sweat rags for themselves.

Better Business Bureau warns against Michael Jackson memorabilia scams [St.Petersburg Times]
(Photo: Paxton Holley)

Ticketmaster Tries To Evade California Law By Calling "Gift Card" A "Discount Card"

Carey Alexander — Sun, 03 May 2009 12:00:44 EDT

See this gift card, the one that says "GIFT CARD" in big letters? Ticketmaster insists it's really a "Discount Card," and thus, not covered by the California law preventing gift cards from expiring.

Reader Robert isn't happy that Ticketmaster is violating California law, and filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau:

Complaint Description
They refuse to honor my giftcard because it "expired." Under California law, gift cards do not have expiration dates.
Complaint Summary
I have a $50 gift card (Code: 8002-5000-5641-0868) that TicketsNow says is "expired." Under California law, gift cards do not expire.

Resolution Sought
I want to be issued a working $50 gift certificate. In addition, so others do not have the same problem, I want their billing system to recognize all "expired" gift certificates as valid, at least in California.

Ticketmaster quickly responded with nine sentences, eight of which are utter fluff.

We are in receipt of your recent complaint submitted to the Better Business Bureau. Ticketmaster regrets any inconvenience you may have experienced in connection with your recent online ticketing experience, and thanks you for bringing your concerns to our attention. As a service oriented company, the satisfaction of our customers is always our utmost concern. Please be aware that your valued feedback will be provided to the proper group responsible for the concern you described, and will be instrumental in helping us improve the products & services that we offer. . As you may recall, you are requesting that we honor a $50.00 Ticketmaster gift card with the CODE: 8002-5000-5641-0868 that you have in your possession. This is a Discount Code not a Gift Card and it did have an expiration date of December 31, 2005. Please be assured; Ticketmaster complies with all relevant ticketing laws, including those of your state. We closely monitor ticketing law and take care to ensure we do not violate them. We trust that this explanation will fully resolve the matter. Sincerely, Pam Shafer Consumer Support Specialist

Robert responded:

Hi Pam Shafer. You must be mistaken. Please consult the picture of my gift card under dispute that I have uploaded to the the internet for your convenience. Notice that it clearly says "$50 Gift Card." I have reason to believe you are circumventing California law. I have reason to believe you are lying to me and telling me the $50 I have is not really $50 dollars. Thank you for your time. With regards to my time, I would like to be issued a check now for $50 because of the hassles I have had to put up with. I am also inclined to post my story to the website The Consumerist.

Ticketmaster offered a final salvo:

As stated previously, you are requesting that we honor a $50.00 Ticketnow gift card with the CODE: 8002-5000-5641-0868 that you have in your possession. This is a Discount Code not a Gift Card and it did have an expiration date of December 31, 2005. You have also spoken with a Ticketsnow representative and he stated that you understood that this was a promotion code that cannot be validated as it has expired. Please be assured; Ticketmaster complies with all relevant ticketing laws, including those of your state. We closely monitor ticketing law and take care to ensure we do not violate them. We trust that this explanation will fully resolve the matter. Sincerely, Pam Shafer Consumer Support Specialist

California Civil Code Section 1749 is clear: "It is unlawful for any person or entity to sell a gift certificate ("As used in this title, "gift certificate" includes gift cards") to a purchaser that contains any of the following: (1) An expiration date."

But don't worry, because Ticketmaster complies with all relevant ticketing laws, including those of your state or whatever.

So does this mean someone can stab Ticketmaster's general counsel and get off scot-free because "involuntary insertion of a retributive object" somehow isn't the same thing same as stabbing?

Complaint ID: 98404063 [Los Angeles Better Business Bureau]

Big Publisher's Clearing House Scam Drop Hits Mailboxes

Ben Popken — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:57:38 EDT

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.

Grandmother loses $4K in lottery scam [ConnectMidMissouri] (Photo: whatatravisty)

Dell Hasn't Refunded Money For 45 Days

Ben Popken — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:45:29 EST

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.

BBB Will Now Give You An "F" Just Like Your Algebra Teacher Used To

Meg Marco — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:11:15 EST

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."

BBB says:

“Consumers want more than marketing spin or a few comments about a business posted on the Internet, and rightly so, because given tough economic conditions, they literally can’t afford to make bad buying decisions,” said Steve Cox, BBB spokesperson. “BBB’s improved reports provide detailed insight into a business’s track record and are based on our time-tested standards, in-depth research and the millions of consumer complaints filed with BBB.”

The BBB's rating system takes 16 factors into account — considering a variety of information from the type of business to deceptive advertising issues and, of course, the speed at which the company resolves complaints.

Here are the factors for those of you who are curious:

The type of business and its business model
How long the business has been operating
Whether the business has appropriate competency licensing
Total volume of complaints filed against the business
The number of unanswered complaints
The number of unresolved complaints
The number of serious complaints
An overall complaint analysis
The number of complaints with delayed resolution
Government actions against the business
Any advertising issues found by BBB
The extent of background information available to BBB for evaluation
The extent to which BBB is able to develop a clear understanding of the business
Whether the business has honored any mediation/arbitration commitments
Whether the business has attained BBB Accredited Business status
Whether the business has had its BBB Accreditation revoked

BBB Changes Its Business Ratings to A+ Through F Letter-Grade Scale [BBB]

Credit Cards Scammers Pretend To Be From BBB

Ben Popken — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EDT

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)

This Saturday (September 20th) is the Better ...

Chris Walters — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:37:45 EDT

This Saturday (September 20th) is the Better Business Bureau's "Secure Your ID" day: in select cities, "bring up to three boxes or bags of paper documents that contain your personal information and we'll shred them." Or, you know, just do it yourself all year long. [BBB]

BBB Warns Consumers: Stay Away From TicketsMyWay

Chris Walters — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:45:03 EDT

The complaints about TicketsMyWay—the Las Vegas-based ticket broker that doesn't actually deliver the tickets it sells, then threatens you with litigation or fines if you attempt to get your money back—have reached a high enough level to earn a Consumer Alert from the Better Business Bureau:

[Parent company] Event Tickets LLC has an unsatisfactory rating from BBB due to its performance, which includes nearly 100 instances of non-delivery of tickets, nearly another 100 complaints involving refunds and exchanges, and on about 200 occasions, the company has failed to even respond to BBB or consumers to resolve issues.

Remember, avoid this company when buying tickets. We've heard only bad things about them, and have yet to hear of any sort of resolution or follow-up story that would make us change our minds.

"BBB Warns Sports Fans, Concert-Goers, and Theater Buffs: Beware of TicketsMyWay.com" (Thanks to Cheriset!)
(Photo: Getty)

Beware The "Fannie Mae" Prize Draw Scam

Ben Popken — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:59:29 EDT

Scammers love to tap into national trends to put a new face on an old scam, and the "Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Equity Prize Draw" scam spotted by the Louisville, KY BBB is no exception.

The faxed scam says, "We are happy to info you that you have emerged a winner under the F&F EQUITY DRAW, which is part of a promotional draws organized by all crediting lending partners to enable home owners who owned a home all over the United States of America have more money, and at the same time buy more homes in the area where they live. The funds were drawn from part of the total Fifty Billion US Dollars ($50 Billion) release to the financial institutions and creditros by the Government and other donor nations who have so much interest and investments in the United States of America."

Here's the BBB's report on investigating the scam:

After faxing my official “Equity Draw” information sheet to a number in Idaho, I called the 778 number and had the pleasure of speaking to “Jorge Marcelo”, at Fannie n Freddie Prize Headquarters. He said he had my fax right there in front of him, which is interesting since I never told him who I was nor did he ask. But he did tell me that to collect my big prize I was required to wire a “processing fee” of $850 to the Vegas address in my documents via Western Union, call him with the WU control number and then I could collect my riches.

Obviously I’m excited, so I invited the FBI to share in my excitement. I’m not sure if there’s anything here worth law enforcement pursuit, but that’ll be up to them. My guess is Jorge is probably not in BC, and that the WU office in Vegas will forward my $850 to another location, and it may be bounced several times.

Fraudsters have a core set of scams that they just keep putting new hats on old scams to fit the zeitgeist. Most of us wouldn't fall for this iteration, rife with spelling and grammatical errors. But a few, like the desperate, elderly, ignorant, non-native-English-speaking, or some combination thereof, might. The scammers, will, however, try another variant on the lottery scam. For them, it's all a numbers game, and their auto-dialers just keep ringing up one more.

(Photo: ptaff)

Do You Know What Grade Of Beef Taco Bell Uses? Do They? Does Anyone?

Chris Walters — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:28:54 EDT

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.

Here's the actual BBB complain that went unanswered by Taco Bell:

About 3 weeks ago i called the 800# asking what grade of beef they use. All they could tell me was usda approved. I called 4 times and got the same, twice i left my # and was told a nutritionalist would call me back....no call ever came. I next e mailed corp with the same question. I was answered by a Sandy Shakelford telline me:I have located a phone number contact in which you can inquire about our meat. Taco Bell Corporation 949-863-4500 and ask for the QA Department. I called a total of three times first got a prompt telling me to put in MY voice mail # to get my messages. Next i was transfered to a recording telling of bad cheese both plain and mixed and to throw them out and call in for a credit. Third was disconected. 4th i got a voice mailbox in the Quality control dept. i think his name was Steve...Again i left my question and # and again no call back. On Feb 27 i e mailed Sandy telling her what my phone experiance was and had not got an answer to my question...That was 10 days ago and again no contact from Sandy nor Taco Bell. Side note the web sight says contact us call 1800 TACO BELL when its actually 800 TACO BEL....The companys resistance to answer my question tells me what i was told by a friend that worked there that they use poor yet usda approved beef could be true.

(Thanks to Moe!)

(Photo: karlfrankowski)

Find Your Attorney General Or Better Business Bureau

Ben Popken — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:06:06 EST

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!)

"Tiny Details" Owner Sends Miniature Threats To Former Customer

Chris Walters — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:08:49 EST

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?

This is an excerpt of Stephen's original complaint, posted over 18 months ago:

My most recent bout came with a company named Tiny Details based out of Syracuse, NY. My wife was interested in earning some extra money for us from home, a prospect that I found very appealing. What with our son and all, it's really not feasible for her to go to work, so finding her a way to draw income at home was ideal.
I found Tiny Details while researching along those lines. I considered the link pointing to it to be more legitimate than most (and trust me, I know a lot about links). The site seemed a bit unprofessional, which should have been a big tip-off, but I didn't find anyone saying anything negative about it. My wife was very excited at the prospect, as much as she loves arts and crafts.

Unfortunately, I didn't do my research as thoroughly as I should have. It wasn't until after we had bought a kit for my wife that I came across these Tiny Details customer complaints and some more recent warnings about Tiny Details. I also managed to find the Tiny Details Better Business Bureau report. I'm ashamed to say that I missed such glaring stop signs. I guess I must have been dreamy eyed over their false promises rather than incredulous as I rightfully should have been.

At any rate, I've cancelled our order and plan to seek reimbursement through whatever means necessary, up to and including legal action. I don't expect them to make it easy; companies like this never do. I fully suspect it's money that I'll never see again one way or another, in which case I'll take it as $55 worth of valuable education: If it seems too good to be true, it is. Do your research first, and do it right.

It now pops up on the first page of a Google search for "Tiny Details," and apparently Kristopher Buchan just discovered the power of search engines, because yesterday was the first time since posting it that Stephen heard anything from the company. Here are the two emails Stephen received, which his friend Simon posted on his website:

Email #1:
I am writing about the substantively incorrect postings that you have on your website.

I am asking that you remove this point immediately. Your representation of Tiny Details is inacurate and libelous.

I have forwarded this information to our company attorney, along with your domain registration information.

Please govern yourself accordingly.

Kristopher Buchan
President
Tiny Details, LLC

Email #2:

Mr. Ward,

You will be hearing from our attorney.

What you have posted is indeed libel.

I am in the process of seeking your address through your domain registrating information. You will be hearing from us shortly.

Kristopher Buchan

Well, just for fairness' sake, here are some of the complaints about the company we found online on various pages:

From WAHM.com
"You also reminded me that I had sent them a kit (to Christian Miniatures actually) on Nov. the 30th. I added a "Delivery Confirmation" on the package, and it states that they received it on Dec. the 2nd. I had returned a completed kit that needed corrections. It's the 21st already and I've heard nothing. I just called and they just have a recording stating that they're unavailable and to leave a message for a return call (yeah, like THAT'S gonna happen!). So, I just sent them an email with Deliver Receipt Proof. Two weeks ago they had told me they'd never received it, so they couldn't tell me anything about it. The receipt showed that they HAD received it. Hmmm, something fishy's going on here!!!"(posted by rtanza, December 2004)

"Well, I finally heard from Tiny Details today - it seems as though my returned materials were also "never received". I filed a complaint with the BBB. I foolishly did not send my materials with a return receipt so I really can't prove anything... but it's really not the money part of this that is so annoying to me, I just can't stand the idea of folks being taken advantage of like this. Oh well, live and learn..." (posted by scarletbrook, January 2005)

From Rip-Off Report

I decided to try sending them back their own perfect samples as my first sample to see if they were accepted. They made sure to reassure me that they wanted one sample sent back to them so they could inspect it and save me any trouble making a bunch of mistakes. The only problem with that was that I had to send them a sample and wait longer to see if it even passed their ridiclous inspection. Suprise! It didn't pass. Wow, go figure. Now I know I have been scammed. I even sent an e-mail to them saying that I sent them their own sample to see how truthful they were and they rejected it. I have yet to get a response. I'm sure that this is just another scam and that I'm out $55 because I was fooled into falling for it. (posted by Leila, April 2006)

To be fair, we can imagine a build-tiny-objects business has its fair share of customers who think the task will be easier than it looks, and who then blame the company when they can't assemble miniatures at a professional level. (Here's a defense of the company.) In other words: there's a chance Tiny Details isn't a big scam.

But you can't get all ham-fisted with complaints about your service and try to sue former customers into silence, Buchan. Besides, Stephen's initial post is so vague that it doesn't say much more beyond "I decided not to do business with them." Based on Buchan's aggression towards an unhappy former customer who was just stating his opinion, we think Stephen made the right call.

"Tiny Details" [Project Paradox]
"Rather than listening to its critics, president of company threatens blogger with libel lawsuit" [Bloggasm]

RELATED
Tiny Details
"BBB Reliability Report for Tiny Details LLC" [Better Business Bureau]
(Photo: Paul Keleher)

Executive Email Carpet Bomb Against Vonage Results In $450 Credit

Chris Walters — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 17:27:54 EDT

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."

The short version of the story: after signing up with Vonage, Keith discovered it wouldn't work with his company's Asterix private branch exchange (ooo fancy telephone lingo), so he canceled and went with another company. The Vonage router was never shipped out, the company never connected to Vonage's servers, and yet due to some easily-preventable email errors on Vonage's side*, they claimed to have never received a request to terminate the service. So, from January to August, Vonage continued to charge the company.

Keith repeatedly contacted Vonage's customer service, then escalated the issue to the Better Business Bureau, which contacted Vonage on his behalf. Vonage remained firm: Keith did not cancel the account properly, and whether the device was shipped out or not, he bought the service and they were going to charge him.

Keith's email carpet bomb was short but comprehensive, respectful, dispassionate, and clear. It made a strong case for why and how Vonage screwed up, and Keith offered additional evidence for anyone who wanted to follow up. "I had to look online and find every name and email of every single employee of the company that I could. I searched through press releases and the investor website and so forth, after sending this complaint in to about 50 people over there I got a quick response that I would receive a full credit."

Congrats, Keith!

* More on the email errors for those of you who are curious—Vonage sent an email that said they weren't compatible with Asterix. Keith responded to that email to cancel the service. However, Vonage's return address wasn't a legitimate one, but their servers did not send back an "invalid address" warning to alert Keith's company, so as far as Keith knew the email was received and the service was canceled—especially since they never shipped out the router. (return to top of post)

Register Complaints With The Better Business Bureau

Ben Popken — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 23:33:26 EDT

Another great way to establish a public record of a company's customer service negligence is to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

While not able to resolving complaints, the BBB does a good job of documenting and publishing them. When warranted, the organization passes on complaints to the proper authorities.

These publicly available records can warn other customers, provide a basis for lawsuits, or aid local investigative reporter make a point about unscrupulous local businesses that no one seems to be able to do anything about.

Find a Better Business Bureau Near You

Getting Jacked When Selling Textbooks Back

popkin — Fri, 05 May 2006 16:03:13 EDT

It's campus book buy-back time which means one thing: tons of students getting screwed over across the nation.

But it's okay, it was their parents money to begin with, right?

One reseller you may want to avoid is eCampus.com, who, according to Briana's letter, practically defrauded her.

We've heard, and experienced first hand, the ignominy of high text book prices met with perversely low buy-back rates. Are there any good, fair, sites or services out there for college students looking to finance their next crate of Ramen?

Briana's letter, after the jump...

Briana writes:

On November 3, 2005 I placed a buyback order with eCampus for some textbooks totaling $125.85. On November 5, 2005 I mailed out the box of textbooks using a printed label supplied by eCampus.

On January 30, 2006 after not having received my payment, I checked the status of my account online and it still indicated the transaction was being processed. I emailed customer service and received a response from hhershey that indicated my books had been received and that, due to a backlog my check would take another 6-8 weeks to be delivered.

On May 4, 2006 I still had not received either a check or further word on my account, and it was still listed as 'processing' online. I emailed customer service again, and received a response one minute later (according to the timestamps on the email sent to me) from hhershey telling me my order was never received.

When I asked why I was told otherwise before, and why my account still showed 'processing' (as opposed to 'cancelled' as it would in the instance my order was not received) I was referred to a customer service rep, Brittany. She informed me that since I did not insure the package, there was nothing further they could do for me.

I asked her why then had I been told my order was received previously, and why my order still listed as processing. I also questioned whether the one minute between receiving my message and responding was really adequate time to have verified the package was not received. My response was referred back to hhershey who replied to tell me there was nothing further they could do for me.

Six months of waiting for my check, and they lost my order and refuse to work with me further or give me compensation. I decided to do a little research to see what I was dealing with here. According to the Better Business Bureau they have an unsatisfactory rating (208 complaints in the last year), and searches on both PlanetFeedback and Epinions return scads of negative customer complaints for similar situations.

So we've learned two lessons in this little tale: 1) always make sure you get insurance for anything worth more than $20 when mailing, and 2) never use eCampus.com for your textbook needs. There's no telling how many unsuspecting kids they've hosed with this scam, telling them they 'lost' their order, or that it will be 6-8 more weeks when they're just skimming the free books for resale and hoping their victims will forget about pursuing compensation.

Shoulda known better,
Briana L."

Better Business Bureau To School Against Data Loss

consumerist.com — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 10:03:16 EST

Apparently, we're not the only ones who notice that companies today can't keep their fucking panties up around their waist when it comes to data security. The Council of Better Business Bureaus is trying to wise-up small businesses to the perils of securing their networks and locking down data.

From Consumer Affairs:

The BBB's program is designed to demystify the complexities of data security and give small businesses a non-technical roadmap to securing their customer data.

The national program includes free, easy-to-read security and privacy toolkits, with separate kits focused on customer and employee data protection. The customer data kit is available now, and the employee kit will be released in the fall.

Great stuff. Now how about distributing these non-technical roadmaps to the companies like Citibank? After all, they're the ones who really need to fucking wise up already.

Small Businesses Urged to Lock Down Vital Data [Consumer Affairs]

HOWNOTTO: Buy a Laptop

popkin — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 08:47:50 EST

UPDATE: Patricia wrote in how she purchased a defective laptop from the Uniwill corporation who didn't respond to her requests for them to live up to their warranty for on-site service. Even after finally getting through to the repair center and sending her laptop in, it was sent back in exactly the same condition: it powered down whenever a CD was inserted.

She reports the Better Business Bureau has opened a case and Uniwill has until the 11th of March to respond. She says further that the laptop was purchased from the MAX Group, a discount wholesale computer seller. So it may be that the Uniwill is simply a reseller. But if so, they shouldn't offer full on-site warranties if they can't live up to them.

We'll say it again, always buy from a reputable source with a positive track record. Otherwise, you may as well be buying a paper bag covered with question marks, which won't be the best for getting a good product at a reasonable price but can be fashioned later into a fetching clutch for your Riddler halloween costume.